Smiling person with curly hair wearing a black leather jacket sitting outdoors with city buildings in the background.

Good design is good business—and great teams make it happen.

Lakshmi Kumar, Director of Product Design at Docusign

1 oz business savvy, 2 oz building great teams—served cold in a tall glass

With 18 years of industry experience, I thrive on bold challenges, whether it’s scaling what works or creating something totally new. I combine business acumen with a deep commitment to building high-performing teams, creating the environments for people, processes, and products to thrive.

I work at Docusign where I lead a design team that oversees all creation experiences across the company- impacting billions of dollars in revenue. No matter the scale or ambiguity, I lead with clarity, care, and a belief that great design is great business.

How I can help

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    Strategy

    Strategy that actually ships

    I partner closely to shape roadmaps rooted in user needs and aligned with business goals: From zero-to-one bets to platform unification.

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    Culture & Teams

    Culture is the product too

    High performing teams thrive with great culture. I foster spaces where people feel trusted, supported, and excited to do their best work

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    Storytelling

    If no one gets it, it doesn’t matter.

    Whether it’s gaining buy-in for a new vision or unblocking cross-functional ambiguity, I lead through clear storytelling.

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    Nurturing Leaders

    Grow the people, and the product follows.

    I nurture leaders with tailored, empowering feedback. I also foster forums for managers to connect and learn from senior leaders.

Principles

I believe great design leadership is about creating the conditions for clarity, creativity, and connection to thrive. I work at the intersection of people, product, process and purpose—balancing bold vision with practical execution.

  • I build bridges across teams, aligning design, product, engineering, research and content around shared goals. Whether facilitating tough conversations or navigating complex stakeholder needs, I focus on clarity, trust, and mutual respect to drive meaningful progress.

  • Every decision starts with the user, but I don’t stop there, I connect insights to impact. I advocate for customer needs while balancing feasibility and business goals, ensuring our solutions are both empathetic and effective.

  • I create space for my team to think, lead, and grow. By listening with intention and asking the right questions, I help others unlock their potential and develop the confidence to step into greater ownership and leadership.

  • I care deeply about the details, because details shape experiences. I champion design excellence through thoughtful critique, research-driven decisions, and a commitment to building products that are usable, scalable, and delightful.