Daigen (大元) is my Japanese name and means:
Great Beginnings
Shouldn’t all experiences be the start of something great?
Hello, I’m Ben Kim
I help companies navigate their design transformations through proven strategies while building teams that are up to the challenge.
As a VP of Product Design with 25 years of experience, I drive product strategy and design excellence across the entire product lifecycle. I've successfully scaled design organizations from startup environments to Fortune 500 enterprises, building cross-functional partnerships that translate business objectives into breakthrough user experiences.
Companies I’ve recently worked with
My expertise spans strategic product vision, design system architecture, and team leadership, with a proven track record of delivering B2B and B2C SaaS products that achieve both user satisfaction and revenue growth. I leverage advanced methodologies including Design Thinking, Lean UX, and comprehensive user research to inform product decisions and validate market opportunities.
As an organizational leader, I've established design operations frameworks that mature best-in-class design practices across diverse industries, while fostering cultures of innovation and user advocacy to deliver on our design vision. Drawing from my experience in UX education, as a player-coach leader, I develop scalable design processes and mentor teams to deliver autonomous, data-driven solutions that balance user needs with business impact.
I excel at building strategic alignment between design, product, and engineering leadership, ensuring seamless execution of complex product initiatives that drive measurable market success and competitive differentiation.