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UX & Product Leadership / Greater Boston

Courtney Aquilina

Shaping the next generation of AI-powered enterprise products — from intelligent platforms to precision healthcare. Builder of teams. Definer of strategy. Driver of impact.

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AI Product Strategy at IDC
AI-Augmented Design Operations
Conversational AI & Intelligent Interfaces
18+
Years of Experience
58
Designers Led
34%
Efficiency Gained at FMI
6
Enterprise Transformations
About

Designing at the intersection of empathy & scale

Courtney Aquilina headshot

With 18+ years leading high-performing UX and product teams, I bridge the gap between complex enterprise needs and genuinely useful human experiences.

Today I focus on AI-powered enterprise products — designing intelligent interfaces that turn complex data into clear, actionable insight. My work spans precision oncology, healthcare insurance, cybersecurity, and enterprise SaaS. I build teams from scratch, transform organizations with agile methodology, and drive measurable outcomes that reach the boardroom.

I believe the best AI products don't replace human judgment — they amplify it with transparency, trust, and ethical guardrails. Great design isn't decoration — it's the highest-leverage investment an organization can make.

User Experience
Design Systems
Product Management
Usability Testing
Global Leadership
AI Product Design
Agile / SAFe
Design Thinking
Data Sciences
Design Sprints
Ethnographic Research
Accessibility
Selected Work

Six industries. One standard of craft.

01 — AI & Intelligence
IDC
VP of User Experience Design · 2024 — Present
02 — Precision Oncology
Foundation Medicine
Director of UX · 2021 — 2024
03 — Health Insurance
CVS Health / Aetna
Director of UX · 2019 — 2021
04 — Cybersecurity
Imprivata
Director of UX · 2018 — 2019
05 — AECO & Project Mgmt
Newforma
VP of Product Management · 2015 — 2017
06 — APM & Enterprise SaaS
Dynatrace
Director of UX · 2012 — 2015
Testimonials

What colleagues say

Courtney is an extremely dynamic leader capable of flexing and leading many different facets from research to visual design, extending into product management. She is extremely good at setting cultural tone, getting people to work together, and walking that fine line between structure and flexibility where the best products get built.

Carson Pickens
SVP, FIS Global · Managed Courtney

She repaired long-damaged relationships between Design and Product Management. She rebuilt bridges with an ethos of inclusion, building a foundation of trust and integrity. Courtney is a doer — she gets things done, and fast. She knows how to shake things up and get an organization unstuck.

John McRee
Experience Design, CVS/Aetna · Direct Report

She was leading and driving key workstreams, and delivered the highest percentage of electronic orders in company history. It was a real privilege to work with Courtney and have her lead such great business and patient outcomes.

Amit Bhatia
Strategy & Operations, Foundation Medicine

I promoted her because I needed a trusted partner to break down high-level strategic objectives into consumable product requirements. If you need someone who can combine the beauty of a well-designed user experience with the structured, institutional needs of product management, Courtney should be on the top of your list.

Timothy Jasionowski
EVP Product & Technology, Newforma · Managed Courtney
Experience

18+ years shaping what's next

From mobile platforms to today's AI-powered enterprise software. Each chapter deepened one conviction: design is the bridge between complexity and clarity.

2024 — Present
IDC
VP of User Experience Design
16-person team

Led the establishment of IDC's inaugural international UX, accessibility, and design system team. IDC, a Blackstone portfolio company, empowers businesses through its AI-driven data and insights platform.

  • Unified design system across WordPress VIP, React, and Angular spanning IDC and Foundry
  • Spearheaded IDC's first AI-powered self-service software sourcing platform
  • Consolidated product portfolio across 3 companies
2021 — 2024
Foundation Medicine
Director of UX
15-person team

Built and led a UX team at Foundation Medicine, a leader in precision cancer care. Drove user-centric design across the clinical platform and shaped product strategy for precision cancer diagnostics.

  • Reduced accessioning time by 34%; OCR integration added 60% more efficiency
  • Owned Executive OKR driving digital orders from 60% to 75%
  • Reduced operational costs by 40% by launching a self-service research platform
2019 — 2021
CVS Health / Aetna
Director of UX
58-person team

Built and led a high-performing team of 58 UX professionals at Aetna Health. Directly interfaced with the customer advisory board, driving programs to control healthcare costs while improving quality.

  • SAFe Agile integration — 40% increase in design efficiency across 4 release trains
  • Grew design team by 50% in under a year
  • Led COVID-19 digital task forces for patient care access
2018 — 2019
Imprivata
Director of UX
10-person team

Managed a global team across the US and Ukraine. Directed solutions for access management in healthcare. Co-led the Women in Technology group, fostering inclusion.

  • Built complete design system library in 4 months
  • Streamlined design process — reduced delays and development cost
  • Chaired Women in Technology group, mentoring emerging leaders
2015 — 2017
Newforma
VP of Product Management
15-person team

Spearheaded cloud migration of Newforma's flagship PIM solution, including go-to-market strategy, design overhaul, and mobile launch for iOS and Android.

  • Migrated on-premises product to cloud in 9 months
  • Transformed company from Waterfall to Agile and Kanban
  • Launched Early Adopter Program and Customer Advisory Board
2012 — 2015
Dynatrace
Director of UX
15-person team

Led a global design team across the US, Europe, and China to unify acquired companies into a single APM intelligence platform.

  • Launched the company's first native iOS and Android mobile apps
  • Led ethnographic studies, A/B testing, and usability testing program
  • Established product visions and mobile strategy across divisions
2006 — 2012
Nokia
User Experience Manager
20-person team

Directed 20+ designers as part of the global Microsoft alliance. Co-developed and co-patented applications integrating Office Suite onto Nokia mobile phones.

  • Designed full UX for an intelligent personal assistant in 2007 — predating Siri by 3 years
  • Created new patents under the Global Alliance Charter
  • Established design standards for Nokia's social messaging platform
Credentials

Beyond the portfolio

Patent
Method and Apparatus for Integrating Applications and Related Communications
U.S. Patent NC72194-US
Education
BFA Industrial Design, Minor in Psychology
Rochester Institute of Technology — Graduated with Honors
Certifications
Mastering Negotiation & Influence · Manager as Coach
MIT Management Executive Education · Hudson Institute of Coaching

Let's build
something.

Have a challenge worth solving? I'm always interested in connecting with fellow leaders shaping the future of product and design.

Send an Email LinkedIn
Email
courtney.aquilina@gmail.com
Location
Greater Boston
LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/courtneyaquilina