McGill University

Concordia University

Senior Product Manager at Thriver

Canada

Building an awesome culture marketplace for companies!

Thriver

Senior Product Manager

- Responsible for LightspeedHQ’s POS Reporting & Analytics product.
-  Responsible for revamping LightspeedHQ's Payment Reporting product experience.
-  Defined the data product strategy and introduced a tiered pricing model to help increase up-sells.
-  Worked closely with Sr. Director of Data and data team to define data models and create an ETL process.
-  Assisted with CFO and VP procurement in re-negotiating pricing and contracts with 3rd party BI tools for a white label solution.
-  Report to the Head of Retail and working directly to define the Retail and Analytics road-map and validate ideas by creating business cases, customer interviews and deriving decisions based data.
-  Guide and coach Jr. Product Managers on best practices, methods and participated in a pilot program for individuals interested in joining the product org from different departments at Lightspeed.

Lightspeed HQ

- Joined as the only Senior Product Manager to guide the startup in building the right products for their customers.
-  Reported directly to the COO, while working directly with the CEO and CTO on product strategies, team structures, tech decisions and product processes.
-  Defined the product agile process for all teams. Re-structured all teams into 3 development squads which had core focus on domain (Roofgraf, Solargraf and Roof AI)
-  Developed a MVP that allowed the Sofdesk to launch <a href="http://Roofgraf.com">Roofgraf.com</a> to the roofing industry.
-  Assisted in providing product definitions to the Roof AI team which used Lidar data and machine learning to better represent roofing data to roofing experts.
-  Worked in ramping up the marketing efforts and pricing strategies for Roofgraf and Solargraf.
-  Hired Product Designer to better improve the product experience and branding of products.
-  Created a roadmap for clear focus for the teams and upper management with priorities to board members.

Sofdesk

Started as a Product Manager managing the startup’s portfolio of various products such as <a href="http://PremiumBeat.com">PremiumBeat.com</a>, <a href="http://Rocketstock.com">Rocketstock.com</a> and a few internal tools. Eventually after the Shutterstock acquisition, I transitioned into a Senior role focusing strictly on Shutterstock Music’s largest brand - <a href="http://PremiumBeat.com">PremiumBeat.com</a> (~$22M)

-  Assist in hiring new Product Managers and provided training during our growth period to manage new divisions such as Internal Tools, Shutterstock Music, and Shutterstock Footage.

-  Relaunched <a href="http://PremiumBeat.com">PremiumBeat.com</a> on a new tech platform, along with releasing a brand new mobile app on Android & iOS.

-  Worked alongside Marketing, Design and Developers to increase revenues of the product by 50%.

-  Provide support to Product Managers as a liaison with New York (head office) and with product vision to maintain with our division’s roadmap. Furthermore, ensure Product Managers are following Agile processes and backlog structure that are aligned with all teams.

-  Work directly with the CEO and GM to ensure Products are on track with company goals, and assist in unblocking agile teams when needed.

Shutterstock

Senior Product Manager Music

Product Manager Music

Product Manager for SAP’s largest acquisition for the future in e-commerce as featured on <a href="http://Forbes.com">Forbes.com</a>, hybris Software. Part of the launch of SAP’s new innovative line of business (CEC - Customer Engagement and Commerce) in the Cloud. As a Product Manager I lead the Product Development in Agile, assist in go-to market strategies for Enterprise clients worldwide from pricing and positioning, and engage in business development with partners & customers on future business opportunities.

-  Conceptualize and drive the Product needs and specifications that engage with the today’s technology business demands for SME and Enterprise customers.

-  Coordinate with UX/UI, Marketing, Solution Managers, Software Architects and Product Managers from various departments in Munich, Poland and Palo Alto to align with Product roadmaps and CEC's Vision of Cloud E-Commerce solutions.

-  Report monthly to the Product Director in regards to milestone progress and scope in regards to Product Vision and release plan.

-  Create, build and manage client and partner relationships with future requirements and technical challenges that need to be escalated into product development.

-  Plan, manage and prioritize features that align with milestone objectives.

hybris software

Product Manager

Product Manager for Microsoft’s preferred partner for Mobile Applications on Windows platform.

-  Responsible for the complete product life-cycle of mobile application creation for Microsoft’s major clients on Windows 8 and Windows Phone environment.

-  Manage all aspects of the project from conception to delivery, including estimation, planning and product quality with Account Management and Director of Operations.

-  Lead a development team in Agile Process for product development in iterations depending on the budget allocated.

-  Communicate directly with customers and the Microsoft business development team while maintaining an open communication on a regular basis in regards to product scope, product objectives, technical challenges and ensure deliverables are met.

nventive

Product Manager for Manwin's biggest mainstream online entertainment acquisition, <a href="http://Playboy.com">Playboy.com</a>. I lead a team of 30 highly skilled individuals who focus on Playboy Plus' operations and development.

-  Responsible in starting Playboy Plus from the ground up. Analyzed old process workflows, legal responsibilities, production guidelines and knowledge transfer from Chicago head office.

-  Restructured the organizational chart, in addition, reinvented simplified workflows for various departments, hired and developed a new staff at the relocated Playboy Plus office in Montreal.

-  Prioritize and execute quarterly P&L initiatives that are deemed necessary by the CEO & VP for revenue growth, in addition, make quick rational decisions involving various stakeholders while maintaining an annual digital revenue portfolio of $14M+.

-  Worked closely with the Vice-President in brand development. Redesigned Playboy Plus member's area, ad placements and e-commerce gateway pages by improving user experience and optimized for web traffic growth, increasing join conversions by 60%.

-  Responsible in modernizing Playboy Plus’ content creation portfolio by sourcing new production crews (photo & videos) with high brand value and being traffic driven. Created and approved production budgets handled by the Production Manager while maintaining cost efficiency. Reduced content cost by 70%.

-  Build and maintain strong relationships with Playboy Enterprises, Playboy TV, international magazine partners, casting crews, legal team, affiliate sales, billing & customer support, and content providers.

-  Provide weekly task reports to the Vice-President in regards to traffic, revenue and content needs. Furthermore, discuss various projects ROI and develop strategic roadmaps aligning to the product strategy.

-  Understand the fast past digital market and environment by identifying our competitors, creating new concepts by involving IT & SEO along with executing the implementation of such needs.

Playboy Plus Entertainment

Product Manager Playboy Plus Entertainment, Inc

- Provide leadership to the software development team
-  Work closely with the senior executive team to define product direction, company's focus on IT related products to enhance customer service.
-  Assist in-depth analysis with Network Administrator of networking and software environment for deployment of web applications.
-  Work closely with product managers to ensure development meets or exceeds customer requirements. This includes ensuring that product designs are well documented and communicated.
-  Drive overall architecture, security of all software products.
-  Monitor technology trends such as emerging standards for new technology opportunities and increase mobile technology presence.
- Develop and execute software engineering plans, and manage software team’s schedules and resource allocation and budget.
-  Seek and manage joint venture partnerships with 3rd party development and/or vendors for outsourced development.
-  Ensure and create as needed, software processes, practices and operations to ensure reproducible development and high quality, while keeping costs under control.
-  Engage in hands-on, in-depth analysis, review and design of the software, including technical review and analysis of source code
-  Provide employee development, coaching and team building

Vision Travel Solutions

Software Development Manager

- Consult, design and manage software development for corporate client needs at the regional and national level, while analyzing and optimizing software performance
-  Perform web application development using Perl/PHP, SQL and Visual Basic, design system test cases and lead testing sessions
- Implemented and deployed quality assurance and communication modules in GDS-X for various clients including, Metso, SNC Lavalin and CN Rail by gathering business requirements and analyzing client’s
needs - decreasing agent errors and increasing Vision 2000’s travel agent productivity
-  Successfully completed an extensive training on Quality Assurance (QA) software, GDS-X, in Dallas. Initiated and led a week long training and implementation seminar on GDS-X in Toronto for the Information Automation Department and various levels of Management.

Software Development & Design Consultant

- Developed a strategic marketing plan focusing on aggressive growth for a startup business   Partnered with various event management organizations with cross-promotional campaigns increasing company awareness

-  Accelerated the implementation of a company website and managed website content and analyzed statistics, optimizing the performance and increasing traffic by collaborating with online media firms and solidifying B2C relationships, increasing company profits by over 40%.

- Managed all marketing aspects of the business and evaluated market trends and diversified company product line within 6 months which increased profits by 20%.

514 Promotions Express, Montreal, QC

Marketing Manager

- Produce and coordinate multiple music video productions with international crews. Source staff, models, casting, in addition, estimate and provide efficient production budgets with high quality output.

-  Conceptualize and create stimulating visual content to engage with the today’s technology and social media driven audience.

-  Effectively communicate and negotiate with business partners to gather requirements for successful product development, launching Canadian artists in North American and International markets (India, United Kingdom, Dubai & Japan).

-  Prepare a customized timeline for each artist, analyze return on investment and coordinate album release with music distributors via digital aggregators (iTunes, Spotify, Pandora), mobile operators and physical product distribution (HMV, Music world, Best Buy).

-  Relentlessly seek and sustain additional distribution networks via online marketing channels, radio ad placements, negotiate endorsements, video on demand and catalog licensing to music publishers, media holding companies and compilation manufacturers.

-  Manage and lead cross-functional promotion teams and marketing strategies to attain maximum outcome with limited budget, while maintaining artist image throughout product life-cycle

-  Prudently review and negotiate contracts for artist features, licensing and record contracts with lawyers.

-  Coordinate and synchronize artist tour schedule with tour manager, booking agent and with label publicist for artist interviews, network appearances.

Vishal Urva

Vishal Urva