About

I like building stuff.

My Passion: Creating great products and experiences.

25+ year veteran of creative product design, innovation and team leadership. Rare combination of user-centered design, engineering and brand acumen.

Experience driving Cartography, Industrial Design, Mechanical Engineering, User Interface Design, and creative problem solving focused on building outstanding consumer experiences and cloud connected SW platforms. Extensive automotive platform design experience engaged with key auto brand leadership. Asian manufacturing and supplier experience. Competent with electrical and SW engineering peers.

A passionate and compelling presenter with extensive media, analyst and launch experience — an asset for marketing.

Sustainability: Our house won the San Mateo County Green Building Award in 2009.

This site is an in-progress portfolio of great team projects and work I've been involved with. I care about attribution and it's important to recognise that almost everything I have done is the shared authorship working with inspired people.

Bio

Peter Skillman

Global Head of Design, Royal Philips

Peter Skillman leads Philips' global design strategy across software, hardware, usability, and service ecosystems — all focused on radical empathy, trust, and improving outcomes for patients and clinicians.

He began his career at IDEO, then led the design of iconic products including Palm PDAs and Treo smartphones, Nokia phones (1.6 billion shipped in four years), Windows 10 and Outlook at Microsoft, and nearly all user experience for Amazon Web Services.

Recognized as one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business, he holds over 60 patents and earned degrees in Mechanical Engineering (UMass Amherst) and Product Design (Stanford University).

Outside work, he advocates for sustainable architecture and design, became the Netherlands National Champion in Épée fencing (50+ category) in 2022, and in 2025 decided to learn the most impossible instrument: the pedal steel guitar.

Career

Experience & Timeline

2020 – Present

Philips — Global Head of Design

Leading global design strategy across software, hardware, usability, and service ecosystems — focused on radical empathy, trust, and improving outcomes for patients and clinicians in healthcare.

2018 – 2020

Amazon Web Services — Head of Design

Led design for nearly all user experience across the AWS cloud platform — serving millions of developers and enterprises worldwide.

2015 – 2018

Microsoft — General Manager, Design

Windows 10, Outlook (iOS, Android, Web, Desktop), Skype, Fluent Design System, Action Centre, My People, Edge, and more. Shipped design across billions of devices.

2012 – 2015

Nokia / HERE — VP Design

HERE Maps across Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Samsung Gear, web, and automotive. Enterprise mapping, LIDAR, autonomous driving maps, and Audi/Volvo integrations.

2009 – 2012

Nokia — VP Design, Mobile Phones

Led design for Nokia mobile phones — 1.6 billion phones shipped in four years. Nokia Asha, Nokia 105/108, MeeGo N9, Nokia Pure typography. Designing for the next billion users.

2001 – 2009

Palm / Handspring — VP Design

Palm Pre, Palm Pixi, Treo, Visor Edge, WebOS, Touchstone wireless charger, and the Prelude font. Pioneering the smartphone era with Jeff Hawkins and Donna Dubinsky.

1993 – 2001

IDEO — Design Lead

Where it all began. The famous IDEO shopping cart (see the Deep Dive video), GM/Hughes electric vehicle charging system, Dell portable computers, and the foundation of human-centered design.

Education

Academic Background

Stanford University

Product Design

UMass Amherst

Mechanical Engineering