Rosenverse
Exit Interview #1: Greg Petroff: From Silicon Valley Executive to Sonoma County Possibilitarian

Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.

Log in Create free account

100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.

Exit Interview #1: Greg Petroff: From Silicon Valley Executive to Sonoma County Possibilitarian

Wednesday, September 24, 2025 • Rosenfeld Community

This video is featured in the Josh's test playlist playlist and 1 more.

Share the love for this talk
Exit Interview #1: Greg Petroff: From Silicon Valley Executive to Sonoma County Possibilitarian
Speakers: Greg Petroff
Link:

Summary

After years leading design at Google, ServiceNow, and Cisco, Greg Petroff made a bold move—leaving Silicon Valley for Sonoma County and traditional corporate leadership for fractional executive work. Now building two consulting practices while serving as fractional CDO for a fintech startup, Greg embodies what he calls being a “possibilitarian”—seeing opportunity in moments of change. We’ll explore his transition to the emerging world of fractional leadership and how he’s helping organizations navigate our AI-infused moment

Key Insights

  • Greg pivoted from architecture to tech and UX without initially knowing it was called UX.

  • Increased competition and ageism impacted Greg’s search for enterprise UX leadership roles recently.

  • Greg’s current consulting focuses on outcomes-first AI strategy for SMBs and enterprises using design thinking.

  • Letting go of professional identity was key for Greg to successfully pivot away from chief design officer roles.

  • Flexibility between startup and enterprise environments comes from understanding core design and leadership principles, not context.

  • Greg and Jorge Arango’s Unfinished practice involves service design methods but not building software themselves.

  • Successful AI adoption requires understanding an organization’s existing systems, tacit knowledge, and readiness to change.

  • Greg uses intention statements and periodic self-evaluation to guide his evolving career direction.

  • The biggest challenge in consulting with traditional companies is managing long-term vision versus their readiness for change.

  • Having trusted partners and accountability structures supports sustainable entrepreneurial pivots.

Notable Quotes

"I know exactly this job, all its problems and dysfunctions, and I don’t want to do that anymore."

"How can I guide my community to design the form and behavior of light on the edge of becoming this?"

"The tools are more important than ever even if the title UX becomes less central."

"The AI conversation is slapping technology on everything versus actually looking at how humans work."

"If I don’t make a dollar doing this, I’ll be okay, but I actually am making a dollar doing it."

"You need to respect tacit knowledge and culture when redesigning workflows."

"I get bored super easily; that’s why I’m super into the AI stuff right now."

"We’re not marketing ourselves as providing UX services, but the toolkit we use is a very strong service design toolkit."

"One super small step of value is better than proposing the big picture if the client isn’t ready."

"End your day by writing the to-do list for tomorrow; it’s easy to get distracted when you’re not in a full-time gig."

Ask the Rosenbot
Bria Alexander
Opening Remarks
2022 • Civic Design 2022
Gold
Sarah Fathallah
A Typology of Participation in Participatory Research
2023 • Advancing Research 2023
Gold
Niko Laitinen
Adaptable Org Design for Resilient Times
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Emilia Åström
Unlock Your Team’s Intelligence with Collaboration Design
2022 • Design at Scale 2022
Gold
Sam Proulx
Designing For Screen Readers: Understanding the Mental Models and Techniques of Real Users
2021 • Civic Design 2021
Gold
Trisha Causley
[Demo] Complexity in disguise: Crafting experiences for generative AI features
2024 • Designing with AI 2024
Gold
Elana Chapman
Getting started with accessibility research
2025 • Rosenfeld Community
Gillian Salerno-Rebic
Redefining Speed and Scale: How Accenture’s GrowthOS Uses AI-Simulated Insights to Reduce Risk and Accelerate Innovation
2025 • Designing with AI 2025
Gold
Dr. Jamika D. Burge
Bridge Building across Research Disciplines
2021 • Advancing Research Community
Jeff Gothelf
Innovation Studios: the Engines of Enterprise Experimentation
2015 • Enterprise UX 2015
Gold
Pippa Lomas
Paving the Path for Neurodiversity in Design
2023 • DesignOps Summit 2023
Gold
Bria Alexander
Opening Remarks
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Uday Gajendar
Theme 1: Introduction
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Louis Rosenfeld
The Bigger Picture: A Panel Discussion
2019 • DesignOps Summit 2019
Gold
Brennan Hartich
Communicating and Establishing DesignOps as a New Function
2018 • DesignOps Summit 2018
Gold
Zariah Cameron
ReDesigning Wellbeing for Equitable Care in the Workplace
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2024
Gold

More Videos

Jim Kalbach

"We as designers are expert pattern finders and observers of human behavior, which is key in this work."

Jim Kalbach

Peace is waged with sticky notes: Mapping Real-World Experiences

June 14, 2018

Dana Chisnell

"Researchers are in the sense making business—they connect the present to the future, step by step, helping users get what they need."

Dana Chisnell

The Sensemaking Business

March 10, 2026

Cheryl Platz

"Physical remotes have a lower power draw and are often more purpose-driven than phones, which are sources of stress."

Cheryl Platz

Demystifying Multimodal Design: The Design Practice You Didn't Know You're Doing

April 4, 2024

Mike Brzozowski

"Most people care about climate and are willing to make lifestyle changes, but they don't know how to get involved."

Mike Brzozowski Laura Palotie Steve Isley Nancy Tsang

UX in everyday products: Empowering climate conscious choices

July 17, 2024

Cornelius Rachieru

"Design projects in product design are led by designers, but in service design they are facilitated or co-facilitated by designers among many perspectives."

Cornelius Rachieru

Handling Complexity: Framing a Scale of Design

June 9, 2021

Megan Blocker

"Teams that improve their data fluency and understanding of research get to answers faster and deliver more value."

Megan Blocker Lada Gorlenko Fatimah Richmond Molly Stevens

What UX research maturity looks like and how we get there [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]

November 9, 2023

Dan Hill

"We need to step back and ask what's the question behind it?"

Dan Hill

Strategic design, slowdown, and the infrastructures of everyday life

April 21, 2022

Tutti Taygerly

"Sharing my story with him helped build a stronger, more trusting relationship."

Tutti Taygerly

Make Space to Lead

June 12, 2021

Fredrik Matheson

"Users are not interested in learning the intricacies of the British Airways website. I have to deal with many different airline websites."

Fredrik Matheson

First-time users, longtime strategies: Why Parkinson’s Law is making you less effective at work – and how to design a fix.

June 8, 2016