Willy Lai

Willy Lai is the current Chief Design Officer at Cooler Screens. Prior to this, they were the Vice President, Product Design & User Experience at Macy's. Willy has also worked as an International Workshop Instructor at Designing UX with Willy Lai.

Willy has over 15 years of experience in product design and user experience. Willy has a passion for designing intuitive, best-in-class UX innovations. Willy has been instrumental in driving next generation fashion-inspired redesigns that have improved ease of use and brand appeal. Under their leadership, Macy’s user growth, customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, and sales have increased significantly. In 2020, Macy’s sales grew by 20% to $8 billion.

Willy has transformed the culture and process at Macy’s by integrating data-informed, user-centered methodologies and expanding roles for design and research. This has improved product quality and time to market. Willy has built and scaled a high-performing organization and operations that oversees full product lifecycles. Willy has inspired a culture of excellence and continuous improvement within the company.

Willy Lai received their Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley's College of Environmental Design.

They are on a team with Marcel Muñoz - VP, Product, Shelly Schaffer - CFO, and Akilesh Kumar - EVP, Corporate Development & Strategy. Willy Lai reports to Arsen Avakian, Co-Founder & CEO.