Clarity. Direction. Confidence.

Independent, senior advisory for high-stakes product and innovation decisions.

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to learn more

Clarity. Direction. Confidence.

Independent, senior advisory for high-stakes product and innovation decisions.

Scroll down

to learn more

What I do

I partner with leaders to:

Bring clarity to complex, high-stakes product and business decisions.
Validate critical assumptions through structured, evidence-led discovery.
Shape strategic direction that reduces risk and drives meaningful outcomes.

Advisory areas

Senior advisory across four core domains: product direction, discovery and insight, experience strategy, and decision advisory.

Product Strategy

Clarity for high-stakes decisions and strategic direction: what to build, when, and why. Prioritization, evaluation, and long-term product trajectory.

Product Strategy

Clarity for high-stakes decisions and strategic direction: what to build, when, and why. Prioritization, evaluation, and long-term product trajectory.

Experience Strategy

Shaping product and service experiences at a systems level to support coherence, long-term value, and customer outcomes.

Experience Strategy

Shaping product and service experiences at a systems level to support coherence, long-term value, and customer outcomes.

Customer Discovery & Insight

Structured qualitative discovery to validate assumptions, understand needs, and surface insights that inform confident direction and reduce risk.

Customer Discovery & Insight

Structured qualitative discovery to validate assumptions, understand needs, and surface insights that inform confident direction and reduce risk.

Decision Advisory

Strategic framing, synthesis, and judgment during pivotal moments—new initiatives, scaling, repositioning, or major investments.

Decision Advisory

Strategic framing, synthesis, and judgment during pivotal moments—new initiatives, scaling, repositioning, or major investments.

How I work:

My approach blends evidence, systems thinking, and clarity:

Evidence-led — grounded in real signals, not assumptions.
Systems-aware — connecting product, customer, and organizational realities.
Decision-focused — turning complexity into focused, actionable direction.

I work with leaders who value depth, clarity, and meaningful outcomes.

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 direction isn’t clear.
Assumptions are untested but momentum is building.
Alignment is needed before major investment or execution.

About

I’m often brought in at moments where clarity is needed before teams move forward.

For over 20 years, I’ve worked across startups, scale-ups, enterprise teams, and public-sector innovation—shaping product, service, and experience strategy. My background blends strategic insight, discovery expertise, design leadership and product thinking to guide decisions that carry real consequence.

I specialize in making ambiguity clear: synthesizing information quickly, uncovering patterns, and aligning stakeholders around direction. Clients trust me for honest guidance, clear thinking, and a steady hand during pivotal moments.

If you’d like to explore working together, I’d be glad to connect.

Connect

Selected Organizations

I’ve had the privilege of working with teams across tech, 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.

How do engagements typically begin?

Do you take on execution or delivery work?