Director of Design

Design leadership that bridges strategy and execution.

Data-driven problem solver and servant leader with 17+ years building products and teams for Fortune 500 companies, agencies, and startups. I bridge the gaps between ideas, strategy, and execution.

17+
Years of Experience
32%
Revenue Growth (Marugame)
20x
Campaign Velocity (Booking.com)
282%
New User Increase (Marugame)

A generalist with the knowledge to lead and the passion to build.

I'm a solutions architect who has built products and experiences for startups, agencies, and Fortune 500 companies including Booking.com, PayPal, and Microsoft. I use research and data to make people's lives easier — and I bring the same rigor to leading teams.

As a servant leader, I thrive in helping others realize their potential through performance management, growth plans, and enthusiasm. Whether I'm whiteboarding a new product strategy or writing CSS, I care about every detail.

I founded Stinger Studios in 2019 to bring enterprise-level design thinking to businesses that need it most — from international restaurant chains to local adventure companies.

Meredith Ragsdale, Director of Design

Core Competencies

Design Leadership & Strategy Product Design & Development Lifecycle Design Systems & Component Libraries User Research & Usability Testing Information Architecture A/B Testing & Conversion Optimization Cross-Functional Team Leadership Agile/Scrum & OKRs Global Team Management (up to 35 reports) Mentoring & Talent Development Data-Driven Decision Making Technical Project Management Digital Campaign Management Stakeholder Communication

Experience & Education.

My six years at Booking.com were the most formative of my career. I started as a UX Designer and was quickly promoted to team lead of a multidisciplinary team focused on integrating payment user flows into the ecosystem. I grew into managing 36 direct reports across 8 teams, interviewed and hired over 250 people, and created a “Design for Frontend” course that trained 200+ designers across the organization. Running A/B experiments at a platform processing over 2 million bookings a day taught me that data humbles even the best instincts — and one experiment delivered a 100% increase in conversion. Curious what I did? Let’s chat.

That foundation prepared me to found Stinger Studios, where I applied everything I’d learned about research-driven design and performance marketing to help small and mid-size businesses grow — delivering 290% traffic increases and consistent 3:1 return on ad spend. When Concentrix Catalyst came calling, I returned to enterprise scale: first leading a research consulting team embedded with Microsoft, then expanding into the role of leading 11 designers globally across 4 product suites, building a unified design system and directing the experience design of agentic AI solutions.

What makes my perspective unique is the combination of a Master’s in Advertising and Communications with deep technical and design knowledge. That blend allows me to speak the language of every stakeholder in the room — from engineering and product to marketing and the C-suite — and translate between them to keep teams aligned and moving forward.

I’m looking for a role where I can set design strategy, build and mentor high-performing teams, and bridge the gap between design, engineering, product, and business. The company type matters less to me than the challenge — I want to work on products with global reach, where thoughtful design decisions are felt at scale — or projects that give back to our communities and the world in a meaningful way. If that resonates, I’d love to connect.

Experience

Senior Group Manager, UX/UI & Product Design
Concentrix Catalyst
Sep 2022 – Sep 2025 · Remote
Started leading a research consulting team embedded with Microsoft, then expanded to oversee a global product design team of 11 across 4 product suites — directing agentic AI solutions and a unified design system with ReactJS integration.
Founder & Principal Experience Designer
Stinger Studios
Apr 2019 – Sep 2022 · Mebane, NC
Founded a digital design agency delivering UX strategy, web development, and ad campaigns. Grew one client’s traffic 290% in six months and maintained 3:1 ROAS across all accounts.
Director of Design & Development
Booking.com
May 2017 – Apr 2019 · Amsterdam, NL
Led customer experience strategy across web, mobile, tablet, and native apps. Managed budgets, timelines, and a cross-functional team of designers, researchers, and developers.
Sr. Manager, Design & Development
Booking.com
Dec 2015 – May 2017 · Amsterdam, NL
Directed multifunctional teams to meet conversion goals. Scaled the design team 120% through strategic global recruiting.
UX Design Lead
Booking.com
Mar 2013 – Dec 2015 · Amsterdam, NL
Led persona development, usability testing, and design thinking workshops. Created a ‘Design for Frontend’ course for 200+ designers.
Earlier Roles
UX Design Lead at Duda (Palo Alto) · UX Designer at PayPal (Baltimore) · 2007–2013

Education

Master of Arts, Advertising
University of Texas
2010 – 2012 · Austin, TX
Master Certificate, Digital Multimedia & Web Design
The Johns Hopkins University
2006 – 2007 · Baltimore, MD
Bachelor of Science, Advertising
Appalachian State University
1999 – 2003 · Boone, NC

Working with Meredith.

Great design leadership lends space for discovery and learning. I clear the way for great things to happen in a fun, supportive, team-building environment — helping the people around me realize their potential through performance management, growth plans, and enthusiasm.

Meredith is a unique product and digital design leader. She brings empathy, optimism, deep expertise and a lot of grit to the role. At Concentrix she built high-functioning teams, distinguishing herself as a great leader and mentor for designers, developers and basically anyone who crossed her path. She tackles complexity with creativity, rigor and enthusiasm, keeping a high bar for quality and open mind.
Colin O'Neill
CX/DX Strategy & Design Leader
Colin managed Meredith at Concentrix
Meredith is an inspirational leader, a motivational whirlwind, who's knowledge and strength in conviction is rivalled only by her kindness. As a manager you couldn't ask for better, as a design leader you're unlikely to find someone with the same creative energy or passion. Meredith is highly technical when needed and can tell a story to translate complex problems into actionable solutions.
David Bullock
Product Design Lead at Pixaera
David reported to Meredith at Booking.com
Her leadership style is both strategic and supportive. She consistently made sure the team had the clarity, resources, and structure needed to deliver high-quality work. I especially appreciated how she created space for thoughtful discovery, encouraged cross-functional collaboration, and maintained a strong focus on client impact. Meredith brings a rare balance of operational excellence and people-first leadership.
Jesus Guillermo de León Pérez
UX Design and Research Lead
Meredith was senior to Jesus Guillermo at Concentrix
Working with Meredith always feels true and inspiring. She is cheerful and forward looking. When working with Concentrix we had the opportunity to build an impactful optimisation solution and showcase best in class delivery. Meredith was all the time essential to the team building that turned out easy and effective. I truly recommend Meredith as she is a great leader and communicator.
Jacek Ziemski
Senior Designer
Jacek reported to Meredith at Concentrix

Strategy, craft, and measurable outcomes.

Companies I've Worked With

Let's build something together.

I'm currently open to Director of Design, Director of Product Design, and Director of UX roles.

Or connect with me on LinkedIn.