Hello! I'm John. I’m an accomplished leader and love to work on interesting projects with creative, fun people.
You can download a copy of my resume here.
Whalar
Product Director
2022 - 2024
Led product vision and launch of Foam alongside the CPO, enhancing management capabilities for Talent Agencies with large rosters of creators.
Spearheaded the development and deployment of tools optimizing workflow for Talent Managers, and other Whalar teams boosting operational efficiency.
Fostered collaborative international relationships, effectively coordinating teams across four global locations.
Hearst
Senior Product Manager
2020 - 2022
Designed and implemented new front-end templates to boost user engagement and content display across 60+ websites with over 500 million monthly views.
Strategized and executed roadmaps, aligning product goals with business objectives across multiple departments.
Kaplan
Senior Director of Product Development
2017 - 2020
Established and led a new product development team dedicated to transforming learning experiences for professional certification exams.
Led and developed the website team at kaptest.com, instilling a culture of timely deliveries while overseeing the creation of a new CMS
Joined early at Spotify (employee #200+), pivotal in defining strategy and roadmaps for spotify.com, significantly influencing platform growth.
Collaborated across teams to innovate and execute projects, escalating user base from early stages to 140 million and subscriptions to over 60 million.
Identified and implemented enhancements to the signup process, increasing annual registrations by 1 million+.
Developed an account section to enhance user experience on mobile devices.
Don't Stay In
Co-Founder
2003 – 2009
Co-founded DontStayIn.com, scaling it to a top global social network with up to 2 million monthly unique visitors within six years.
Engineered the platform's growth strategies, leading to a rich content ecosystem with over 12 million photos and 20 million forum posts.
Successfully negotiated and managed the sale of the website to Mixmag magazine..
Education
1998 – 2001: University of Plymouth (UK) - BA (Hons) Business Administration.
Specialist Skills
Product management.
Vision
Road mapping
Planning
Prioritization
Pixel perfect eye for detail.
Wireframing / site mapping / funnel analysis.
Agile / Scrum / Kanban.
A/B testing ideation and analysis.
Interviewing / hiring the right people.
Great presentation skills.
Well versed with Clubhouse.io / Jira / Optimizely / GA / Sketch.
Work Status
British citizen with a US Green Card.
Hobbies and Interests
Bicycles - I'm a keen cyclist and ride to work whenever possible. I enjoy bicycle touring and regularly head out on adventures. Occasionally my love of bikes makes the news.
Camping - I love the outdoors. You will normally find me up a mountain in a tent on summer weekends.
Technology - I love technology and always try and stay one step ahead of the curve. Occasionally my use of tech makes the news.
Gaming - I have a competitive mindset - I enjoy chess, poker, table tennis and online gaming. I like to win!
Music - I love music, be it festivals, gigs or just listening at home. I have a Spotify playlist called 'Music like Daft Punk' with over 5000 followers.
Recommendations
John is one of the most talented product managers I've had the pleasure to work with. Extremely hard working, diligent and strategic. John is excellent at collaborating with other PMs, designers, engineers and stakeholders and is known as someone who gets things done. He's a pleasure to work with and a rare talent. Niko Croskery, President, Moby Ventures at Whalar.
I've been really fortunate to work under John's leadership for several years, and I can't emphasize enough how much I recommend him. John has this incredible mix of strategic insight, analytical skill, and creative flair, all while genuinely caring about understanding and meeting the needs of our end-users. As a manager, John creates an atmosphere that's both collaborative and supportive. I've always felt valued and encouraged to give my best because of his leadership. Beyond that, he's a true team player, always ready to lend a hand, offer advice, or share insights whenever anyone needs it. I will forever be grateful to him for his support and guidance. Shirley Lee, Senior Product Manager at Whalar.
I had the privilege to work with John for 5 years, first as a stakeholder of his team and then as a colleague. During that time John created a fantastic team and scalable processes. Thanks to that they were ready when the company (and thus their stakeholders) grew by 20x. The team recently pivoted towards a growth role. John stepped up again and led the efforts to instrument and optimize the new user funnels, finding ways to increase our MAU base by leveraging the website. - Felix Bouleau, Product Owner at Spotify.
I have worked alongside John at Spotify for four years. Despite the fast pace and complexity of his team management responsibilities he is always happy to make the time to share his expertise and help solve complex challenges. His thoughtful insight, technical skills and manner makes working with him productive and fun. John will be an asset to any tech team that needs to move fast and deliver results and will contribute a positive team dynamic. - Owen Parry, Business Development at Spotify.
John is an exuberant, welcoming, and incredibly smart individual, and I consider myself lucky for having the chance to work by his side. Not only is he a talented, data-driven, and user-centric Product Owner, but a daily positive force for every person that crosses his path. He's driven, kind, hilarious, and works extremely hard to ensure his teammates are inspired and delivering impactful work. Tl;dr: If you ever get the chance to work with him, take it. - Grace Larosa, Product Design at Spotify.