Sofia Charalampous

I am a people-oriented leader with 20+ years of diverse experience as a product designer, product manager, team leader and front-end developer in the tech industry. I've worked in several European countries, different industries, and cultures.

Working with different clients and industries has helped me build a strong foundation of business and commercial awareness that I use to both solve complex problems and lead teams.

Head of Product Design Oct '21 - Nov '22

Auden.com _ Manchester, UK

AUDEN is on a mission to improve Britain’s financial health and wellbeing. Our goal is to help our customers manage their money in a new way. As a tech company, we’re doing this by using the power of data. Some of my key responsibilities leading the design teams at Auden:

  • - Managing a team of 3 UX designers and 2 Graphic Designers
  • - Leading UX Strategy and Vision
  • - Mentoring and Coaching Designers
  • - Hiring and Interviewing Designers

Lead Product Designer Aug '19 - Oct '21

AO.com _ Manchester, UK

At AO we are determined to do whatever’s necessary to make our customers happy! We have an exceptional UX team that strives to improve our customer’s experience on our website every day. Some of my key responsibilities working as a Lead Product Designer at AO:

  • - Managing 5 UX Designers
  • - Leading 3 product teams
  • - Mentoring & Coaching Designers
  • - Building & establishing a Competency Framework
  • - Build a Design System
  • - Service Design
  • - Cross platform design
  • - Leading various B2B / B2C projects and initiatives across AO

Senior Product Designer Jan '19 - Aug '19

BookingGO _ Manchester, UK

BookingGO is the ground transport division of Booking.com. Our goal is to empower people to get where they're going, whether they’re taking the wheel or sitting back and leaving it to the driver. I worked closely with UX researchers, product owners and developers in order to build new products and optimize existing ones. Some of my key responsibilities:

  • - Prototyping and creating user flows
  • - Information Architecture
  • - Conducting research and Usability Testing
  • - Cross platform design
  • - Service Design
  • - Interviewing Designers / Hiring

Senior Product Designer Mar '18 - Dec '18

Retail InMotion _ Dublin, Ireland

Retail inMotion are specialists in the ever-growing onboard retail business which drives airline ancillary revenue and reduces inflight costs. I’m focusing on improving the overall user experience and interface design for various products across different platforms, while working with cross functional teams.

  • - Cross platform design
  • - Service Design
  • - User research & Usability Testing
  • - Information Architecture
  • - Prototyping
  • - Mentoring interns & junior designers

UX Designer Jan '17 - Mar '18

Booking.com _ Amsterdam, NL

I worked as part of a team that helps improve the online user experience at Booking.com - the world's leading online hotel reservations agency. I was focusing on customer loyalty and the challenges of new product development. I collaborated on a daily-basis with developers, product owners, copywriters, data-scientists and researchers in order to analyze, reveal, and address customer pain-points and explore further opportunities for growth.

  • - Identify user problems through research and data analysis
  • - A/B Testing
  • - Front-end Development (HTML / CSS / JS)
  • - Cross platform design
  • - Prototyping and creating user flows
  • - Facilitating brainstorming sessions & workshops

Founder Sep '11 - Dec '16
Lead Designer & Product Manager

CortexWave Ltd. _ Athens, Greece

In 2011 I founded a digital agency in Athens, Greece. We created digital products and solutions for more than 80 clients (B2B & B2C). I managed and coordinated a team of 7 people (designers, developers, account managers and server specialists). I acted as the Lead Designer and also as a Project / Product Manager.

    Design
  • - Product Design (UX / UI)
  • - Information Architecture
  • - Front-end Development
  • - Conducting Research
    Product Management
  • - Planning & Budgeting for projects
  • - Competitors Analysis / Research
  • - Coordinating development
  • - Managing stakeholders

Skills

Leadership

  • - Agility & Adaptability
  • - Strategic Thinking
  • - Empathy & Active Listening
  • - Coaching & Mentoring
  • - Conflict Management
  • - Negotiation
  • - Motivating Individuals & Teams
  • - Managing & Hiring Talent

Design

  • - UX Design
  • - UI Design
  • - Interaction Design
  • - Service Design
  • - User Research
  • - Usability Testing
  • - A/B Testing
  • - Information Architecture

Product / Project Management

  • - Agile Methodologies
  • - Project Management
  • - Competitors Analysis / Research
  • - Coordinating Development
  • - Backlog Management
  • - Time Management
  • - Creative Thinking & Problem Solving
  • - Storytelling

Front-End Development

  • - HTML
  • - CSS
  • - JavaScript
  • - Web Accessibility
  • - Bootstrap Framework
  • - Foundation & UI Kit
  • - WordPress & Joomla CMS

Education

The Interaction Design Foundation

Licenses and Certifications

  • Accessibility: Design for All
  • UX Management: Strategy & Tactics
  • Gestalt Psychology & Web Design
  • Mobile User Experience Design
  • User Research Methods
  • Conducting Usability Testing
  • Human-Computer Interaction - HCI

Udacity

Nanodegree Programs

  • Product Management
  • Agile Software Development

Copenhagen Business School

Strategic Management and Innovation Specialization

  • Strategic Management
  • Strategy Formulation
  • Strategy Implementation

Google Professional Certificate

Google Project Management Specialization

  • Foundations of Project Management
  • Project Initiation: Starting a Successful Project
  • Project Planning: Putting It All Together
  • Project Execution: Running the Project
  • Agile Project Management

University of Michigan

Leading People and Teams Specialization

  • Inspiring and Motivating Individuals
  • Managing Talent
  • Influencing People
  • Leading Teams

Northwestern University

Organizational Leadership Specialization

  • High Performance Collaboration: Leadership, Teamwork, and Negotiation
  • Leadership Communication for Maximum Impact: Storytelling
  • Leadership Through Social Influence
  • Leadership Through Marketing
  • Leadership Through Design Innovation

Omiros College

Associate's Degree

  • Sound Engineering
  • Music Technology

Languages

English

Full professional proficiency

Greek

Native proficiency

German

Limited working proficiency

Eligible to Work

European Union

Eligible to work within the EU as a Greek National and European Citizen.

United Kingdom

Eligible to work in the UK as a holder of an active pre-settled status.

United States

Eligible to work in the United States as a green card holder.