# Kirsten Disse

> Product & Design Leader Xero | Angel | x-INTU x-MSFT

Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/kirstendisse

I’m an award-winning design leader partnering with ambitious startups and scale-ups around the world. I love helping teams cut through complexity, bring clarity to the toughest challenges and rallying cross-functional teams around a bold vision.

I’ve led design at Intuit QuickBooks (Capital & Payments), Carta, and now Xero — shaping products used by millions globally. What fires me up is aligning people around outcomes that truly matter. I thrive where strategy meets craft: championing users, simplifying the complex, and storytelling with courage to spark momentum.

My career has taken me from Aotearoa NZ to North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. No matter where I’m working, I bring an unwavering focus on clarity, high performance, and real impact.

Beyond design, I’m deeply invested in community — from widening access to water sports for young people in Whakaraupō Lyttelton Harbour, to backing our local kura, sports, and arts festivals. My guiding values are adventure, courage, and high performance — whether I’m leading a design team or skippering a yacht.

If you’re building something complex with global ambition and want design leadership that fuses vision with execution, let’s connect! 💎

## Work Experience
### Design @ Xero
Jan 2025 – Present

### Principal @ Fruitti Ventures
Jan 2022 – Present
Empowering high-growth startups in the A/NZ region. Vision setting, product strategy & product design evo/revolution. Coaching & accelerating next-gen startups. I returned home to Aotearoa at tail end of the pandemic with the mission to make or take any opportunity to grow the startup ecosystem in Ōtautahi & NZ. Love having coffees and talking about crazy ideas so get in touch! 

Clients include: Huckleberry.ai, SEEK.com, Hipages.com.au, Builderscrack.co.nz

### Angel Investor @ myWellaBee
Jan 2024 – Present

### Angel Investor @ Again Again
Jan 2020 – Present | New Zealand

### Principal Product Designer @ Carta
Jan 2020 – Jan 2021 | San Francisco Bay Area

### Design Strategist @ Intuit
Jan 2019 – Jan 2020 | San Francisco Bay Area
Strategy, vision and design leader for launch and scale of 2 brand new, mobile first products: QuickBooks Cash and Cash Flow. Recognised 2020 FastCompany Innovation by Design award.

### Group Design Manager @ Intuit
Jan 2018 – Jan 2019 | Mountain View, California, United States
Drove scale and reach of Capital product from product experience. Ongoing growth of dedicated multi-functional design group.

### Principal Interaction Designer, QuickBooks Capital @ Intuit
Jan 2016 – Jan 2018
1st designer through launch & scale of this exciting new business. Responsible for end-2-end experience, growth and ensuring customer delight. Highly influential cross-functionally and at group and org leadership level. Hiring & coaching of dedicated multi-function design team.

### Design Thinking coach, D-school Stanford @ Stanford University
Jan 2018 – Jan 2018
Guest mentoring & supporting student projects.

### Lead User Experience Consultant - Contract @ Various Companies
Jan 2010 – Jan 2016 | London, United Kingdom
+ Adobe: Validated Case Archive, medical education for radiologists
+ Jade Software Corporation: AMP Bank, ARC Innovations, Aranui Community Campus, Meadow Mushrooms, The Warehouse Limited, Wynyard
+ NEHTA National e-Health Transition Authority. Key user experience role working with delivery partners Accenture to assure national eHealth records system meets clinical and citizen needs. Including usability testing, clinical consultation, digital strategy, functional refinement. 
+ Emendo (McKesson): Guerilla UI refresh
+ Space Around People: First Data Bank, Map of Medicine Local Public Access, Trillion Fund

Freelance Product, UI/UX, Innovation & Design Strategy projects.

### Head of User Experience and Design @ iSOFT
Jan 2009 – Jan 2010 | London, United Kingdom
Reporting directly to Chief Medical Officer, responsible for driving key high profile innovation projects including first in-hospital mobile vital signs reporting service and PatientPortal/s. These design interventions secured enterprise sales for business. Matrix management of UX and UI resources across global organisation, delivery management. Mentoring.

### Lead User Experience Consultant @ Microsoft 365 Partner
Jan 2006 – Jan 2008 | London Area, United Kingdom
Creative vision, concept and delivery of the Microsoft Health Patient Journey Demonstrator showcasing CUI guidance and Microsoft technology. 

Awards: Microsoft Silverlight Application Building Contest – best overall application. Microsoft Great People Great Performance award


## Education
### MA - Distinction in Design for Interaction
University of Westminster

### PGC-HE in Post Graduate Certificate - Higher Education
University of Westminster


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

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