Our Awards Jury Knows Great UX Design

Cagri draws on more than ten years of experience in cultivating design excellence for products in various sectors, with a particular focus on the fintech industry. Her work is characterized by a strong commitment to leveraging the inherent value of design in products and driving the level of maturity in design.

Sandra Brügmann brings extensive expertise in user-centered innovation and digital product development. As part of Intuity’s leadership team, she heads the Hamburg office and shapes impactful DX portfolios for international clients.

With a strong foundation in human factors, strategic leadership, and cross-functional collaboration, she drives forward-thinking design systems that enable meaningful digital transformation.

By working closely with R&D teams, Sandra explores AI-driven solutions that redefine human-machine interaction, helping organizations anticipate market shifts and create compelling user experiences.

With a forward-thinking mindset and a commitment to sustainable growth, she consistently delivers high-caliber digital products that resonate on a global scale.

Since 2021, Dominique Burkard has played a leading role at EAO AG, focusing on industrial and UX design within the realm of product innovation and development. His expertise lies in harmonizing usability, aesthetics, and ergonomics with market demands and customer needs during the initial stages of product definition and conceptualization.

With a 25-year career in development and industrial design, Dominique has contributed to renowned companies including Emerson, Viega, Sika, DePuy Synthes, Schaffner EMV, and Hilti. His accomplishments are highlighted by several patents and design awards.

Trudy is a UX/UI design professional with expertise in digital product design and a background in industrial design. Her experience spans AI, finance, smart home technologies, consumer electronics, and appliances. Dedicated to shaping intuitive experiences that connect technology with everyday life, she currently focuses on UX/UI strategy in finance, driving design excellence across multiple markets and experiences.

She has led innovative projects in AI-driven home technologies, earning several international awards in user experience design. She also contributed to award-winning industrial design projects early in her career and holds a Master of Engineering in Product Design from the University of Nottingham.

Melanie Dreser is a strategic design leader passionate about human-centric, data-driven product experiences. As Senior Director of Product Design at Celonis, she leads the global product design function, shaping enterprise solutions that turn complex data into actionable insights.

Her expertise lies in scaling design teams, embedding UX at the core of product strategy, and driving measurable business impact through design. With a strong background in DesignOps, UX strategy, and experience leadership, Melanie builds high-performing teams that bridge the gap between business, technology, and user needs.

She is a recognized thought leader in the industry, committed to elevating design maturity in organizations and crafting intuitive, high-impact digital experiences.

Tae Young Kang is a Director of Customer Experience and a Product Lead at Deutsche Telekom with roundabout 20 years of experience in UX and service design. Currently, he focuses on streamlining and digitizing Deutsche Telekom's customer-centric innovation process, leading a team to implement a corporate-wide collaboration platform that accelerates idea collection, target customer validation, and data-driven concept prioritization.

Previously, he worked at Samsung Electronics for over 15 years, where he cultivated extensive hands-on experience in the end-to-end product innovation process – leading diverse projects from new product development to production model enhancement and shipping to global audiences, including the Galaxy Smartphone series.

Tae Young studied Service Design (M.A.) at the Royal College of Art in London and Visual Communication Design (B.A.) at HongiK University in Seoul.

Martin Krauss is a design leader with over 15 years of experience in product design for digital consumer and B2B products. At SAP, he led design for strategic projects in areas such as cloud infrastructure, healthcare, the public sector, and ERP vision projects. Notably, he played a key role in the design of the German Corona Warn App, widely adopted in Germany and considered a major success in digital public health.

Earlier in his career, Martin shaped the core user experience at XING, one of Europe’s leading professional networks. His portfolio spans enterprise software and civic tech, with a focus on transforming complexity into clear, user-centric solutions. Martin is passionate about design strategy and delivering impactful user experiences at scale.

Lukas is passionate about crafting digital experiences that merge design, technology, and storytelling. His work focuses on scalable digital and corporate design systems, seamlessly bridging design and development to create tailored web and app solutions. He thrives on exploring emerging technologies to shape engaging, immersive narratives.

With over a decade of experience in corporate branding, digital design, and media, Lukas has shaped visual identities and design systems across industries ranging from finance and insurance to IT, healthcare, and consumer brands. His expertise spans from crafting large-scale campaigns to designing web-based visual and auditory experiences that seamlessly connect aesthetics with business impact.

Trained as a digital and print media designer, Lukas continuously expands his expertise in immersive media, web technologies, and advanced design systems. As a certified trainer and voluntary examiner for the IHK, he contributes to shaping the next generation of design professionals.

Sogra Nishath is a Design Leader with over 20 years of experience in strategy, research, design, and product management. Currently a CX Product Strategist at HP Inc., she simplifies the Purchase CX Journey of HP Printers.

Sogra holds a Master of Science in Human Factors Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Medical Electronics Engineering. She has led global teams of multi-disciplined designers and took a multi-year rotation as Director of Software Platform Product Management at HP Inc., responsible for the HP Print Application Software Platform Strategy, supporting global Business Units with over 42 million monthly active users.

Her work has earned her several recognitions and industry awards. She also serves as the Community and Mentorship Pillar Lead in HP's Women’s Business Resource Group, volunteering as a coach and mentor.

Atike is a seasoned UX professional with nearly two decades of experience crafting human-centered experiences across telecommunications, e-commerce, automotive, and healthcare. For the past 12 years, she has brought her expertise to Philips, taking on roles as a UX designer and design director.

With a deep passion for improving lives, Atike has worked for innovation projects in the medical field, focusing on patient engagement, neuroinformatics, sleep and respiratory health, remote patient monitoring, and digital diagnostics. Her curiosity about human behavior drives her design approach, and she enjoys sharing her expertise with the community.

In her current role as lead designer at Philips Experience Design, she is committed to fostering a strong design review culture, empowering teams to create high-quality, inclusive and safe healthcare solutions.

Atike holds an MSc in Digital Media from Bremen University, Germany, and an Engineering Doctorate (EngD) in User System Interaction from Eindhoven University, Netherlands.

Dr. Anna Raveling has played a key role in shaping user experience, design pre-development, design research and strategy at BSH Home Appliances Group. Her path from industrial design via product marketing and innovation management to a leadership role as Product Owner User Experience underlines her expertise in the implementation of horizontal user-centered processes.

She currently leads project teams with a focus on developing and implementing user-centered product and design development processes on a global scale. In addition to supporting the development of UI and industrial design projects from a UX perspective, she leads design research projects and strives to make user experience known and applicable across the organization.

Dr. Raveling's contributions extend beyond the corporate realm into the academic world, where she shares her insights on sustainability, design methodologies and UX research. With a PhD from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), she has been teaching at various design schools since 2005 to date.

Aditi Sharma is an award-winning design executive focused on driving innovation at the intersection of human excellence, business profitability, and technical possibilities.

She has received the 'Dr. Sarojini Naidu Award' from the Govt. of India, '40 under 40' award from Business Elite, 'Woman Who Builds' award by Globant, and was named an inspirational woman in STEM by Authority Magazine.

As a lecturer at Pratt, she curated one of the top ten UX programs in the US. Aditi is a published author and is regularly invited to deliver keynotes and podcasts, including Leading Design, Brave UX, CampaignLive, Business Insider, AI & Data Analytics Network, and SXSW.

Currently, as the Head of Design & Research at AWS, she manages the global design practice for 30+ Fintech products that lead to faster and higher quality business decision-making. Previously, she set up and led design practices at J.P. Morgan & Chase and Accenture Interactive.

Hendrik is a creative professional and manager who passionately creates visionary products and services. As a cross-disciplinary design director with a deep understanding of users, business, and technology, he helps companies create strategies and translate them into experiences.

Marko Thorhauer is Executive Creative Director at IBM iX, the Digital Experience Agency of IBM. He leads the IBM iX design practice across the DACH region and is a member of IBM Global Design Leadership.

With his team, he consults clients and builds digital experiences, products, services, design systems, and communications – helping brands and organizations to excel in digital – lately especially in the area of design for AI.

His expertise lies in leading successful design teams, with human-centered ways of working and sustainable DesignOps, leading to excellent outcomes.

Prior to IBM iX, he worked as a creative director, startup co-founder and marketing expert. His work has been recognized in diverse awards and exhibitions. Marko taught digital design and is a frequent speaker at conferences.

Gennett is head of brand experience globally at Siemens. She is passionate about helping brands to “do different” to make a difference and shape a positive future today. In her career, she has worked with various brands in the automotive, travel, banking, healthcare, energy, and home appliances sector.

Gennett holds a Diploma and MA in Communication Design and an MBA in Business Administration. She is a lover of creativity, humor, and excellence. And so far, she has lived on three continents: Londoner at heart, Berliner by default, and Beijing-inspired.

Melanie is Lead Strategist at Manyone Cologne, bringing a seasoned background in design and a proven track record in strategic innovation and customer experience design. With extensive experience in both industrial and digital agencies, as well as corporate environment, her expertise spans both physical product and digital design strategy.

Her approach is characterized by a deep understanding of all relevant perspectives, including users, stakeholders, market trends, brand values, business strategy, and backend processes. This comprehensive insight allows her to translate complex information into clear, actionable strategies, compelling value propositions, and tangible experiences that drive impactful results.

Throughout her career, Melanie has successfully led long-term client relationships and project teams for a diverse array of European and Asian clients across industries such as consumer goods, healthcare, telecommunications, aviation, and logistics.

Melanie holds an MFA in Advanced Product Design from Umeå Institute of Design and a Dipl.-Ing. in Industrial Design from FH JOANNEUM Graz.

Daniel Löhlein is a Senior UX & UI Designer at Experience One AG with over 20 years of experience in UX strategy, UI design, and research. He has led major projects for Mercedes Benz, Bosch, and ZDF, excelling in eCommerce and automotive platforms.

As a co-founder of a Digital Asset Management platform, he has worked with clients like Coca Cola. Daniel is certified as a "Certified Professional for Usability and User Requirements Engineering.”

Yedan leads the design and technology team at frog Munich studio where she drives digital innovation and product design and delivery across industries. She is known for her in-depth knowledge and experience in creating user-centered, business-impactful products powered by AI (GenAI, NLP, Knowledge Graph, ML).

Before joining frog, Yedan was Creative Director at BMW Designworks, where she led future vision of intelligent in-car experiences, from OS to UXUI, AI Assistants, Multi-modality experience for BMW, as well as app design for Rolls-Royce. She also worked at various prestigious R&D institutes incl. MIT Media Lab, Samsung Research America, and Baidu Institute of Deep Learning, focusing on product innovation with AI, computer vision and VR/AR.

She is an active speaker and a passionate university guest lecturer on AI, Behavioral Design and Experience Prototyping.

Yedan holds a Master’s degree in Interaction Design from Umeå Insitute of Design, Sweden, and a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design from Zhejiang University, China.

Claudia is Design Business Manager at PHOENIX, based in Stuttgart. In this role, she builds client relationships and leads design teams to create impactful customer experiences and services that not only meet people’s needs but also elevate brand identity.

With a passion for a holistic approach to interaction and industrial design, Claudia has worked for a diverse range of industries, including automotive, aviation, healthcare, energy, home appliances, and consumer electronics.

From shaping visionary concepts to supporting their successful implementation, she attaches great importance to making ideas tangible. She is driven by the excitement of seeing great design come to life and resonate in the market.

Claudia holds an Industrial Design Diploma with a focus on interaction design from the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences.

Bernd Wiesenauer serves as the Director of User Experience Enabling at Bosch, driving the company's transformation into a human-centered organization. He is responsible for the UX Maturity Model and Assessment, UX Networking, the UX Convention, and UX Knowledge Transfer, as well as overseeing the Bosch UX Academy and its curricula.

Prior to Bosch, he was Head of Design at User Interface Design GmbH for over six years, where he integrated user-centered design for clients like Jura and Vorwerk.

Bernd studied product and environmental design at the University of Applied Sciences in Potsdam and has held various roles, including designing ergonomic driver information systems for automotive giants such as Daimler and Porsche, and developing furniture for brands like Thonet and Cor.

Grace's extensive career in design leadership spans various industries, including tech, retail, and finance. She has worked with prominent companies such as Pinterest, Meta, Amazon, and BlackRock.

Notably, her most recent and exciting experience was at TikTok, where she took on the role of Head of Design for the US market. During her time there, she established a fully functional product design, research, and content design team, resulting in a significant business impact globally.

Sofia Ryan is VP of Products at Frontify, a digital brand management platform. She holds a master’s degree in product design and a PhD in user research and co-design. Her drive to connect design leadership skills with business strategy development led her to also take an executive MBA.

Sofia has worked as an academic researcher, design practitioner, chief product officer, and design leader. She has built global design teams and UX strategies in both larger enterprises and startups. She uses this broad experience not only to improve UX maturity in companies, but also to evolve design as a discipline to ensure that design gets a seat at the table.

As Strategic Design Director at Manyone, Matthias works at the intersection of strategy, design and technology. He advocates for human-centered innovation that effectively addresses practical and emotional needs in people's daily lives. To transform strategic visions into tangible realities, he enjoys connecting teams and co-creating with researchers, designers and builders, who want to make the world more colorful and livable.

Before joining Manyone, he worked at frog Design, leading several transformation projects for global brands such as BMW and Lufthansa. Previously, Matthias established multiple design and innovation teams, both within client organizations and on the agency side. He co-founded the Munich studio for Star, a global digital design and development firm, pioneered the in-house design team for the brand JBL at Harman International in Shenzhen, China and contributed to the growth of Designit Munich in its early years.

Matthias studied Product Design at the HS Munich and the Umeå Institute of Design in Sweden.