Eugene R. Gagolinan
Product & UX Design Leader
About me
I’m a design leader with over 20 years’ experience working on high-impact, user-driven digital products that scale, grow, and transform brands.
Over the past decade, I played key roles in shaping one of the Philippines’ top digital payment platforms and its evolution into becoming the country’s leading digital bank.
Career highlights
Directed PayMaya’s UX/UI team from inception to maturity that contributed in growing the user base to 44M+ and has sustain the #1 app store ranking for months.
Established PayMaya’s Design System enabling faster multiplatform rollouts.
Scaled Maya’s Business Design team, delivering end-to-end UX strategies that boosted acquisition and reduced in-app errors, significantly cutting costs in customer support calls.
Led designs for Maya’s consumer financial services (Insurance, Crypto, Deposits, Credit, Loans) achieving significant increase in conversion and stronger customer retention.
Aligned executives and stakeholders on product strategy, defining the unified user experience for the PayMaya/Maya ecosystem.
Core Leadership skills
Product and UX Strategy, User Experience and Interface Design, Design Systems, Product Development, Leadership & Team Management
Technical
Prototyping (Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD), User Research and Testing (Google Analytics), Project Management (Miro, FigJam, Notion, Jira, MS Office), Developer Handoff (Zeplin, Figma), Front-end basics (HTML, CSS, Java), Graphic and Visual Design (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, LR Classic), Motion and Interaction (After effects, Lottie, Figma, Premiere)
Work experience
Apr 2022 - May 2024
Maya
Product Design - Senior Manager
Led the Business Design team, driving UX strategies and responsible for increasing customer engagement, boost acquisition, product adoption, and user satisfaction. Oversaw design strategy and implementation of internal tools and projects. Designed core experiences for key Maya app projects from inception to scale.
Jan 2016 - Mar 2022
PayMaya
User Experience Design- Manager
Responsible for end-to-end design strategy for PayMaya products and internal tools, led the design team in developing key features that drove month-over month user base growth, app engagement, retention rate.
Nov 2013 - Dec 2018
Voyager Innovations, Inc.
UI/UX Designer - Senior Lead
Led the design team overseeing the fintech and entertainment category projects, delivering and maintaining UX/UI designs for 10+ products. Focused on planning and advancing PayMaya’s development over the last two years.
Sep 2014 - Dec 2014
De La Salle - College of St. Benilde
Part-time Faculty
Taught third year college students at the School of Design and Arts Multimedia Arts Program for one semester.
Jun 2011 - May 2013
Smart Communications
Designed user interfaces for Smart’s IP-based consumer products and services, seamlessly integrating telco-specific features to enhance customer experience. Led the design and delivery of products across multiple platforms, including native Android and iOS apps, mobile web, and desktop websites.
UI/UX Designer - Senior Lead
Jan 2007 - May 2011
ABS-CBN Multimedia
Creative Team Leader
Led the marketing team’s creative vision, designing interactive content for online, TV, radio, and print in collaboration with game developers.
Aug 2004 - Dec 2006
Colorfields Digital Graphics
Created original visual design concepts for clients and digital assets ensuring high-quality prepress production. Collaborated with clients and marketing teams to deliver cohesive and visually compelling brand experiences.
Multimedia Designer - Level 2
Feb 2004 - Jul 2004
Digiprint Designs Corporation
Designed and produced yearbooks for schools at all levels, ensuring high-quality layouts and print production. Created custom covers, page designs, and graphics while maintaining brand and school identity. Collaborated with clients, editors, and printers to meet deadlines and deliver polished final products.
Founding member - Creative Director
Sep 2002 - Jan 2004
EZHighway I.T. Incorporated
Web Designer / Web Consultant
Designed websites for Philippine Basketball teams, businesses, and celebrities.
Jun 2002 - Aug 2002
Summit Interactive
Multimedia Designer
Designed digital artwork, screensavers, and online assets to complement FHM Philippines Magazine, enhancing its digital presence and audience engagement.
Education
2008 - 2012
Graduate School of Business
Masters in Business Administration
(completed 57 units)
De La Salle University
Manila, Taft
1998 - 2002
San Beda College
BSC Business Management & Entrepreneurship
Mendiola, Manila
1994 - 1998
University of Santo Tomas
High School
España, Manila