Three areas of deep practice.
Design leadership, mentorship, and speaking — each shaped by 22 years of hands-on work at IBM, TCS, and beyond.
Talks, panels & workshops
Design Leadership & Strategy
Strategic consulting for organisations building or scaling design practices.
- —AI-native product design strategy
- —Design leadership in the AI transition
- —AI-augmented workflow design
- —UX Centre of Excellence setup
- —Process design & team maturity
- —Design organisation advisory
- —Enterprise UX consulting
Mentorship Sessions
1-on-1 coaching for designers at every career stage.
- —AI-fluent portfolio coaching
- —Agentic engineering coaching for designers
- —Design career navigation in the AI shift
- —Role clarity & career direction
- —Leadership readiness
- —UX coaching & feedback
- —Design thinking + AI
Workshops & Speaking
Workshops and keynotes for teams, conferences, and organisations.
- —Building AI-native products
- —From Idea to shipped product
- —The Psychology of Creativity in the AI era
- —Design Thinking in the AI age
- —Leading design teams through the AI transition
- —Enterprise design systems
- —Design education in the AI age
Common questions
Who is Anil (Neelakandan)?
Anil G is a UX design leader, mentor, and speaker with 22+ years of experience in enterprise design, design strategy, and building design practices. His work spans UX mentoring, design leadership, UX studio setup, and the evolving role of AI in design.
What can I work on with Anil through UX mentoring?
Mentoring can focus on career direction, portfolio storytelling, UX practice, stakeholder communication, or preparation for a leadership role. Sessions centre on your current challenges and help you identify practical next steps.
How is UX leadership coaching different from UX mentoring?
UX mentoring supports individual craft and career development. Leadership coaching focuses on leading people and design practice: influencing decisions, aligning with Product and Engineering, developing teams, and working through organisational constraints.
What does UX and AI mentoring cover?
UX and AI mentoring explores how designers can use AI in their work while retaining ownership of design decisions. Topics include AI-assisted exploration and prototyping, evaluating generated outputs, communicating your contribution in a portfolio, and adapting your skills as design practice evolves.
Does Anil help organisations establish UX studios or Centres of Excellence?
Yes. Anil advises organisations on building and strengthening UX practices, including design strategy, studio setup, ways of working, and team maturity. The focus depends on whether the organisation is establishing a new practice or improving an existing one.
How can Anil help teams improve AI-enabled UX workflows?
Anil helps teams examine where AI can support their design process and where human judgment remains essential. This includes reviewing workflows, clarifying responsibilities, and establishing review practices so teams can evaluate AI outputs before using them in design decisions.
What does Anil's work in AI and design leadership focus on?
His focus is how design leaders guide teams, shape experiences involving AI, and adapt design practice as AI becomes part of everyday work. This connects design strategy, team capability, and human- and agent-centred experiences.
What topics does Anil speak about at conferences and events?
Anil speaks about UX and design leadership, design thinking in the AI age, human- and agent-centred design, enterprise UX, and the changing role of designers. Enquiries can cover conference talks, panel discussions, and workshops for professional or educational audiences.
Does Anil offer workshops for organisations and educational institutions?
Yes. Workshops cover design thinking, UX practice, design leadership, and AI's role in design. Contact Anil with your audience, learning goals, and preferred format to discuss a suitable session.
How do I book mentoring, consulting, or a speaking engagement?
Book individual mentoring through ADPList. For organisational consulting, UX studio setup, workshops, or conference speaking, use the contact page and include your goals, audience, and timeline.
Get in touch
Interested in working together?
Whether you're building a design practice, preparing your portfolio, or looking for a speaker, reach out.