Hector Ouilhet
Hector Ouilhet

Transforming people, products, and processes through human centric values.

 
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What I do

Vision

I inspire people to action by articulating aspirations and opportunities.

“… some of my best memories are working with you, as you designed the key interactions for the assistant. The patterns *you* created will form the pattern for future interactions with intelligent computing. Who else can say that??? “
Scott Huffman - VP of Engineering, Google

Translation

I enable momentum by bridging business, engineering, and user goals.

“… your insight and thoughtfulness was so often the silent hand helping our users do more and make progress with things that matter to them…”
Simon Tokumine, Director of Product Management, Google

Perspective

I interpolate between 20,000 and 20 foot views across expansive ecosystems.

“…so few people have the eternal curiosity you exhibit for all things, the ability to connect dots and people with such lucidity, and the elasticity to constantly interpolate between the 50k foot and the 5 inch view across an expansive ecosystem like Google’s…”
Bobby Nath - VP of UX Google

Experience

From scratch to ship: Solving people’s problems by creatively crafting technology

Transformed how billions of people learn, write, communicate, and interact with technology by creating and launching 10+ products (Google Search, Google Ads manager, Google Assistant, Google Docs, Google Sky Map, Google Now, Android TV, Google Voice Actions, etc).

Granted 14 patents.
Won Grand Prize- Best Everyday Utility - Google Now at UX Awards

Scaling excellence: Solving organizational problems to deliver value for everyone

Transformed people into leaders through adaptive sponsorship and support strategies. I’ve built, led, scaled, and nurtured teams (ranging from 3 → 280 people) containing multiple functions, such as: visual, motion, interaction, voice, content strategy, research, operations, and engineering.

“There is a direct correlation between my success and Hector believing in me. His insight and support opened doors that catapulted me to my dream job and my team benefits directly from the lessons he shared.”
Natalie Phillips-Hamblett, VP Design at Zocdoc

Organizational UX Head of Android @ Home, Android Assist & Voice, Google Now, Google Search, Google Assistant, multiple innovation groups.

Igniting Innovation: Solving existential problems by questioning the status quo

Transformed processes into sustainable improvements that enabled human centric outcomes. Set a new standard of expectations around senior contribution by being Google’s first Distinguished Designer

Championed human centric design at Google by sponsoring programs targeting senior individual contributors- elevating the craft, creating community, and a sense of purpose. 

“...What you did for me, and I suspect for many others, was a masterclass in managing complexity through critical dialogue. I will carry these lessons with me” Vikram Bapat Director of UX at Google


Maintained depth and relevance by constant publishing thought leadership. (14 articles)

“ Amazing experiment and insights. This should be a Netflix documentary :)“
Othar Hansson Principal Engineer at Google


Hired top talent by exposing thinking of innovation and human centered design. (35 talks) 

“ I learned so much from you on how to recruit top UX talent, and what a force you were in drawing candidates to Google”
Nirada Vijay Executive Recruiting at Google


Featured in Wired, FastCo, Forbes, Business Insider, GQ, etc. Press


Created a new design function (Conversation Design) and evolved it into a Google-wide discipline

“ Hector - Thank you for being you and for being a supporter from the very start. I credit you with getting me excited about Google, even YEARS before it actually happened. “ 
Karen Kaushansky Staff Conversation Designer at Google


Expanded horizons and minimized risk to 20+ product teams by delivering 5+ yrs solutions unconstrained by short term constraints.

“ We tried an idea of exploring corridors more than a decade ago, which is now available on Google Maps as Explore. I was amazed to work with you “.
Masanori Goto - Director of Engineering, Google

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Publications

Championing human-centric design

"My most significant and sustainable performance boost has undoubtedly come from recalibrating my core beliefs. It’s given me a sense of sovereignty that you can only attain once you’ve fully embraced who you are and who you aren’t, what you can and can’t do." — Hector Ouilhet, "Contrary to Popular Belief: A personal tale of managing your career by molding your character," Google Design's first Op-Ed.” 
Rob Giampietro,  Independent creative director | formerly Google, MoMA, RISD

Talks

Passionately provoking betterment

“ I love that you are challenging efficiency as the holy grail!”
Margaret Lee Design Executive Coach (ICF accredited), Speaker, Start-up Advisor

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Press

Interviews and articles

Latinx

Advocate for advancement

As one of Google’s most senior latinos, I sponsored, started, and supervised ongoing company wide investments that directly impacted 300+ latinx

  • Staffing (hiring, retention)

  • Education and leadership

  • Piloting and scaling product inclusion

  • Metrics stakeholder

“… you're the role model of a senior Latinx leader at Google for me, and I have deep admiration for how you show up with relentless enthusiasm, optimism, and authenticity…”
Daniel Rocha, Sr Director Engineering, Google

Publications

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