Rui Sousa Pedro joins Hyphen as Head of Innovation
Rui Sousa Pedro joins Hyphen as Head of Innovation
Portuguese UX (User Experience) consultancy Hyphen has appointed Rui Sousa Pedro to lead its newly created Innovation department. With 28 years of experience across engineering, product, R&D and UX, Rui Sousa Pedro’s mission is to accelerate the integration of AI into internal processes and client projects, strengthen Hyphen’s international growth, and develop practices that raise the quality and impact of modern UX. The creation of this role marks another step in Hyphen’s ambition to position itself as a European reference in UX+AI. The company currently has a team of more than 130 professionals.
Lisbon, 2 December 2025 – Hyphen, the largest UX company in Portugal, has appointed Rui Sousa Pedro as Head of Innovation. His role will be to lead and develop the new Innovation department, reinforcing the company’s strategic focus on the intersection between UX design and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
With a career spanning almost three decades in engineering, product, R&D, cloud services and UX strategy, and experience at companies such as Siemens, ONI, Portugal Telecom (now Altice) and Tangível, Rui Sousa Pedro brings a broad and integrated view on how to turn technology into real value for people and organisations.
Commenting on this new chapter at Hyphen, Rui Sousa Pedro highlights the right combination of timing, team and ambition:
“The evolution of AI is changing everything, and I want to help Hyphen make the most of this moment. I enjoy real challenges, especially those linked to innovation and growth, and here I feel the freedom to experiment, test ideas and create new things. I deeply trust the people at Hyphen — they are skilled, empathetic and collaborative — and that gives me the motivation I need to lead this journey.”
A role designed to prepare the future of UX
As Head of Innovation, Rui Sousa Pedro’s mission will be to foster curiosity and a spirit of experimentation within the company, test new technologies, create more efficient ways of working, and ensure that innovation translates into tangible value for Hyphen, its consultants and its clients.
“Innovation is about turning new ideas into value”, he states. This means building solid foundations for continuous innovation, integrating AI in a practical, day-to-day way, getting the most out of technology without losing the human dimension that defines UX, and preparing the company for sustainable international growth.
Among Rui Sousa Pedro’s main focus areas in this new role are:
- Practical AI — assistants, agents and automations that genuinely support daily work
- Client projects involving AI and emerging technologies
- Creating space for the entire team to experiment, fail and learn
As for the biggest challenges ahead, Rui Sousa Pedro points to the speed of AI evolution, technical complexity, the importance of ethical considerations, and changes in team habits — a process that requires collective involvement.
For Hyphen, this appointment represents a strategic milestone, as highlighted by André Carvalho, the company’s CEO:
“We are very proud to announce Rui Sousa Pedro as our Head of Innovation. UX teams in Portugal and around the world are currently facing the urgency of rethinking processes and skills to fully integrate AI capabilities. Rui will lead this transformation with us, designing new practices, frameworks and ways of working that raise the quality, speed and impact of modern UX. His multifaceted experience gives him a rare perspective on how to connect technology, product and design in a practical and innovative way.”
The CEO adds that this appointment is part of Hyphen’s ambition to position itself as a European reference in UX+AI, ensuring that the company is not only keeping up with global change, but leading it.
Rui Sousa Pedro holds a degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico.
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