Tre Stewart as a trail guide holding a lantern

OPEN TO DESIGN LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

WayfinderTeam builderDesign leader

I spark new momentum in teams by leading with empathy, tackling challenges creatively, and honoring the people who make the work possible.

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Experience

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Field Notes

The trail gets quiet right before things get interesting.

Most of my career has been spent guiding teams through uncharted territory, shifting priorities, and the kinds of challenges that never come with a clear map.

Award markers

FTE Most Innovative Airline Initiative Smart Ramp, Alaska Airlines, 2025.

Webby Award Best Mobile User Interface, Walmart, 2022.

Tre Stewart

Field note

Tre Stewart Wayfinder

Throughout my career, I’ve joined teams right in the thick of change. Sometimes that meant reimagining workflows. Other times, it meant helping people rediscover their connection to the work.

Over the years, I’ve worked across identity, operations, aviation, and enterprise systems. Different industries. Different problems. The part I’ve always enjoyed most is figuring out how to move teams forward when things feel stuck.

For me, it always begins with listening before leading.

Current camp Manager, Product Design Alaska Airlines employee tools

Campfire stories

Every trail leaves behind a story.

Pick a card. I’ll tell you what happened.

Adoption route Deployment
Isn't
Adoption Trail Tre Adventure 01

2026 1 quarter arc Rated L

Deployment Isn't Adoption

An aging ramp system is replaced across 117 stations, but the real challenge begins after launch day.

+131% Informational scanning across RAMP system

Alaska Airlines

Deployment Isn't Adoption

We replaced RSA Mobile with RAMP Upload across 117 stations. Then we found out those are two different problems.

The problem

We measured
if we shipped.
Not if it worked.

RSA Mobile was the legacy system of record for ramp upload scanning and load submission. Fragmented workflows, limited visibility for Central Load Planning, and no telemetry — no way to know if agents were using a feature, struggling with it, or working around it entirely.

We launched RAMP Upload in waves. The data showed that deploying devices and installing the app did not guarantee agents were actually using it. These were separate issues, and we lacked the tools to address adoption.

My approach

Instrumentation
as a launch
requirement.

Two moves in parallel. First, I made adoption instrumentation non-negotiable — not a post-launch add-on, but part of what "shipped" means. Pendo gave us daily active users, station-level usage patterns, and where agents were dropping off. Once we could see the gaps, we used in-app guides to deliver workflow guidance in context at the worst-adoption stations.

Second, I established a phased rollout, starting small before scaling to system-wide launch. The legacy platform required weeks for a single fix; RAMP Upload enabled same-day hotfixes. I designed the release process to ensure responsible use of this capability.

At our most challenged stations, the real issue was not resistance to the app but a lack of timely guidance on the new workflow. In-app guides bridged this gap without retraining or manager intervention.

Impact — RSA Mobile is retired. RAMP Upload runs at network scale.

From deployed
to adopted.

117

Stations active
on RAMP Upload

99.6%

Submission success rate
6,011 submissions

12,828 / 14,299

Submissions made across
scheduled flights

0 GIRs

No ground incident reports
attributed to RAMP Upload

What I'd do differently

Instrumentation
first. Launch
second.

We added adoption tracking after rollout began, which was not ideal. Pendo should have been part of the initial launch criteria, with active user tracking defining "live at a station." When stations made real adoption gains, agents deserved feedback on their impact. We missed a chance to reinforce positive behavior and build trust for future changes.

SITUATION View full case study ↗

Deployment Isn't Adoption cinematic still

Deployment Isn't Adoption mobile preview still

Deployment Isn't Adoption adoption still

2026 5 month arc Rated L

The Goodwill Bank

A designer arrives with a reputation already attached. Five months later, he is confidently leading executive conversations.

5 months From transfer to executive presentation

Alaska Airlines

The Goodwill Bank

A designer transferred to my team with three flags on his record. Five months later he was presenting solo in the executive suite.

What I inherited

Not proactive.
Struggles with ambiguity.
Risk-averse.

When he transferred to my cargo team in November, the read from his previous manager was clear: not proactive, struggles with ambiguity, risk-averse. His PM said he'd surface an opportunity and he'd sit on it. When requirements weren't defined, he'd freeze.

I listened. I took notes. Then I set out to form my own view.

What I found was more specific: he came from a team dynamic that had slowly worn down his confidence. The skills were there. He was watching the room, deciding if it was worth using them. Before I could ask him to take more risks, he needed proof that this environment would respond differently.

The sequence that mattered

Make a deposit
before you ask
for behavior.

Six weeks in, before he’d done anything to earn my advocacy, I was in a 1:1 with our director, calling out what product was doing wrong. They’d put him on ULD domain work before he’d been onboarded into the domain, and were wondering why he wasn’t driving. I raised it directly. He found out about that conversation later.

Before I asked for a change, I made a deposit. Coaching does not start with the behavior you want to change. It starts with the environment.

From there: frequent, predictable 1:1s that offered real access, not just check-ins. One concrete target at a time. Supervised field visits to SeaTac cargo ops, then independent ones. When he was meant to own a room, I stepped back and sent coaching notes afterward. Once you take the floor back, there is no clean way to return it in the same meeting.

Where he landed — March 31, executive review

Solo. Executive room.
5 months.

5 mo.

November to
executive presentation

Solo

Presented to MD of
product & design

He presented to Alaska's managing director of product and design — field observations, process maps, design decisions, error handling, agent testing, Q2 roadmap. The MD asked precise process-level questions throughout. His overall read: "This is great." Six months earlier, this was a designer who was nervous presenting to his own PM.

What I'd do differently

Name the gap
sooner.

The observation period lasted two months before I named a concrete goal, and that delay had a cost. Product was bypassing him, passivity was setting in, and I was still assessing. Three or four weeks of signal is enough to name a gap and give someone one thing to practice. That timeline cost him. I also did not bring his PM into the coaching loop early enough. She saw the same patterns, and a short conversation in November would have given him consistent signals from two directions at once.

SITUATION View full case study ↗

2024 8 day experiment Rated L

Identity Crisis

Walmart is losing more than $180 million to fraud, but the answer is buried deeper in the identity data.

+56% Net GMV per account after verification

Walmart

Identity Crisis

Phone verification cut account creation by 40%, yet net GMV per account rose by 56%. That is not a contradiction. That is the product.

01 — The problem

$180M in fraud.
Three orgs.
No shared architecture.

Over 100 million users. More than $180 million lost to fraud each year. Only 11 million of a 52 million verified-phone goal reached. Bots were farming accounts to steal Walmart+ trials, and 15% of accounts had undeliverable email addresses. Three product orgs were building identity in parallel silos, with no shared architecture.

Product’s stance: requiring phone verification at sign-up adds friction, reduces accounts, and lowers GMV. The debate stalled, with both sides relying on instinct instead of proof.

02 — My role

Design the
controlled test.

I partnered with product to design a controlled test instead of debating. Mandatory OTP phone verification at account creation versus a no-verification control, rolled out to 50% of web traffic for eight days, then to all users.

The question was never whether friction would hurt conversion. We knew it would. The real question: are the accounts we are losing worth keeping?

I also co-designed the FIDO passkey flow: friction at the gate, smoothness after. Once identity is verified, authentication becomes faster, not harder.

03 — Outcome

Verified phones:
11M → 52M+

+56%

Net GMV per account
$75 → $117 / year

+136%

Contribution profit / account
$0.58 → $1.37

$8.4M

Annualized contribution
profit increase

−64%

Account takeover
bad-count rate

What I'd do differently

Set the metric
before launch.

A 40% drop in account creation looks catastrophic on a dashboard. It took stakeholder work after the readout to reframe the result. Next time, I would align on the success metric—fewer, higher-quality accounts—before launch, not after. The data was right. The setup for the data was not.

SITUATION View full case study ↗

Trail Markers

Lessons learned the hard way, collected along the journey.

Marker 01

Momentum is fragile

Teams rarely stop all at once. Momentum disappears through unresolved friction and unclear decisions.

Marker 02

Speed needs alignment

Fast execution means little when teams move in different directions.

Marker 03

Listen for the workarounds

The unofficial process usually reveals where the real problems are.

Marker 04

Deployment isn’t adoption

Launching a system does not guarantee people will change how they work.

Marker 05

Clarity reduces friction

Clear priorities prevent unnecessary organizational drag.

Marker 06

Leadership shows up in ambiguity

Direction matters most when the path forward is unclear.

Echo Ridge

Trail companions

A few words from people I’ve worked beside along the way.

7 references 3 direct managers 4 disciplines

Item 1 of 14

Trust before risk · Walmart

Erin Sian Williams

Sr Director, UX Design · Walmart

Managed Tre directly

Tre is a natural leader and especially shines in helping other designers gain confidence in their role; he helps teammates get comfortable sharing bolder ideas, sharpen their critical skills, and push their work to new places.

Tre Stewart taking a selfie with Alaska Airlines teammates beside an aircraft during field research — **Field context** Getting close to the environment before shaping the product.

Mentorship · American Airlines

Diego Brunot

Manager · American Airlines

Managed Tre directly

Tre has an innate ability to make people feel comfortable and supported, fostering a collaborative and positive work environment. I have seen him reach out to peers during vulnerable moments, providing the mentorship and support needed to help them succeed.

Virtual weekly sync with Tre Stewart and teammates in a video meeting grid — **Weekly sync** Small rituals that keep partnership close.

Strategic craft · Walmart

Demetrios Roumbos

Product Designer · Walmart

Worked on the same team

What sets Tre apart is his remarkable attention to detail paired with strategic vision. He has an uncanny ability to spot subtle inconsistencies while never losing sight of the broader project and problem at hand.

Tre Stewart and a colleague facilitating a hands-on American Airlines workshop with attendees around laptops — **Workshop facilitation** Hands-on guidance while teams make the work real.

Customer focus · Walmart

May Mak

Sr Product Manager · Walmart

Worked on the same team

In our design sessions, Tre is always asking and reminding me, “Why are we doing what we’re doing and what is the benefit to the customer?” His relentless questioning is a testament to his customer-first focus.

Virtual working session with Tre Stewart and teammates in a video meeting grid — **Remote critique** Distributed teams still need a room for the work.

Depth of ownership · Walmart

Michelle Hang Bui

Sr Product Designer · Walmart

Worked with Tre on a partner team

I have never met a designer who is so thorough, involved, and knowledgeable in their focus area to be able to articulate the nitty gritty of every use case to educate others and build incredible experiences.

Team energy The kind of trust that makes critique easier.

Learning through complexity · Walmart

Steph Houle

Sr Manager, Product Design · Walmart

Managed Tre directly

Tre navigated complex problems, like implementing FIDO, by learning through the process and solving for the best user experience possible. Whether it was advanced prototyping or teaching Figma, he was always willing to help.

Baggage office hours video meeting with Tre Stewart and product partners — **Office hours** Open space for product questions before decisions harden.

Resilient leadership · American Airlines

Benjamin Parail

Principal UX Designer

Worked with Tre across two companies

Tre brought a resilient passion to every challenging or complex problem. He advocates for his team by giving them a voice, leading with courage, mentoring young designers, and teaching new skills.

WayfinderTeam builderDesign leader

The trail gets quiet right before things get interesting.

Deployment Isn't Adoption

We measuredif we shipped.Not if it worked.

Instrumentationas a launchrequirement.

From deployedto adopted.

Instrumentationfirst. Launchsecond.

The Goodwill Bank

Not proactive.Struggles with ambiguity.Risk-averse.

Make a depositbefore you askfor behavior.

Solo. Executive room.5 months.

Name the gapsooner.

Identity Crisis

$180M in fraud.Three orgs.No shared architecture.

Design thecontrolled test.

Verified phones:11M → 52M+

Set the metricbefore launch.

Lessons learned the hard way, collected along the journey.

Momentum is fragile

Speed needs alignment

Listen for the workarounds

Deployment isn’t adoption

Clarity reduces friction

Leadership shows up in ambiguity

Trail companions

Erin Sian Williams

Diego Brunot

Demetrios Roumbos

May Mak

Michelle Hang Bui

Steph Houle

Benjamin Parail

Want to join mefor the next trail?

We measured
if we shipped.
Not if it worked.

Instrumentation
as a launch
requirement.

From deployed
to adopted.

Instrumentation
first. Launch
second.

Not proactive.
Struggles with ambiguity.
Risk-averse.

Make a deposit
before you ask
for behavior.

Solo. Executive room.
5 months.

Name the gap
sooner.

$180M in fraud.
Three orgs.
No shared architecture.

Design the
controlled test.

Verified phones:
11M → 52M+

Set the metric
before launch.

Want to join me
for the next trail?