Kedar Shiroor

Third-culture kid. Design leader. I enjoy working with teams that are obsessed with delivering lovable products to market.

SVP Design & Research · Freshworks · previously RingCentral, Tempo, Webex · Bay Area

Get in touch
Webex product era
20+
Years leading design & research
Tempo studio experience
20→100+
Orgs shaped, startup to enterprise
RingCentral AI experience
92%
Positive sentiment for RingCentral’s AI assistant
All-new Webex UI
600%
MAU growth · Webex redesign era

DEW product design system, from Freshworks

Now

Making craft land in the product, not the deck.

SVP, Design & Research · Present

At Freshworks, I’m SVP of Design & Research. I joined to elevate the UX practice.

  • The business challenge: Two varying ICPs, with different go-to-market motions.
  • The design challenge: A more sophisticated experience for agile enterprises, and a self-service-ready one for SMBs.
  • One asks for depth, the other for instant value.
  • We measure and report on discovery, adoption, and CSAT, to empirically approach the business challenge.
Mandate
Modernize UX practice so craft and research land in product.
Team
Hire sentiment, design technology, operations at company scale.
Craft
Practice modernization and DEW shared systems.
Proof
Steady increase in CSAT. Improving month-over-month case deflection. Revenue attributed to a11y adherence.
RingCentral feature overview: AI calls and notes, personalization, insights RingCentral mobile: video meeting, smart notes, and RingSense AI RingCentral live call volume globe

AI as a trusted surface, from the live site

2023–2025

Teaching 400k businesses to trust AI in the tools they already live in.

VP, Design, Research & Support Experience

I led an 80+ people UX org through an AI-powered transformation of a diverse communications portfolio.

  • The org spanned core products, eCommerce, PLG, and support experiences.
  • The craft bet was adoption: an assistant that felt useful, legible, and worthy of a brand customers already rely on.
  • We launched with a 92% positive customer sentiment.
  • We ushered in a new suite of AI-powered UCaaS and CCaaS products, with a fresh new design system.
Mandate
AI-powered transformation across a diverse portfolio; cohesive UX for 400k+ businesses.
Team
80+ UX org: product, eComm, PLG, user education / support.
Craft
Adoption-focused UX; AI assistant as a trusted surface.
Proof
92% positive sentiment · New AI UCaaS & CCaaS suite.

Mobile, 43″ device, and brand, from the live site

Tempo

2020–2023

Growing a world-class design org that could ship fitness people stick with.

VP, Design & Research

I inherited a team of 3 designers. Grew it to 20+ across product, industrial design, brand, and eCommerce.

  • We designed a full featured mobile app, a bespoke 43″ device, and top-of-funnel creative as one system.
  • We launched Tempo Move, a new mass market product in 6 months, with a launch NPS of 45.
  • I drove long-term retention & engagement strategy, driven by behavior psychology principles.
  • We built AI-powered workout experiences that tied desirability to retention.
Mandate
World-class design for connected fitness, across mobile, the 43″ screen, and brand.
Team
Small team → 20+ across product, industrial, brand, eComm.
Craft
Design vision “Kilo”; multi-surface systems; desirability tied to retention.
Proof
45 launch NPS in 6 months.
Webex by Cisco, from kedarshiroor.com

All-new Webex, from the live site

2018–2020

Rebuilding culture so a sprawling suite could feel like one product again.

Head of Design & Research

I led a 100+ person design and research org through a three-phase turnaround.

  • We rebuilt culture, renovated the product suite, and supported the all-new Webex rebrand.
  • An early PM, Eng, and Design triad and scalable systems, including Figma foundations, made cohesion travel.
  • Those efforts drove a cohesive experience and 600% growth in monthly active users, during the pandemic.
Mandate
Culture → product renovation → “all-new Webex” rebrand.
Team
100+ org; triad early; Figma foundations that travel.
Craft
Cohesion over feature sprawl, inclusive by default.
Proof
600% MAU growth.

Past experiences

Cisco

Head of Design & Research

2018–2020

CliQr

VP Design & Research

2015–2018

SAP

Vice President, Global Design

2012–2015

Nationwide

User Experience Designer

2006–2007

Earned from the chapters above

How I lead

Three moves that show up across every chapter above.

People

I build teams that obsess over craft quality, and have a passion for understanding the business behind what we do. I stay hands-on with craft and career mentorship along the way.

Purpose

It’s about a shared, collective goal, and driving toward the Northstar. I partner with product leaders and the C-suite to shape the storytelling of our strategy.

Process

I unblock teams and set them up to be hyper-productive. That starts with a strong PM, Eng, and Design triad, and systems teams actually use. In these modern times, it also means using AI as leverage to produce high-quality work.

Landscape photograph by Kedar Shiroor, Kauai, HI

Kauai, HI

From the live site landscapes

Throughline

Oman → India → US

Growing up across cultures isn’t a bio line for me. It’s why inclusive experience isn’t optional. Diversity is an operating advantage: the same instinct that shows up in who I hire and what the work feels like. Dad, husband, sports nut, landscape photographer, the quieter side of the same person who builds the orgs.

Open door

I’m always up for a real conversation. Founders, CEOs, and boards who want design leadership that moves the business. Early-career designers and researchers who want craft with altitude.

Also open to early-career designers and researchers, same inbox.