Introducing the Speakers for MTP Engage Manchester 2019 "Product people - Product managers, product designers, UX designers, UX researchers, Business analysts, developers, makers & entrepreneurs 10 January 2019 True #Mtpengage, mtp engage manchester, Product Management, product management community, product management conference, Mind the Product Mind the Product Ltd 2477 Product Management 9.908
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Introducing the Speakers for MTP Engage Manchester 2019

We took the decision to bring MTP Engage to Manchester a couple of years ago, based on the huge popularity of the ProductTank events we run in the city.

This outing for MTP Engage has a distinctly Mancunian vibe, celebrating everything that’s going on in the city. It’s testament to the appeal of Manchester and its product community that we’ve been able to attract some of the world’s best speakers from some phenomenally interesting brands.

When MTP Engage comes to Manchester on 8th February next year, we’ll have multiple tracks for you to explore and a hugely talented line-up of keynote speakers.

There’s no better conference to attend if you’re working in product management, digital, or marketing in or near Manchester.  Where else will you find SoundCloud, the BBC, TransferWise, and Pivotal Labs, talking alongside new players in fantech (that’s technology for devotees, not air conditioners)?

And with that, we’re thrilled to announce the MTP Engage Manchester speakers:

Garry Prior

Garry Prior – The Hut Group

Formed in 2004, THG (The Hut Group) has grown from a start-up business to a global digital commerce group, fast becoming one of the world’s leading beauty and well-being online retail organisations. It operates more than 160 websites that sell premium products across 140 markets. Its digital commerce success stems from developing its own technology, THG Ingenuity. It powers THG’s own brands, including lookfantastic, MyProtein, ESPA and Glossybox, as well as such international giants as Nintendo and Honda.

Garry Prior has been in and around the technology industry for more than 20 years, largely in product management / product leadership roles.  Highlights include nine years at O2, where he was product manager for a number of services during the early growth of smartphones, apps and mobile data, and also launching Rackspace’s cloud hosting products in UK and EMEA.  After a couple of years in fintech at Barclays, Garry is now Director of Product for the THG Ingenuity platform at The Hut Group.  Garry is a firm believer that great products only come about through the intersection of technology, business processes, customer support and user experience.  Or as he is frequently heard to say – “It only works if it all works”.

Nilan Peiris

Nilan Peiris – TransferWise

Nilan is Vice President of Growth at TransferWise in London, an organisation which gained prominence a couple of years ago after a phenomenally successful advertising campaign which took aim at traditional banks.  Since then, TransferWise has enjoyed impressive growth, and is, to my mind, one of the key disruptors in the Fintech space.

TransferWise is a new kind of financial company for people and businesses that travel, live and work internationally. With a simple money transfer platform and borderless accounts, it makes managing your money quick, easy and painless. TransferWise customers send £3bn every month using the platform, and it’s attracted $397m from investors such as world’s largest VC firm Andreessen Horowitz and Richard Branson.

Prior to TransferWise Nilan was VP of Growth at HouseTrip, in charge of scaling the company’s growth in the European market. He’s also worked as Chief Marketing Technology Officer at Holiday Extras, where he was responsible for all areas of technology, marketing and customer acquisition. Nilan also advises a number of early-stage startups.

Nicholas Goubert

Nicholas Goubert – SoundCloud

We’re very happy to welcome SoundCloud’s Nicholas Goubert, who makes the trip to Manchester from Berlin.  As a product leader and team builder, Nicholas is a seasoned technology executive, and an industry expert with extensive experience in platform from mobility to location services to music and media.

Before SoundCloud, Nicholas led product innovation at Lab1886/DaimlerX – the newly created Daimler Innovation Lab – as Chief Product Officer, drawing on his experience in product strategy, innovation management, big data, analytics and location intelligence to renew and expand Daimler’s product portfolio.

Nicholas also plays a role in evolving tech, as an advisor to a number of promising startups.  He is also mentors startups in a number of accelerators in Europe, giving him a chance to help out entrepreneurs while keeping up-to-date with market developments. This puts him in a unique position to bridge the gap between corporations and startups, fostering open innovation.

Nicholas is regularly invited to give keynotes in various international events such as SXSW, Berlin TOA or Pioneers.

Gabrielle Bufrem

Gabrielle Bufrem – Pivotal Labs

Gabrielle Bufrem is a Senior Product Manager at Pivotal Labs in San Francisco where she works with a range of clients from enterprise to start-ups in order to build user-centred products. Additionally, she is a Product Management Trainer for Mind the Product.

Originally from Brazil, she has built products in North America, Europe, and Asia. She is passionate about the intersection of product management and design – so much so that she is currently conducting research with Brown PhD students on how to improve collaboration in design.

She loves to travel and explore different countries, is a barista and coffee lover, and hopes to soon be the proud owner of a puppy.  Gabrielle’s enthusiasm for product design is impressive and her talk is something to look forward to at MTP Engage.

Carl Norberg

Carl Norberg – Turnpike

Carl is a serial entrepreneur and founder of Turnpike Group, working in the fan engagement and wearable tech space, launching the first smart band for fans, Fantom.

Joining us from Stockholm, Carl’s passion for creating awesome products doesn’t just stop at the product itself, he looks at the complete product experience, including creating a compelling marketing campaigns and go-to-market experiences that many could learn from.

Prior to Turnpike, Carl founded and ran award-winning mobile agency Monterosa, in Stockholm, Singapore and New York, which sold to Publicis Worldwide in 2014. He has founded and managed several digital agencies, with clients such as Microsoft, Adidas, and Justin Bieber.

Lucie McLean

Lucie McLean – BBC

Lucie McLean has been making digital products at the BBC for 12 years. She has previously been a ProductTank Manchester speaker, so we’re thrilled to welcome her to a big stage for MTP Engage in February.

Lucie led development of high-profile products such as the London 2012 Olympics app, the BBC Sport app and the BBC Sport website.  She’s been the BBC’s Head of Children’s Products for three years and works with a multidisciplinary team to develop the BBC’s website and apps for kids. She also helps to organise the Product Management Festival which takes place in Zurich every November.

Lucie’s products enjoy a truly enviable reach, and her involvement in developing the product management community, both in Manchester and internationally, is an example of how enthusiasm for our industry and humility in what we do can truly resonate with an audience.

Holly Donohue

Holly Donohue – Aquila Heywood

Holly came to product management after a career in project and operations management.  Her experience includes leading the transformation of processes, methodologies and culture at an organisational level as a Product Owner and then, Product Manager.  Holly is passionate about building products that have a positive impact on people’s lives and is an advocate for agile, coaching and collaborative working practices.

Sophie Manton

Sophie Manton – Independent Consultant

Sophie is an experienced agile coach and mentor, and a passionate change enabler to both individuals and organisations. Sophie’s early career as a product integrator and developer gave her invaluable first-hand knowledge and insights into producing software, but it was her experiences of project management, coupled with scrum mastering and organisational change that really caught her imagination. Sophie is an NLP trainer and coach, so draws on a multitude of skills to encourage growth in both individuals and organisations.

Dave Wascha

Dave Wascha – Photobox

Dave is the Chief Product Officer at PhotoBox, Europe’s leading personalised product printing company. Prior to this Dave ran product at Travelex and Moo.com, and spent 14 years at Microsoft in Seattle and in London product-managing a wide variety of products.

Tom Loosemore

Tom Loosemore – Public Digital

Speaking at MTP Engage Manchester is something of a homecoming for Tom, thanks to his impact on the city during his time at the Co-op.  It’s fascinating to hear Tom speak on product delivery – especially about his time transforming GOV.UK with GDS. Tom is now a partner at Public Digital, a consultancy which helps governments and large organisations around the world adapt to the internet era. Previously, Tom worked for The Co-Operative as Group Director of Digital Services, leading transformation of services for Co-op Funeralcare and Co-op Legal Services. Prior to this, Tom was co-founder of the UK’s Government Digital Service, part of the Cabinet Office.  He led the alpha and beta phases of GOV.UK, which included the GDS Design Principles.

In 2012, Tom wrote the Government Digital Strategy and co-ordinated the associated 18 departmental digital strategies. From 2013, he led and supported digital transformation within other government departments and agencies such as DWP, HM Treasury and ONS.

Tom has over 20 years experience of digital product management, strategy and transformation, and has led and catalysed digital change in large institutions such as the BBC, Channel 4, Ofcom, and Capital FM.

Randy Silver

Randy Silver – Product Leader

A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy has been working as an interactive producer and product manager across the US and UK for nearly 20 years. After launching Amazon’s music stores in the US and UK, Randy has worked with museums and arts groups, online education, media & entertainment, retail and financial services. He’s held Head of Product roles at HSBC and Sainsbury’s, where he also directed their 100+-person product community. Randy currently works as a freelance product consultant, providing interim product leadership, and is the co-host of Mind the Product’s new podcast The Product Experience.

Lou CordwellmagneticNorth

Lou is CEO of Manchester based digital design studio, magneticNorth. Founded in 2000, the company quickly established an international reputation with an award-winning client portfolio. Alongside her day job, she is  a board member on Greater Manchester’s Local Enterprise Partnership, Chair of Design Manchester, and a passionate campaigner for gender equality in business and the tech industry. Lou was awarded an OBE in the 2018 New Year’s Honours for services to the creative and digital economy.

Jack Sheppard – Product Designer

Jack is a digital product designer and creative event producer based in Manchester. He’s worked with organisations like HarperCollins, Virgin, NHS, Universal Music, RBS and the Co-op, focusing on making products and services simple for people to use and encouraging designers to think about the real-life implications of the products they design.

Mike Perls – MC2

Mike Perls is founder and CEO of MC2, the strategic marketing agency based in Manchester and San Francisco dealing with brands around the world. Since 1999, he has taken MC2 from a two-man start-up to one of the largest independents in its sector. Its clients include governments, city regions, global corporates and high-growth businesses.

Mike is a non-executive director of Rugby League World Cup 2021 and Chair of GreaterSport. He sits on the Board of Governors at Manchester Metropolitan University as well as being a Visiting Professor of Marketing. He is driven to make a positive difference to the communities he lives and works in. He champions social mobility and entrepreneurship at every level. He has spearheaded a number of celebrated charity initiatives in Manchester including Business Heavyweights and Funny Business, is a board member of cancer charity Maggie’s, a patron of the Factory Youth Zone and heavily involved in the Homeless agenda through his work with the Booth Centre.

Mayukh Bhaowal – Salesforce Einstein

Mayukh Bhaowal is a Director of Product Management at Salesforce Einstein, working on automated machine learning and data science experience. Mayukh received his Masters in Computer Science from Stanford University. Prior to Salesforce, Mayukh worked at startups in the domain of machine learning and analytics. He served as Head of Product of a ML platform startup, Scaled Inference, backed by Khosla Ventures, and led product at an ecommerce startup, Narvar, backed by Accel. He was also a Principal Product Manager at Yahoo and Oracle.

Tomek Włodarek – Productify

Co-founder and CEO of Productify, a micro company founded to create and publish Iterate™ Product Development Game. He describes himself as a sceptical empiricist who likes to push things to see what happens. He says he’s an aspiring stoic and organisational rebel, who notoriously breaks the organisational status-quo and taboos. He’s hard to please and almost impossible to impress, but has poor multitasking skills. He’s passionate about an adaptive, empirical approach to software development. A former video game developer, programmer, and team leader, when he’s not fighting for better products and happier teams, he’s to be found under a tree smoking a pipe and thinking things through.

Louise Nicholas – Product Designer

Louise Nicholas is a product designer with over 8 years experience in user research, interaction and service design. She’s worked with the BBC, Manchester City Football Club, and currently Co-op Digital, designing and building compelling digital products and services.

Katherine Wastell – Co-op Digital

Katherine leads the design team at Co-op Digital, working on products and services across Co-op. Her background is in product design, specialising in visual and interaction design. Prior to the Co-op she ran a design agency in Manchester, and before that was a senior designer at the BBC.

Rob Crook – Moonpig

Rob is a product manager who has spent the last few years working on some on the UK’s most loved products. He can be found regularly speaking at and organising within the product community. He studied computer science and started his career in the rough and ready world of the London startup scene.

Roisi Proven – Gower St Analytics

Roisi is a product leader currently working with Gower St Analytics, a company in the film industry helping distributors and exhibitors make data-driven decisions. Roisi has worked throughout the tech ecosystem for over a decade, and is endlessly fascinated by how empathy and the human condition interact with the tech world. Roisi loves cats, and hates talking about herself in the third person.

Özlem Yüce – Agile Heart

Özlem has 15 years’ experience working in product management with everything from Fortune 500 behemoths to fast-growing Inc 5000 startups. Clients include Credit Suisse, TUI, Vistaprint, William Hill, Ericsson, HighSpeed2, Office for National Statistics, and UCAS to name a few. Along the way, Özlem has engaged with all sorts of organisational cultures, helping them to learn and improve. Regularly speaking and delivering workshops at international conferences, she also recently co-authored an IEEE paper called “Black Swan Farming” on the use of Cost of Delay at a Fortune 500 company. When she’s not travelling around the world consulting, teaching, and speaking, she likes reading, going surfing, and… the Eurovision Song Contest!

That’s not all…

Remember, you can get your tickets here and keep up with all things Product in Manchester on Twitter.

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