Sharon Carter
Product Experience Leader Delivering ROI
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$161M+ in measurable business outcomes ~ driven by research-led strategy, not guesswork.
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6 organizations built or transformed ~ from startup to enterprise, teams of 4 to 91.
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Products still in market a decade later ~ because good UX isn't a launch, it's a legacy.
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I don't just improve experiences, I translate research into revenue, usability into productivity, and insights into action.
About Me
I see things others miss, in processes, in products, and in people.
My career has spanned media production, graphic design, marketing, development, and UX. That breadth taught me to connect dots across silos, question assumptions, and look at problems from angles others don't consider.
But the work I'm most proud of isn't on a roadmap or in a metrics dashboard. It's in the people I've led, the ones I believed in before they believed in themselves, the ones I challenged and empowered, the ones who've gone on to do incredible things.
I build teams, yes. I ship products that last. I turn research into outcomes. But what drives me is seeing potential and doing something about it, whether that's a broken process, a misguided product, or a person who just needs someone to take a chance on them.
When I'm not building UX teams, I'm building worlds. I'm a published fantasy author crafting an epic series. Turns out world-building and systems thinking translate pretty well across disciplines.
Case Studies
Creating the New or Different: Strategic Mindset
Influence: Organizational Savvy & Persuasion
Creating Impact: Drives Results
01
Orchestrated a nationwide research initiative: 3 days, 16 states, 400+ stores that uncovered systemic friction invisible in one market, influencing decisions across seven executive divisions and preserving $86M in annual replacement costs.
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220+ UXers across the nation, problems impacting 500K associates, break the silos an mobilize the team
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Three years. 1 EVP, 3 SVPs, 6 VPs, 180 stakeholders. Built the coalition before building the team. Alignment first, funding second.
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​$86M in savings. 500K associates impacted with one project in seven months.
02
Championed a research-driven pivot that replaced a 34-page technical document with a visual guide and education ecosystem, achieving 100% usability success, zero support calls, and $1M saved in the first 30 days across 125K merchants.
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Customer age demographic is not technical, asking them to upgrade their own point of sale? Simplify instead, don't throw people and money at the problem.
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Executives focused on a date.
"Let me show you something." Watching our customers fail on video, the COO said: "You made your point. What do you propose?"​ -
$1M saved. Zero support calls. 125K merchants successfully upgrade. All in the first 30 days.
03
Influenced product strategy through field research in Brisbane, redirecting investment from a failing flagship into a hybrid solution that's now on V11.5 still their core platform over a decade later while the original product was discontinued.
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When enhancing instead of redesigning is the "smart" option; giving travel agents the best of both worlds, Smartpoint.
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New in role, big ideas. I asked to go learn. A roadshow across the US and Australia gave me the credibility to propose something different.
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Smartpoint v1. Now v11.5. Today their flagship platform.​
Leadership Philosophy
I build collaborative teams by seeing people.
I hire for diversity of thought and unrealized capability. I don't hire credentials. I hire mindset. I look for people with core skills that may not be realized yet. Someone from fashion who's a researcher but doesn't know UX terms. Someone from music who understands experience design but hasn't labeled it that way. Someone with potential they haven't discovered yet.
I don't hire rockstars or solo operators. I hire culture builders, people who collaborate, learn from each other, and grow together.
My job as a servant leader: opening doors to new opportunities, clearing the path for my team to succeed, developing people, challenging them, and believing in them before they believe in themselves. When they get promoted, when they thrive, that's my win too.
Leading with Integrity
...wanted to tell you thank you so much for everything. You believed in me and gave me opportunities sometimes even when I didn’t fully deserve it but you believed in me. You challenged and empowered me. I am going to miss you so much and I hope to cross paths again with you....
...again thank you for the amazing influence you have had on my life.
Home Depot Associate