Background

 

As a seasoned design manager with nearly 20 years of experience, I lead teams and individuals in crafting exceptional user experiences that blend user-centric concepts with organizational goals. By leveraging insights from machine learning and data analytics, I inform design strategies that drive engagement and business results.

Through customized coaching and educational support, I empower my team to excel in both design and data-driven methodologies, fostering a creative and innovative environment that elevates our product designs to new heights of user engagement.

Award Winning

 

2024 and 2023 - JD Power - Small Business Banking #1 Overall Satisfaction

As the team lead for digital servicing experience at Capital One, I'm proud we've achieved the #1 Overall Satisfaction rating, surpassing the industry standard. We're also top-ranked in key areas like digital channels that resolve customer issues.

 

2021 - JD Power - PPP Lending Best Customer Experience - Southeast Region

Design lead for Capital One’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) small business government lending initiative.

 

2017 - JD power - Best Mobile App - Banking

Design lead and part-time product manager for the newly designed Capital One onboarding experience (android and iOS).

Leadership Philosophies

 

My approach emphasizes visionary guidance aligned with organizational goals. I prioritize empowering team members, fostering cross-functional collaboration, and championing continuous learning. Committing to transparent communication and valuing feedback, I aim to lead with clarity, trust, and adaptability, ensuring cohesive growth within the organization.

 

Visionary Leadership

I believe in setting a clear and compelling direction for the team. By understanding the broader organizational goals, I aim to ensure that every team member understands not just the 'what' of their work, but also the 'why'. This collective purpose serves as our North Star, guiding our decisions and efforts.

Empowerment and Autonomy

The strength lies not in micromanaging, but in empowering individuals to take ownership of their roles. I strive to provide the tools, resources, and trust necessary for each member to excel, encouraging them to make decisions and drive initiatives.

Collaborative Growth

In our rapidly evolving landscape, collaboration is the key to innovative solutions. I prioritize creating an environment where cross-functional collaboration is the norm, ensuring that diverse perspectives contribute to our strategies and decisions.

 

Continuous Learning

I am an advocate for continuous professional and personal development. By promoting a culture of learning, I ensure that our team stays at the forefront of industry advancements, and every member feels challenged and fulfilled.

Transparent Communication

Openness builds trust. As a team lead, I commit to being transparent about our goals, challenges, and progress. By fostering open channels of communication, I aim to ensure that every voice is heard and every concern addressed.

Feedback and Adaptability

I value feedback as a tool for growth and encourage a two-way feedback loop. This not only aids in individual and team development but ensures that as a team lead, I remain adaptable and responsive to the ever-changing needs of the organization and its members.

Outside Work

 
Kids

Father

Father of two wonderful children (Florence and Franklin) and two rambunctious Westies (Benny and Walle).

Hiking

Outdoorsman

Camping, Hiking, Backpacking … it is nice to unplug from the busy world of technology and get lost in the wilderness.

Creator

I have gone from boardgame enthusiast to boardgame creator as I hope to publish my own game in the next 2-3 years.

 
 

(Capital One) NEXT for Business: Reimagining A Small Business Digital PLATFORM

Confronted with an experience designed with a consumer-centric focus, my team recognized a growing misalignment with the intricate needs of the Small Business sector. The platform’s static architecture and decade-old Information Architecture (IA) resulted in obscured, business-centric features and a less intuitive user experience. To address this, our approach encompassed a holistic rejuvenation, ensuring it resonated with Small Business dynamics. The aim was to not only refresh the current functionalities but to future-proof the platform, setting a standard for upcoming innovations tailored for Small Businesses.

(Capital One) Strategic Tools for Enhanced Operational Efficiency

In response to challenges in project clarity and budget limitations, several strategic tools were introduced. One tool emphasized the importance of increasing personnel, though external policies limited its realization. Another enhanced project planning accuracy, while a third added quantifiable data to decision-making. Lastly, a comprehensive database improved efficiency in asset management. Together, these initiatives bolstered operational efficiencies, highlighting the significance of strategic interventions amidst challenges.

 
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(Capital One) Bringing Value + Changing Behaviors

For 3 years Capital One Reward’s servicing platform was stagnant, while competitors like Chase were taking leaps and bounds forward with new tactics and new redemption options. Quite a big deal when 78% of consumer credit card customers choose their card card based on the products Rewards.

The challenge was to reframe rewards from a functional tool to an interaction that fosters a meaningful and valued connection with high-end customers. Marketing and internal data enlightened the team that though Capital One's branded cards offered a better dollar to dollar value over our competitors, Capital One customer's perception of the value towards their card was low.

(Capital One) Customer Upgrades + Attitudes

The project addressed the challenge of adapting to customers' significant life changes, such as new jobs, marriages, and family expansions, which can lead to them outgrowing their financial products. The goal was to enhance the customer experience by simplifying access to card upgrades and credit line increases, focusing on personalized and relevant financial solutions that align with evolving needs and lifestyles to prevent account cancellations and foster customer loyalty.

 
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(Capital One) Increasing Engagement + Satisfaction

Let’s pretend you’re a new customer—you’ve just been approved for the credit card of your dreams, but it’s accompanied by a daunting checklist: Who else do you want to make a cardholder? How do you feel about paperless billing?

How can strategic design influence you to complete these tasks without falling off?

(BeeYoo) Organic Growth + Monetization

BeeYoo was a celebrity-only platform for exclusive video sharing without the competition of amateur cat videos: a way for verified artists to stay in the spotlight, monetize referrals, and fight infringement of their own materials.

 
“Tommy is one of the most authentic, empathetic, and inspiring leaders I’ve had the chance to work under. He brings energy with him into every meeting and his passion is contagious. Whether it’s about board games, user experience, or how to run a governance process he can rally even the most tired team around a problem.

His direct feedback has helped me grow through my opportunities & own my strengths. On the flip side you won’t find anyone more compassionate or open to feedback than Tommy. Since he first became my manager he has grown incredibly and learned to balance meeting me where I am with pushing me out of my comfort zone when needed.

I will forever be grateful to him for his leadership - he would be an outstanding asset to any team. I’m excited to watch him continue to own his expertise as a leader and grow as his career evolves.”
— Kaitlyn Shinault - Senior UX Designer, Capital One
“Your customer centricity is unmatched and I admire your consistent push to our teams to keep our users at the center of everything. I have enjoyed your thought partnership and collaboration. You consistently push the team to think broadly about both both the ecosystem and the evolving market landscape. This was displayed as you advocated for core customer capabilities such as mobile parity, onboarding and customer support experiences during our planning meetings. You are unafraid to challenge the status quo and push our team forward at all levels of the organization.

”
— Alyssa Hernandez - Product Director, Capital One Small Business Bank
 
“Tommy is one of the most passionate and talented experience and interface designers I’ve had the pleasure of working with. He is an excellent leader that is not afraid to take on challenging projects and always delivers a great product. Beyond experience design, Tommy has a knack for UI/UX testing, which is crucial when validating and justifying experience choices.”
— John Jones - Senior UX Designer, EA Games
“I can’t say enough great things about working with Tommy. Tommy was instrumental in pairing with my product managers to design, test, and refine a large number of user-facing experiences that we shipped at scale to millions of Rewards customers. From the initial conceptualization of a user experience, all the way through working with our front end Devs to make sure his vision is realized in production, Tommy worked hard, was detail-oriented, receptive to feedback, and just a fantastic team player.”
— Geoff Dudgeon - Product Director, Capital One Rewards

 

 

Richmond, VA
tommy.rayburn@gmail.com
804.205.2313