LUKE DACEY • HANDS-ON DESIGN LEADER
I help organisations turn ambiguity into products people love using.
WHAT I BRING IS SIMPLE…
I've built design orgs, developed leaders and shaped products used by more than 70M+ people.
But leadership has never meant stepping away from the work.
MY CAREER
The complex problems I’ve been trusted to solve.
Over the last 24 years, I've designed products across consumer, enterprise and AI. From super apps and digital payments to maritime platforms and financial intelligence. Different industries, same challenge - making complex systems feel simple.
Super Apps
Unified navigation and discovery across multiple businesses. Designed marketplaces, subscriptions, maps & location, future product vision and AI-powered personalisation.
Careem · The AA
Digital payments
Wallets, crypto, money movement and financial experiences that made complex transactions feel simple and trustworthy. Turned financial ambiguity into experiences people actually wanted to use.
Casim · Careem · The AA
Financial intelligence
Reimagined invoicing as a financial operating system and designed predictive wealth planning that surfaces risk, opportunities and long-term outcomes.
Casim · YTree
Enterprise platforms
Transformed paper, spreadsheets and disconnected systems into scalable digital platforms across maritime, automotive and hospitality to make complex data coherent and usable.
90POE · The AA · Pace · iDirect
AI-native products
Embedded AI into discovery, financial operations, revenue management and predictive decision-making long before it became mainstream.
Careem · Casim · Pace · The AA · YTree
Operational systems
Designed products supporting crews at sea, drivers on the road, hotel operators and finance teams under real operational pressure - creating clarity when stakes are high.
90POE · Careem · Pace · Casim · iDirect
Predictive experiences
Shifted products from reporting what happened to anticipating what happens next, from crash detection to action plans, hotel revenue forecasting and lifetime financial modelling.
Careem · Casim · Aviva · Pace · YTree
Research-led transformations
Conducted immersive research - from living onboard cargo vessels to travelling the world to uncover the real problems behind user decisions and pivot product direction.
Casim · Careem · 90POE · Simply Business · Aviva · Pace · iDirect
CASE STUDIES
The industries change. The problems don't.
CAREEM • UBER • MENA
A core product at scale, where broken flows cost users and revenue.
12% – Increase in rides completion
23% - Fewer driver related cancelations
95% - CSAT scores improved
CASIM • FOUNDING TEAM • MENA
Defined product direction, operating model & secured the first early adopters.
9 months - Zero to market-ready
5 early adopters - Secured through strategic positioning
Strategic playbook - Built and used from day one
THE AA (AA-X) • HEAD OF UX • 14M+ USERS
Legacy services, built without a shared product model.
27% - Increase in bookings in app
18% - Increase in upsell conversion rate
57% - Decrease in customer service call volume
CAREEM • GLOBAL HEAD OF DESIGN • 70M+ USERS
40+ designers across 10 verticals, shipping fast with no shared direction.
24 to +78 - 102 point eNPS improvement.
300% - Improvement in team satisfaction.
40% - Increase in early stage design involvement
HOW I LEAD
I don’t manage people, I manage the conditions around them.
I’ve hired, promoted, restructured, and transformed design organisations. I’ve managed exits, rebuilt operating models, and taken internal satisfaction scores from -24 to +78.
But the part I’m most proud of is still the craft. Designing flows that reduce cancellations by 23%, building wallets people trust with their money, turning complex financial projections into experiences high-net-worth clients actually use.
Leadership, for me, means protecting the quality of the work and the people doing it.
Clear direction, honest feedback, no surprises
Create the conditions for good work. Clarity on the brief and protection from noise.Honesty and transparency as standard
I stay close to the work. When something isn't working I say it early. When it is, I say that too.Air cover without isolation
Clear ownership, honest feedback, no surprises. The teams I've built keep delivering at scale.Freedom within a framework
Strong opinions on direction, clear ownership, then genuine autonomy on execution.
FROM THOSE WHO WERE THERE
“Luke is the kind of leader who always raises the bar for quality, for accountability and for the culture of the team”
Linden Dance - Lead Product Designer, Careem
“Luke’s leadership was pivotal to the success of our projects. Luke combines strategic thinking with a deep sense of empathy”
Samantha Hamadeh - Product Marketing Lead, Careem
“His ability to balance hands-on execution with big-picture thinking makes him an invaluable example in any team”
Nadia Roeleveld - Product Designer, Koos
