Jameel Somji, CFA
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Toptal member since January 11, 2023
Jameel is a human-centric design leader with over seven years of experience helping companies like AIA Group, Citibank, and Mastercard, rapidly design and validate new product concepts. Throughout his career, he helped create a critical illness insurance product that achieved 157% sales over the target. Jameel is a seasoned professional, willing to leverage his skills in exciting new projects.
Portfolio
Townhome Community Development for Seniors
Breakfast Product for Kids
Goals-based Investment Platform
Work Experience
VP Design Thinking
AIA Vietnam
- Scaled design thinking methods across the enterprise to help build better products faster.
- Helped design two new health and education product propositions.
- Trained PMs and Agile coaches on integrating design sprints into the agile development process.
Founder & CEO
SpiNovation Labs
- Helped companies like AIA Vietnam, Mastercard, and Citibank research, design, prototype, test, and iterate on innovative product and service ideas to solve complex customer problems.
- Trained over 150 people on user-centered design methods.
- Assisted in the design of life insurance products, fintech apps, payment apps, new credit card products, private equity real estate funds, client engagement software, existing customer marketing campaigns, and more.
- Supported a client in completing a $125 million IPO for a real estate investment fund on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Instructor of Human-Centered Design
LUMA Institute
- Led human-centered design workshops for employees from FedEx, ExxonMobil, JLL, JP Morgan, Coca-Cola, and more.
- Covered topics like the Double Diamond design process model, stakeholder mapping, ethnography, problem framing, concept ideation, prototyping, and participatory and evaluative research.
- Provided remote coaching sessions to participants post-workshop on how to integrate design thinking methods into their project work.
Lecturer, Master of Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Ryerson University
- Designed and delivered a product design course to 35 Master's and PhD engineering students with support from the Google Design Sprint Academy in San Francisco.
- Held weekly open office hour sessions to coach students on their capstone innovation projects.
- Covered topics like customer journey mapping, rapid prototyping hardware and software, user testing protocols, and more.
Product Designer & Head of the Wealth Management Lab
Manulife Canada
- Built the Wealth Management Lab from scratch. Hired a UI/UX designer and two full-stack developers.
- Prototyped, tested, and iterated on a digital goals-based investment (GBI) platform. Pitched the prototype to 50+ global stakeholders and was awarded funding.
- Facilitated design thinking workshops across the company.
Education
Bachelor's Degree in International Business
Carleton University - Ottawa, Ontario
Certifications
Instructor of Human-Centered Design
LUMA Institute
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
CFA Institute
Skills
Tools
InVision, MURAL, Miro, Google Docs, Google Slides, Microsoft Excel, Jira, Trello
Platforms
Figma
Other
Workshop Facilitation, Design Thinking, Product Design, Financial Analysis, Usability Testing, Customer Journeys, Management, Strategy, UX Design, Business Models, UX Testing, Mobile Prototypes, Design Sprints, Google Design Sprints, Physical Design, Prototype Framework, Slack App, Microsoft Teams, Risk Management, Valuation, Pricing Models, Investment Funds, Investment Strategy, Portfolio Management
Experience
- Financial Analysis - 15 years
- Strategy - 15 years
- Workshop Facilitation - 10 years
- Customer Journeys - 8 years
- Design Thinking - 8 years
- Product Design - 8 years
- Management - 8 years
- Usability Testing - 8 years
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