Experience and product leader. Design and research. Strategy to delivery.
About Catherine
I help organisations make complex change work for the people it affects. Over almost three decades I've led design, product, technology and AI work across government, SaaS, education, retail and financial services, including a $2B platform integration and an $18M+ new line of business. I'm known for experience strategy that connects research insight to strategy, roadmaps and delivery, and for moving easily between big-picture vision and delivery detail. My practice is grounded in evidence, inclusion and culturally safe ways of working, and I keep teams delivering through uncertainty.

How I work
My approach brings together three parts.
Systems thinking
Seeing how people, services, technology and policy connect, so change holds across the whole organisation.
Human-centred leadership
Leading teams and stakeholders with care, candour and inclusion, grounded in research with the people affected.
Sustainable commercial grounding
Tying design and product decisions to outcomes, investment and long-term value.
Where I focus
Experience innovation, strategy and quality
Design and research leadership, practice and operations
Systems, services, products and tech
What people say
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Cath has been instrumental in supporting me with my business and the launch of my first book Career Architecture.
IA & Content Strategist, Design Coach and Educator, Chair of the Global IA Conference
Cath has a commitment to excellence that is very apparent. This enthusiasm, along with the knowledge and skills to execute are massive positives to an organisation.
Signal not Noise, 1st & LAST Conference Founder, Agile Coach
Catherine has been a trusted thought partner on more occasions than I can count. Her mix of Design, Research and Product experience is invaluable.
Product Evangelist & Coach
Cath has a wonderful way of bringing people together to help lead deeper discourse.
Founders – Make Meaningful Work, Apogee Consulting, UX Hong Kong
Cath has been fantastic to work with over the last few years, helping enable microcommunities to blossom within the human centered design network.
Service Designer, Podcaster & Design Educator, Founder & CEO of the This is HCD global community & podcast
Cath is a highly skilled designer across all aspects of Digital Design, from strategic to detailed design work in UX, HCD and SD.
Board Member & Startup Advisor
Cath is direct and kind in a way many people struggle to achieve. Catherine is open, collaborative and wise.
Engineer & CTO
Catherine brought immense warmth and a sharp design eye to the department and I would recommend her for any opportunities.
Cath has been amazing at ensuring that the design, product and engineering teams are closely aligned.
Catherine brings deep knowledge and design experience, is highly collaborative and goes deep into a problem space…
Most importantly, Catherine leads with empathy and has a real talent for taking people on the journey with her.
Catherine is a highly experienced senior leader… Catherine combines strategic thinking, pragmatism, and enthusiasm in all her work.
Her work spanned client engagement, offer tailoring, and commercial activities - including pitching to senior stakeholders and aligning across various teams.
Cath always sought to foster our development and played a key role in boosting my confidence.
Cath is a truly supportive leader who empowers her team to do their best work.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning from Cath's wealth of human-centred design knowledge, which Catherine shared generously.
As we navigated complex projects and challenging times, Cath guided us with care and authenticity.
Cath isn't just skilled at design strategy; Catherine is a supportive and empathetic leader.
Her dedication to user-centred approaches and her deep understanding of research and design best practices shine through in all her interactions.
I found Cath to be an exceptional leader with superior intellect across design and ways of working.
Cath is a wonderful blend of vision and practicality. I would highly recommend Cath in any forward thinking leadership role.
Catherine has a wonderful ability to really connect with the customer and articulate and socialise their problem space in the company.
Cat's greatest strength is her combination of empathy and agile methodologies - these allow her to create great experiences for the customer that are good for business too.
Catherine navigated misalignment with apparent ease, and often found solutions that all parties were happy with.
Not only did Cath strive for the best outcomes, but Catherine sought the best routes to get there.
Cath was great at bringing relevant processes and an insight driven design culture to the team.
Catherine has led the UX team to increase their level of UX maturity, our processes and our methods…
Cath is a leader, an enabler, a believer, a collaborator, a doer and Catherine's exceptionally great at it.
‘Ridiculously passionate’ is the phrase that comes to mind when I think of Cath. I’m in awe of her ability to get people on board with new ideas.
Cath is incredibly empathetic and has a great strategic mindset… I feel that Cath has created a safe environment for us to explore new ideas.
Catherine is really excellent at translating theory to practice and working with teams to solve problems in creative ways.
Catherine is full of energy and spreads it to the team, creating a vibrant environment to work in!
Catherine Hills