Donald Chesnut

Chief Design Officer @ Candescent

About

Everyone wants great outcomes from design and customer experience efforts, few get the results they should. As a global CX, design, and digital leader, I go beyond traditional design & CX methods to deliver what I refer to as Customer-Centered Growth - improving loyalty, product engagement, and customer satisfaction while creating tangible, top and bottom-line transformations for the enterprise. Having designed some of the world’s most successful digital products -and worked with AI since 2018- I have helped deliver customer-centered transformations for Fortune 500 brands and led global cross-functional teams of all sizes. I combine design, CX, customer care and business skills along with a relentless strategic focus, helping enterprises deliver measurable, high-value ‘digitally human’ and ‘deliberately human’ experiences. Technology, Data, and Innovation are passions and big parts of my experience, but my superpower lies in the ability to blend strategic vision with empathetic leadership, fostering collaborations that deliver outsize returns. Engaging and understanding people, whether customers or employees, is critical to creating exponential value.

Country

United States

City

New York

Industry

Computer Software

Skill

Customer Experience Transformation, AI Strategy, Large Language Models (LLM), Conversational AI, Customer Care, Customer Experience, User Experience (UX), Business Growth Strategies, Digital Transformation, Contact Center Transformation, Product Management, Voice of the Customer, Design Management, Customer Experience Management, Revenue & Profit Growth, Customer Self Service, Profitable Growth, Customer Service Management, Net Promoter Score, Digital Channels

Experience

Chief Design Officer

Candescent

2025-7 - Present · 1 yr 3 mos

Creating the next generation of banking and financial services products for over 1,000 banks and credit unions. Building a global design capability across NA and Bangalore that can deliver for today but is built for tomorrow. Yes- we are hiring.

Independent Strategic Advisor

Digitally Human

2024-5 - 2025-6 · 1 yr 2 mos

Advising established companies and startups at all stages how to increase profit and define product value propositions through customer-centered growth strategies, AI-enablement, innovative product design, and customer journey transformation. Engagement models include fractional leadership, projects, and interim.

Chief Experience Officer

General Motors

2021 - 2024 · 3 yrs

New York City Metropolitan Area

Led comprehensive global Customer Experience transformation, overseeing Mobile, UX Design, Voice of Customer, and Contact Center operations (spanning 4,000 advisors). Achieved breakthrough results by driving a 10-point NPS increase and elevating GM's mobile apps to the top two positions in industry rankings. Reimagined Contact Center from a cost center into a digital-first Customer Success program powered by AI self-service. Pioneered enterprise-wide changes including developing a groundbreaking business case that directly linked NPS to dealer profitability and implementing the first Customer Experience-focused testing into vehicle engineering process.

Chief Experience Officer, Executive Vice President

Mastercard

2019 - 2021 · 2 yrs

Greater New York City Area

Transformed Mastercard's overall customer experience and product design, delivering the best product experiences in payments, and led the successful turnaround of the e-commerce wallet (MasterPass) with new product, Click2Pay. Developed a widely-used global sales platform and crafted an innovative consumer experience strategy that secured a major deal with a top Silicon Valley digital platform.

Global Chief Experience Officer, Executive Vice President

Publicis Sapient

2017 - 2019 · 2 yrs

Greater New York City Area

Over 22 years, drove strategic global growth at Sapient during a period of massive technological disruption for nearly every vertical industry. Built a 1,400-person Customer Experience, Design, and Experience Innovation practice, transforming businesses and marketing for digital age. Oversaw design and development of a wide portfolio of successful projects across web, mobile, physical environments, as well as one of the first AI-based platforms “Marcel”, which transformed how Publicis Groupe’s 100,000 workforce manages talent, knowledge, growth, and clients.

Global Chief Creative Officer, SapientRazorfish

Publicis Sapient

2015 - 2017 · 2 yrs

Global Role, based in New York

During the scaling years for Digital Businesses, helped Fortune 500 companies create the game-changing products that formed the foundation of their overall businesses moving forward, including WSJ, Target, Disney Parks, and US Bank. Oversaw complex integration of four acquired agencies resulting in capability innovation, including digital design in physical environments and IoT-based analytics. Built a global delivery model for design, by hiring a 300-person India design studio, speeding up quality design delivery around a 24-hour timetable.

Vice President, Experience Design, Sapient

Publicis Sapient

1997 - 2015 · 18 yrs

New York, New York, United States | London, United Kingdom

During the foundational years of e-commerce and content management, led teams to sell, shape, and deliver UX solutions to global Fortune 500 companies. Designed some of the Internet’s most successful products for clients including United, Hilton, Opodo, IBM and more. Relocated to London for two years to grow business across Europe.