Valerie Casey

As head of design at Walmart--the highest-ranking designer the company has ever hired--Valerie Casey oversees roughly 160 designers responsible for everything from in-store experiences to app interfaces to experimental projects that help the company compete against Amazon and other retailers.

Since starting at Walmart in June 2018, she has grown the design organization by more than 75% and overhauled its structure to eliminate silos that led to inconsistent products from one department to the next. She has developed a single design language for all of Walmart’s apps, both consumer- and employee-facing. She has also launched a Design Tech team, composed of computer scientists and traditional designers, to rapidly prototype and test products and services in stores, giving a historically risk-averse company a quick, reliable way to evaluate new ideas.

Casey is a career shapeshifter who has worked at capital-D design firms (Ideo, Frog, Pentagram), nonprofits (the Aspen Institute, the World Economic Forum, The Designers Accord), and consumer technology companies (Samsung, Magic Leap).

She was named a "Guru" of the year by Fortune magazine, a "Hero of the Environment" by Time magazine, and a "Master of Design" by Fast Company. She was also selected as one of the "World's Most Influential Designers" by Businessweek, and named a "Young Global Leader" by the World Economic Forum.

Casey consults with companies, start-ups, and governments all over the world on challenges ranging from creating new products and services, to transforming organizational processes and behaviors. Industry leaders like Microsoft, Samsung, Cisco, and Johnson & Johnson, among others, have sought out her expertise to tackle their design and innovation challenges.

Before starting her own practice, Casey held executive leadership positions at the most respected design companies in the world. At IDEO, she led the digital experience group, focusing on maximizing the effects and opportunities of networked culture. Before that, she was the Executive Creative Director at frog design, where she led the design research and design strategy practices worldwide. Casey was also an Associate Partner at Pentagram Design, where she started the interaction design group.

Casey is the founder of the Designers Accord, the global design coalition of designers, educators, and business leaders focused on creating positive social and environmental impact. Casey founded the non-profit in 2007, and through her leadership, it has grown to be one of the most influential organizations in the design world. Fast Company writes that Casey's vision around design thinking and impact is "on a path to change the culture of the creative community from bottom to top, and with it, the way everything is made, from toothbrushes to airplanes."

Casey speaks globally on systems thinking, cultural change, and sustainability, and is an Adjunct Professor in the graduate design program at CCA. She holds a master's degree in cultural theory and design from Yale University and a BA from Swarthmore College.