Amanda Ellan
Simplify. Engage. Learn. Lead.
Hi, I'm Amanda.
- 18
- Years across industries
- 25 150
- Designers scaled & led
- 700+
- Operations brought in-house
- $50M+
- Cost savings driven across roles
My career has never followed a straight line.
Over the years, I've worked across operations, sales, digital transformation, content management, customer experience, and design. While the roles have changed, a common thread has remained: helping people and organizations navigate growth, change, and complexity.
I've always been drawn to creating clarity where there is ambiguity and helping teams move forward together.
Sometimes that has meant growing teams and leadership capability. Other times it has meant shaping operating models, improving customer experiences, or helping organizations adapt to new ways of working. More recently, it has included exploring how AI can simplify work and create better experiences for both employees and customers.
I believe meaningful outcomes come from investing in people first.
The most successful teams I've been part of weren't successful because they had all the answers. They were successful because people felt trusted, supported, challenged, and connected to a shared purpose. My role has never been to have all the answers, but to create the conditions where people can do their best work and grow beyond what they thought was possible.
Over the course of my career, I've learned that lasting change happens when people, processes, and technology evolve together. Whether I'm working on organizational transformation, operational excellence, customer experiences, or leadership development, I try to approach problems with an open mind, good judgment, and a focus on practical outcomes.
A simple phrase has guided much of my thinking over the years:
Simplify. Engage. Learn. Lead.
Simplify complexity where possible. Engage openly with people and ideas. Never stop learning. Lead with humility and purpose.
What I Build
Organizations
Scaling teams, talent, and capability.
Experiences
Improving customer and employee experiences.
Operating Models
Creating systems, frameworks, and governance that scale.
Transformation
Leading change through technology, design, and AI.
Four stories of building
at scale.
AI-Native Transaction Experiences
Shaping the future of Dell's transaction experiences — AI-native buying journeys, platform modernization, and experience strategy across quote, cart, checkout, and payments.
Building Design Capability Across APJC
Scaling a regional design organization from 25 to 150 designers — and establishing design as a visible, trusted, strategic capability across four countries.
From Categories to Customer Journeys
Reframing product discovery across Dell's Software & Peripherals ecosystem — moving from a category-led model to experience-led customer journeys, and lifting conversion 21%.
Building a Scalable Operating Model for Global Digital Operations
Bringing 700+ content and ecommerce operations in-house from external vendors — while designing the organizational, operational, and technology frameworks needed to support long-term growth.
Good outcomes rarely happen because of a single individual, process, or solution. They emerge when people, capability, and clarity come together.
How I Work
The ideas below continue to influence how I approach teams, experiences, and organizations.
Simplify
Complex problems rarely need more complexity.
Whether working with teams, stakeholders, or customers, I try to create clarity around what matters most. This often means simplifying priorities, aligning perspectives, and helping teams move forward with confidence.
Examples include defining experience north stars, aligning teams around shared outcomes, and bringing focus to complex problems.
Engage
Meaningful work happens when people feel connected to a purpose.
I enjoy bringing people together, facilitating conversations, and creating environments where ideas can be shared openly. From regional communities and Design Week initiatives to workshops and capability programs, much of my work has focused on creating opportunities for people to learn from one another.
Engagement creates momentum, and momentum often creates change.
Learn
Curiosity has shaped much of my career.
From operations and workforce planning to customer experience, research, and AI, I have often found myself working in unfamiliar spaces and learning along the way.
I continue to invest in learning through research, experimentation, mentoring, and conversations with people from different disciplines and backgrounds.
Lead
For me, leadership is about building capability, nurturing craft, and creating the clarity needed for teams to deliver outcomes.
The role of a leader is not to have all the answers. It is to create the conditions for people, teams, and organizations to do their best work.
What I've Learned
Careers are rarely linear
Many of the experiences that shaped me most came from roles and opportunities I had not originally planned for.
Context matters
People, teams, and organizations rarely respond to one-size-fits-all solutions. Understanding the environment is often as important as solving the problem.
Leadership is multiplication
Building capability often creates more lasting outcomes than delivering projects.
Nearly two decades across operations, transformation, and design.
See the full experience