[Image: espn-fc-1 gif — full width hero]
At theScore, a subsidiary of PENN Entertainment, I managed a multidisciplinary team of designers working across theScore, theScore Bet, ESPN Bet, PENN's retail platform, and the internal tools powering trading operations.
This page isn't really about the products, though: it's about the team. The story of my two years here is taking a group of talented designers who were running on fumes and turning them into a team that understood exactly where they were going, felt good getting there, and eventually helped decide the destination. Underneath all of it sits a belief I hold as a creative lead: creativity thrives when individuals come together and can comfortably bring their authentic selves, interests and all, to the table.
What I walked into
I joined in August 2023, three months before the largest sportsbook launch in the company's history, and right on the heels of a nearly identical project: the Barstool Sportsbook rebrand and launch. The team was being asked to do it all again, and it showed.
Critique flowed one direction. Feedback from senior voices arrived as instruction rather than exploration, and I don't believe anyone wanted it that way: the same strain wearing down the ICs had left our most senior designers burned out, unfocused, and without meaningful channels to communicate through. Direction filled the space where conversation should have lived. The work had a production line feel: apply the coat of paint, move to the next screen. Two rebrands in a row with little say in either had drained confidence in the roadmap and the strategy behind it.
Management, meanwhile, was consumed with operating. The roadmap had been handed down and the work simply had to ship, which left no room for improving rituals, elevating morale, or growing individual creative expression. The ICs felt like they had nothing left to give. Our rituals had been carried over from a team half our size, and the 1:1 culture had squeezed out the personal: it took me longer than it should have to actually learn who my designers were.
The moment I knew there was a real problem was a quiet one: when I asked why we ran things the way we did, nobody, management or otherwise, could clarify or defend the rituals and focuses. Everyone was doing what was handed to them, often from ambiguous voices at the top of the company.
So the problems, in order: morale was low, the mission wasn't legible, and design was downstream of a roadmap it had no hand in shaping.
Rebuilding morale
Morale gets fixed with systems that make good work feel good again. What that looked like:
- Reset critique as exploration. Critique became a place to think out loud together, where ideas got better because more perspectives touched them. Instruction went back to being what it should be: rare.
- Rebuilt our rituals from the ground up. I audited what had been inherited from a team half our size and re-established a cadence of critiques and team sessions across sportsbook, PAM, and casino workstreams. Every ritual had to earn its place, and everyone could tell you why it existed.
- Made wins visible. I introduced structured wins-and-learnings tracking so successes stopped evaporating the moment the next deadline arrived. Capturing what you did well is a muscle; we trained it.
- Protected play. Creatives feed off play, freedom, and focus. The environment had to allow all three while still shipping.
- Coached individually. Regular, real 1:1s focused on growth and on knowing my designers as people: the part of the job the old setup had pushed down and out.
[Image: work samples pg 14 — rituals cadence + wins tracking docs, cropped as needed]
They created a fun, collaborative design culture where everyone felt comfortable being themselves. Their leadership fostered an environment of psychological safety that encouraged us to take risks, get creative, and experiment — which is exactly where real growth happens.
— Ellen Pennock, Product Designer (reported to me)
Alex has an exceptional ability to create environments in which their designers can thrive. They understand that creatives and designers feed off play, freedom, and focus. Alex strikes the perfect balance between all three, cultivating a relaxed and open atmosphere that allows the team to think outside the box while still executing efficiently.
— Jon Fitzsimmons, Staff Product Designer (reported to me)
Making the mission legible
The deeper fix was clarity. I treat legibility as a design problem: the same systems thinking I'd apply to a product, applied to the team itself.
- Design Plan Templates: a shared Confluence template that guides any designer from kickoff through delivery, replacing tribal knowledge with a visible source of truth.
- Weekly updates that actually inform: a lightweight structure connecting each designer's priorities to next steps, blockers, and the goals they ladder into.
- Goals designers can see themselves in: annual and quarterly goal docs that translate org strategy into terms the team could act on, with outcomes tracked in the open.
- Context for every role. Everyone deserved to know what they owned, why it mattered, and how it laddered up.
The test of legibility: any designer on my team could tell you what we were building, why, and what their work contributed. And they felt enough ownership to run with it.
[Image: work samples pg 14 — Design Plan Template, if not used above]
They created such an easy environment to help me grow and really own my work.
— Nick Theodorou, Senior Product Designer (reported to me)
They always encouraged growth and development within the team by providing constructive feedback and opportunities for learning. It's clear that Alex cares about their designers and will do anything to make sure the team has all they need to do their best work. Lastly, they keep things light and when you're chatting, it feels like you're chatting with a friend.
— John Andronowski, Senior Product Designer (reported to me)
Earning a seat at the roadmap
We didn't wait for clarity to arrive from above. Early on, and more than once, I ran an exercise with my team where we took the known initiatives and made sense of them ourselves: framing them as OKRs, then working upward until we'd articulated our company and organizational mandate, mission, and goals from the bottom up.
The point was to make my designers proactive and impactful in strategic conversations. Product design has "product" in it for a reason, and I wanted every designer on the team to feel licensed to act on that half of the title.
That mindset compounded quickly. Following the OKR work, Matt, our only UX writer, and I built a functional mandate for UX Writing from the ground up: its domain, its focus, its approach to the work, and how it operates cross-functionally. Matt went from being a UX writer to owning the UX writing "team".
Elevating design's presence in product conversations was also the first step in a bigger push: setting up cross-functional triads (tiger teams, if you like), which I ran alongside one of our lead researchers, Amanda King.
FanCenter is what that work looks like when it lands. Design was a key strategic voice from inception to launch in August 2025, and creative was a key input rather than just an output. Or, as a friend and past colleague put it: it showed the org that design was a partner and not just a pencil.
From solving complex problems and participating in roadmap creation to suggesting innovative ideas, Alex did everything expected of a leader in their position. They greatly influenced the design organization as a whole and consistently pushed us to achieve our best, raising the bar for quality and creativity.
— David-Alexandre Bannon, Product Designer (reported to me)
They were a great sounding board for me while working on ESPN Ecosystem design and strategy, particularly on the Account Linking feature. Any team would be lucky to have Alex as a strategic mentor and design expert!
— Kia Valdez Bettcher, Product Designer (reported to me)
What the team shipped
Proof the approach worked: the team delivered through all of it.
- ESPN BET launch (Nov 2023): the largest sportsbook launch in the company's history. 19 states + DC; #1 in Apple's Top Free Apps and #8 in Google Play's Overall Free category in week one
- Live Streaming (Feb 2024): live video in over 150,000 events
- ESPN Account Linking (Oct 2024): bringing ESPN's user base and data into the ecosystem
- FanCenter (Aug 2025): markets filtered by the teams and players fans actually care about
- Plus the unglamorous, high-stakes work: the internal platforms PENN's trading team uses to manage markets and risk in real time
[Image: FanCenter graphic or ESPN BET launch visual]
What the team says
I had the privilege of managing Alex during their time at Penn/theScore, and they consistently stood out as a thoughtful, steady, and impactful leader. Alex has the rare ability to connect with their team members at a deep level, lead confidently through ambiguity, and advocate for strong and scalable design patterns. Their blend of empathy and strategic thinking made them a trusted voice across the organization. Any team would benefit from their leadership and heart!
— Sindre Rønningen, VP of Product Design at Penn (theScore/theScore Bet) (my manager)
Alex is one of the best design managers I've ever had. Definitely top 3. Rarified air. Alex thinks about the user experience, the details, how it fits, what it could become, and champions those who report to them. I could write the 3,000-character limit here, but I can just sum it up for everyone: Alex is an amazing addition to any team. They're great. Any company that employs Alex will instantly be upgraded. Also, they're an amazing person with a good heart. Can't recommend them enough.
— Matt Rogers, UX Writer, Penn Interactive (same team)
The best manager I've ever had. Alex made work feel meaningful, challenged me to grow, and always had my back.
— Frank Suarez-Milan, Senior Product Designer (reported to me)
Working with Alex has been one of those rare experiences that changes how you think about both design and leadership. There's a calm confidence in the way Alex approaches challenges - thoughtful, empathetic, and always grounded in purpose. Alex has a real gift for building culture - creating an environment where people feel supported, trusted, and inspired to do their best work. Alex often brings a perspective that helps you see things from an angle you hadn't considered, and those moments tend to stay with you. I've learned so much from Alex's leadership and unique perspective, and I'm genuinely grateful to have had the chance to work alongside such a creative and insightful mind.
— Kyle Donmoyer, Senior Product Designer (reported to me)
I was so lucky to have Alex as my first ever UX design manager and honestly I'm not sure if they will ever be topped.
— Ellen Pennock, Product Designer (reported to me)
(These are excerpts from LinkedIn recommendations — the full set lives on my LinkedIn profile.)
Titles held
- Senior Manager, Product Design (Sportsbook & Media) — Mar 2025 →
- Manager, Product Design (Sportsbook & Media) — Jan → Mar 2025
- Manager, Product Design (Sportsbook) — Aug 2023 → Dec 2024