Heather Buchma
Contact
PRODUCT DESIGN LEADER
9
Years of leadership
15+
Years of practice
Selected Work
ZILLOW / FOLLOW UP BOSS
Scaling Design Through Organizational Change
ZILLOW PRO
Launching the Zillow Professional Subscription
CNN+
Building a New Streaming Platform
Human-centered
leadership
MY LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY
My responsibility is to create an environment where great designers and great leaders thrive. That means providing clarity during ambiguity, protecting teams from unnecessary distraction, investing intentionally in career growth, and helping people build confidence through meaningful ownership.
People who have worked with me often describe me as supportive, direct, and deeply invested in their success. I take those descriptions seriously because I believe leadership isn't measured by the work you personally produce. It's measured by the impact your team creates together.
No framework, roadmap, or organizational chart can replace genuine curiosity. We can have strong opinions informed by experience but ultimately our customers decide whether we've solved the right problem.
The best design organizations never stop learning.
Expertise
Product Strategy
AI Product Innovation
Organization Leadership
Design Quality & Execution
Executive Communication
Coaching & Mentorship
Scaling Teams
Cross-functional Alignment
Relationship Building
Growth Design
B2B, B2B2C, and D2C
Native Mobile and Cross-Platform
Recent Experience
Senior Director of Product Design
Zillow
Leading Product Design for Follow Up Boss, partnering across Product, Engineering, Research, and executive leadership to shape the future of CRM and AI-powered experiences for real estate professionals
2022 — Present
Director of Product Design
CNN
Scaled and led a team of multi-disciplinary Product Designers and UX Writers focused on acquisition, conversion, and retention for CNN+, and creating solutions that span web, mobile apps, and TV apps/OTT experiences.
2020-2022
Director of Product Design
Prudential Global Investment Management (PGIM)
Led digital transformation of PGIM by leading the work to launch a new brand, CMS, and scalable design system across eight businesses while managing C-suite stakeholders and driving the work from discovery through usability testing.
2019-2020
Director of UX
Red Ventures
Drove UX design and research organization-wide at Red Ventures, shaping team structure and growth culture while hands-on leading complex design work in banking and finance from sprint facilitation through cross-functional delivery.
2016-2019
What people say
"
One of Heather’s strengths is creating a working environment where feedback can happen in a thoughtful and constructive way. Through team critiques and regular conversations, she helps create space for work to be reviewed openly, which supports learning, collaboration, and a healthy environment. Her feedback is often most helpful when it comes at key moments in the work and helps clarify direction without taking away ownership.
From a direct report
Heather Buchma
PRODUCT DESIGN LEADER
9
Years of leadership
15+
Years of practice
150M+
Users reached
Selected Work
ZILLOW / FOLLOW UP BOSS
Scaling Design Through Organizational Change
2025
ZILLOW PRO
Launching the Zillow Professional Subscription
2026
CNN+
Building a New Streaming Platform
2022
Human-centered
leadership
MY LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY
My responsibility is to create an environment where great designers and great leaders thrive. That means providing clarity during ambiguity, protecting teams from unnecessary distraction, investing intentionally in career growth, and helping people build confidence through meaningful ownership.
People who have worked with me often describe me as supportive, direct, and deeply invested in their success. I take those descriptions seriously because I believe leadership isn't measured by the work you personally produce. It's measured by the impact your team creates together.
No framework, roadmap, or organizational chart can replace genuine curiosity. We can have strong opinions informed by experience but ultimately our customers decide whether we've solved the right problem.
The best design organizations never stop learning.
Expertise
Product Strategy
AI Product Innovation
Organization Leadership
Design Quality & Execution
Executive Communication
Coaching & Mentorship
Scaling Teams
Cross-functional Alignment
Relationship Building
Growth Design
B2B, B2B2C, and D2C
Native Mobile and Cross-Platform
What people say
Heather Buchma
PRODUCT DESIGN LEADER
9
Years of leadership
15+
Years of practice
150M+
Users reached
Selected Work
Human-centered
leadership
MY LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY
My responsibility is to create an environment where great designers and great leaders thrive. That means providing clarity during ambiguity, protecting teams from unnecessary distraction, investing intentionally in career growth, and helping people build confidence through meaningful ownership.
People who have worked with me often describe me as supportive, direct, and deeply invested in their success. I take those descriptions seriously because I believe leadership isn't measured by the work you personally produce. It's measured by the impact your team creates together.
No framework, roadmap, or organizational chart can replace genuine curiosity. We can have strong opinions informed by experience but ultimately our customers decide whether we've solved the right problem.
The best design organizations never stop learning.
Expertise
Product Strategy
AI Product Innovation
Organization Leadership
Design Quality & Execution
Executive Communication
Coaching & Mentorship
Scaling Teams
Cross-functional Alignment
Relationship Building
Growth Design
B2B, B2B2C, and D2C
Native Mobile and Cross-Platform
What people say