LaunchPod | Product Management Podcast

Today, our guest is Josh Schoonmaker, Global Vice President, Product Management, Commerce at Optimizely. Josh started his career at HP, where he worked for just over a decade, and then transitioned to working at eBay as a program manager. He served in product leadership roles at Tozny and Consolidated Supply Co. before joining Optimizely in 2020. On today’s episode, Josh discusses Optimizely’s recent achievements, including their recognition by leading analysts and their $400 million ARR milestone; the importance of composability in their products; the integration of B2B sales experience into product excellence; and the significance of a holistic customer experience. Links https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshschoonmaker/ Leader Spotlight: The balance between assertive and kind leadership, with Josh Schoonmaker What does LogRocket do? LogRocket provides AI-first session replay and analytics that surfaces UX and technical issues impacting user experiences. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it free at LogRocket.com.Special Guest: Josh Schoonmaker.

Today, our guest is Charles Battle, Head of Product at Ibotta, a Denver-based performance marketing platform known for its cash-back offers and digital coupons. Charles leads a 50-person product organization that oversees various disciplines, including product management, product design, product analytics, and UX research. Charles started his product management career at TouchTunes Interactive Networks and has since worked for several financial technology companies, such as American Express, LendingTree, and Guaranteed Rate. On today’s episode, Charles shares his experience with Ibotta's recent IPO and their strategic pivot from a direct-to-consumer cashback app to a performance marketing company. He discusses the impact of the IPO on the team, the importance of prioritization and focusing on problem-solving in product development, and how the company validated and executed their new strategy. Links https://www.linkedin.com/in/cnbattle/ Leader Spotlight: Letting the customer decide, with Charles Battle What does LogRocket do? LogRocket provides AI-first session replay and analytics that surfaces UX and technical issues impacting user experiences. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it free at LogRocket.com.Special Guest: Charles Battle.

While those of us in the US are taking time this week away from work, we're bringing you some of our favorite snippets from LaunchPod. On today's episode, you'll hear from Kristin Dorsett about prioritizing big bets, Steve Chazin about how working at Apple in the 90s with Steve Jobs transformed how he managed product, and Roman Gun about workback plans focused on a design North star. Links Kristin Dorsett https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristindorsett/ Leader Spotlight: Matching talent to problems, with Kristin Dorsett Steve Chazin Leader Spotlight: Helping turn Apple’s business around, with Steve Chazin https://www.linkedin.com/in/chazin https://twitter.com/stevechazin Roman Gun https://www.linkedin.com/in/romangun/ Leader Spotlight: Right-sizing processes, with Roman Gun What does LogRocket do? LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today.Special Guests: Kristin Dorsett, Roman Gun, and Steve Chazin.

Today, we continue our conversation with Oji Udezue, Principal at ProductMind, product expert, author, and an innovation-focused, multi-disciplined business leader. Oji has had an extensive and successful career, spanning his time as CPO of Typeform, Head of Product for Creation and Conversation at Twitter, CPO of Calendly, and Head of Product at Atlassian. On today’s part two of Oji’s two-part episode, we talk about his experience working on Twitter's creator initiatives, the concept of 'forest time,' a practice of stepping back to gain strategic perspective, and Oji's insights on product-led growth (PLG), emphasizing the importance of solving customer problems and adaptive business strategies. So here it is, the second part of our conversation with Oji Udezue. Links Pre-order link for Oji’s book, “Building Rocket Ships” Writing: https://ojiudezue.substack.com/ Consulting: https://productmind.co Twitter: https://x.com/ojiudezue LinkedIn: https://linkedin/in/ojiudezue What does LogRocket do? LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today.Special Guest: Oji Udezue.

Today, our guest is Oji Udezue, AI product expert, author, and an innovation-focused, multi-disciplined business leader. Oji has had an extensive and successful career, spanning his time as CPO of Typeform, Head of Product for Creation and Conversation at Twitter, CPO of Calendly, and Head of Product at Atlassian. On today's part one of a two-part episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Oji about his upcoming book, 'Building Rocket Ships;' the complexity of product management due to its multi-disciplinary nature requiring skills in engineering, design, psychology, and economics; and the 'Zone of Benefit' concept, which helps assess market disruptiveness and emphasizes the need for a high value to price ratio to drive change in customers. Links Pre-order link for Oji’s book, “Building Rocket Ships” Writing: https://ojiudezue.substack.com/ Consulting: https://productmind.co Twitter: https://x.com/ojiudezue LinkedIn: https://linkedin/in/ojiudezue What does LogRocket do? LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today.

Today, our guest is Fatima Howes, Vice President Of Product Management and CX Design for Fleet Telematics at Azuga, a subsidiary of Bridgestone. Before joining Bridgestone, Fatima served in product leadership roles at Assignar and Procore Technologies, both construction management software companies. She didn't always work in software, however; Fatima started as an analyst in public affairs and transitioned to software and product through a sales development representative role. On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Fatina about her strategies for managing by exception, prioritizing customer needs, and finding common denominators among different stakeholders such as drivers, fleet managers, and insurance companies. The discussion also highlights the shift from traditional product management to a more holistic approach involving co-creation, risk modeling, and design management. Links https://www.linkedin.com/in/fatimahowes/ Managing by exception, with Fatima Howes What does LogRocket do? LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today.Special Guest: Fatima Howes.

Today, our guest is Nancy Wang, Senior Vice President, Product Operations at Hilton Grand Vacations (HGV), a market leader in the vacation ownership industry. Nancy spent the last decade of her career working at Alert Logic, a comprehensive cybersecurity portfolio now owned by Fortra, beginning as a lead system engineer. Nancy worked her way up to principal engineer before taking on product management responsibilities and, ultimately, becoming Vice President of Technical Product Management. In her tenure, Nancy led the Alert Logic MDR product’s scale from 0 to 80 million MRR within two years. On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Nancy about how she leveraged her engineering background to excel in product roles, her strategic approach to building and leading a comprehensive product operations team at HGV, and the importance of planning, transformation, open-mindedness in acquisitions, and continual improvement. Links https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-wang-9a20a014/ Enabling a cultural mind shift, with Nancy Wang What does LogRocket do? LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today.Special Guest: Nancy Wang.

Today, our guest is Steve Chazin, Vice President of Products at Alarm.com, a technology company that focuses on intelligently connected property. He has been in product since his first job building technology for Raytheon. Steve then became Senior Director, Marketing & Account Executive and Systems Engineer at Apple, where he worked for nearly a decade. He’s remained in tech since then and has worked in various leadership roles at companies such as Avid, Ellucian, Salesforce, Symantec, Cisco, and more. On today's episode, LogRocket's CEO, Matt Arbesfeld, talks to Steve about his experience working at Apple, competing with Final Cut Pro, and his current role at alarm.com. They discuss the importance of user-centered product design, the impact of AI in home security, and the value of staying intellectually curious in a rapidly evolving tech landscape. Links Leader Spotlight: Helping turn Apple’s business around, with Steve Chazin https://www.linkedin.com/in/chazin https://twitter.com/stevechazin What does LogRocket do? LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today.Special Guest: Steve Chazin.

Today, our guest is Ben Hackett, Senior VP of Product Management at Accolade, a personalized healthcare company for employers health plans, government agencies, and consumers. He began his career as a product manager at Blacktee Systems, an integrated technology services firm, before transitioning to LabKey Software. Prior to joining Accolade eight years ago, Ben co-founded jydo, an IoT platform that helped facility managers manage, monitor, and control thousands of conference room devices. On today's episode, LogRocket's CEO, Matt Arbesfeld, Ben shares insights on decision-making in M&A deals, cultural alignment in acquisitions, and the role of AI in medicine. Links Leader Spotlight: How first principles tie into ruthless prioritization, with Ben Hackett https://www.linkedin.com/in/bchackett/ What does LogRocket do? LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today.Special Guest: Ben Hackett.

Today, our guest is Christine Kuei, Director of Product Management at Forever 21. Christine started her career in email marketing at Experian, and her natural curiosity about digital customer behavior propelled her transition into product management. Christine has since worked in a range of industries including B2B SaaS, ecommerce and fintech, and led product organizations at Chipotle and PetSmart before moving to Forever 21. On this episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Christine about the challenges and strategies involved in aligning digital transformations with physical customer experiences, using user research to enhance customer loyalty, tackling product management obstacles, and optimizing team dynamics for successful outcomes. Links Leader Spotlight: Growing the omnichannel market, with Christine Kuei https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinekuei/ What does LogRocket do? LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today.Special Guest: Christine Kuei.