Lau Yamazaki

Merck (known as MSD outside the US and Canada) is one of the world's largest biopharmaceutical companies — a 130+ year-old Fortune 100 organization with ~75,000 employees, operating in over 140 countries, and generating $65 billion in annual revenue. Its medicines and vaccines reached more than 450 million people in 2024 alone.

As an Information Architect, I help structure the data and knowledge

I inherited something deceptively complex: 12+ countries across South America with 400+ million people, each with its own design community maturity, cultural context, and market dynamics. On paper, it looks like a scale problem. In reality, it's a framework problem.

When I took the role, each country was interpreting "design community" differently. Brazil was doing one thing, Argentina another, C

Lead and grow a vibrant design community, serving as the primary point of contact for Local Leaders while driving engagement and community growth.

• Monitor key performance indicators for Local Groups across the country, implementing strategic actions to enhance both the quality and quantity of community meetups.

• Provide comprehensive support to Local Leaders, offering guidance, resources, and

Chiefs.Group is a talent platform that connects senior executives who are available to work on demand with companies.
I am part of this pioneering community of Open Talent model and I am ready to help companies, start ups and scale ups to address their main challenges and strategic objectives.
Get in touch: https://www.chiefsgroup.com.br

When I took over digital strategy at NOMAD LABS, I started noticing something that most consultants miss: companies entering digital transformation were treating "brand" and "strategy" as separate, tactical problems. They'd come to us saying "we need to improve design" or "we need better messaging." Leadership had clear vision. But when I'd work with teams, I'd find complete misalignment — everyon

As a Senior Product Designer for Supplier Services at Thomasnet (Xometry), I design B2B solutions that connect suppliers with manufacturing buyers. I collaborate with product managers and engineers to create intuitive supplier onboarding flows, search experiences, and marketplace tools that drive business growth.

I conduct user research with suppliers and buyers to understand pain points in the p

• Lead a research to understand users of the "Beach Environment", where Thoughtworkers wait to be assigned to a project with clients.

While consulting on traditional UX projects, I noticed disturbing pattern: mentored 150+ designers across 20+ countries, most technically skilled but feeling stuck, undervalued, invisible. Problem wasn't lack of design ability — was lack of professional positioning and authentic identity. They could design interfaces beautifully but couldn't position themselves strategically in market.

Rather tha

Inherited hiring platform with slow time-to-hire. Initial assumption: UX optimization problem. When I investigated deeper, found real issue: hiring teams weren't aligned on "what makes good hire" so they rejected candidates that actually fit. Platform was optimizing for speed when problem was discovery clarity.

Rather than redesign interface for efficiency, I rebuilt entire discovery process and

Inherited 3 product teams with different design approaches — each had own interpretation of "good design," creating inconsistency and slowing delivery. Everyone assumed problem was process efficiency. When I analyzed work, found real issue: teams didn't share common language or design principles so constant rework happened.

More than optimize process, I built unified Design System (200+ component

Joined partner bootcamp (with Rookieup.com) designed to help designers "improve and migrate to UX industry." When I analyzed student outcomes, found pattern: bootcamp taught UX skills well, but students emerged from 12-week program still unclear about professional positioning. They could design beautifully but didn't know how to position themselves in market or what kind of designer they actually

Inherited UX team supporting enterprise platform with 10K+ users but no established research practice. Teams were designing based on assumptions, not evidence. Everyone assumed problem was lack of design process. When I investigated, found real issue: team had no shared standards for decision-making, so each designer interpreted "good design" differently, creating inconsistency and constant rework

Joined leading consultancy working with prestigious clients (Banco Itaú, Porto Seguro, Serasa Experian) but noticed pattern: each project was treated as one-off with different approach. Teams applied design thinking differently depending on client and designer. Result: inconsistent delivery, rework, client adoption struggles even when designs were technically sound.

Rather than teach more design

In my role as Senior Product Designer, I was entrusted with leading the UX team, defining, and perpetually refining our design and UX processes to align with the company's strategic goals.

• UX Team Leadership:
Spearheaded the management of the UX team, setting strategic directions and ensuring the delivery of high-quality design outputs that meet user needs and business objectives.

• Design Pr

• Drove Digital Transformation in Marketing:
Masterminded the transition from traditional to digital marketing methodologies, employing UX strategies to provide personalized user experiences. This strategic shift resulted in a remarkable 50% increase in customer retention within the construction and real estate development sectors.

• Led the Creation and Execution of Comprehensive Digital Market

Key Responsibilities and Achievements:

• User-Centric Design Leadership:
Spearheaded the design of elegant, simple, and efficient interfaces for the Virtual Office app, significantly enhancing the daily experience of millions of users.

• Research and Empathy:
Led user research initiatives, employing surveys, interviews, and usability tests to deeply understand the needs and challenges of our ta

As the Founder and Creative Director of Nomad Labs, a Strategy and UX Design Agency, I spearheaded initiatives to enhance digital performance for a diverse portfolio of clients, including Governo Federal do Brasil, FIEB, Fundação Odebrecht, Rede Bahia de Televisão, Rossi, Scopel, Ademi-BA, Aliansce Shopping Centers, SEBRAE, A Fórmula, Prefeitura de Salvador, and Carlinhos Brown, among others. My r

At Ideia 3 Digital, an interactive communication company specializing in the planning and development of websites, portals, and digital products, I led as Creative Director, seamlessly integrating design strategy with technology to elevate interactive communication projects.

• Digital Strategy Leadership:
Crafted and executed a comprehensive digital strategy, ensuring alignment with overarching

Invision was a company from Propeg Group based in São Paulo and branches in 5 capitals in the country. Acted in the Interactive Communication segment, serving customers in Brazil and abroad - Telemar, Unibanco, BMW Brasil, Electrolux, Samsung, Governo da Bahia, Ernest & Young, Klabin Kimberly, Unilever, Bosch, Presidência da República, among others.

• Creative Leadership and Conceptualization:
S

Apr 2026

Jun 2026

Foundations: In-depth understanding of the origin, evolution, and technical aspects of Generative Artificial Intelligence. Here, you will learn everything from the historical and conceptual foundations surrounding GenAI, to contemporary practices and ethical dilemmas.

Agile Implementation of GenAI in Digital Products: Learn skills and enhance digital products using Generative AI. This part of the

Sep 2025

• Understand the concept of data and how it is extracted;
• Understand how data is structured;
• Identify the Analytical Maturity of a company;
• Implement the ETL process (Data Extraction, Transformation and Loading);
• Use the SQL language and understand its application for queries and manipulation of databases;
• Know and apply methods for problem exploration and hypothesis formulation;
• Devel

Empathy and creativity are two examples of essential skills for professionals in the new economy, in all areas related to innovation and digital product design. In this course, you will develop transversal skills like these in addition to learning all the basic processes and tools to work in the area of ​​digital product design.

Campaigns and Launch Strategy: Here you will learn how to master the planning and execution of campaigns and launch strategies, coordinating all essential elements, from paid media to Sales Enablement and Customer Success.

Content and Branding: Product Marketing is intrinsically linked to content and branding. In this stage of the journey, you will develop skills to tell the story of your brand a

Team Management and Self-Leadership: We begin this journey by understanding that the ability to lead teams in a digital environment requires a unique combination of empathy, interpersonal skills, and self-management. Here, you will explore hiring and recruiting techniques, as well as the importance of clear and objective communication.

Business Strategy: Leadership in digital businesses requires

Introduction: Overview of what Product Analytics is and an understanding of the importance and impact of analyzing data from digital products. Here, you will become familiar with fundamental concepts, understanding why this discipline is gaining prominence in today’s market.

Tracking and experimentation: Learning how to collect and track data efficiently. Understand how to conduct experiments bas

Oct 2025

Oct 2025

The Product Discovery process helps a company mitigate risks by helping the business know what to prioritize and directing efforts and resources to what can generate the greatest impact.

In this process, it is essential to understand more about the needs of the business and its users. To lead this process within companies, a series of skills are essential, such as stakeholder management, user res

The objective of the Digital Product Leadership Training is to experience the stages of developing a digital product, understanding the business objectives, and generating an impact on the company's results, counting on the experience of experts from companies in the market and real cases.

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Nov 2022

Intensive 9-week bootcamp focused on UX and UI Design.
Ranked as the World's Best UX/UI Design Bootcamp by Switchup.org.

Tools, Technologies and Methodologies: Sketch, Principle, InVision, Design Thinking, Lean UX, Wireframing & Prototyping, Evaluative Research, Design Systems, Human Interface Guidelines, Material Design, HTML, CSS.

The State University of Bahia (UNEB), the largest public higher education institution in Bahia, founded in 1983.

Through this postgraduate course I had the opportunity to learn and practice Product Design and it allowed me to start the process of teaching at some educational institutions in Brazil.

The Federal University of Bahia began on February 18, 1808, when Prince Regent Dom João VI established the Bahia School of Surgery, the first university course in Brazil.

The Architecture course was a milestone in my academic training as it introduced me to designing on a human scale and understanding the pains and needs of housing and the use of spaces designed for different tasks. It was from t