Clarity. Direction. Confidence.

For leaders navigating ambiguity, complexity, and high-stakes decisions — before momentum locks in the wrong path.

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Clarity. Direction. Confidence.

For leaders navigating ambiguity, complexity, and high-stakes decisions — before momentum locks in the wrong path.

Scroll down

to learn more

What I do

Engagements are structured directly with founders and executive leadership at moments of strategic inflection - when direction, risk, and investment intersect.

Bring clarity to complex, high-stakes decisions.
Pressure-test assumptions through structured, evidence-led discovery.
Shape strategic direction that reduces risk and strengthens long-term commercial viability.

This work sits upstream of delivery - ensuring capital, engineering effort, and organizational energy are committed with discipline and conviction.

Advisory areas

Senior advisory across four core domains—where judgment, evidence, and trade-offs matter most.

Executive Decision Advisory

Strategic framing, synthesis, and independent judgment at pivotal moments — new initiatives, scaling inflection points, repositioning, or meaningful investment decisions.

Executive Decision Advisory

Strategic framing, synthesis, and independent judgment at pivotal moments — new initiatives, scaling inflection points, repositioning, or meaningful investment decisions.

Executive Decision Advisory

Strategic framing, synthesis, and independent judgment at pivotal moments — new initiatives, scaling inflection points, repositioning, or meaningful investment decisions.

Customer Discovery & Insight

Structured, qualitative discovery to pressure-test critical assumptions, validate buyer and user realities, and surface signals that inform confident, de-risked direction.

Customer Discovery & Insight

Structured, qualitative discovery to pressure-test critical assumptions, validate buyer and user realities, and surface signals that inform confident, de-risked direction.

Strategic Product Direction

Clarifying what to build, when, and why — aligning opportunity, constraints, and long-term trajectory before significant spend or roadmap commitments scale.

Strategic Product Direction

Clarifying what to build, when, and why — aligning opportunity, constraints, and long-term trajectory before significant spend or roadmap commitments scale.

Experience Strategy

Shaping product and service experiences at a systems level — aligning customer outcomes, operational realities, and sustainable paths to market.

Experience Strategy

Shaping product and service experiences at a systems level — aligning customer outcomes, operational realities, and sustainable paths to market.

How I work

Structured at the executive level — ensuring decision ownership, sponsorship, and alignment.
Evidence-led — grounded in real signals, not assumptions.
Systems-aware — connecting product, customer, and organizational realities.
Decision-focused — turning complexity into disciplined, actionable direction.

Where I Add the Most Value

Leaders typically bring me in when:

• Decisions are high-stakes and the cost of error is real.
• Signals conflict and commercial direction isn’t yet clear.
• Assumptions remain untested as momentum builds.
• Investment, hiring, or build decisions are approaching inflection.
• Alignment is needed before major capital or operational commitment.

About

For over 20 years, I’ve worked across startups, scale-ups, enterprise environments, and with clients in innovation organizations through to public sector—helping leaders shape product, service, and experience strategy when decisions matter. My background combines strategic insight, evidence-led discovery, and senior product and design leadership.

Contexts I’ve worked in:
I’ve partnered with leadership teams across technology innovation, deep-tech, and mission-driven organizations — including ClimateTech, CleanTech, OceanTech, HealthTech & MedTech, B2B SaaS, select consumer-facing products, infrastructure, industrial and platform products, and public-sector innovation.

If you’d like to explore whether there’s a fit, I’d be glad to connect.

Connect

Selected Organizations

I’ve worked with leaders and teams across technology, innovation, public sector, and mission-driven organizations, including:

Testimonials

What client partners say about working together:

Co-Founder, VP of Software & Technology
OceanTech Client
"Niamh has been an invaluable partner in helping us level up how we approach Product. She is bringing structure and clarity to a complex and high-stakes area, helping us move to a more repeatable, insight-driven process. She is collaborative, commercially aware, and able to translate ambiguity into action. Her support is also extending into high-priority business development efforts. I’d recommend her to any team looking to grow with more focus and confidence - especially in complex or technical domains."
Vice President
Habanero Consulting Group
"Niamh was a trusted partner of ours for a number of years since 2010 — providing senior experience design leadership and consulting. Niamh was an absolute delight to work with. She worked from our Vancouver and Calgary offices with our clients across the country, and even joined us on site in Toronto for a couple of months on an exciting initiative for Toronto Pearson Airport. I would absolutely recommend Niamh."
Product Insights & UXR Leader
MetaLab
“We've continued to return to Niamh when we need expert, strategic support on complex projects. She is able to quickly make sense of any industry and any project. I recommend working with her when you get the chance.”
Co-Founder & CEO
HealthTech start-up
"Niamh's expertise has been instrumental in continuing to shape the evolution of our product. From auditing our current application, to helping our team align on a product strategy and guiding principles, and then leading the overhaul of the UX and design, the work has made a significant impact. She truly understands our business goals and customer needs, translating them into actionable strategies. We now have a more user-centric, efficient, and competitive product that our customers will truly appreciate as we continue to evolve. She has helped significantly elevate our offering. Her leadership was invaluable!"
Co-Founder & CSO
Intercom
"Enthusiastic, knowledgeable and experienced. An asset to any company or client lucky to have her on board.”
Principal Designer
Slack; prev. Google
“I had the pleasure of working with Niamh on a client project focused on researching exploratory design concepts with users. Working to a tight deadline, Niamh hit the ground running. She was able to parachute into the team and get to the heart of what we needed to learn exceptionally quickly. She has the incredible ability to soak up information, produce detailed insights and ask thought-provoking questions. But more importantly, she’s able to cut through the noise and get to the ‘so what?’
Director, Marketing & Digital Experience
BC-based University
“Niamh’s expertise is both deep and broad: from design and product management to strategy and organizational planning, I am fortunate to have engaged Nova Ray for a project to lead our team through the process of developing a vision, strategy and roadmap for our core web property. I would highly recommend engaging Niamh’s services at Nova Ray to anyone looking to solve complex product and UX problems, or to level up their team.”
Product & Technology Leader
Meta
“Niamh was a great partner. Her support and final recommendations were very thorough, I felt like I was there with users.”
President
UX Design Studio
“Niamh quickly became one of the leaders of product, UX and design in Vancouver; she worked for a number of high-profile organizations and contributed to industry events. She’s been on the forefront of advocating for UX in the community.   Clients are always impressed with her professionalism, knowledge, and ability to deliver quality results. Recommended to anyone who needs a senior and strategic UX & product thinker who has the experience to tackle complex projects.”

Co-Founder, VP of Software & Technology
OceanTech Client
"Niamh has been an invaluable partner in helping us level up how we approach Product. She is bringing structure and clarity to a complex and high-stakes area, helping us move to a more repeatable, insight-driven process. She is collaborative, commercially aware, and able to translate ambiguity into action. Her support is also extending into high-priority business development efforts. I’d recommend her to any team looking to grow with more focus and confidence - especially in complex or technical domains."
Vice President
Habanero Consulting Group
"Niamh was a trusted partner of ours for a number of years since 2010 — providing senior experience design leadership and consulting. Niamh was an absolute delight to work with. She worked from our Vancouver and Calgary offices with our clients across the country, and even joined us on site in Toronto for a couple of months on an exciting initiative for Toronto Pearson Airport. I would absolutely recommend Niamh."
Product Insights & UXR Leader
MetaLab
“We've continued to return to Niamh when we need expert, strategic support on complex projects. She is able to quickly make sense of any industry and any project. I recommend working with her when you get the chance.”
Co-Founder & CEO
HealthTech start-up
"Niamh's expertise has been instrumental in continuing to shape the evolution of our product. From auditing our current application, to helping our team align on a product strategy and guiding principles, and then leading the overhaul of the UX and design, the work has made a significant impact. She truly understands our business goals and customer needs, translating them into actionable strategies. We now have a more user-centric, efficient, and competitive product that our customers will truly appreciate as we continue to evolve. She has helped significantly elevate our offering. Her leadership was invaluable!"
Co-Founder & CSO
Intercom
"Enthusiastic, knowledgeable and experienced. An asset to any company or client lucky to have her on board.”
Principal Designer
Slack; prev. Google
“I had the pleasure of working with Niamh on a client project focused on researching exploratory design concepts with users. Working to a tight deadline, Niamh hit the ground running. She was able to parachute into the team and get to the heart of what we needed to learn exceptionally quickly. She has the incredible ability to soak up information, produce detailed insights and ask thought-provoking questions. But more importantly, she’s able to cut through the noise and get to the ‘so what?’
Director, Marketing & Digital Experience
BC-based University
“Niamh’s expertise is both deep and broad: from design and product management to strategy and organizational planning, I am fortunate to have engaged Nova Ray for a project to lead our team through the process of developing a vision, strategy and roadmap for our core web property. I would highly recommend engaging Niamh’s services at Nova Ray to anyone looking to solve complex product and UX problems, or to level up their team.”
Product & Technology Leader
Meta
“Niamh was a great partner. Her support and final recommendations were very thorough, I felt like I was there with users.”
President
UX Design Studio
“Niamh quickly became one of the leaders of product, UX and design in Vancouver; she worked for a number of high-profile organizations and contributed to industry events. She’s been on the forefront of advocating for UX in the community.   Clients are always impressed with her professionalism, knowledge, and ability to deliver quality results. Recommended to anyone who needs a senior and strategic UX & product thinker who has the experience to tackle complex projects.”

Working Together

What types of engagements are the best fit?

Engagements involving high-stakes product or innovation decisions, insight and discovery needs, or strategic shifts where clarity, alignment, and evidence matter. Nova Ray does not operate as an agency, a delivery/ production/ execution studio, staff-augmentation, or downstream vendor. Engagements are structured at the strategy-setting and executive decision level.

How do engagements typically begin?

Do you take on execution or delivery work?

Can you help with product or innovation build phases?

Do you offer ongoing support?

Who is Nova Ray not the right fit for?

What types of engagements are the best fit?

How do engagements typically begin?

Do you take on execution or delivery work?

Can you help with product or innovation build phases?

Do you offer ongoing support?

Who is Nova Ray not the right fit for?