Here is a rerun of an episode with Elina. We had a lot of fun chatting to her, so we hope you enjoy this throwback. Elina is a co-founder of Storyo, a platform that shares the journeys of women and gender diverse people in Aotearoa. With 170+ stories in the bag, Elina does a lot of advocacy work around diversity, equity, inclusion and storytelling. She works as an Experience Designer in the health sector, with a background in product and strategy. Combining her experience in the tech sector...

Today we have a rerun of an early episode talking to Ramanan Moorthy. Ramanan is a Product Manager at Xero and has been with the company nearly 4 years. Ramanan is a pragmatic product leader who subscribes to modern product management practices. In the recent past, he contributed to the product community via Product Tank Auckland; by connecting NZ product people with international product thought- leaders. His career goal is to help demystify product management and help create good product...

Here is a re-run of Season 1 Episode 30. We hope you enjoy this episode with Tanya Johnson. Tanya has worked in product teams for 20+ years, with leadership roles spanning across strategy, product management, design, and software development. Specialising in high growth fast-scaling technology and SaaS companies, Tanya strives to create diverse team environments - championing the development of innovative products that reflect our communities. Tanya leads multiple product and engineering...

We are back with a rerun of our conversation with Chloe Leon. Chloe is an empathetic product leader with a passion for creating elegant solutions that solve real-world problems. Her background is in technology consulting which led to her to the world of Product Management. Chloe prides herself in continuous learning and building structures that lead to high performing, empowered product teams. Here are some of the things we discussed during our conversation: Learn customer empathy with...

In this Episode, Fran and Lauchlan reflect upon season one. They focus on the things that surprised them, the learnings they took away and some of the key points that resonated. They would love to know what surprised you, what you learnt and what has resonated for you. And if you could choose one episode to re-run which episode would that be? Our rapid fires: Do you have any books or articles you would recommend? Do you listen to any good podcasts? What are you grateful for? What is your...

In this Episode, the final episode of Season 1, we talk to Melissa Firth. Melissa Firth is an experienced software executive and product & CX leader with 25+ years in digital media, product development & innovation in B2C, B2B, SaaS and public sector. She’s currently working as a “fractional executive” helping kiwi tech companies realise their growth goals.Here are some of the key points we talked about: Experimenting to learn is key when you're on leading edge of...

In this Episode we talk to Penny Wildash. In March 2008, as an accountant and mum looking to return to work, Penny sought a role that provided flexibility and, unwittingly joined a very hectic early stage Xero as part of customer team. 5 years later she moved into the product team as a BA, following into PO, PM & finally the Snr Group Product Manager role. She describes it as a very personal journey of growth, and baptism of fire with her first solo product lead role. Her current role is...

In this Episode we talk to Adam Wright. This is part 2 of 2:Adam began his product journey as a leap from QA, and gained experience at Flux federation building energy management software, before heading to Xero, a stint at a digital conferencing startup, before returning to Xero and now at Kiwi edtech Education Perfect. Adam has learned a tonne along the way and seen the good bad and the ugly and learned a lot about operating in each of these environments.Here are some of the key points we...

In this Episode we talk to Adam Wright. This is part 1 of 2:Adam began his product journey as a leap from QA, and gained experience at Flux federation building energy management software, before heading to Xero, a stint at a digital conferencing startup, before returning to Xero and now at Kiwi edtech Education Perfect. Adam has learned a tonne along the way and seen the good bad and the ugly and learned a lot about operating in each of these environments.Here are some of the key points we...

In this Episode we talk to Hannah EickmeierHannah's career began 10 years ago with a Google search for her own job title when her team adopted Agile, making her a Product Owner. From that moment, she embarked on a journey of continuous learning and empowering others. Throughout her career, Hannah has been a driving force in facilitating communities, including the Xero Tech Sisters group and the Product Management Community of Practice. Her passion? Creating products that empower small...

In this episode we talk to Penny Goodwin; Penny Goodwin (she/her) is a Māori/ Pākehā Product leader from Aotearoa. She is currently the Head of Product at Optimal Workshop and loves to chat all things product! She is an experienced facilitator who is always searching for ways to be more inclusive in the way she runs her sessions to get the most from the brilliant people she works with. In her spare time you can find her watching murder mysteries (although often incorrect in guessing the...

In this episode we talk to Chloe Narain: The bulk of Chloe’s career has been spent in start-up environments where she’s juggled product and marketing roles. She’s experienced first-hand the power of product-led growth… even when you’re working with a tiny budget, one developer…and within a market that does not yet exist. She doesn’t see product as a set “role” within early-stage start-ups. More a mindset and directive that the team shares. The diverse nature of the product function and how...

In this episode we talk to Nevetha Mani: Nevetha is a fellow product human currently working at Hectre, an AgTech startup. Her foray into product has been evolutionary - starting as a developer, then a coach/Scrum Master, dabbling as an Engineering Manager and now in Product. Her extensive background encompasses utilities, e-commerce, insurance, fintech, and AgTech.Until recently she was at Sharesies, another NZ success story. She loves working in fast-paced startups, using first-principles...

Today we have something new - a duo - Nicole Williams and Sue Anderson who are both Head of Product at Trade Me: Nicole Williams: Nicole is passionate about learning and helping grow others. She’s currently Head of Product at Trade Me, where she leads the vision and strategy for their Marketplace team. It’s the perfect environment for her endless curiosity and appetite for gnarly customer problems. She’s previously worked across product and marketing for open source software, platform...

Check out our conversation with Norie Ape: Norie Ape is a Samoan born, Auckland raised and now Wellington based Digital Product Manager at Te Pūkenga. She focuses on utilizing design thinking, data story-telling and cognitively diverse teams to enable positive outcomes for vocational education in Aotearoa (New Zealand) with priority groups Māori, Pasifika & disabled learners. Outside of her "Tech Explainerer" role at Te Pūkenga she's a passionate advocate on diversifying the technology...

This week we talk to Tim Neiman: Tim started his product career at New Zealand Post, with the rather elaborate job title of “Associate International Solutions Specialist”. Since then, his career has spanned a wide range of product roles. At one end of the scale, he joined as the 20th employee at a UK SaaS scaleup. At the other end, he worked as a Senior Product Manager for US giant Expedia. In 2020 Tim returned to New Zealand after 7 years in the UK and is currently a Principal Product...

We are Fran and Lauchlan, both Product Managers, and we are discovering the diverse skills and experience that are out there in the product world. We aim to inspire product people on their journeys. Opinions expressed are solely our own and do not express the views of our employers. Get in touch: [email protected] Presenters: Fran Gleisner, Lauchlan RobertsonMusic Credit: Harry Charles - Deer Park Remix See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode join Lauchlan and Fran as we debrief on the Tech Layoffs. Lauchie shares his story of being let go and his journey to finding a new job (hooray). He also shares heaps of insights that might help others in a similar situation. We hope you enjoy this slightly different format for a change. In this episode here are a few things we explored: Skills based CVs Connecting through x-company networks, coffee and meetups Tips to keep motivated while on the job hunt Our understanding...

I hope you enjoy this episode with Tanya Johnson: Tanya has worked in product teams for 20+ years, with leadership roles spanning across strategy, product management, design, and software development. Specialising in high growth fast-scaling technology and SaaS companies, Tanya strives to create diverse team environments - championing the development of innovative products that reflect our communities. Tanya leads multiple product and engineering teams in her role as Chief Product Officer...

Today we have a kōrero with Miria Royal: Miria has been working within technology and product across multiple industries including telecommunications, energy and banking. Her career spans engineering, sales, architecture and product ownership, and she now works as a Product Owner within the Digital space at Westpac. Outside of work, Miria spends time with her partner, daughter and second child – her fluffy 70kg dog. Some of the things we talked about include: User journeys and Product...

Come listen to our conversation with Martha Palmer: Martha is a Product Manager at Volpara Health, a Wellington-based software company which works to prevent advanced-stage cancer. She has an insatiable curiosity and is passionate about ongoing learning and growth.   Before joining Volpara, she spent nearly a decade at Rolls-Royce, where she established a UX Design practice on a long-standing product team, and won a Rolls-Royce Gold Excellence Award for bringing the customer into the heart...

Come for the journey today with Miranda Young: Miranda Young is a SaaS Product Manager who loves working on things real people can use to make their lives easier. She drinks "her own champagne" which is why she banks with ASB, connects with 2degrees, has shopping habits that are a who's who of Paymark Online EFTPOS customers and applies for leave in Datacom's My Pay app. Day to day Miranda practices CDD (Cake Driven Development) and has baked (and blogged) her way through all five of Jordan...

We would love to talk to you, our listeners, and find out more about your product journey. Please get in touch. You can: fill out this quick google form. email us: [email protected] Get in touch on linkedin Lauchlan Robertson or Fran Gleisner ------------------------------------------------------------------ We are Fran and Lauchlan, both Product Managers, and we are discovering the diverse skills and experience that are out there in the product world. We aim to inspire...

Come for the journey today with Niall Convery: Niall is a passionate product professional who loves data integrations of all shapes and sizes. He came to New Zealand after working in the US, Ireland & the UK, and is currently a Head of Product at Xero helping his team to make sense of their world. He is a firm believer that trust, communication and enough coffee can get you through anything. We talked through lots of interesting things including: The airline industry (Niall's...