Scaling Design Systems

From System to Platform: Scaling Ethos at GE HealthCare

Elisa Design Summit – Helsinki, Finland

How a design system became a lever for platform strategy, a high‑stakes brand relaunch, and alignment across 101+ products. I covered the leadership, influence, and long‑game needed to rally engineering, design, and executives around a shared future—and the operating model that kept momentum.

Grounded in real constraints—failed prior systems, deep silos, and legacy infrastructure—this talk shows how Ethos evolved from tooling to a trusted enterprise platform that delivered speed, alignment, and measurable business impact. I unpacked the organizational change it required: rebuilding cross‑functional trust, instituting governance, and creating contribution pathways that sustain adoption.

Audience Takeaways

Platform thinking: from components to services, tokens, and code
Influence and alignment: winning executive support and product buy-in
Adoption playbook: pilots, metrics, governance, and contribution at scale