We’re happy to welcome Jonatan Persson, who recently joined us at Ambition. Jonatan has a broad background in digital services and products, UX and product design, with experience ranging from physics-simulating startups to global product organizations like Cochlear.
I sat down with Jonatan to talk about how he got into design, what drives him, and how he thinks about leadership and the future.
Welcome, Jonatan! How did you end up in design?
– It happened gradually. It wasn’t a super conscious choice from the start. I’ve always liked being creative and had an easy time with technical subjects, but what really drew me in was the creative side. Music, photography, visual art. I started out studying mechanical engineering, but it wasn’t cut out for me. I switched tracks and studied film studies and media and communication instead for a couple of years. I wanted to understand how people communicate and make sense of the world. It still is a good foundation for me as a designer to build on.
– Then I found design and product development at Chalmers, and it felt like the perfect combination. Both the engineering perspective and the human one. How do you build products that actually create value, for people and for the business?
What did the first years after graduation look like?
– My first job was at a small startup called Algoryx. They built a digital tool where you could simulate physics. You created a model of a physical scene or world by drawing it, and then pressed a button and the laws of physics kicked in. It had started as a thesis project and got enormous attention, millions of views on YouTube, reaching Ny Tekniks 33-list. I was the first designer in a team of ten and got to do a little of everything. Business cards, rollups, designing the product and testing it out with students in classrooms.
– We were probably ten years too early. But it was an incredible challenge and a fantastic first hands-on opportunity to learn the craft. The tool named Algodoo, still amazes me!
And after that?
– I moved on to a scale up in Gothenburg, working with a technically complex SaaS tool for process automation to help businesses be more effective and consistent. After that I got the chance to join Opera, the web browser. A global product company with up to thirty million daily users. I learned an enormous amount about how to build commercial products at scale, and how to take care of existing users while creating something new at the same time. At this point I started to build up all the seniority I needed as a designer.
– After that came Stendahls, where I worked as UX Director for many years. A lot of work with Volvo CE, Husqvarna, and other digital services for a mix of clients. Towards the end I became a competence lead for UX, working on questions like which skills we needed, mapping resources to projects, how to develop people and the overall Stendahls UX offering of course.
Your more recent roles have had a clear focus on leadership and business. How did that happen?
– For a long time I worked inside the design bubble, thinking a lot about why design never got a seat at the table. At my last two jobs, MATCHi and Cochlear, I finally got that seat as a design leader and manager. Reporting directly to the CPO. Working closely with product directors. Talking about business value and strategy. And also helping organisations grow their design maturity and ways of working.
– A lot of it was about building leadership and mentorship. Helping a team grow, not just deliver. Giving a mandate to designers to really do the work and help organisations with their business growth as well as improving experiences for their customers.
What drew you to Ambition?
– The combination of actually delivering and learning at the same time as well as continuing work with design leadership. I enjoy stepping into different industries, quickly getting on top of new opportunities, problems and context, and then contributing. The fact that Ambition puts such a strong focus on professional development and empowering organisations felt right. This is an industry that changes fast, and it’s fun to navigate that together with others on this level.
What are you working on right now?
– I’m helping with the preparations for the Ambition Conference in May. And soon there’s a new client assignment on the way, more on that later.
Thanks Jonatan, and welcome to Ambition!
