About Us

changeUp|GLOBAL brings to bear our collective expertise to focus on enabling your innovation. It is acquired not in a classroom, but through decades of experience delivering transformational results. We apply it to lead, support and mentor teams to deliver.

A woman sitting on the couch looking out of window.

Julia Cichowski

With over 30 years in Financial Services, and over 20 in user experience design, I’ve learned the art of enabling organizational transformation, the science of using data and metrics to understand and predict behavior, and the wisdom of listening to what customers have to say. My strengths are creating environments where collaborative teams can thrive and embracing change as a tool to design structures that are at their core adaptable, flexible and innovative.

A man holding up a microphone and a cell phone.

Christopher Whitlock

I believe creativity can be a catalyst for core changes in companies’ overall approach to innovation and organizational culture. During my career as an Executive Creative Director, I was responsible for leading teams of designers to define the look and feel for the user experience across multiple lines of business, technical platforms and products. My expertise is in evolving brand identity and ensuring that it is accurately conveyed and represented across the user experience. 

A man with glasses and beard wearing a blue shirt.

Martin Schmidt-Sarno

I am convinced that the contrast of opposites creates additional value and I feel privileged that my 25+ years career journey offered so many opportunities to verify this. Whether it's the contrast of respective business and technology perspectives, the treasure of contrast within a diversified team or the contrast of profound knowledge of a status quo and a compelling vision.

Anchored in Digital transformation and Customer Experience Design, I am grateful for the experience of leading and mentoring local, regional and global teams. Those teams enabled me to focus on end-to-end delivery and to drive vision to value at high pace.

Why you want to be in a room with us

The way we work

  • We favor collaboration over control
  • We are biased towards action but not particular ways of acting (Agile/waterfall/hybrid)
  • We believe the best way to 'get it' is to do it 
  • We create environments to inspire creativity, carefully considering the space, the light, the food and the soundtrack 
  • We've learned that solving global problems requires local understanding
  • We embrace the wonderful discomfort of trying something new
  • We believe every company's potential to innovate is present in their people 
  • If you want a culture that embraces change, empower your change agents and put them where they can foster it
  • We feel a conversation is richer when you have a diversity of voices and picture is clearer when you have considered all perspectives

changeUp|GLOBAL Principles

  • We are committed to working for the greater good; at least 30% of our work is pro bono
  • There are no competitors when you're trying to make the world a better place
  • You don't need to have all the answers; just really good questions
  • Good design can help you see a problem as well as solve it
  • We see change as opportunity
  • Even if you don't feel ready to start, start now