Kara Church

SUMMARY

I lead Experience Design within BlackRock Digital Marketing, where I sit on the Digital leadership team and am accountable for how design contributes to business strategy. Over 20+ years in financial services and enterprise product organizations, including 13 years across BlackRock and Wells Fargo, I've built a design organization from 1 person to 20+ across 4 global locations, set enterprise-wide design system strategy, and defined AI governance for a design practice operating at institutional scale. I'm as comfortable setting vision for a scaled org as I am running hands-on discovery, and I stay closely tied to the realities of regulated, complex enterprise environments, where customer experience has to hold up against risk, compliance, and technical constraints.

EXPERIENCE

BlackRock  —  Jul 2018 – Present

Head of Global UX Design Jan 2022 – Present

• Lead Experience Design within BlackRock Digital and sit on the Digital leadership team, accountable for how design contributes to enterprise business strategy and digital transformation priorities.

• Built the design organization from 1 designer to a 20+ person multidisciplinary team across 4 global locations spanning UX design, product design, research, content strategy, and design operations; own hiring strategy, career frameworks, succession planning, and performance management.

• Set the vision and governance for BlackRock Digital's enterprise design system, evolving it into strategic infrastructure that improves consistency, accessibility, quality, and delivery speed across the org.

• Established a research strategy integrating qualitative and quantitative methods across the full product lifecycle, translating findings into strategic input for product and business decisions.

• Define and lead the design organization's AI strategy and roadmap, identifying where AI responsibly augments research, design, content, and prototyping workflows, with governance that balances innovation against quality, compliance, and user trust.

• Partner with Product, Engineering, Marketing, Technology, and Legal & Compliance leadership to shape product strategy and Digital transformation initiatives.

Vice President, Global UX Design and Content Lead Jul 2018 – Jan 2022

• Led UX design and content strategy for BlackRock Digital as the design function scaled, laying the organizational and design-system groundwork later formalized as Head of Global UX Design

Wells Fargo —  Mar 2013 – Jul 2018

Vice President, Senior Art Director 

• Joined as a contractor and was promoted rapidly based on design, operational, and team leadership performance; supervised 45+ visual designers, interaction designers, and content strategists across multiple locations nationwide.

• Set digital experience and art direction strategy for the enterprise sales experience, driving customer engagement across channels.

• Managed risk, financial planning, and delivery improvements for the design organization.

• Supported the brand's future vision and experience evolution efforts.

• Strengthened cross-functional partnerships and built individual development plans for team members. 

Weldon Owen (a division of Bonnier Corp.) —  Mar 2006 – Mar 2013

Senior Art Director 

• Promoted within one year of joining; built, hired, and directed teams for on-location and studio photoshoots while conceptualizing and designing 12+ book projects a year.

• Collaborated with the creative director and editorial, marketing, and sales departments to develop books and web properties.

• Partnered with celebrity chefs and national brands to conceive, art direct, and design namesake books while maintaining distinct identities.

• Improved design department procedures and budget strategy; supervised in-house and freelance designers.

Elite Wedding Collection, Beverly Clark Enterprises —  2005 – 2015

Art Director, Design Consultant

Santa Barbara / San Francisco, CA

• Art directed and designed an international, bi-annual magazine focused on the luxury travel and wedding fields.

• Built long-lasting relationships with photographers, fashion designers, and high-end resort properties worldwide.

• Partnered with the publisher, editor-in-chief, and production director from concept through completion.

World Publications (Spa, Islands, and Destination Weddings & Honeymoons Magazines) —  2003 – 2006

Art Director 

Santa Barbara County, CA

• Designed covers, features, and front-of-book pages for national and international consumer magazines.

• Executed full redesigns of multiple magazines while maintaining monthly production schedules and day-to-day Art Department operations.

• Directed a global network of photographers, stylists, and illustrators.

SKILLS

• Fintech & Financial Services Product Design

• Design Leadership & Organization Building

• Design Systems Strategy & Governance

• AI Strategy & Governance for Design

• AI-Augmented Design Workflows (prototyping, research synthesis, ideation)

• DesignOps & Scaled Team Operations

• UX Research & Insight Integration

• Regulatory-Aware UX (Risk & Compliance)

• Cross-Functional Executive Partnership

• Experience Strategy

• Hiring, Coaching & Talent Development

• Accessibility (WCAG)

• Design Thinking & Discovery Facilitation

• Corporate Branding & Visual Identity

• Typography & Color Strategy

• Concept Development & Executive Presentation

EDUCATION

University of Florida Gainesville, FL
Degree: B.S. in Journalism, with an emphasis on Publication Design and Photojournalism, and a minor in History