Chris Yu

Chris Yu (he/him) is a Seattle-based design leader and is currently the Head of Product Design at Arista Networks.

Previously he led design at Smartsheet, Bank of America, and Synect. With over 15 years of experience, Chris has worn many hats professionally such as architect, VFX artist, art director, product manager, and UX designer. His multifaceted career also spans across diverse industries such as enterprise B2B SaaS, cybersecurity, networking, and workflow automation. Academically, Chris holds a master’s degree in architecture from Pratt Institute and a bachelor of arts in art history from the University of Washington.

Chris is passionate about DEI and has led employee resource groups at many of the organizations he’s served. He also spends much of his free time mentoring, writing, and speaking about design and career advancement in enterprise environments to help underrepresented professionals looking to progress in their careers.

In July of 2023, Chris was elected to the board of directors for Leadership Education for Asia Pacifics (LEAP), an organization focused on leadership advancement for Asian and Pacific Islanders while helping to retain their values and their culture.