Rick Starbuck is the first vice president of customer experience for Washington Mutual. As a user experience/user interface design professional with more than twelve years of experience on the Web, Rick creates balance between the wants and needs of the customer and the goals and desires of companies. Rick’s work at Washington Mutual has generated multiple awards and number one ratings, including an industry-first online application that requires no offline process whatsoever. His work on optimizing wamu.com for Google and other search engines has driven millions of dollars in business. Additionally, he has played the role of information architect, designer, creative director, and client partner on projects for world-class brands such as Disney, Virgin, Sheraton, W Hotels, Wells Fargo, and the Mayo Clinic.