Recalibration: Design leadership talent in an employer's market

We're hosting an upcoming Fireside conversation with Dirk Cleveland, Co-founder at Fusion.

In this member-exclusive session hosted by Gordon Ching, Founder and CEO of Design Executive Council, Dirk will share what a top executive recruiter is seeing on the ground in a talent market that has structurally shifted — how marketplace dynamics are changing and where the hottest areas of design hiring are today. The conversation turns to AI's influence: which roles are being redefined, which are being eliminated, and what competencies are commanding attention now that AI fluency is no longer a differentiator but a baseline expectation. For job seekers, competition is real and the bar has moved. Learn what employers are actually evaluating — beyond portfolio and title — and how to position yourself as a leader who can operate at the intersection of design, AI, and business outcomes.

For design employers, hiring for design talent looks different than it did two years ago, and this session will help set context for the trends shaping today's tech landscape. The conversation also turns to compensation: as the market moves decidedly employer-side, understand how compensation structures, equity expectations, and total packages are being recalibrated — and what that means for both sides of the table.