Design Leadership training

Lead your team through the AI shift with a plan you built alongside 50 design leaders.

May 20-21
Amsterdam, NL
50 spots

Join other heads of design, directors and senior leaders transiting the AI shift for an intensive two day event built around peer exchange. Work through your own challenge with a small group, a coach and matched peers over two days, and leave with a plan you can take back on Monday.

Attended by designers from companies like

How do you lead through a shift nobody expected?

You've led teams for years, through reorgs, scale and pressure. Now AI is rewriting expectations faster than anyone can set direction, and your team quietly holds different beliefs about quality, speed and the future of design.

Execution was never your bottleneck. Alignment is. Getting a team that no longer agrees on the fundamentals to move together, and stay motivated while they do, is the harder job — and at your level it falls to you.

Leaders and executives with years of people responsibility fill this room. Heads of design, directors, and the leaders above them, running teams through a shift none of them planned for.

This edition is for you if:

You are leading a team through change you did not choose and cannot fully explain.
Your team holds different beliefs about AI, quality and speed, and it's pulling them apart.
You are trying to develop people without adding pressure they cannot carry.
You are finding the right pace to grow the team while still delivering.
You have scaled past the point where the way you used to lead still works.
You are quietly wondering about your own ceiling.

What you'll work on

Learning from teams further along, including how they actually got started. With a mixture of spark talks by experts, group session and 1:1 peer coaching sessions, here is what you will focus on:

The player-coach problem — staying credible in craft that's changing under you without becoming the bottleneck.
Aligning a team that no longer agrees on the fundamentals of quality, speed and where design is headed.
Growing and structuring a team through scaling pains, silos and the right pace to grow.
Leading meaningful change without exhausting yourself or the people you lead.
Restructuring your org around how work actually gets done now.

2027 coaches

Get coached by leaders and experts

We bring to Amsterdam experienced leaders and coaches to help you level up. We've just announced our first coach per city, keep an eye on the event for the full lineup in January when Regular Tickets go on sale.

Talk coach2027

Peter Merholz

Leadership Consultant & Author

About the coach:

Peter Merholz has worked at the intersection of design, technology, and humans for over 25 years. Currently, he’s an independent consultant focused on improving the effectiveness of design organizations. His clients include JP Morgan Chase, Contentsquare, The New York Times, Roblox, and Target.

Learn More

All coaches will be announced when Early Bird ends on January 13th

Previous coaches include

David Hoang

VP / Head of Design

Atlassian

Marzia Aricò

Leadership Coach & Author

Design Mavericks

Thom Rimmer

VP of Design

Intercom

Marlene Rosner

Sr Director Global Consumer UX

HelloFresh

Jasper R. Hauser

Leadership Coach & Entrepreneur

Darkroom

Giulio Frigeri

AI Governance & Design Leadership Expert

Map it Up

See all facilitators

The Venue

A spacious heritage home in a charming dutch village

Het Broeker Huis, Broek in Waterland

Welcome to a beautiful village in the Netherlands with the most heritage home, a short 15 minute ride from Amsterdam Central Station.

The perfect setting for an insightful two days, surrounded by nature. With typical dutch food, charming spaces and a quiet vibe that will help you find your inner voice.

Leeteinde 16, 1151 AK Broek in Waterland, Netherlands

Your ticket includes bus back on day 1 and boat ride back on day 2

Get Directions

Reviews

See what previous participants thought of Ateliers

Amsterdam, 2026

“Leadership Ateliers was a great opportunity to connect with other design leaders and talk about how we're navigating change. I left energised and with a network of people I can rely on.”

Francisco M.

Head of Product Design, OLX

Amsterdam, 2026

“Packed with high quality conversations and inspiring people, highly recommended for any design leader.”

Joris Z.

Product Design Director, ISH

Amsterdam, 2026

“A very much needed exchange between peers in an open environment. The facilitators provide the framework, the value lies in the people that came.”

Laura M.

Head of UX/UI, Henkel

Amsterdam, 2026

“A different kind of approach to leadership spaces, to have honest, transparent and authentic conversations about the industry, our companies and the challenges we are navigating and might have in the future.”

Lina B.

Sr. Design Manager, Bitvavo

Pre-Register and save

Early Bird tickets go live Oct 27th, 10 AM CET

Save €120 on your purchase by pre-registering before Early Birds go on sale on October 27th, 10 AM CET.

May 20-21 - 50 spots

Single ticket

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Early Bird~~€1.500~~€1.400+ 21%VAT

May 20-21 - 50 spots

2 Tickets

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Early Bird~~€1.410~~€1.330+ 21%VAT

May 20-21 - 50 spots

Team Ticket

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Early Bird~~€1.310~~€1.260+ 21%VAT

Prices are per person. VAT must be always charged in accordance with EU law.

Included in your ticket

Workshops & sessions
Food & drinks
Pre-Event Networking
Shuttle bus back (Day 1)
Boat ride back (Day 2)

Not included

Travel & accommodation