Design as a catalyst

In Brex 3.0, we made a bold bet: Design moved to report directly to the CEO, and I joined the leadership team as Chief Design Officer. This wasn’t just a structural change — it was a statement. Design now has a true seat at the table and the ability to influence not just product and brand, but how we run the company itself.

This is rare, especially in B2B. Only about 5% of Fortune 1000 companies have a Chief Design Officer. But Pedro, our CEO, thrives on taking uncommon bets — and elevating design is one of them. When he brought me onto the leadership team, it wasn’t just about adding a new perspective — it was about embedding creativity into how Brex makes decisions. Logic and data are still core, but now they’re fused with design thinking. It’s this balance that’s fueling Brex’s next chapter.

Transforming how we work

This shift ignited a transformation — not just in Design, but across Brex. We completely changed how teams work together, breaking down silos between design, product, engineering, and marketing. The lines blurred, and collaboration accelerated.

Within the Design org, we tore down boundaries. Titles and org charts don’t matter to users, so we stopped letting them define us. We operate as one team, tackling problems wherever they exist and putting our best people on the hardest problems to solve. And most importantly, we expanded our focus. Design has become central to so many decisions at Brex — shaping product vision, driving strategy, and pushing forward our brand as one that will be here in 100 years.

We reignited an obsession with craft, refusing to accept “good enough” when great was possible. Every pixel, every interaction, every decision now demands excellence. But this transformation wasn’t just about the work — it was about the mindset. We put customers first and fell in love with their problems — their challenges became our compass.

Raising the bar

We’ve delivered bold new features, like reimagining our accounting product with automation at the heart of it. With this, our customers can now close their books faster than ever. We’ve also tackled the overlooked details—upgrading hundreds of small but critical features, like giving our banking customers exact timelines into their money movement. It’s a seemingly simple upgrade, but one that surprisingly no other company offers even though it’s often critical to tell suppliers exactly when they’ll receive payments.

We’ve raised the bar on craft and our systems, rebuilding core parts of our UI as platforms–like Smart Grids, AI-Powered Search, and more. This has increased the consistency between our products, drastically improved the experience for our customers, and helped teams within Brex move faster. Our releases from Summer and Fall highlight even more of the incredible work we are doing.

Achieving extraordinary results

Even though we’re just getting started, the results are already extraordinary. Our customers include some of the most innovative companies on the planet, from AI leaders like Anthropic and Scale AI to fast-growing startups like Mercor and HeyGen. A company worth more than $1 trillion (yes, with a “t”) in market capitalization chose Brex because of what we’ve been able to deliver. Our enterprise business nearly doubled with more than 130% net revenue retention. More companies are choosing Brex because of what we’ve delivered—and because they love using it.

Brex is winning, and Design is at the heart of it. The old way of managing business finances is slow and broken—we’re changing that. From founders scaling their startups to CFOs running global enterprises, we’re building a smarter, faster way to work. The impact is real, and this is the best version of Brex yet.

If you're driven to help design and build what’s next, reach out to me directly at mattbango@brex.com. I’d love to hear from you.