Graham
Beale
A design leader for human-centred AI.
Built design teams, a design system and an accessibility practice from scratch at Yell and Mimecast. Now running live experiments in how AI can strengthen human judgement rather than replace it.
Open to Head of, Director and VP roles. Available now.
- Marketplace NPS Yell touchpoint NPS 47
- Team growth Mimecast design team grown from 4 to 8 across 3 disciplines
- Functions built Three design functions: Symantec, Yell, Mimecast
- Accessibility ISO 30071-1:2019 programme delivered at Mimecast
About
I make complex systems work for the people who use them. Across media, finance, telecoms, edtech and cybersecurity, the thread has stayed the same: find what an organisation isn't ready to tackle, build the evidence to make the case, then create the team and product conditions that make the work stick.
At Yell, Google was eating into the core business model. I led the research and concept behind a two-sided marketplace, tested with twelve vertical competitors and twelve users across two groups. It was built after I left and reached a touchpoint NPS of 47.
At Mimecast, I built three practices from nothing: a research function aligned to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, an accessibility programme built to ISO 30071-1:2019, and Mimecast Elements, a design system that became the shared standard across the product portfolio. When the organisation moved to an AI-first operating model, I turned the design function into a guild, with designers prototyping in Figma Make and engineering leaders running Cursor training for the team.
That experience shaped how I think about AI in product organisations now. When AI removes the technical barriers between roles, the question stops being about capability and starts being about legitimacy: who has the right to do what, and who's accountable for the result. Legitimacy comes from outcome ownership, not from who held the skill first. I call the conditions that make that possible care capital: the confidence, collaboration and open critique that let people exercise their own judgement instead of just executing.
I build the evidence, the team and the product conditions that make design work stick, in organisations where design, product and engineering share ownership of the outcome. I am happy to talk about where that would help.
Education and professional development
Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Oxford Programme in Organising for AI, 2026
Falmouth University College
BA (Hons) Graphic Communication, First Class Honours
PAIR, Google People + AI Research
Hands-on AI Masterclass: Fundamentals, Proficiency, and Mastery. Issued June 2025
Certified PRINCE2 Practitioner
Nielsen Norman Group
Designing Multi-User Services · Expert Reviews · How to Communicate Test Results · Interaction Design 2
Adaptive Path
Design Research · Design Strategy · Information Architecture · Interaction Design
What colleagues say
“Graham hired me and created the accessibility role I stepped into at Mimecast. He understood accessibility as an essential part of creating better experiences for everyone, not just a compliance exercise.”
Andrew Doyle, Senior Accessibility Specialist, ClarivateReported to Graham at Mimecast
“He consistently advocated for the value of user research, and grew the team to two full-time researchers, whilst enabling designers to also carry out research. He aligned researchers to specific product pillars, building real continuity and domain expertise.”
Vasiliki Georgiou, UX ResearcherReported to Graham at Mimecast
“Graham tirelessly works behind the scenes, never seeking the spotlight, always working for the benefit of the end user.”
Harvey Seale, SVP Governance and Certification Office, Global DPOSenior colleague at Mimecast
Career history
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Career break Apr 2026 to Present
Independent research, study and civic work
A planned break to build hands-on experience of AI-native product work. TurbulentGround (opens in new tab): designed and ran a live product built by a team of AI agents (product, design, engineering, analytics and QA) over 17 sprints, then reworked how they operated around human review, approval and reversibility. Now a registered study of how AI is changing work in product teams. Alongside it: the Oxford Programme in Organising for AI (Saïd Business School, 2026), continuing as a borough councillor, the One Legal board, and volunteer design work for a local pre-school.
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User Experience Director (previously Product Design and Research Director) Sep 2020 to Mar 2026
Cybersecurity SaaS
Around 40,000 customers. Team of eight across design, research and accessibility. The title followed the operating model: Product Design and Research Director while the team ran as a central service, User Experience Director once designers led embedded product squads. Built three practices from the ground up: a user research function embedded across product squads, an accessibility practice aligned to ISO 30071-1, and Mimecast Elements, a design system that became the shared standard across the portfolio. When Mimecast moved to an AI-first operating model, restructured the team as a guild, with designers and engineers sharing tools and skills daily.
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Lead UX/UI Design Instructor Jun 2019 to Sep 2020
Global Technology Bootcamp
Led a six-month UX/UI bootcamp as senior instructor, teaching and coaching over 300 students through a significant career change. Graduates have gone on to design roles at Sky, British Airways, Oracle, Starling Bank, HMRC and the Home Office.
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Head of User Experience Design May 2015 to Jun 2019
Digital Marketplace
Led UX across three cross-functional product teams during Yell's shift from directory to marketplace. With Google eroding organic search, led the research and validation of a two-sided marketplace built on trust signals and co-created quoting. Built after I left, it went from beta to scale in nine months and reached a touchpoint NPS of 47.
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Senior Manager, User Experience Dec 2013 to Apr 2015
Financial Services
Joined the innovation team to lead experience design for PayM and Zapp, two new payment systems integrated into the Nationwide app. In a strict waterfall environment with a divided design organisation, started a voluntary Lightning Talks programme that drew 20 to 30 people from across the business and built the cross-functional trust that made delivery possible. Both systems launched at full customer scale.
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Head of User Experience Oct 2012 to Dec 2013
Everyclick Charitable Giving
Led UX for a startup directing a share of affiliate marketing revenue from everyday online shopping to charitable causes. The most significant project was a marketplace developed with Age UK, connecting older consumers with relevant products and services while generating charitable income.
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Principal Information Architect Apr 2012 to Oct 2012
Global Telecommunications
Brought in to lead the evolution of Vodafone's UK online presence, taking over from an external contractor team. Led design on NewCo, a strategic digital platform built in partnership with Hewlett Packard.
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User Experience Team Manager Apr 2009 to Apr 2012
Enterprise Cybersecurity
Led UX for a pilot mobile app giving enterprise email administrators the ability to manage critical security tasks away from their desks. Customer feedback led directly to an iPad version the following year. Recognised with the Symantec CEO Applause Award for Innovation (FY12). Earlier dashboard work received the CEO Applause Award for Team Working (FY11).
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Senior Interaction Designer Oct 2007 to Apr 2009
Global Digital Media
Led experience design for Yahoo! Finance's currencies section across European and US markets, at the time the most widely used financial website in the world. Research revealed that many European travellers had no idea what currency was used at their destination. The result was a location-first converter that let users search by country, city or resort name rather than currency code. Every competitor used a dropdown list. This was the first tool to start from where users actually were.
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Interaction Designer May 2002 to Oct 2007
Radio, Innovation & News
Five years across three internal roles: Radio and Music Interactive, Innovation and Research, and BBC News. Partnered with Flow Interactive to bring user-centred design into the Radio and Music department, one of the first teams at the BBC to work this way. Early concepts for BBC content aggregation pages were later developed into BBC Topic.
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Web Designer Jun 1999 to Nov 2001
National Newspaper
Part of the team behind the redesign of one of the UK's first newspaper websites, repositioning the brand from Electronic Telegraph to telegraph.co.uk.
Selected work
Four case studies covering the Yell marketplace redesign, Mimecast's accessibility practice, the Mimecast Elements design system, and the AI-first guild model.
Get in touch
Open to conversations about senior design leadership roles. Email me or book 30 minutes.