Appsynth · Design-org leadership
Running a design department like a business.
Context
Appsynth is a product and design studio delivering for major brands across Thailand and the region. I ran its design department — an 18+ person team across research and design — delivering concurrent client programmes for 7-Eleven Thailand, SCB Asset Management, Bangchak, Nissan, Finansia and AIONEX. All of them are live in market.
The challenge
The department had never had a leader in the seat. No one had set a performance bar or managed the team, so output and quality were inconsistent — and it all carried full commercial accountability: P&L, resourcing, budgeting, and business development. The task was to turn an under-managed team into a profitable, design-led department without disrupting live client delivery.
What I did
I built the leadership layer the department had been missing: a structured career ladder, growth plans, and a performance-evaluation framework — designed around becoming AI-native while raising the bar on both craft and commercial understanding. I hired, gave underperformers genuine growth support, and managed out those who couldn't meet the bar once it was set — reshaping the group into a high-performing 18+ team and managing the P&L back to profitability to fund the changes.
Then I built the machine around the work. A dynamic resourcing plan and tool kept every project staffed with the right skills and seniority, so margin didn't leak through over- or under-resourcing. I reframed pitches around structured storytelling tied to each client's business outcomes, rooted in deep research — AI-accelerated and desk research — on very short timelines. And I built a multi-brand design system that plugs into AI tools to accelerate design creation for pitches.
How I led
Player-coach. On the flagship Nissan account I worked directly with the Nissan Global Brand Team and Nissan Thailand — hands-on leading the engagement and hands-on in the design itself, while still running the department. Senior enough to own the commercials and the leadership bench; close enough to the craft to set the standard on the work.
Outcome
Reshaped the department into a high-performing 18+ team across research and design, and turned it profitable through the transition (revenue and P&L figures under NDA). Personally led and won new business — Bangchak, Nissan, Finansia and AIONEX — design-led pitches that became products now live in market. A team that had lacked a performance bar became one that could win the work, staff it correctly, and ship it at a consistent standard.
What it proves
Design leadership with real commercial accountability — P&L ownership, business development, a people-and-performance turnaround, manager-of-managers, and a resourcing-and-delivery operating model — not just design direction. It's the operator half of the job, proven in a client-services crucible.