‘Chris has a way of caring about the people he works with that extends beyond the office or any particular job. His unique approach to personnel is authentic to who he his: kind, thoughtful, and positive. For our team at Nextdoor, Chris continually painted an inspiring vision for the design organization we could become, and supported our progress with contributions big and small on a daily basis—from sourcing and bringing on great teammates, to considering the layout of our collaborative spaces, pulling our team together for events, and implementing structure for sharing out our work to cross-functional groups.

I’d recommend Chris to any organization that’s serious about world-class design and am grateful for the support he’s given me in my career to date.’

‘Chris and I have worked together for the past 8 months at Nextdoor, and I wish the engagement would have started many years ago.

For context, Chris joined Nextdoor when there was massive change. We had multiple VPs leave the organization (including VP of Design), and the departure of a CEO. This is the kind of change that affects morale, team cohesion and retention. Chris was instrumental in helping us manage the change positively. While he was hired to help recruit, he noticed gaps in our culture, communication and opportunities for improvement.

From a recruiting perspective, he helped us build capacity with IC talent and agency relationships - driving engagements from initial contact through to the details of getting MSAs signed. In terms of general management, he helped refine our processes to get people on boarded faster and help communicate the external value of design to the organization. Chris does this with a sincere, positive and professional approach - even with the headwinds, which are inevitable especially at startups.’

‘It is such a privilege to work with Chris. It’s rare where one person can bring a sense of clarity and energy to an entire organization. Chris understands deeply that building a team isn’t just about adding incredibly talented people but it’s also about building a culture where those people can thrive. I rely on and trust Chris for his intuition, mentorship and vision. Here’s to hoping we have more opportunities to work together in the future.’

‘Chris Heimbuch is a rare commodity. One of my favorite people (both personally and professionally), Chris has not only helped support my work and organization, but has taught me much about how to work within the creative fields. Over the past (almost) three years, I have had the pleasure of working with him on professional and personal projects, and in every instance, I have been humbled by his ability to 1) lead with a quiet strength that is both approachable and inspiring, 2) make productive connections between people, resources, and ideas that few others would have thought to link, 3) manage multiple (huge) initiatives and wear numerous hats without sacrificing the excellence of any, and 4) inspire his colleagues and friends to trust and respect each other.

To speak more specifically to a few of the above points, Chris possesses a specific breed of leadership that is universally accessible (he carries no pretentious airs or illusions of superiority) and inspires by example: he's just the kind of guy everyone wants to work with, talk to and listen to. Throughout our years of working together, Chris has introduced me to individuals beyond my sphere of work that have led to some of the most fruitful and productive collaborations our organization has had. All this is to say that Chris Heimbuch is what you could characterize as a ‘quiet genius and thoughtful innovator with a sincerity and work ethic unparalleled in my network of colleagues.’

‘When I had the opportunity, after working independently for 10 years, to move from the Netherlands to California with my family to work at Adobe's Experience Design (XD) group, there's a lot of stuff to deal with. Chris was a key person during that transition period helping with both practical and thought processes. It's been a great pleasure working with him for various reasons. Creating content and presentations with him for Inspire, Adobe XD's online publication (xd.adobe.com), Adobe's annual conference MAX, brown bags and learning series was productive and inspiring.

What I truly admire about Chris is the combination of his positive attitude, sense of humor and thinking big, while maintaining the reality of the day to day practice. Nurturing a culture of creativity and design driven processes isn't easy in a software company. Hiring new talent and keeping them engaged is a discipline that Chris masters as no other. Chris's deep understanding of the essence of creative people, its culture, habits and thinking makes Chris a key person in any creative organization.’

‘I had the pleasure of working with Chris for two years at Square. He has worked with a wide variety of creative types in his years and has a ton of respect for and understanding of the process. He did so much to nurture creativity as we grew at a breakneck pace, bringing together designers, writers, and video-types together in one shared culture.’

‘Chris is one of the most awesome people I have worked with in the design business. He understands great design and equally is an amazing team leader. Chris also possesses the kind of positive energy that you just want to be around. To that point, his excellent attitude and collaborative approach really helped to keep us all super motivated in building the next big thing.

Chris was the key on assembling a great design team at Adobe. He put his personal stamp on every project and working with him was an absolute pleasure. He is the kind of guy that simply gets things done. And now, more than ever, that's the kind of person you want in charge of building a strong, thriving creative organization.’

‘Chris is one of the most thoughtful, well-rounded, insightful and thoroughly professional design leaders I have worked with. He was brought into Sonos to augment the existing leadership as an acting general manager, and he made both an immediate and lasting impact on the organization.

I was constantly impressed by his commitment to our design team and the broader company, and his ability to establish and build relationships with colleagues in other functional areas. He is adept at understanding and assessing situations and leveraging his deep design experience to facilitate a positive outcome. In all situations, he stands out by his unfailing desire and ability to simply do the right thing.

It has been a genuine pleasure working with Chris. I have personally learned a great deal from him, and the leadership and direction he brought to our team helped establish a structural and operational foundation we will be able to build on for years to come. I am delighted to recommend him. ’

‘Chris is an absolute pleasure to work with and he's honest. When I was recruited by him I felt like he was straight forward and fought to get me things I felt strongly about. He brought me in not once but twice to take on really exciting roles and carefully explained what each would entail. Moving around a lot I usually feel that recruiters just want to get you in the door rather than give you all the information and let you make the best educated decision. The path he takes in recruitment is the most sincere that I've come across and once you start you know what to expect rather than being thrown into the fire which unfortunately seems to be more common.

I really respect him for this in particular. A real advocate for creatives Chris is relaxed yet very focused on creating the right environment for teams to succeed. He has built a group around chemistry and talent so that individuals can truly benefit from the greater groups knowledge and experience. In a business with a lot of egos and quirky characters he does an amazing job at balancing everything and getting teams to work together and stay focused. You need to be incredibly patient and a real people person (which Chris is) to pull off his job. I'm super impressed and I can only hope to work with him again in the future.’

‘Chris is truly wonderful. His passion for building a strong design culture is reflected in his genuine care for individuals on a design team. He was a great coach to design leaders at Sonos and a valued source of positive energy to all who engaged with him.

Rarely do I come across leaders that deeply care about growing people and teams the way the he does. He has the ability to unlock designers, leaders and teams - maturing them in such a way that helps them have a meaningful impact on an organization. For that, I am forever grateful for his influence on me during his time at Sonos. ’

‘My career hit a turning point the day I met Chris. He opened my eyes to the vast possibilities and budding design culture that he was building at Square. After some really great chats about design and creative culture, I was ready to take him up on his offer. A decision I'm very happy I made.

At Square, Chris was someone I could approach at any point with any questions or concerns; ones that were always resolved shortly after. Chris really looked after our creative team, and ensured we had whatever we needed in order to do our very best work. I experienced this when I worked with him on the AIGA 'Designing Products' event; where he paved the way for me to succeed in designing an engaging event experience on a very tight timeline. From Inspiration to logistics, Chris nailed it.

I owe my current position; that I love, to Chris. I really hope to work with him much more in the future.’

‘I've known Chris for almost 15 years. During this time, it's been my pleasure to work with him personally and professionally. I run a nationally recognized non-profit called Inneract Project (IP) - we offer free classes to underserved Bay Area youth on design and tech oriented programs. Since our early years of operation, Chris has demonstrated a level of expertise that has fostered nearly every huge transition of growth we have today our first large grant cycle, first employee and the biggest event our organization has overseen, a panel discussion on Diversity in Design and Technology.

Chris produced this event and the results put our organization on the map, and set us up to work with some of the biggest tech companies in the valley. He also sits on our board of directors, providing leadership strategy and operational guidance. His counsel has been incredible in helping IP to realize our goals towards expanding programming in the Bay Area and across the nation.

I greatly value my partnership with Chris for his insights and wise opinions. He has always been honest and well-intended with his advice and that's a quality in him that I most admire.’

‘'I've worked with Chris in a variety of contexts and through many project types over the years. He never fails to be a thoughtful and respectful leader and collaborator. Chris listens; he takes the time to consider details in projects working relationships that make the work, and the work environment, better.

With regards to my own career, Chris has championed my interests and nudged me to take risks that have continually paid off. I trust he'd do the same for people no matter where he was.’

‘Chris recruited me to Apple where he was working as a creative recruiting consultant. At the time, I had no idea what kind of work was being done at Apple Graphic Design. Quite honestly, I was a little skeptical they would need someone with my skills. But I trusted that Chris knew what I was good at it. Turned out, he was right. After freelancing for a few months, Apple offered me a job. Five years later, I'd have to say, its been a good fit for myself and Apple. Chris was instrumental during the hiring process--very helpful with the back and forth regarding compensation and benefits. I was moving up from LA, so it was a big decision for me. I had tons of concerns and questions.

Chris was really patient and honest with me. I never felt like he was pressuring me to take the job--which a lot of recruiters do. He looked after my best interests, not his. I think he really "gets" creative people and what they're looking for--the opportunities, the kind of people they want to work with. I'd recommend Chris without hesitation. I'd work with him again in a heartbeat. But since he got me such a good job, it might be a while until that happens again.’

‘Working with Chris was one of the highlights of my time at Sonos. The difference between a good consultant and a great one often comes down to whether or not they share the sense of investment that is typically reserved for full-time employees. Chris had an outstanding impact on our team, he brought energy, a genuine desire to make our team more effective and our work more rewarding. I learned a lot from Chris and I really hope I have the opportunity to work with him again someday.’