# Ben Hester

> Product Design at Gusto

Location: Oakland, California, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/benhester

👋 Hi, I'm Ben and I am a product design leader, design strategist, and helpful mentor. In my current role at Calendly I manage and direct product design teams to deliver end-to-end customer-focused experiences for our market-leading scheduling automation platform.

I coach individuals and teams to drive benefits and business outcomes via customer empathy, transparent debate, innovation frameworks, and calculated risk-taking. I feel so lucky to do what I do every day, helping an organization stay grounded in empathy for the people we serve and delivering amazing experiences that solve real problems.

## Work Experience
### Senior Product Design Manager @ Gusto
Jan 2024 – Present | San Francisco, California, United States

### Senior Product Design Manager @ Calendly
Jan 2022 – Jan 2024 | San Francisco Bay Area
Led a talented team of product designers, with a focus on enterprise expansion and growth, to deliver end-to-end customer experiences that includes product discovery, acquisition, and engagement.

### Group Product Design Manager @ Intuit
Jan 2019 – Jan 2022 | Mountain View, California
Managed and led a talented team of product designers and design managers to deliver innovative new customer experiences across the Intuit ecosystem with a focus on QuickBooks Payroll, HCM, contractor management, and growth.

### Design Director @ Blink
Jan 2017 – Jan 2019 | San Francisco Bay Area
Managed a 6-person design team, fostered a strong UX and design practice and culture, and led strategic projects and accounts. Highlights:
• 2020 SF Design Week Award in FinTech: “Edelman Financial Engines: Rethinking traditional financial planning for a digital world”
• Major projects with T-Mobile for Business, Panasonic Smart Cities, Best Buy Innovation

### Director, UX and Content Strategy @ Free Range Studios
Jan 2014 – Jan 2017 | Oakland, CA
Guided the studio’s UX and content strategy disciplines, defining our services, processes, tools, and best-practices. Built and managed the UX department and mentored all level of designers.
• Led high profile, multidisciplinary product teams, including project scoping, staffing, and execution
• Contributed to overall studio leadership, including business development, operations, hiring, and team culture
• Major projects with ACLU, Alliance for Climate Education, Global Fund for Women, The New York Academy of Sciences

### Lead UX Designer @ Free Range Studios
Jan 2013 – Jan 2014 | Oakland, CA

### Project Manager & Digital Strategist @ Free Range Studios
Jan 2009 – Jan 2013 | Oakland, CA

### Web Program Manager @ Architecture for Humanity
Jan 2007 – Jan 2009

### Product Manager @ BIAS, Inc.
Jan 2000 – Jan 2006 | Petaluma, CA


## Education
### Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in Sustainable Management
Presidio Graduate School

### Bachelor's Degree in Digital Arts
SAE Expression College

### Bachelor's Degree in Music Performance
University of Oregon


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/benhester

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Source: https://flows.cv/benhester
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/benhester/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-04-13