Michal Pasternak

• Chief Experience Officer
  Title
• Huge
  Company
• Technology
  Industry
• About
  Michal Pasternak is the Chief Experience Officer at Huge, a leading Brooklyn-based digital agency. In just a few short years, user experience has become a critical element to determining a brand's online success, and Michal has built one of the world's largest and most accomplished UX teams. In her role, Michal has driven the creation of award-winning experiences across some of the most prominent global e-commerce and media brands like American Express and TED. Michal joined Huge in 2004 as one of the company's first interaction designers and was instrumental in growing Huge's User Experience and Strategy practices over the years. In addition, Michal founded Huge School, a discipline-specific, paid apprenticeship designed to provide talented individuals with the skills necessary for a successful career at Huge. Prior to Huge, Michal worked at IDEO and Applied Materials, where she designed user-centered products for the physical world. Michal earned an MS and BS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and has studied, taught and performed improvisational theater for more than 15 years.
  
  In August 2013, Michal was promoted to become Huge's first Chief Experience Officer, charged with overseeing and growing user experience teams across all of Huge's global offices. Most recently, Michal spearheaded a number of prestigious projects such as the redesign of TED.com, American Express’ new mobile acquisition experience and the newly launched NYC.gov website. Michal has also directly helped Huge to win a number of new accounts this year such as MassMutual, Harvard Business Review, Asurion, TED, and NYC.gov, further diversifying Huge's client roster. Michal spoke about her efforts to build the Huge School to train the next generation of user experience designers at the Cannes Lions Festival in 2012 and recently judged a number of international design competitions such as the OMMA Awards, Global Digital Design Tournament and IxDA Awards.
  
  Michal left Stanford with a deep interest in designing products that improved people's lives, and a hunger to see more of the world. Unsure of how to find a career that combined her many passions, Michal uprooted from the West Coast to New York City to explore new opportunities. She made voiceover demos, started a theatrical improvisation school, performed sketch comedy, and volunteered at a number of organizations while taking acting and copywriting classes. A Craigslist job post for a copywriting position attracted Michal to Huge in 2004, where she interned for the company's 10 employees. Since Michal came on board, Huge has grown into one of New York City's fastest growing technology companies and a cornerstone of the "digital DUMBO" neighborhood. In an industry where only 3% of leadership is comprised of female talent, Michal stands out as a role model and mentor, not only designing and building some of the best brand experiences in the world, but also founding the Huge School apprenticeship program to train the next generation of user experience professionals.

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  Added: January 2014 • Updated: January 2014