Francesca Polimeni

Hi, I’m Fran.

I help bold teams and visionary leaders rethink how they create, collaborate, and grow — with strategy, AI, and design that keeps people at the core.You bring the challenge. I bring clarity, creative tools, and a bias toward action.

What I do

I help people and teams who are navigating complex, high-stakes transitions, and want to do it with clarity, creativity and strategic intent.

  • Strategic shifts and growth transitions

  • Product pivots or service redesigns

  • Early integration of AI into workflows

  • Innovation under real-world constraints

  • Data-informed decision-making (no guesswork)

I help you move fast, not by rushing, but by working with purpose, people and proven tools.

Let’s figure it out together

How we can work together

Strategic sessions

Strategic
sessions

Gain clarity fast

Short, focused engagements to help you map next steps and make decisions with confidence.

Project design & co-creation

Project design
& co-creation

Shape smarter solutions

I partner with you (or your team) to ideate, test, and refine solutions, fast.

Mentoring & capability-building

Mentoring &
skills acceleration

Grow design + AI skills

For individuals or teams who want to build capability through real challenges.

Workshops & facilitation

Workshops
& facilitation

Spark fast breakthroughs

Custom sessions to align, prototype, unblock, or spark what’s next.

While I often lead solo engagements, I build tailored teams or collaborate with your own people when the challenge calls for it.

Curious about working together?

Let’s build what’s next with purpose, with creativity, and with people in mind.

A few highlights from projects I’ve led or co-designed:

  • Led cultural change initiatives that empowered teams to adopt agile and collaborative ways of working, resulting in a 30% improvement in delivery speed (AMD).

  • Over 500 people trained in Agile methodologies across LATAM through workshops and synchronous programs (Design Thinking House).

  • Scaled and led a multidisciplinary team from 7 to 50 people, strengthening UX, research, and product strategy capabilities while partnering with Avanade as the main client (Accenture).

  • Generated strategic insights to inform product improvements by conducting in-depth UX research with farmers from the US and Canada during planting and harvest seasons (Bayer / Magoya).

  • Designed and delivered in-company UX training programs for Santander Río, implemented across multiple cohorts to strengthen design and research capabilities within the organization (Digital House).

  • Led a discovery process with users and industry partners to design an MVP now being tested live, paving the way for a scalable B2B ecosystem (B2B Wholesale Marketplace).

Curious about my work?

About me

I’m a strategy and innovation consultant with 10+ years helping teams move from fuzzy ideas to bold action.

I bridge creativity and clarity combining design thinking, business strategy, and AI tools to unlock progress.

I don’t show up with slides.
I show up with real questions, sharp tools, and sleeves rolled up.

Companies that have trusted me

What people say

Innovation First (Community)

A global space for people exploring what’s next at the intersection of strategy, design and AI.

I also host Innovation First, a community for people working at the intersection of design, strategy, and AI.It’s where I share real experiments, tools and ideas to help you lead with purpose, and stay ahead of the curve.Whether you’re leading change or just exploring what's next, you're welcome to join.

Have something big (or messy) on your mind?

Let’s turn it into something brilliant, together.

Designing what’s next. With strategy, clarity and creative fire, and a deep belief in what’s possible.