Leading Your Team Through the AI Transformation
BEFORE YOU APPLY, PLEASE NOTE:
This session is for experienced research managers ready to look beyond tool adoption toward discipline reinvention in an AI-native world. We’ll unpack 2025’s pivotal lessons and sketch what 2026 might bring for research, innovation, and leadership.
Whether you're looking to refine your leadership practice or stay ahead in a rapidly evolving landscape, this session offers both perspective and actionable takeaways.
This Research Leaders Forum brings together senior UX research leaders from Microsoft, Google, and Siemens to reflect on what we’ve learned, where we’re heading, and how to lead with both courage and clarity through continuous disruption.
Panelists:
Jess Holbrook - Head of UX Research, Microsoft AI (ex-Google, Meta)
Katharine Norwood - Research Lead, Google (ex-Visa)
Harsha Vemulapalli - Dir. of Experience Design & Research, Siemens (ex-Amazon, Bosch)
Moderator: Daniela Busse (ex-Meta, Microsoft, Citi Ventures, Samsung); Facilitator: Jocelyn Landau - WhatsApp (ex-Netflix, Google, Yelp)
Topics we’ll explore:
How AI is transforming UXR practices, tools, and talent models
The shift from “problem solving” to “innovation leadership”
Designing for multi-actor systems, where humans, agents, and algorithms all play roles
Rethinking evaluation, impact, and value of UXR informing GenAI-driven products
The changing job landscape and what the next generation of researchers might look like
Building trust, safety, and responsibility into AI-enabled experiences
If your schedule allows, join us after the presentation for optional breakout discussions with panelists and peers.
Main session: 10–11 a.m. PT; optional breakout discussions: 11-11:30 a.m. PT.
Participants:
The Research Leaders' Forum is designed for those who manage and lead teams (or have recently done so but have been affected by layoffs). Experience growing and building UX research teams is required!
Registrations will be approved based on:
Current or recent experience managing and leading a UX team
Based in the U.S.
The Research Leaders Forum is led by Janice Rohn and Jocelyn Landau, and sponsored by the UX Researchers' Guild.