Poland

UWSB Merito

Master of Science

Slawek Grzmiel

Product Manager

As a senior product manager at Kahoot, I am responsible for defining and evangelizing our product vision and roadmap both internally and externally. I gather and analyze feedback from customers, stakeholders, and other teams to shape requirements, features, and end products. I lead and project manage an autonomous, multi-disciplinary agile team of designers and developers, working closely with the commercial and product marketing teams.

In my role, I make tough prioritization decisions to maximize the success of my team and ensure that we build the right things in the right way, applying best practice product discovery and agile delivery techniques. I have a deep understanding of Kahoot!’s commercial, user, and technical objectives and deliver them in my product.

Starting in 2023, I have shifted my focus to the partnership area, both content and technological, including integrations. I am responsible for identifying and establishing partnerships that will benefit Kahoot and our users, and for ensuring that these partnerships are integrated seamlessly into our product.

In this role, I work closely with internal and external stakeholders to build strong relationships and negotiate mutually beneficial agreements. I am passionate about identifying new opportunities and creating innovative solutions to drive growth and success for Kahoot and our partners.

Overall, my experience as a senior product manager has equipped me with the skills and expertise necessary to lead cross-functional teams, make strategic business decisions, and drive innovation in a fast-paced, rapidly evolving industry.

As a Lead Product Manager, I successfully led a team of 5 people consisting of product managers and UX designers. My primary goal was to empower the team and create a product-led environment. Through mentorship and support, I helped team members to grow professionally and excel in their roles.

Together, we shaped the product and created a roadmap that was supported by data, insights, and research, and aligned with other departments. I ensured that our goals were aligned with the company's overall strategy and vision, and that we were delivering value to our customers.

To ensure a smooth development process, I defined ways of working with the development and support teams, so that we had shared goals and full visibility of the current focus and next priorities. By fostering a collaborative and transparent culture, we were able to consistently deliver high-quality products on time and within budget.

In addition to managing the product development process, I coached and managed stakeholders, including C-level executives, on strategy and prioritization. Through effective communication and collaboration, I built a shared vision for the product and ensured that everyone was working towards the same goals.

Overall, my experience as a Lead Product Manager has equipped me with the skills and expertise necessary to drive success for the business. I am passionate about building strong teams and fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration. My ability to lead and empower others, combined with my strategic thinking and data-driven approach, make me a valuable asset to any organization.

I am responsible for the full software development lifecycle and work closely with stakeholders and development teams to ensure successful product delivery. One of my major achievements has been leading the development of a new engagement model for hybrid and distributed environments (team mode), which involved end-to-end delivery from ideation to launch in the market. This has resulted in a more engaging and effective experience for our users.

In addition to this, I am also leading and coordinating the development of the marketplace for Kahoot Academy, which involves a variety of external integrations and development across multiple web development teams and mobile apps. Through my leadership and coordination, we have been able to shape a clear scope and ensure successful delivery of the marketplace.

I am constantly questioning the status quo and looking for ways to improve our ways of working, communication, development techniques, and end-to-end delivery processes. This has resulted in a more efficient and effective product development process, and has helped our teams to work together more seamlessly.

To ensure successful product delivery, I work closely with 3 agile development teams and support them in their ways of working. Through my leadership and guidance, we have been able to deliver high-quality products that meet the needs of our users and drive business growth.

Overall, my experience and expertise in product management, leadership, and coordination make me a strong candidate for any director-level position in product. I am confident in my ability to deliver successful products and drive business growth, and look forward to contributing to the success of your organization.

I support C-level executives with business strategy creation and execution. My focus has been on identifying unique selling points and finding the right direction for the company and its products to expand, using the right tools and approach.

One of my key achievements has been building, leading, and growing a strong product management team, where I have supported their professional growth, product definition, and delivery excellence. I have also defined goals and strategic alignment, ensuring that the team is focused on delivering value to the business and its customers.

My expertise in product management and strategic planning has enabled me to lead cross-functional teams and influence the direction of the business. I am adept at identifying and evaluating market opportunities and using data-driven insights to make informed decisions that deliver value to the business.

Leading work on the user management capabilities, defining the scope, agreeing with business and technical stakeholders, and preparing for the development.
Applying agile ways of working, suggesting, and working on improvements in the matter of the software delivery from the dev team organization, through planning the work and managing the backlog to stakeholder communication and full product lifecycle.

Product management
Processes improvement
Agile transformation
Development processes
Software Architecture
Stakeholder management

I demonstrated my strategic thinking and leadership skills by leading the creation of a niche solution that became a strategic solution for Pearson ELT, replacing other Pearson solutions and securing a portfolio of 81M GBP. I managed the full product lifecycle, from creating the product strategy to defining KPIs, shaping the roadmap, collaborating with the UX team, and working with development teams for successful delivery. I also maintained the solution once live and adapted the SAFe approach for product delivery.

In addition, I coached stakeholders about the agile approach and created a common ground for open discussions to understand their needs, possibilities, and limitations. My efforts helped us achieve success both externally and internally, resulting in a platform that hosted more than 2300 products and served more than a million paying, active users monthly within defined non-functional requirements.

As a leader, I directly managed Product Owners and led a program of 6 development teams. I also won the "digital transformation" difference-maker competition 3 times and was selected for "the future leaders" program, showcasing my commitment to growth and success.

Overall, my experience at Pearson demonstrates my ability to think strategically, lead teams and stakeholders, and drive growth and success in product management.

I took over a digital solution created by a third party that wasn't ready for scaling or expansion to other product models. Pearson English Framework started to be scalable and usable but also became a foundation for many other product models and was successful on the ELT market, supporting mostly the primary segment.

My main responsibility was to expand the solutions I co-created before to the China mainland. The region is isolated and highly regulated. The biggest challenge was to combine the company strategy and technology possibilities with the customer's needs.

Being part of a small education startup, I was given the opportunity to manage and improve the processes in a fast-growing and dynamically changing environment. Together with other managers, I implemented the basics of an agile approach that was scaled out later among multiple teams. We successfully implemented processes for continuous improvement, value delivery, quality standards, and collaboration framework with internal and external stakeholders putting the company to the next level of maturity providing a truly agile approach.

I was defining and supervising the development of multiple e- and blended learning solutions like MyEnglishLab as well as customizations tailored for specific clients. I was directly leading and line-managing 3 development teams, defining and monitoring their performance, setting goals, and creating a development plan.

I shaped the initial architecture and develop the first generation of MyEnglishLab.
I worked directly with the business, product, and technical stakeholders to define the goals, scope, and outcomes that development teams delivered.

Slawek Grzmiel🇵🇱

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