Facilitator and Coach, Design Thinking Specialist
Aaron has 25+ years of corporate experience, working for industry leaders like ExxonMobil, Mercedes Benz and Shimano, specialising in marketing, strategy, strategic business development and design thinking.
He spent 5 years as a design strategist at ExxonMobil, providing design consultancy,training and workshop facilitation to senior leaders and their teams across multiple business units, cultures and geographies. Aaron coached and trained teams to apply design thinking to complex problems ranging from marketing strategy, customer engagement, service innovation, I&D and corporate culture. His accomplishments led to ExxonMobil’s Design Counsel designating him as Design Thinking Level 4, the highest level, in recognition of his expertise, knowledge, proficiency and competency. In his last role as an Agile Talent Development Manager, he provided career development coaching to his 15 direct reports and leadership coaching to his peers in the leadership team.
He stepped away from the corporate world in Sept 2023. Aaron is a business owner, trainer, coach & facilitator, and works part-time as the Partnership Manager and certified trainer for DYLi, a non-profit associated with Stanford University’s Life Design Lab, founded by Stanford professor and New York Times bestselling author Bill Burnett, and Mark Wee, former executive director of Design Singapore. He is also a health and fitness trainer and a CrossFit Level 2 trainer with over 20 years of experience in group training,
helping people live healthier lives.
He is passionate about teaching and wants to help people build their creative confidence and create transformational learning experiences. He regularly volunteers as a design thinking coach for IDEOU, an online platform developed by the renowned design and innovation firm IDEO that offers courses and resources focused on design thinking, innovation, and creative problem-solving.
Professional & Academic Qualifications:
- Certified Solutions Focus Coach, University of Toronto & Canadian Council of Professional Certification
- Certified Core Strengths Facilitator
- MBA, University of Leicester, UK
- Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Hons), University of Bath, UK
Core Competencies and areas of Domain Knowledge:
- Creativity and Innovation – Design Thinking for Innovation, Strategy and Business, Creative Leadership, Human-Centred Systems Thinking
- Personal effectiveness – Storytelling for Influence, Life Design, Career Design
- Leadership – Psychological Safety, High Performing Teams, Conflict Management, Relationship Management, Collaboration, Culture
Facilitator and Coach, Design Thinking Specialist
Aaron has 25+ years of corporate experience, working for industry leaders like ExxonMobil, Mercedes Benz and Shimano, specialising in marketing, strategy, strategic business development and design thinking.
He spent 5 years as a design strategist at ExxonMobil, providing design consultancy,training and workshop facilitation to senior leaders and their teams across multiple business units, cultures and geographies. Aaron coached and trained teams to apply design thinking to complex problems ranging from marketing strategy, customer engagement, service innovation, I&D and corporate culture. His accomplishments led to ExxonMobil’s Design Counsel designating him as Design Thinking Level 4, the highest level, in recognition of his expertise, knowledge, proficiency and competency. In his last role as an Agile Talent Development Manager, he provided career development coaching to his 15 direct reports and leadership coaching to his peers in the leadership team.
He stepped away from the corporate world in Sept 2023. Aaron is a business owner, trainer, coach & facilitator, and works part-time as the Partnership Manager and certified trainer for DYLi, a non-profit associated with Stanford University’s Life Design Lab, founded by Stanford professor and New York Times bestselling author Bill Burnett, and Mark Wee, former executive director of Design Singapore. He is also a health and fitness trainer and a CrossFit Level 2 trainer with over 20 years of experience in group training,
helping people live healthier lives.
He is passionate about teaching and wants to help people build their creative confidence and create transformational learning experiences. He regularly volunteers as a design thinking coach for IDEOU, an online platform developed by the renowned design and innovation firm IDEO that offers courses and resources focused on design thinking, innovation, and creative problem-solving.
Professional & Academic Qualifications:
- Certified Solutions Focus Coach, University of Toronto & Canadian Council of Professional Certification
- Certified Core Strengths Facilitator
- MBA, University of Leicester, UK
- Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Hons), University of Bath, UK
Core Competencies and areas of Domain Knowledge:
- Creativity and Innovation – Design Thinking for Innovation, Strategy and Business, Creative Leadership, Human-Centred Systems Thinking
- Personal effectiveness – Storytelling for Influence, Life Design, Career Design
- Leadership – Psychological Safety, High Performing Teams, Conflict Management, Relationship Management, Collaboration, Culture
