I've worked across startups, venture studios, and global organizations such as Shopify and Mozilla. I’ve led 0→1 product development, brand transformation, and design systems that align strategy, experience, and growth.
I’ve also founded and scaled my own design agency, giving me a strong operational and business perspective on how design drives long-term value. More recently, I led multiple ventures at All Turtles, taking products from early concept through launch and scale.
Product & Venture Leadership
(2022-2025)
Sr. Director of Design
Remote / Global
All Turtles
At All Turtles, I led design across multiple early-stage ventures, working at the intersection of brand, product, and growth. My focus was on defining positioning, shaping user experience, and building scalable systems across AI, tech, health, media, and consumer products.
Carrot:
- Led redesign of Carrot’s brand and product experience, repositioning the company from supportive to outcome-driven.
- Defined marketing design systems, improving consistency and enabling faster go-to-market execution.
- Introduced data-driven storytelling into the marketing experience, strengthening credibility and supporting scalable growth.
- Led 0→1 design for an AI-powered metabolic health product, owning brand, product, and experience from concept to launch.
Sora:
- Led brand and digital experience design for Sora, defining a premium and scalable positioning in a competitive market.
- Designed a unified identity system and award-winning branding (Silver, Anthem Awards – Branding).
- Supported growth to 50+ employees and $3M+ annual revenue through stronger brand clarity and customer-facing consistency.
- Managed Sora's employees as embedded team members for several projects.
mmhmm (now Airtime Tools):
- Led brand design initiatives across campaigns, product marketing, and growth efforts for mmhmm during a key phase of product evolution.
- Managed and guided a distributed design team responsible for multiple concurrent initiatives in a fully remote environment.
- Helped establish a cohesive brand foundation that supported the company’s transition into Airtime Tools.
Miruni
- Led 0→1 design for Miruni, an AI-powered website operations platform that transforms how teams manage, track, and implement website changes.
- Defined the product experience for “Smart Edits,” an AI system that interprets feedback (screenshots, videos, and logs) and converts it into precise, actionable website updates within WordPress.
- Established the foundational UX for a system that supports collaborative website management across teams, agencies, and clients.
Bentoville
- Led 0→1 brand and experience design for Bentoville, defining a new dining concept centered on exclusivity and cultural storytelling.
- Created “Food Concerts,” an original hybrid dining format combining performance and cuisine, producing 20+ sold-out events with Michelin-star chefs.
- Helped drive early traction, media recognition (Axios, Eater), and $1.3M in funding toward a permanent restaurant concept.
Trash Ice Cream
- Led rebrand and experience transformation of Trash Ice Cream, evolving it from a local favorite into a scalable, culturally resonant brand.
- Drove a 9x increase in social media engagement through improved brand presence and storytelling.
- Redesigned the in-store experience, contributing to a 5x increase in sales and supporting expansion to multiple locations with franchising potential.
Other projects: OctaneAI, Sunflower Labs, Cloaked, and more.
Organizational & Systems Leadership
(2020-2022)
Growth UX Manager
Remote / Global
Shopify
At Shopify, I worked on growth-focused design initiatives at scale, operating at the intersection of product, marketing, and data. My focus was on improving acquisition and onboarding experiences, shaping how new merchants understand and adopt the platform, and contributing to a culture of continuous experimentation and optimization.
Led growth design initiatives at Shopify, focusing on acquisition and onboarding experiences for new merchants.
Designed and optimized high-impact user journeys, improving how users understand, evaluate, and activate on the platform.
Collaborated with product, marketing, and data teams to run continuous experiments, refining messaging and conversion flows across key growth surfaces.
Helped embed a more systematic, experiment-driven approach to design, supporting ongoing optimization of acquisition and activation.
(2019-2020)
Sr. Director of Design
Remote / Global
Mozilla - Firefox
At Mozilla, I worked on global brand and experience design for Firefox, focusing on clarity, consistency, and scalable systems across product and marketing.
Led global brand and experience design initiatives for Firefox, improving clarity, cohesion, and recognition across markets.
Built and scaled a unified design system adopted across global teams, increasing speed of execution and alignment between product and marketing.
Contributed to a 10% YoY increase in new user installs through improved acquisition clarity and content strategy.
(2005-2016)
Founder and Director
South America
Creatium
At Creatium, I led the growth of a design agency in Venezuela, building it into a leading studio working with national and international clients. My focus was on shaping creative direction, scaling operations, and establishing systems that enabled consistent delivery and long-term client relationships in a challenging economic environment.
Led Creatium’s growth into one of the leading design agencies in Venezuela, overseeing 200+ projects for national and international clients.
Helped scale the business to $400K+ annual revenue in a challenging economic environment while maintaining 100% team retention.
Built operational and creative systems that enabled consistent delivery, long-term client relationships, and sustainable growth.
What people I've worked with say about me
Chris Ploeg - All Turtles
Clio reported directly to Chris Ploeg
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more positive, empathetic, or passionate design leader than Clio. He brings a rare combination of structure and heart to his work—detail-oriented while remaining attuned to the needs of his team. Clio brings intentionality to his work, from the way he facilitates collaboration to how he nurtures a culture of creativity and collaboration. Through thoughtful design rituals and collaborative practices, Clio empowers its teams to co-create the culture they want to be part of. Clio leads with both precision and care, and any team would be lucky to have him.
Colleen McGarry - All Turtles
Colleen was senior to Heraclio but didn't manage Clio directly
I worked closely with Clio at All Turtles, and couldn’t have enjoyed our working relationship more. Clio is an experienced and kind manager for his direct reports, and a thoughtful collaborator for his peers. He is responsive and adaptable, does well in ambiguous situations, and never loses his cool. He also gives and receives feedback regularly and well. He’s committed to creating meaningful rituals to build cohesion in a remote environment and support people who are struggling in ways that are appropriate to their needs. I’d be honored to work with him again in the future, and I hope I get the chance.
Namika Hamasaki- All Turtles
Namika reported directly to Clio
Clio is an exceptional manager. Since joining All Turtles, he’s helped shape our culture and build a strong sense of team bonding, even in a fully remote environment. He’s also a thoughtful and supportive coach. When I was uncertain about how to grow in my career, he offered valuable feedback and helped me build a clear growth strategy.
I’d love to work with Clio again – any team would be lucky to have him!
Gloria Lu - All Turtles
Gloria reported directly to Heraclio at All Turtles
Clio is a dream to work with. He is an empathetic people manager who cares deeply about his team and is an exceptional strategic leader who is always able to find solutions to any problem with enthusiasm and positivity.
I have witnessed Clio go above and beyond what I expected from a design leader. It seems as though his mind is always spinning up creative business strategies. I have learned so much about design strategy and business development from Clio, and I hope I may be lucky enough to work with him again in the future.
Tim Murray - Mozilla
Clio reported directly to Tim Murray
Clio methodically led the development of the Firefox brand system by engaging the unique expertise of each designer on his team, inspiring them with possibilities, crafting a transparent process of exploration and adoption, and always leading with listening and kindness. Meanwhile, he built bridges to other collaborators in the organization, kept leadership apprised of new developments, and became the internal champion for consistency and distinctiveness. The result is a system that's comprehensive, smart, beautiful to behold, and flexible enough to serve Firefox as the brand evolves. From insights-driven design to passionate team leadership, Clio would be an asset to any organization that seeks to grow their business through the power of design.
Michael Ham - Mozilla
Michael reported directly to Clio
A unified brand system, productive designers, strategy-led campaigns, and harmonious cross-org partnerships – just a few of the many desirable outcomes of having Clio’s design leadership at Mozilla. Clio embodies Mozilla’s ethos of “people over profit” – whether it’s the folks he’s working with to implement design strategy or the users he is designing for – his focus on people is at the forefront of his work. As a designer under Clio’s leadership it’s inspiring to experience his passion for the craft, his talent for creating experiences, and his thoughtful approach to mentorship. Clio’s expertise as a user-centered problem solver comes into focus whenever he collaborates across the organization, bringing with him a sound, design thinking approach. Above all, Clio is a delight to work with and for – Clio draws all those around him into his vision and, in turn, spurs them on to do their best work.
Mary Ellen Muckerman - Mozilla
Clio reported indirectly to Mary Ellen
I had the pleasure of working with Clio at Mozilla. He joined the team and immediately made a positive impact. He breathed life into a nascent brand identity system, making it sing across platforms and channels. He championed consistency and elegance across our many web experiences. He quickly became a valued partner across the entire design community, from marketing to product, and a respected leader within the brand team, known for empathy and generosity. Plus, he's a damn fine musician!
Carolyn Jaeger - Mozilla
Carolyn reported directly to Heraclio at Mozilla
Clio was aasas great Design leader, mentor and brand steward during his time at Mozilla. Through his leadership came elevated work and consistency in brand expression across Mozilla's marketing channels. Clio encouraged the team to share work and document progress on the brand's evolution. He provided each team member with valuable feedback on a daily basis and always found time to meet one on one during periods of intense work. I was impressed by Clio's attention to detail, and organizational skills. He introduced new design tools to our team that helped us work better together. Clio's superpower is his empathy. Through my career, Clio stands out as the most kind, warm and supportive manager. He is a great listener, actively unblocking obstacles, supporting his reports' career growth, and drawing great advice from his own work experience. He's an integral part of team culture because he sets a tone of respect and takes joy in his work. Clio will succeed in any role he takes on and will positively impact those who have the privilege of working with him.
Jascha Kaykas-Wolff - Mozilla
Clio reported indirectly to Jascha Kaykas-Wolff
Clio is a warmhearted and clear-eyed creative leader. In addition to being a great person and team leader his eye for system design is unmatched. He was instrumental in maturing the Mozilla and Firefox Brands while we were working together. If you appreciate the accessibility of the brand systems at Mozilla you will love working with Clio!
heraclio@designstgy.com