About

I create experiences that help people grow—leading teams, partnering with executives on strategy, and staying hands-on through prototyping and shipping. Across digital products, AI-powered tools, and organizational capabilities, my approach is consistent: deliver measurable value and real change.

Capabilities

  • Turn ambiguity into clear product direction
  • Connect user needs, business goals, and technical constraints
  • Design systems that scale
  • Drive outcomes through execution and leadership

I thrive when I am:

  • Navigating uncertainty and uncovering insights.
  • Hands-on designing digital products and services from scratch—refining craft across research, design, and delivery.
  • Leading and mentoring design teams, and collaborating across disciplines.
  • Embedding agile and design ops so teams can ship at scale.
  • Integrating sustainability and cultural perspectives into design solutions.

Skills map

Skill Dimensions

This shows how I apply my skills to drive outcomes across complex projects.

Ratings combine self-assessment and external validation from colleagues.

Radar Chart Key

  • Gray fill — Self-assessment (1–7)
  • Teal outline — Validation from LinkedIn recommendations, mapped to the same scale

Each dimension reflects how skills come together across strategy, execution, and cross-functional leadership.

Explore the cards below for supporting examples and outcomes.

Verify recommendations on LinkedIn

Self-reported strengths and LinkedIn corroboration as two radar shapes Filled shape: self-rated 1 to 7 per spoke. Teal outline: corroboration strength from LinkedIn recommendations on the same scale. Craft Research AI Lead Facilitate Org Comm Biz
Radial chart: self-rating fill and LinkedIn corroboration outline.
Facilitation & collaboration 7/7

LinkedIn Julie Rozof — workshops for 2,000+; Avelia Stewart — strategic vision with hands-on execution.

In practice I balance leading and collaborating—facilitation, coaching, and consulting are how I work with others strategically: when to set direction, when to co-create, and how to keep alignment and momentum without relying on title alone.

Workshop FacilitationEnablementCoachingCross-functional collaborationStakeholder alignment
Craft & systems 7/7

LinkedIn Stefanie Lau, Avelia Stewart — product build, prototype, brand, cohesive experience.

In practice I go from systems and prototypes to shipping—including full-stack web applications—with AI-assisted development tools when they help me bring new product ideas to life faster, without cutting corners on quality.

Design SystemsFull-stack web developmentProduct DesignPrototyping
Research & strategy 6/7

LinkedIn Julie Rozof — JTBD research; Shana Dressler — “Who does this serve? What system does it change?”

User ResearchJobs-to-be-done researchSynthesis
AI & emerging tech 7/7

LinkedIn Stefanie Lau, Avelia Stewart — AI-enabled product, working prototype, technical delivery.

AI / LLM UXAI-assisted developmentAI integrationEmerging Technology
Leadership & mentoring 6/7

LinkedIn Shana Dressler, Julie Rozof, Minh Chau — transformation context, capability at scale, team excellence.

Team LeadershipMentoringCoaching
Organizational transformation 6/7

LinkedIn Julie Rozof — WOW program; Shana Dressler — enterprise digital transformation.

Organizational TransformationDigital TransformationLearning Design
Communication & storytelling 6/7

LinkedIn Stefanie Lau — listen and translate; Shana Dressler — clarity of framing.

Storytelling & narrativeStakeholder alignmentExecutive partnership
Business & impact fluency 5/7

LinkedIn Avelia Stewart — product impact; Julie Rozof — adoption, satisfaction, onboarding outcomes.

Customer ExperienceFinancial PerformanceGo-to-market design strategy

Skill Inventory

This is the full set of capabilities I bring to product, design, and organizational work.

The dimension cards highlight where this is most evident.

Methods, tools, domains — portfolio-wide.

How I lead, consult, and collaborate. These complement the hard skills shown throughout this site and in recommendations from colleagues.

Testimonials

These recommendations reflect how I work across teams and organizations.

They speak to:

  • Strategic clarity
  • Navigating complexity
  • Execution and craft
  • Cross-functional alignment

Additional recommendations are available on LinkedIn.

Stefanie Lau

Incubating new ideas · ex-early Google, ex-NY Times

Client · March 21, 2026

“Azul is a force. She’s got the client management, strategic, visual, technical, and adaptive skills to work with any team to turn big ideas into reality.” She transformed an early-stage idea into a fully articulated product—brand and positioning, clarified opportunity, and a fully functional AI-enabled prototype—including initial tech infrastructure for customer testing. “I have worked with award winning designers and I was truly flabbergasted at her pace, focus, ability to listen and translate our ideas, and her technical product development skills.”

Design Strategy Branding Product Design AI integration Prototyping Emerging Technology Go-to-market design strategy Customer Experience

Founder engagement; complements creative-tech / venture-style work.

Avelia Stewart, MA, CPHR, SHRM-SCP

Founder & Executive Director · Global people, culture & equity leader

Client — Launch Catalyst · March 21, 2026

“Azul led the end-to-end design engagement for Launch Catalyst's Skills Passport product, and the impact was immediate and lasting. In just a few weeks, she took us from an early-stage concept to a clear, structured, and testable solution ready for the next phase of development.” Strategic vision with hands-on execution: brand, product vision, and a working prototype, with AI-enabled functionality translated into a cohesive product experience.

Design Strategy Learning Design Branding Product Design AI integration Prototyping Customer Experience

Skills Passport / Launch Catalyst; ties to learning-product narratives in the portfolio.

Shana Dressler, PCC

Executive Coach · Former Executive Director, 30 Weeks (Google design incubator)

Mentor · March 15, 2026

As former Executive Director of 30 Weeks, she writes that Azul “jumped in without hesitation” and learned quickly how to turn an ambitious vision into a viable company—then launched Wonderpath Studio. After McKinsey reconnection: “What distinguishes Azul from other design leaders I’ve encountered is how she frames problems before solving them. She asks: Who does this serve? What system does it change? Will it last?”

Team Leadership Learning Design Creative Technology Organizational Transformation Design Strategy Enterprise Applications Design Thinking

30 Weeks, Wonderpath, McKinsey internal transformation context.

Julie Rozof

Director II, Global Tech Ecosystem Strategic Planning & Transformation

Manager — McKinsey WOW · February 8, 2026

On McKinsey’s Technology & Digital “Way of Working” transformation: Azul “co-created and delivered user-centered curriculum and workshops that trained 2,000+ colleagues across four continents—driving 90% adoption and 95% satisfaction in new ways of working.” She also led jobs-to-be-done research informing strategy, redesigned engineering onboarding from ~90 days to ~30 days through behavior design, and codified tools and frameworks for the center of excellence.

Organizational Transformation Learning Design User Research Jobs-to-be-done research Workshop Facilitation Behavior Design Center of Excellence Curriculum Design Enablement Organizational Design

Corroborates enterprise learning and transformation themes with specific program metrics.

Minh Chau

Associate Partner, Director of Product Management

Colleague — McKinsey · January 30, 2026

“She is consistently reliable, delivering quality work while remaining open to diverse perspectives and to tackling new and challenging projects. Azul brings a positive energy to the team and a commitment to excellence in everything she does.”

Team Leadership Customer Experience Enterprise Applications

Cross-team collaboration at McKinsey.

Open LinkedIn recommendations to verify quotes in context. LinkedIn does not provide stable deep links to individual recommendations, so this tab is the trustworthy source.

Ongoing Focus

I continuously refine how I create impact.

My current focus is opportunity identification and product direction—connecting AI, user needs, and business context to define high-leverage opportunities.

I'm most effective where I can:

  • Work across strategy and execution
  • Shape direction with product, engineering, and leadership
  • Build 0→1 and scaling products
  • Contribute to high-clarity, impact-driven teams

I work across consulting, contract, and full-time roles. Craft is the foundation. Business outcomes, systems thinking, and AI fluency are how I work. Design isn't going away; it's moving closer to the core of the business, where I've been building all along.

Azul Ceballos

Outside of work, my practice lives at the intersection of design, art, and sustainability. Workshops in regenerative materials opened new ways of thinking about systems and value — ideas I carry directly into product and service design.

Email

azul.ceballos@gmail.com