Thin-slicing your way through transformation | Rico Surridge (Which?, BBC, ITV)

Jan 25, 2023

Rico Surridge, Chief Product & Technology Officer at Which? Ltd, discusses transformation in a 65-year-old organization and shares his recipe for success. He talks about his role across product and engineering, the importance of involving executives in transformation, and the significance of OKRs for focus and alignment. Rico also highlights the evolution of product management and the importance of seeking guidance from industry experts.

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Introduction

00:00 • 2min

Evolving Role of Chief Product and Technology Officer at Witch

01:34 • 10min

Navigating Transformation in a Long-standing UK Organization

11:58 • 6min

Navigating Transformation and OKR Implementation

17:52 • 10min

Navigating Transformation in the First 90 Days

27:31 • 20min

Evolution of Product Management and Seeking Guidance

47:33 • 3min

#18: Rico is Chief Product & Technology Officer at Which? Ltd, the UK’s consumer champion. Over a fifteen-year career, Rico has worked in Product roles in industries ranging from Media (BBC, ITV, Sky, NewsCorp) to eCommerce (Sainsbury's, Vodafone, Photobox) to Consultancy (Accenture). Collaborating on product and feature launches with Apple, Google and Amazon.

In this episode, we talk about Rico's role across both product and engineering as a CPTO. We cover the topic of transformation and what that means in the context of a 65 year old organisation like Which? Rico shares his recipe for a successful transformation and talks about how he planned for his first 90 days coming into the role.

Where to find Rico

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricosurridge/

Where to find Axel

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/axelsooriah/

About Panash

We provide training and coaching programs to help product professionals unlock their true potential and become high performers.

You can learn more about our programs here: https://www.panash.io/

Our blog contains articles and free resources on key topics for product managers and leaders.

Check it out here: https://collection.panash.io/

Referenced in this episode

Google DeepMind: https://www.deepmind.com/
Team topologies: https://teamtopologies.com/
Richard Russell, OKR Coach: https://richardrussell.co/
Rico's blog on Medium: https://medium.com/@rico.surridge

Show notes and highlights

(01:45) Rico's background

(04:04) Which? The consumer champion

(04:40) The CPTO role

(09:21) The importance of having a strong head of engineering

(12:01) The role Which? plays in the UK and Rico's mandate

(17:56 ) Rico's playbook for the transformation at Which?

(27:30) Rico's plan for his first 90 days at Which?

(32:59) How to keep teams motivated and engaged during a transformation

(39:31) Thin-slicing one's way through transformation

(40:50) Rico's Treasure Chest

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