Hi! I'm Sam Weirich. I'm a Design Director with 15+ years’ experience in product design, product strategy, user experience, design thinking, and user research. An executive with a strong background in UX design management, leading a global team that produced over $1.5B in payments processed & 24M rounds sold last year alone. Recognized for collaborative leadership style and keen ability to effectively translate complex operational concepts into tangible action plans. A proven design leader with strong executive presence, capable of blending big-picture viewpoints with tactical considerations to inspire, build trust, and achieve record growth.
Highlights
- Led design innovations at Golf Channel that resulted in 63% increase in average time spent on product and raised advertising revenue by 29%.
- Spearheaded new GolfNow tee time recommendation feature that increased tee time sales by 47%.
- Received Emmy for Outstanding Trans-Media Sports Coverage for contributions to NBCOlympics.com during the XXXI Olympiad Games.
Companies I've Worked With
Work Experience
Design innovative experiences through research and design thinking that drive business value for the world's leading golf course technology provider, serving over 11,000 partners in 30 countries. GolfNow is not only the largest global online tee time platform (B2C) but also leads in offering electronic tee sheets, point-of-sale systems, booking engines, and websites for golf facilities (B2B). Furthermore, in partnership with professional golfer Rory McIlroy, GolfNow powers the largest golf subscription platform, GolfPass (D2C).
- Doubled the annual revenue target for mobile check-ins by improving mobile app user experience.
- 300% increase in GolfNow account creations by optimization of login and account management processes to minimize friction.
- 20% boost in daily bookings through the introduction of badging for high margin tee times.
- In a company survey of direct reports, I received the highest positive ratings in categories such as "cares about my well-being," "sets clear performance expectations," and "promotes an inclusive culture".
Manage a global team comprising of more than 15 designers, front-end engineers, and contractor resources. Expanded role to include management of digital partnerships with PGA of America, leading a team in creating and innovating digital products for both PGA of America and DP World Tour. Assumed Design and UX responsibilities for the G1 suite of golf course management software, all while maintaining focus on delivering exceptional user experience for our flagship B2C product GolfNow.
- PGA Championship garnered over 470,000 app downloads, 4.52 million viewers on Sunday, and sponsorship revenue of $104.555 million.
- Ryder Cup received 300,000 app downloads, 2.7 million viewers (with a 14% increase among those under age 35), and sponsorship revenue of $88.7 million.
- Nearly 2x revenue increase in high-margin tee times through new tee time recommendation feature.
Led the digital overhaul for GolfNow and Golf Channel, driving continuous traffic and revenue growth. Designed GolfNow's wearable apps and managed a portfolio of digital products including Golf Channel, Fantasy Golf, Golf Channel Academy, Golf Advisor, Last Minute Golfer, and Military Tee Times. Directed a global team in media, content, transactions, and B2B software to boost revenue and innovation. Presented at NBC Sports events, directed strategies for tee sheet management, rate optimization, and CRM, launching new businesses for growth. Led omni-channel strategy and user experience improvements for GolfNow and Golf Channel's digital platforms.
- 67% increase in video consumption, 31% uptick in average time spent on product, 82% increase in customer satisfaction, and 23% year-over-year revenue growth through new sponsorship opportunities.
- Efforts directly contributed to NBCOlympics.com receiving an Emmy Award for Outstanding Trans-Media Sports Coverage during the XXXI Olympiad Games.
- Multi-year traffic and revenue growth for GolfNow website and mobile app, the leading consumer tee time e-commerce platform.
- Apple app store featured app - designed GolfNow's inaugural wearable apps for Apple Watch and Android Wear devices.
Developed an advanced front-end codebase for GolfNow.com incorporating ARIA landmark roles, schema.org microformats, and adhering to correct HTML5 structure, syntax, and semantics.
Updated content and supported marketing efforts for GolfAdviser.com and MilitaryTeeTimes.com. Led the design and front-end coding of Golf Now, Golf Advisor, and Military Tee Times websites, ensuring adherence to UI heuristics and UX standards through collaboration with the Engineering team.
GolfNow-related courses experienced an improvement of three to five positions in Google search rankings, leading to enhanced product visibility and subsequently driving year-over-year revenue growth due to these innovative coding practices.
Designed UI for My Spectrum mobile app while leading a small team of developers to help craft an intuitive user experience. Designed and developed large parts of Spectrum’s residential web property (www.Spectrum.com). Including interactive slider and complete equipment ordering application with HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, AngularJS and JSP using Adobe AEM CMS.
Directed a team in conceptualizing, developing, and strategically executing the "Two Years of ToyotaCare" marketing campaign for Southeast Toyota (JM Family), targeting both Scion and Toyota brands. The comprehensive campaign encompassed websites, email marketing, social media engagement, radio advertising, and multimedia spots.
Additionally, crafted interactive campaign webpages, social media content, and email communications tailored for aftermarket customers such as Jiffy Lube, Big O, Goodyear, and Tire Kingdom. These efforts led to a remarkable 475% increase in digital subscription profits year over year.
Collaborated with leading media companies like Conde Nast, Gannett, New Media/Gatehouse, Tribune, Hearst, Gazette, and others to implement successful digital products. Led teams of web, analytics, and BI professionals during visits to newspapers across the United States (such as San Diego Union-Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, etc.), customizing Atex's AdBase product to meet user expectations and create revenue-generating opportunities.
Education
Mississippi State University
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
2023
Full Sail University
Master of Science, Marketing
2015
Full Sail University
Bachelor of Science, Graphic Design
2013
Mississippi State University
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
2023
Full Sail University
Master of Science, Marketing
2015
Full Sail University
Bachelor of Science, Graphic Design
2013
