Product Program Leadership & Portfolio Governance
Established and shaped a new Product Program Manager function within a scaling product organisation. Introduced governance, portfolio oversight, and cross-functional operating structure to support delivery of mission-critical initiatives across Product, Engineering, Marketing, Sales, and Operations.
Oversaw 2–3 concurrent strategic programs at any time, including a year-long go-to-market transformation spanning 35+ teams and 6 business units.
My Role
Defined and operationalised the Product Program Manager function to strengthen cross-functional execution in a high-growth environment.
Introduced structured portfolio oversight across multiple product initiatives, identifying interdependencies, risk collisions, and resourcing conflicts early.
Established executive reporting rhythms that translated roadmap progress into commercially meaningful visibility for leadership.
Partnered closely with Product Directors and Engineering leads to protect delivery focus while ensuring alignment with sales, marketing, and operational priorities.
Launch, impact, results
🔎 Created and embedded a new Product Program role reporting to VP of Product.
🏗 Delivered 90% of launch objectives on schedule for enterprise-wide GTM programme.
📊 Streamlined planning cycles, reducing friction between Product and commercial teams.
Enabled coordinated launch at Gartner Symposium 2023, securing uplift in engagement, new client interest.
Challenges & Reflection
I was approached by senior leadership to establish this role after identifying recurring breakdowns in cross-functional execution across Product initiatives. The challenge was not simply delivery, but introducing portfolio-level visibility into a function accustomed to high autonomy.
Initial scepticism centred on concerns that programme governance would slow product velocity. I addressed this by focusing on dependency mapping, risk sequencing, and commercially relevant reporting, demonstrating that clarity accelerates delivery rather than constraining it.
As the portfolio expanded, disciplined trade-off management and transparent communication became critical. The outcome was stronger execution across initiatives and a measurable shift in executive confidence in Product’s strategic impact.
Project context
Initiated by/Reporting to: VP of Product
Organization Type: Global Talent Marketplace Platform
Project Duration: 21 months
Team size: 12-40 contributors per program
PM Methodology: Hybrid – Agile product delivery with predictive executive governance
Project Tooling: Asana, Miro, Slack, Salesforce, Greenhouse