Awaiting Approval. Season 2, Episode 3 : Anjali Gajera Patel - Resilience

Anjali Gajera Patel has lived multiple creative lives across India, the UK and now San Francisco, where she is Director of Product Design at Ancestry. Her story spans advertising, freelancing during a global recession, self-taught UX, major in-house roles at Clorox, GAP and Kodak, and the cross-continental journey that eventually led her to one of the most loved consumer brands in the world.

In this episode, Anjali joins Adam for a warm, honest and deeply human conversation about finding strength through shifting careers, immigration, recession, personal loss and the rapid pace of the tech industry. She shares how she moved from visual comms into product design, why she kept designing for free during the 2008 crash, and how she eventually built the experience and confidence that took her into global product teams.

Anjali talks about the joy of creating products that genuinely improve people’s lives, the responsibility designers have when navigating business needs and dark patterns, and the moment she realised she needed to stop fighting for an advertising dream that wasn’t hers anymore. She also reflects on the Ancestry Pet DNA project she and Adam delivered together, why pivoting is one of her greatest strengths, and how Lego, long walks and loved ones help her stay centred.

This is an episode full of resilience, optimism and honesty. Anjali’s energy is infectious and her outlook is a reminder that careers aren’t linear, dreams can shift, and you’re allowed to build new ones at any stage of life.

In this episode, we cover:

* Moving from India to the UK to the US, and rebuilding a career in each

* Starting out in advertising during the 2008 recession and designing for free to stay sharp

* Transitioning into product design without formal UX training

* The difference between agency and in-house work, and why both shaped her career

* What she learned from delivering the Ancestry Pet DNA product

* Navigating business goals, user needs and the grey area between them

* The power of pivoting and staying agile when projects shift

* How Lego, fresh air and loved ones became essential self-care rituals

* Letting go of one dream to make space for others

* Why optimism matters, especially during a global downturn and rapid AI acceleration

===This is Awaiting Approval.

A globally charting design podcast about the messy, human side of creative leadership.

Hosted by Adam Jennings - a creative leader with three decades of experience leading teams and projects for global brands including Microsoft, Salesforce, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Ancestry, Dolby, BBC and many more - this show features honest, unscripted conversations with the leaders shaping design, storytelling, and innovation today.

These are the conversations you don’t hear in keynotes. The ones about imposter syndrome, trust, failure, confidence, and finding your voice as a leader.

Whether you’re just stepping into creative leadership or you’ve been at it for years, Awaiting Approval is your place to feel seen, challenged, and encouraged.

Awaiting Approval is a Cordial Fox production.Hosted by Adam Jennings.Produced by Adam Jennings & Jasmin Egner.© Cordial Fox Limited, 2025.Ready to level up your leadership with real, honest support?

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