Product Management
What is product management?
Product Management is the critical element for successful commercialization of new products.
For industry-leading companies, Product Management is an essential function. Through it, we plan, forecast, market, and develop the product or products across all stages of its lifecycle. In the automotive industry, you simply cannot afford to plan for the future of your product line(s) without having a strong, well-informed, and expertly managed product strategy that takes into consideration the many challenges and complexities of the future.
Technology and your customers’ needs change quickly. If you lean too heavily on the insights provided by sales teams and R&D, you might miss key opportunities for growth.
Product Management is the functional owner with assigned accountability for the products success in the marketplace and responsibility for the definition of a winning product.
My ultimate goal is to help maximize sales revenue, market share, and above-average profit margins. By having an experienced strategist to lead Product Management, you are increasing your chances of success in new product commercialization.
What I Do
- Utilize known information and assumptions to create a quantitative view of a target market
- Define and measure the attractiveness of potential new segments and markets
- Use market insight to identify the most attractive new product opportunities
- Assess the attractiveness of new geographies for expansion
- Articulate the “voice” of the customer to understand which needs are met and unmet
- Test new ideas in the market by soliciting responses from potential lead customers
- Address product-specific challenges that require special expertise (often in engineering)
- Estimate ROI of a new product development based on financial modeling of market launch
In the Past
I led the integration of Magna Electronics into Magna Powertrain and then executed a dramatic turnaround by instigating a complete cultural shift at the company. Rather than allowing our manufacturing competencies to dictate our product strategy, I successfully shifted our focus to a global product orientation specializing in core technologies.
I also restructured the organization by divesting a profitable lighting business into another Magna group, integrating the motor/actuator business into Magna Powertrain’s Fluid Pressure & Controls Group, divested non-core businesses, and then introduced the new role of global product manager to drive global sales growth.