“Leadership is clarity of values—and the courage to live them.”

With an illustrious career that spans over two decades at the vanguard of human-computer interaction, Anne Aula stands as a pioneering force in the world of user experience, product design, and AI-powered innovation. Holding a Ph.D. in Interactive Technology and a Master’s in Psychology from the University of Tampere, Anne’s trajectory has been shaped by her innate curiosity about the relationship between humans and machines—and by her unwavering commitment to making technology more intuitive, inclusive, and impactful.

Anne’s professional journey is marked by a rich tapestry of leadership roles at Google, Verily, and One Medical, where she has consistently redefined what is possible through research, strategy, and design excellence. As a former Principal Researcher at Google, Anne led Generative AI deep dives that influenced the strategic roadmaps of cornerstone products like Search, Maps, Gemini, and Shopping. Her presentations, cited as “eye-opening” by Google’s SVP of Knowledge & Information, crystallized her role as a trusted thought leader in aligning business outcomes with user insight.

Prior to this, Anne served as Vice President of Product Design and Operations at One Medical. There, she successfully guided a 30+ person team through the complex integration following the Iora Health acquisition, built organizational frameworks for UX maturity, and oversaw the member app redesign—an initiative hailed as “beautiful work” by the company’s CMO. Her human-centered leadership during the COVID era catalyzed operational resilience and meaningful user experience improvements across the organization.

At Verily Life Sciences, Anne’s influence as Head of UX spanned Verily’s extensive product portfolio. Reporting to the C-suite, she expanded the design team from 5 to 40, embedded UX into both software and hardware product strategies, and oversaw flagship launches like Study Watch, Onduo, and Baseline. Anne’s peers and executives alike recognized her rare ability to scale teams, steward vision, and deliver products that fuse technical sophistication with human-centered design.

Anne’s tenure at Google’s X, the company’s legendary moonshot factory, is a testament to her ability to navigate bold innovation and complex systems. As Head of UX for the Self-Driving Car project (what would later become Waymo), she steered the design of early autonomous vehicle interfaces, aligning multi-disciplinary teams to create a seamless fusion of hardware and software. Her contributions here are immortalized in three U.S. patents focused on vehicle autonomy and user interaction, including one issued in 2025 for ride request systems.

But Anne’s roots in UX run even deeper. As founder of Google’s Rapid Research team for Google’s core consumer products (Search and Maps), she compressed research timelines from weeks to days, fundamentally transforming how insights were generated and applied—and elevating the value they had for the product teams. Her efforts were lauded internally as a revolution in UX research practices. Earlier in her career at Google, she led pivotal research across Search, AdWords, and Google TV, using evidence-based inquiry to shape product decisions and sunset ineffective initiatives.

Anne’s academic contributions are equally formidable. With over 30 peer-reviewed publications and numerous conference presentations to her name, her research has informed UX professionals around the globe. Her paper on search behavior dynamics won a Best Paper Award at CHI 2010, the premier conference in human-computer interaction, and her search related research is heavily cited in the seminal “Search User Interfaces” book by Marti A. Hearst. Topics spanning multilingual search, usability metrics, and eye-tracking reflect her foundational role in the field’s scholarly discourse.

Today, Anne advises startups and consults on UX strategy (including the role of AI) and product development. Her independent work reflects her ongoing passion for mentorship, product innovation, and democratizing design thinking. Whether coaching emerging and established UX professionals or prototyping products using AI, Anne remains a dynamic force for good in tech.

Personally, Anne’s values are rooted in lifelong learning, artistic expression, and living her values. An avid reader, painter, mom to two beautiful daughters, traveler, and fitness enthusiast, she brings a balanced lens to all that she touches. Fluent in Finnish and experienced in research work in countries like Finland, Japan, and the United States, Anne is both globally minded and locally impactful.

As Anne seeks new opportunities to serve on corporate boards, she offers a rare blend of scientific rigor, visionary leadership, and deep empathy. Her mission is clear: to guide organizations toward more human-centric futures—where technology doesn’t just serve, but elevates the human experience.

Character:

Anne leads with empathy, integrity, and purpose. Her teams speak of her not just as a manager, but as a mentor and inspiration who elevates others through trust and authenticity.

Knowledge:

Backed by a Ph.D., dozens of scientific publications, and multiple patents, Anne’s depth of expertise is second to none. She fuses academic insight with practical foresight to drive innovation at scale.

Strategic:

From rapid research processes at Google to full-scale UX transformations at One Medical and Verily, Anne’s work reflects precision, vision, and foresight. She sees not only what is, but what could be—and lays the groundwork to get there.

Communication:

Whether briefing SVPs or mentoring new researchers and designers, Anne distills complex ideas into actionable insights. Her ability to communicate across disciplines and hierarchies is one of her most potent leadership tools.