Briana (Coonan) Mckown Email & Phone Number

Boston, Massachusetts, Us

San Jose, Ca, Us

Cisco is the worldwide leader in technology that powers the internet. We develop, manufacture, and sell networking hardware, software, telecommunications equipment, and other high-technology services and products.In this role I established the new Business Strategy pillar within Cisco's 40-person product design org that designs exclusively for Cisco sellers, partners, and other roles in the sales and marketing ecosystem. Key responsibilities included leading development of an annual strategy, narrative, and metrics, and ensuring we aligned to our defined strategy throughout the fiscal year. The first year’s strategy centered on a new strategic design offering for which I led internal business development to build relationships, identify high-impact project opportunities, and scope the work alongside Product, Business, and Engineering leaders. I also developed frameworks for project prioritization and target portfolio composition, led intake process design, defined formal innovation principles to guide project work, and contributed to our formal AI point of view.In addition to the above responsibilities, I collaborated with three peers to support our Sr. Director in leading the greater org, including org design, operations, talent strategy, comms, and more. Our org was comprised of individual contributors, Managers, and Directors in UX/UI Design, UX Engineering, Service Design, UX Research, Experience Strategy, Program Management, Business Operations, and Design Operations (DesignOps).

San Jose, Ca, Us

In this role I established the Workforce Experience org’s first innovation team, which worked to find and execute on Cisco’s biggest and most challenging workforce experience design opportunities. During this time we led a product and service design project to dramatically decrease the time to bring new Cisco offers to market in a new, high-priority buying program. We also completed two major internal strategy projects to shape the direction of the Workforce Experience org as a whole. And I led design and facilitation of quarterly design jams (hackathons), both in-person and virtual, to give employees a break from day-to-day work and a chance to innovate in a fun, low-pressure environment.

San Jose, Ca, Us

As a Lead Design Strategist (initially titled Design Thinking Specialist) in Cisco’s Workforce Experience org I educated and coached sales and marketing experience design teams on employing the design thinking process, methods, and mindset in everything we did. I also guided teams in stakeholder management, project management, and presentation design, including presentations for our COO. Finally, I contributed to defining design processes, roles and responsibilities, and culture for our org, which was less than a year old.

Boston, Massachusetts, Us

Iron Mountain is a global information management company serving 95% of the Fortune 1000. As one of Iron Mountain’s first Design Researchers, I enjoyed the opportunity to help stand up a new innovation practice in addition to my primary responsibilities leading interdisciplinary project teams. The innovation practice tackles big problems for customers across a wide variety of industries by following the design thinking process to design and prototype brand new products and services, build POCs and MVPs, and then pilot them with customers. My projects explored data aggregation and monetization in biomedical research, AI claims fraud detection in healthcare, and ransomware recovery in financial services and beyond. All projects enjoyed high visibility within the organization and involved collaboration with colleagues in other Iron Mountain functions, such as Sales, Technology, Risk, and Legal, as well as Product and Marketing. I contributed to the establishment of the practice by designing standards such as project structure and processes, concept evaluation criteria, and job descriptions. I also mentored colleagues new to innovation and design thinking. Lastly, I was featured in company-wide publications about my work and one of only ten people selected for the Global Technology and Innovation Organization’s first Women’s Leadership Program.

In this role I had the pleasure of working with global clients in food and beverage, SaaS, fintech, real estate, and entertainment industries. Projects included human-centered schematic workplace design; marketing strategy workshop facilitation and twelve-month tactical marketing plan; stewardship of marketing plan execution, including hands-on support with visual design, video production, photography, writing, and event planning; SaaS product content strategy; and more.

San Francisco, California, Us

IDEO (pronounced “EYE-dee-oh”) is an award-winning global design firm that takes a human-centered, design-based approach to helping organizations in the public and private sectors innovate and grow. IDEO was ranked #10 on Fast Company’s list of the Top 25 Most Innovative Companies and #16 on Fortune’s list of 100 most-favored employers by MBA students. IDEO Chicago has particularly strong expertise in digital-physical prototyping, connected systems, and data and design, with a majority of clients in financial services, automotive, retail, and food and beverage industries.As the Business Operations Lead at the Chicago location, I worked closely with the Managing Director and senior leadership team in overseeing the business health of the studio. This included significant contributions to business development, business intelligence, annual business planning, and risk management, as well as supporting Project Leads in managing projects, clients, and teams. Additional areas of impact were marketing, talent planning, project resourcing, and employee experience. I also worked closely with the global legal and finance teams in Palo Alto, and maintained regular connection with the CFO/COO and the greater business operations team across the globe.Perhaps the most valuable IDEO experience was full immersion in its highly regarded, often glorified company culture. Grounded in a trust-based philosophy, the company's values attract and support a profoundly talented, inspiring, and seriously fun community of some the smartest people I know.

Rosemont, Il, Us

Insight Consulting Group (ICG) is a boutique management consulting firm specializing in uncovering unique insight and translating that into meaningful business recommendations. ICG consultants leverage backgrounds in psychology and ethnography with significant cross-functional industry experience to advise clients operating in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, entertainment, travel, and more. As a Research Manager reporting directly to the VP of Market Research, I led a team of Research Analysts to conduct qualitative research within our Online Communities of Interest, as well as ad hoc research projects that included in-depth interviews, focus groups, quant studies, secondary research, and other methodologies. In this role I had the pleasure of working with multiple global pharmaceutical companies, their associated advertising agencies, and one of the world's largest interactive marketing agencies.

Rosemont, Il, Us

As a Communities Analyst reporting directly to the VP of Market Research, I conducted qualitative research within our Online Communities of Interest, which are customized, private social networks of consumers or other persons of interest that interact virtually for up to a year. I worked with my clients to define business objectives, develop research plans to address those objectives, and conduct the actual research. I then analyzed and synthesized the data to identify key insights and business opportunities, and communicated my recommendations in visually compelling presentations. In this role I had the pleasure of working with global pharmaceutical companies, an international professional sports organization, and each of their associated advertising agencies.

Phoenix, Arizona, Us

Orcutt | Winslow is a full-service architecture and design firm specializing in the education, healthcare, and senior living markets. The firm's 40+ years of experience have generated a $4 billion portfolio of sustainable, human-centered architecture, the inspiration for nearly 100 design awards. Orcutt | Winslow has also been recognized as one of Architectural Record’s Best Managed Firms, AIA Western Mountain Region's Architectural Firm of the Year, and AIA Arizona’s Architectural Firm of the Year.As the Business Manager, I was responsible for financial management, planning, and analysis in addition to review and negotiation of proposals and contracts, reporting directly to the Business Partner. I was also able to gain some experience in software product management, public relations, marketing, and strategic planning. Finally, I chaired the company’s Environmental Committee, promoting sustainability through educational initiatives, project design, and firm operations.

Phoenix, Arizona, Us

Orcutt | Winslow is a full-service architecture and design firm specializing in the education, healthcare, and senior living markets. The firm's 40+ years of experience have generated a $4 billion portfolio of sustainable, human-centered architecture, the inspiration for nearly 100 design awards. Orcutt | Winslow has also been recognized as one of Architectural Record’s Best Managed Firms, AIA Western Mountain Region's Architectural Firm of the Year, and AIA Arizona’s Architectural Firm of the Year.As an intern, I was exposed to a wide variety of business management responsibilities by working closely with the Director of Operations and the Business Partner. Recognizing an invaluable growth opportunity, I soon accepted an offer to join the firm full time post-graduation.

Sonik Magazine was a regional nightlife, entertainment, and fashion magazine. As I began my Graphic Design studies at Arizona State University, I seized this opportunity to learn about magazine design and production. Although primary contributions were in laying out pages for print, I was also able to learn about event planning and content creation. One assignment granted full ownership in researching, selecting, securing permissions, laying out images, and writing copy for a magazine piece on new fashion and lifestyle products.

Master Of Business Administration (M.B.A.), Design Strategy

Bachelor Of Science (B.S.), Finance