Fernando Toro
For Fernando Toro, a graduate of MDM Cohort 2.0, the future of design isn’t about buttons or screens - it’s about agency. As a Senior Product Designer at Workday, Fernando is currently leading the Agentic Canvas shift, a high-stakes evolution in human-computer interaction. By moving away from simple chatbots and toward autonomous AI "agents," Fernando is redefining professional workflows, reducing complex processes down to streamlined actionable experiences.
Fernando describes his professional identity as a "Business Administrator with a flair for the arts," a combination that allowed him to thrive in the program’s multidisciplinary environment. He credits the MDM program as a whole for being instrumental in how he solves problems today, teaching him to see technology as a strategic partner in the creative process.
A key part of this foundation was his hands-on work in the labs, where he experimented with Arduino robots. While a physical robot and a digital AI agent might seem worlds apart, Fernando sees them as two sides of the same coin: both require a designer to translate complex machine logic into something a human can understand, trust, and control.
His interest in rapid, collaborative problem-solving peaked during his time in the MDM program participating in the RogersTVME hackathon, where he partnered with fellow alumni JUNO winner Naomi Cowan (also featured in this month’s spotlight series) and award winning film & TV producer Magdi Omar. Together, the trio navigated a high-pressure environment to bridge the gap between creative vision and technical execution - a collaboration that ultimately earned them a top prize.
That early focus on the partnership between human and machine served as the precursor for the massive, AI-driven ecosystems he builds today. At Workday, Fernando’s work involves a complex logic puzzle: aligning the AI experience across multiple acquired platforms like Vndly and Peakon to create a unified, trustworthy "canvas".
His goal is to ensure that while the AI handles the heavy lifting, summarizing data and comparing supplier bids, the human user remains firmly in the driver’s seat. "It’s about co-creation," Fernando explains. "We are designing systems where the agent provides the context and the data, but the human provides the intent and the final decision".
Looking ahead, Fernando predicts that in the next five years, our relationship with computers will be nearly unrecognizable. We are moving toward a world where professionals won’t just be using tools, but managing "armies of agents" to execute various tasks simultaneously.
Because of this, his advice for the next generation of MDM students is to move beyond manual execution and focus on mastering prompt engineering and AI toolsets. He also emphasizes the "unwritten" skill of the industry: communication. He encourages students to double down on their presentation skills, noting that the ability to articulate complex design choices to engineers and stakeholders is what truly moves a project from a concept to a global rollout.
Reflecting on the journey that has taken him from the MDM program to the cutting edge of the AI revolution, Fernando identifies the three words that have defined his experience: “Creation. Perfect. Career.”
Learn more about Workday Design (external link)
Connect with Fernando on LinkedIn (external link)
Fernando's Portfolio (external link)