Meet the Team

  • Ramy Nassar

    FOUNDER

    Ramy (he/him) is the founder of 1000 Days Out and author of the upcoming AI Product Design Handbook. With nearly 25 years experience in technology and as former Head of Innovation for Mattel, he leads presentations and workshops focused on disruption and strategic foresight with organizations around the world. 

    Ramy has led strategic foresight & planning initiatives with organizations including TD Bank, Rio Tinto, Genome Canada, Interac, Apple, Air Canada, Facebook, New Balance, Telus, CIBC, and the Federal Government of Canada. 

    Ramy teaches Design Thinking at McMaster University and in the Master's of Engineering, Innovation & Entrepreneurship program at Toronto Metropolitan University. Ramy is an award-winning speaker & facilitator at international events including World Usability Congress, IxDA, FITC, AI Everything, AI Business Summit, and World Mobile Congress. He is fluent in English, French, and German.

  • Aileen Nandy

    CUSTOMER RESEARCH AND DESIGN STRATEGIST

    Aileen Nandy is an expert in customer research and design strategy, typically found on our projects leading conversations with users and how we best communicate our ideas with them. She asks great questions that help better frame problems and help teams explore interesting new avenues. She has worked with F500 companies around the world across a range of industries. 

  • Vanessa Alvarado

    UX/UI DESIGNER

    Vanessa Alvarado is our not-so-secret weapon helping to design visual concepts, prototypes, opportunity maps and more. She takes what were mere post-it notes and off-the-cuff remarks from a workshop, and turns them into artifacts that can help test, iterate and validate.

  • Iain Montgomery

    Iain Montgomery

    CUSTOMER RESEARCH AND STRATEGIST

    Iain Montgomery is an instigator of innovation, typically helping clients think about the future in new ways and challenging the established conventions. He loves talking with customers, exploring new ideas, sharing great precedents and can be relied upon to join you for a pint after a rough day… if you don’t mind hearing about his love for Burnley Football Club. 

 
 
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Ramy Nassar, PARTNER

Ramy is a Canadian engineer, designer and maker. As the former Head of Innovation for Mattel and Managing Director of Design & Strategy for the technology firm Architech, he has led teams ranging from 4 to 45 in the creation of disruptive new digital products, services & platforms. 

With a background in computer engineering and Design Thinking, Ramy has straddled technical, design, and business-oriented roles, for clients including Cadillac Fairview, Apple, Air Canada, Facebook, New Balance, Rogers and CIBC.

Ramy is a regular speaker at international events including World Usability Congress, IxDA, Machine Learning Exchange, AI Business Summit and Mobile World Congress. Ramy teaches Design Thinking at McMaster University as well as guest lectures on a range of topics at Ryerson University and University of Toronto. He has been recognized as a top 40 under 40 award winner.

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Craig Haney, PARTNER

Craig has been a leader in the Canadian Corporate Innovation space for over a decade. He’s led innovation strategies for Canadian Tire, Communitech, & RCAF as well as providing programming for Manulife, Sunlife, Farm Credit Canada, amongst other enterprises. Craig has been recognized as a pioneer in the Canadian corporate innovation landscape.

Craig is a recognized speaker at industry events and conferences. He has presented as a keynote speaker in Germany, China, Sweden, United States, and Canada. He regularly leads workshops for executive teams and innovation organizations across Canada and around the world.

Craig holds a Masters degree from the University of Waterloo, chairs a non-profit board focused on international development, conservation, and supporting local services. Craig has been similarly recognized in the top 40 under 40.

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HILARY WATSON, SR. CONSULTANT, Customer experience

Hilary Watson is an entrepreneur with a background in banking, management consulting & technology who has worked in Fortune 500 companies as well as fast-growing startups. She has co-founded a number of technology companies, across a diverse range of sectors, and is an active investor in early-stage startups.

Hilary’s passion design thinking and innovation has led her to be a guest lecturer in the University of Toronto Rotman MBA program, where she herself also graduated from the global executive MBA.