Résumé updated:
Alessandro L. Piana Bianco
Madrid, Spain – Turin, Italy | email: a@pianabianco.com | LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apianabianco
Download Alessandro Piana Bianco's résumé as pdf.
Executive Summary
Strategic Design Director and VP-level leader with 20+ years of expertise in design strategy, digital transformation, and product innovation across global enterprises.
Proven track record leading multidisciplinary teams, leveraging human-centered design, Agile methodologies, and data-driven insights to create market-leading products and experiences. Fluent in English, French, Spanish, and Italian, with extensive leadership experience across EU and MENA markets.
Areas of Expertise
- Strategic Design Leadership
- Product Strategy & Direction
- Human-Centered Design (HCD)
- User Experience (UX) & Service Design
- Ethnographic Research & Customer Insights
- Agile Leadership & Design Sprints
- Digital Product Innovation
- Cross-functional & Remote Team Management
- Future Visioning & Scenario Planning
- Stakeholder Communication & Collaboration
- Business & Commercialization Strategy
- Information Architecture & UX Design
Professional Experience
Product & Strategic Design Director
Globant | Madrid, Spain & MENA | Sep 2022 – Present
- Lead strategic design and digital product innovation, overseeing ethnographic research, trend forecasting, and conceptual product development.
- Facilitate immersive design sessions using design thinking methodologies, aligning product strategies with client business models.
- Spearhead Agile and iterative processes, enhancing user experience and driving rapid product launches.
Strategic & Experience Design Director
Deloitte Digital, Milan, Italy | Feb 2017 – Sep 2022
- Directed end-to-end strategic and experience design initiatives, utilizing customer journeys, personas, ethnographic research, and market analytics.
- Led product design across diverse sectors, significantly enhancing user engagement and achieving measurable business outcomes.
- Actively contributed to business development and thought leadership, building innovative practices across emerging technologies and digital services.
Service Design Director
Fjord (Accenture), Milan, Italy | 2014 – 2016
- Headed design projects from concept to execution, implementing ethnographic research to create groundbreaking user-centered service models.
- Managed global teams and client relationships, fostering cross-sector innovation and operational efficiency improvements.
- Enhanced digital transformation through strategic and contextual design, leveraging emerging technologies.
Mobile UX Product Owner
Mr Green, Malta | 2013
- Directed mobile UX strategy, emphasizing rapid prototyping and iterative user testing.
- Integrated Agile product management approaches to continuously refine and optimize mobile product offerings.
Information Architect
Teachers TV (Ten Alps), London, UK | 2008 – 2010
- Developed strategic information architecture frameworks and taxonomy systems for content-intensive digital media platforms.
- Enhanced user experience by implementing innovative recommendation & retrieval logic and improving content discoverability.
Digital Lead
Dorna Sports, Barcelona, Spain | 2005 – 2008
- Managed digital product strategies and execution, significantly boosting audience engagement through interactive and rich-media experiences.
- Collaborated across business and technology teams to ensure digital products met both user needs and business objectives.
Certifications & Trainings
- Certified Agile Leadership (Scrum Alliance®)
- Certified Agile Product Owner (Scrum Alliance®)
- LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Facilitator
Education
- Media Studies, University of Turin, Italy
- Master in Game Design, IED (Milan)
Methodologies & Skills
- Agile (Scrum, Kanban)
- Field Research
- Data Driven Design
- Design Sprints & Lean UX
- Design Systems & Design Ops
- Design Thinking
Industries & Selected Clients
- Automotive: Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Ducati
- Betting: Sisal
- Fashion & Luxury, Retail: Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Bulgari, Brunello Cucinelli, Ferragamo, VF Corporation, Nike, Tissot, Swatch
- Financial Services: BBVA, Santander, ING, Intesa SanPaolo, Unicredit, Danske Bank, Eurobank, Banco Sabadell, Findomestic, Argos, Ersel, Fideuram, Generali, SACE, Atradius
- Healthcare: Pfizer, Janssen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Johnson & Johnson
- Media & Entertainment: Dorna Sports, Sky, Virgin Media, Liga Tech
- Telecom: Vodafone, Telecom Italia, Virgin Fibra
- Travel & Leisure: Alpitour, MSC Cruises, Costa Crociere, Diriyah Gate Development Authority, Seven, Qiddiya, Silversea
- Utilities, Power & Gas: Engie, RePower, Sorgenia, eOn, Eni, Wood Mackenzie
Design Studios & Agencies
- AKQA, (London)
- Brand Union, (London)
- Design Republic, (London)
- Fjord, (Madrid)
- Friday, (London)
- Huge, (London)
- Radical, (London)
Languages (fluent)
- English
- French
- Italian
- Spanish
Additional Expertise & Interests
- Strategic Design,
- Product Direction,
- Agile Leadership,
- Human-Centered Design,
- Design Thinking,
- Digital Innovation,
- Ethnographic Research,
- Agile Product Owner,
- UX Design,
- UI Design,
- Design Sprints,
- Customer Journey Mapping,
- Personas,
- Prototyping,
- Scenario Planning,
- Cross-cultural Leadership,
- Multicultural Communication,
- Information Architecture,
- Smart Cities,
- AI Ethics,
- Human-Centric Design,
- Agentic Experience (AX),
- AI-Driven Urban Innovation,
- Digital Identity,
- Privacy & Data Protection,
- Decentralized Identity Systems,
- Biometric Authentication,
- Consent Models,
- Data Governance,
- Ethical AI Development,
- Data Security Compliance,
- Future Scenarios,
- Trend Reframing,
- Strategic Facilitation,
- Innovation Workshops,
- Creative Problem Solving,
- Futures Thinking,
- Decision-Making Frameworks
Smart Cities Innovation
Strategic Integration of Technology in Urban Environments
Passionate advocate for human-centric smart city solutions, ensuring technology enhances urban efficiency while prioritizing livability and privacy. Committed to designing AI-driven urban ecosystems that prevent dystopian "tech hell" scenarios by fostering balance between innovation and ethical responsibility.
I've been advising and designing digital services for Smart Neighborhoods in Milan, Italy and Smart Cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)— Qiddiya City —integrating digital services with the physical space and infrastructures, through an omnichannel user-centered framework.
AI-Driven Innovation
Agentic Experience (AX)
Engaged in cutting-edge research on Agentic Experience (AX) to optimize AI-human interactions. Focused on creating intuitive, ethical, and efficient AI ecosystems, driving seamless cooperation between autonomous digital agents and human users.
Optimizing AI-Human Synergy
Dedicated to enhancing user experiences through AI, ensuring digital agents operate with empathy, adaptability, and ethical governance to strengthen trust and usability in intelligent systems.
Curently researching the Agentic Experience (AX) as a field focused on designing interactions between AI agents and between AI and human users. My interest is in the definition and design of systems where these interactions are intuitive, efficient, and ethically sound.
Digital Identity, Privacy & Data Governance
Secure Digital Identity Frameworks
Recognizing digital identity as the backbone of modern transactions, I specialize in designing decentralized identity systems, authentication frameworks, and secure data verification models that empower users while ensuring privacy.
Privacy, Data Protection & Ethical AI
Advocate for transparent data-sharing consent models aligned with global privacy regulations— GDPR, CDPA, PDPL. Deep expertise in data ethics, compliance frameworks, and privacy-first product design, ensuring secure and digital environments.
Thought Leadership in Data Governance
Keen understanding of regulatory landscapes, driving the implementation of privacy-by-design solutions that align with industry-leading security standards while fostering trust and compliance in digital ecosystems.
I've been advising Miral in Abu Dhabi in promoting biometrics adoption and fraud prevention frameworks, aligning them to amusement parks' visitors journey while complying to GDPR regulation. In KSA I have been designing a federated digital ID solution to integrate citizen, employes, and visitors interactions within Qiddiya City ecosystem.
Design Thinking, Future Scenarios & Trend Reframing
Expert Facilitation in Strategic Innovation
Recognized facilitator of immersive strategic sessions, leveraging Design Thinking, futures thinking, and trend reframing methodologies to drive innovation and decision-making. Specializing in enhancing team creativity, productivity, and strategic output through customized frameworks.
Leading High-Impact Workshops at Scale
With 250+ facilitated workshops, I bring extensive experience engaging diverse audiences—from C-level executives in intimate strategy sessions to 50+ stakeholders in large-scale innovation forums. Adept at navigating complexity, aligning cross-functional teams, and fostering actionable insights that shape future-ready solutions.
Team Building, Mentoring & Leadership Development
Driving High-Performance Multicultural Teams
Extensive experience leading multicultural, multilingual teams in globally distributed environments, ensuring strategic alignment, innovation, and operational excellence. Adept at mentoring and training high-potential talent, fostering a culture of collaboration, continuous learning, and leadership development. Proven ability to scale, manage, and inspire cross-functional teams, driving organizational transformation and sustainable growth through agile leadership and people-first management approaches.
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