ilay🇪🇸

About ilay

Design & Product Operations Manager at Made by Mad

I'm a design and operations leader with 10+ years of experience — from 0-to-1 consumer apps to enterprise platforms, leading cross-functional teams of up to 25. Red Dot winner. Fine Arts background. Currently based in Barcelona. But the part that's shaped how I lead more than anything else: I came out as queer and went through my gender transition while working inside a company, in a country where that wasn't easy or safe. I had to figure out how to be visible without being vulnerable, how to build trust across power structures that weren't built for me, and how to stay focused on delivery while navigating something very personal. That experience changed how I think about psychological safety, relationships with leadership, and what it actually takes to show up authentically at work. I focus on the management layer — how to build real relationships with business stakeholders, how to make design legible to people who don't speak design, and how to create conditions where your team can actually do good work. I come with frameworks, templates, and artifacts I've built and used in real projects — not theory. I work best with design leads who feel stuck between their team and the business, and with anyone navigating something complicated about who they are at work.

Expertise

Sessions with ilay

• General Mentorship Session (40 min)