Ken Zakalik
Verified Expert in Finance
Management Consulting Expert
Portland, OR, United States
Toptal member since March 27, 2023
Ken is an experienced tech futurist and innovator who has helped cutting-edge startups, iconic brands, and seasoned not-for-profits transform for growth and innovation. Whether developing product and innovation strategies, launching accelerators, giving keynotes, or leading teams, Ken's work is game-changing and has been recognized and featured in Fast Company, Variety, Advertising Week, and more. He has earned his reputation as a secret weapon in the world of digital R&D and innovation.
Career Highlights
Expertise
Work Experience
Head of Digital Product Innovation
Nike
- Defined and launched six new digital experience initiatives resulting in a 10x increase in audience acquisition and delivered over $15 million in new revenue.
- Stood up and led the product function into a pre-existing startup accelerator, resulting in a 50% increase in concept delivery and a 95% lift in the number of concepts to be transitioned as a core value-generating asset.
- Evaluated new product concepts for viability, impact, and value resulting in a 30% increase in the number of concepts completed and delivering value.
Product Lead and Executive Coach
Orsy Inc.
- Worked with executives to build business and product strategies for a social media live-streaming platform.
- Led the execution team in creating a 0-to-1 mobile product MVP.
- Created economic models. Led the marketing team in the go-to-market and content strategies.
- Defined product roadmaps and supporting documentation.
- Coached the executive team in the fundraising strategy for future investments.
- Led a team of marketing, development, and project management professionals to develop and launch a new social streaming business.
Founder Innovation Labs
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (ALSAC)
- Led the digital and innovation transformation that achieved the organization's recognition as the Fast Company's #1 workplace for innovators.
- Oversaw the creation of multiple immersive experiences, producing more than $15 million in revenue over two years across multiple platforms, numerous industry awards and accolades, and unique partnerships with Google, Facebook, and others.
- Forged collaborative relationships with multiple large partners, co-creating disruptive IoT, AI, Blockchain, and immersive experiences, delivering several revenue and engagement opportunities and the organization's first patent (pending).
- Directed new retail merchandise sales expansion into third-party platforms such as Amazon, Shopify, Instagram, and others. Within the first six months, brand impressions increased by 200,000-300,000 and merchandise sales revenue by $25,000.
- Established a scalable "product growth team" model, identifying and executing new net-value concepts, enhancements, and optimized experiences, reducing time to market by 40% and increasing business value for pre-existing businesses by 8-10%.
- Launched an internal incubator and accelerator, introducing a new working and budgeting model, resulting in a 30% new program success rate, launching multiple new, net-positive, scalable revenue streams and models over two cohorts.
- Pioneered an enterprise-level, multi-year transformation plan driving digital and innovation culture change and revenue growth.
- Introduced design sprint process resulting in the creation of ground-breaking strategies, delivering core-program optimizations and new program launches significantly contributing to $400 million revenue growth over three years.
- Implemented design-thinking and audience-centric design functions supporting the organization's being named "Health Non-Profit of the Year" (Harris Poll), Top Place to Work for Millennials (NSHS), and "Top 100 Places to Work For" (Fortune Magazine).
- Developed an enterprise-wide training and a skill-building plan to drive transformation through education, coaching, benchmarking, and prototyping new concepts.
Head of Product Management
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (ALSAC)
- Implemented user-centered design process producing eCommerce enhancements resulting in a 120% lift in YoY revenue.
- Launched new audience-centric products and campaigns driving expansion into new markets, partnerships, and platforms.
- Directed re-platforming effort adding personalization, friction-free payments infrastructure, and data and analytics functions.
- Strategized and led the implementation of B2B and B2C marketplaces producing a 25% lift in digital merchandise sales revenue and a 15% growth in new customer acquisition through retail channels.
- Spearheaded the organizational shift to an agile work methodology, increasing operational efficiency and responsiveness, resulting in a 3x improvement in time to market activities.
Chief Product Officer (Co-founder)
Rental Engine
- Launched rentalengine.com and associated marketing strategy crossing 50,000 active users in four months of launch.
- Grew product division to seven employees across multiple functions, including technology, marketing, sales, and product teams, and mentored one technologist to promotion to company's technology director.
- Led the business development and strategic partner acquisition strategy, integrating five high-profile partners and successfully selling 15 clients to the proprietary system.
- Implemented invite-only social media strategy successfully acquiring 150,000 leads pre-launch with a 20% conversion rate to active users at launch.
Digital Consultant
The Estee Lauder Companies Inc.
- Directed the design and implementation of a new back-end logistics system and front-end design solution decreasing operational overhead and increasing throughput.
- Managed all aspects of branded eCommerce website development from concept through launch and operationalization, successfully producing four sites with combined revenue of $400 thousand.
- Led optimized web consultancy for multiple internal divisions and brands.
Product Consultant
Marvel Entertainment
- Managed the implementation of an industry-disrupting digital comic's subscription application, acquiring 25,000 initial subscribers in the first three months, managing Apple and Google app stores and vendor relationships.
- Implemented Marvel "motion comics," web-gaming, and web-media initiatives managing vendor RFP, selection, contract process, and subsequent vendor relationships.
- Led the re-launch of the enhanced Marvel.com website, the launch of Marvelkids.com, and the implementation of a foundational content management system as the product manager.
Certifications
Project Management Professional (PMP)
Project Management Institute (PMI)
Scrum Product Owner Certified (SPOC)
Scrum Alliance
Certified Scrum Master
Scrum Alliance
Skills
Finance
Business Advisory, Financial Modeling, Blockchain, Market Research, Pricing
Output Software
Microsoft PowerPoint, Office 365, Apple Keynote, Microsoft Word
Industry Expertise
Early-stage Startups, Technology
Other
Slack, Zoom, Startup Consulting, Startups, eCommerce, Business Modeling, Innovation, Innovation Labs, Innovation Strategy, Innovation Management, Innovation Capability Development, Business Models, New Product Business Cases, Product Management, Leadership, Strategy, CX Strategy, UX Strategy, Product Mapping, Lean Product Manager, Product Marketing, IT Product Management, Product Development, New Product Development, Lean Startups, UX Leadership, Team Leadership, Development, Launch Strategy, UX Process, Process Flows, Process Design, Process Innovation, Disruptive Innovation, Software Innovation, Lean UX, Agile, Scrum, Scrum Master, Web Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship, eCommerce Design, Mobile eCommerce, eCommerce Payments, eCommerce Management, Web, Web 3.0, UX Prototyping, Lean Product Development, Product Development Manager, Digital Product Development, Product Journeys, Customer Journeys, Journey Mapping, Partner Management, Design Leadership, Thought Leadership, Roadmaps, Product Roadmaps, Feature Roadmaps, Advisory, Mentorship, Team Mentoring, Concepting, Conceptualization, Product Conceptualization, Ethereum, Ideation, Ideation Workshops, Brainstorming, MVP Design, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Minimum Marketable Product (MMP), App Product Management, Digital Product Management, Lean Product Management, Agile Product Management, Mobile Product Management, Global Product Management, Technical Product Management, Payment Product Manager, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), B2B Product Management, Backlog Management, Backlog Grooming, Feature Backlog Prioritization, Feature Planning, Feature Prioritization, Growth, Product Growth, Growth Strategy, Business Requirements, Requirements Analysis, Requirements & Specifications, Product Requirements Documentation (PRD), Functional Requirements, Software Requirements Specifications (SRS), Wireframing, Metrics, Customer Research, Competition Research, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Key Performance Metrics, User Onboarding, Onboarding, Market Strategy and Research Product Manager, User Metrics, App Growth, Product Strategy, Product Strategy Consultant, Go-to-market Strategy, Web App Development, Mobile App Development, Cross-platform App Development, Feasibility Studies, Apps, Value Proposition Design, Startup Growth Strategy Development, B2B2C, Product Discovery, Business Transformation, Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C), Rapid Prototyping, Information Architecture (IA), Business Analysis, Confluence, Asana, Trello, Aha!, Airtable, Project Management, Digital, Virtual Reality (VR), Blockchain as a Service, Cryptocurrency, Management, UI Prototyping, Research, Customer-centered Product Development, eCommerce UI, eCommerce Platforms, IT Strategy, Partnerships, Non-fungible Tokens (NFT), Pitch Decks, Fintech, Project Timelines, Competitive Analysis, Operating Models, Microsoft Office, MacOS, Windows, Commerce, Data, Prototyping, Business Model Strategy, Incubator Management, Executive Support, Executive Coaching, Market Execution, Business, Product Design, App Development, User Journeys, User Flows, Requirements, User Requirements, System Requirements, IT Management, Business Cases, UI Development, Web Development, Marketing, Web Marketing, B2C, Business to Consumer (B2C), eCommerce UX, Recruiting, Digital Media, Google VR, Blockchain & Cryptocurrency, Metaverse, Web Product Management, eCommerce Analysis, eCommerce Development, Visio, Partnership Strategies, Mentorship & Coaching, Culture Management, Business Strategy, User Experience (UX), Web UX, Mobile, Mobile UI, Mobile UX, Subscriptions, Subscription Pricing, Vendor Management, Product Launch, Security, Blockchain Platforms, Smart Contracts, Solana, Technical Consulting, Product Leadership, Operations
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