Michal Hempel

Experience

1. May 2021 – Dec 2025

   Design Practice Lead

   Serko / Booking.com for Business

   Lead a team of thirteen Product Designers and Researchers developing Booking.com for Business and Serko’s own business travel and expense products. Highlights include:

   • Established a Design Community of Practice and Center of Excellence improving company wide quality and consistency of design outputs
   • Managed multiple delivery modes across a number of work streams
   • Led a strategic initiative to transition to data and research led growth design practice
   • Charted a strategic direction for the improved, multi-brand design system
   • Established and managed a design internship programme
   • Delivered major improvements to the product (flights, personalisation, budgets)
   • Championed use of AI in the design practice
   • Refined and optimised design ways of working
   • Solidified design and research toolkit
   • Led accessibility initiative to ensure compliance with EU Accessibility Act

2. Aug 2018 – May 2021

   Head of Strategy and Design

   Provoke

   Managed ten-strong design and solution architecture practice and led work programmes for Provoke’s customers. Provided strategic direction for digital transformation projects. Created AI & Data Science practice. Managed resource allocation across projects.

3. Dec 2013 – Sep 2017

   UX Lead

   Alphero

   Led UX and visual design across major programmes of work for web and mobile products. Led cross-functional teams across various organisations and businesses to deliver complex digital transformation projects. Mentored senior and junior staff and grew team culture. Strategy and innovation work included:

   • MyMSD (Ministry of Social Development) - lead UX design for MSD’s self-service channel.
   • VTNZ, Statistics NZ, Transpower, - lead UX design for multiple workforce oriented apps: National Driver Testing, NZ Census collection and national power-grid management.
   • NZ Parliament - online and mobile strategy

4. 2006 – 2013

   UX/Design Lead

   Fronde

   Leading design role on multiple nationwide projects. Established usability practice at Fronde and championed UX in all aspects of software development. Closely worked with multiple stakeholders to translate business requirements into wireframes and interactive prototypes

5. 2004 – 2006

   Service Delivery Manager

   Telecom

   Championed design and technology innovation in the Mobile Division leading directly to significant increase in digital sales and user engagement. Contributed usability recommendations, prototypes and site maps to business-critical projects including video streaming and app store. Managed relationships with suppliers and business partners.

6. 2000 – 2004

   Head of Design

   Kazaa

   Built and managed Kazaa’s web team. Oversight, line management and mentorship of other developers/designers. Established strategic direction for online presence and e-commerce initiatives. Art direction for all aspects of Kazaa online and offline presence, from marketing materials and application design to website design.

7. 1998 – 2000

   Design Lead

   e-division, Macquarie Bank

   Lead design role for a VC incubator run by Macquarie Bank, responsible for user experience and graphic design on a number of startups.

8. 1996 – 1998

   Designer

   St. George Bank

   Responsible for creating designs for Bank online properties, user experience design and front-end coding. Highlights include creation of the first online banking application in Australia and work on Bank’s AOL presence.

9. 1994 – 1996

   Web Designer

   Weblink Internet Publishers

   All around design and coding role for one of the first online design/coding companies in Sydney. Highlights included working on a couple of online firsts (in Australia) - a major bookshop franchise (Dymocks) and live stock market prices service.

10. 1992 – 1996

    Broadcaster/Journalist lvl 1

    SBS

    Presentation and preparation of on-air shows, story generation, story writing, interviewing.