Debbie So

Senior Innovation Manager | Ex-Deloitte Innovation & Ventures

London, England, United Kingdom

About

I am a Healthcare Innovation & Transformation leader with 16 years of experience working across strategy consultancy, entrepreneurship and design. This unique combination fuels my passion for healthcare, both in the design and delivery of new digital products and services. My ambition is to lead and accelerate innovation and transformation programmes to deliver user-centred care. Areas of expertise: ✯ Innovation Strategy ✯ Strategic Transformation ✯ User Research & Insights ✯ Customer Experience Design ✯ Service Design ✯ User Journey Mapping ✯ Commercial Strategy ✯ Operating Model Design ✯ Product Discovery & Development ✯ Agile Delivery ✯ GDS Service Standard ✯ NHS Service Standard 👉 I’ve been named one of Deloitte’s Future Leaders and grown the Deloitte Innovation & Ventures team from 6 to 65 FTE over the past 8 years. 👉 As a Senior Innovation Manager, my strengths are in leading multi-disciplinary teams to deliver innovation strategy, innovation operating model and end-to-end product development engagements across public and private FTSE100 organisations. 👉 I wrote my thesis on the redesign of a London-based trauma emergency department to support effective, efficient and safe patient flow at Imperial College & Royal College of Art. Get in touch, I'm always up for a chat!

Experience

  • Senior Innovation Manager at Imperial College Health Partners
    2025 - Present · 1 yr 7 mos

    ICHP is a partnership organisation bringing together NHS providers of healthcare services, across our local Integrated Care System and universities across North West London. As Senior Innovation Manager, I drive complex change across the health and care sector – innovating and collaborating for a healthier population.

  • Deloitte (8 yrs 1 mo)
    • Senior Manager / Associate Director
      2024 - 2025 · 1 yr

      During my tenure, I’ve been named one of Deloitte’s Future Leaders, received 2 promotions, and grown the Deloitte Innovation & Ventures team from 6 to 65 FTE. As Healthcare Innovation Lead, I lead multi-disciplinary teams to deliver innovation strategy, innovation operating model and end-to-end product development engagements across public and private FTSE100 organisations. 👉 I led a team of 12 FTE to deliver COVID testing pathways reaching 100M+ people and 200K+ organisations, including care homes, prisons, schools and universities. This involved delivering multiple phases of design work at pace following GDS and NHS Service Standards, from research and discovery through to scaled rollout, with recommendations directly informing policy decisions. 👉 I led Vodafone Centre for Health's commercial strategy to accelerate strategic proposition design for connected and digital healthcare across 4 European markets (UK, DE, IT, SP). 👉 I led the design and detailed plan of the global innovation operating model (incl. capabilities & processes) for the first global Digital products team at a multinational MedTech corporation that has scaled from an initial 25 to 200+ FTE. 👉 I led Customer Experience Design at a global pharmaceutical company. Outputs included developing patient blueprints, setting up a patient research panel for oncology, and driving customer insights through to technical roadmaps for digital transformation initiatives. 👉 Outside of healthcare, I have cross-industry experience in digital transformation and product development engagements for FTSE100 retail banks, insurance companies, and automobile companies.

    • Manager
      2020 - 2024 · 4 yrs

    • Senior Consultant
      2017 - 2020 · 3 yrs

  • Impact Hub Network (4 yrs 1 mo)
    • Impact Hub Associate
      2015 - 2017 · 2 yrs

      As a Non-Exec Associate, I advised 10+ Impact Hub organisations cross the EU, Latin America and Africa on partnership development, social impact programming and innovative workspace design.

    • Head of Partnerships
      2013 - 2016 · 3 yrs

      I led business development, partnerships and programming to advance social entrepreneurship. Notable outcomes included growing the Impact Hub Islington team from 1.2 to 8 FTE, delivering social impact programme and accelerators reaching 1,500+ entrepreneurs, and securing and co-designing the Impact Hub Islington £0.5 million expansion workspace in partnership with Islington Council.

  • Project Manager & Design Consultant at Architecture 00 Ltd.
    2011 - 2013 · 2 yrs

    I led community engagement, feasibility design and implementation of sustainable regeneration projects across London, focused on activating meanwhile spaces and accelerating local entrepreneurship. Notable work includes working with Brent Council to launch The Library Lab, an entrepreneurship accelerator, 350 sqm co-working space and creche in North West London.

  • Teaching Assistant at McGill University
    Sep 2010 - Jun 2011 · 10 mos

    I taught and supported business students on 'The Social Context of Business', exploring the social, environmental, and critical side of business.