Alexander is available for hire
Hire AlexanderAlexander Portera
Verified Expert in Product Management
Product Manager
Location
Zürich, Switzerland
Toptal Member Since
July 1, 2019
Alexander is a product leader with a unique engineering background, passionate about Lean methodologies and data analysis. He brings a proven track record in launching and operating high-impact products in complex environments, from a market-leading bank-onboarding platform to a rapidly growing assessment platform in the educational sector. Alexander strives to bring order to chaos, create a shared vision and orchestrate high-performing people.
Project Highlights
Digital Scan
Assessed the digital readiness of the company-wide divisions and created a specific action plan.
EyeSpoke Glasses
Owned the project—leading the product strategy, design, and development.
Appway Product Portfolio
Delivered four product launches in one year.
Expertise
Work Experience
Product Lead
2020 - PRESENT
Zanichelli
- Joined Italy’s leading school publisher at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to oversee the product management group and support professors with distance-learning programs.
- Drove product strategy and execution with a focus on increasing adoption. Led a team of five product managers (5 scrum teams, 35 dev/des) in five product domains and achieved a 60% increase in activations of digital books.
- Regularly analyzed usage data to make roadmap prioritizations. Created an adoption strategy and product KPIs.
- Introduced crowd-functional testing in the development process and remote UX testing in the discovery phase.
- Owned the company’s roadmap and set periodical increments by coordinating stakeholders, analyzing product performance, evaluating customer needs (through regular surveys and usability studies), and performing exploratory tests.
- Managed the creation of a data lake that included all the product-related tracking statements (on xAPI) and sales and inventory data. Implemented the BI visualization on DOMO.
- Ideated, developed, and launched the first Italian Chrome extension for automating Google Classroom assignments and a customer support portal which, together with crowd testing, generated a 30% decrease in support tickets.
- Increased engagement (MAU) by 130% and increased the usage of the content from the editorial staff by 80%.
Product Expert
2018 - 2019
Clarity Movement
- Guided the company to re-envision the digital offering and competitive positioning through workshops, customer interviews, and competitive analysis, which resulted in a revised platform that clients and investors loved.
- Coached the CTO and founders on product management and value-driven development.
- Defined shared KPIs and created reporting dashboards.
Digital Product Manager
2018 - 2019
Switzerland Global Enterprise
- Spearheaded digitalization initiatives to digitalize their offerings, improve internal efficiency, and increase customer engagement.
- Performed a digital scan of the organization, which resulted in action items for each department.
- Adapted the company's 2017-2022 strategy to achieve a technological and cultural business transformation.
- Created an action plan for each business unit to achieve the 2022 strategy.
- Received the funding for an all-in-one export platform (Go Global), which is enjoying great market success.
Product Owner
2016 - 2018
Appway AG
- Led and contributed to the development of Appway’s solution portfolio, including the world-leading client onboarding (COB) software for wealth-management banks. Oversaw the products from idea to market entry.
- Led a high-performing cross-functional and distributed development team of seven people. Improved working processes by introducing Scrum and Kanban methodologies.
- Completed the modularization of the COB, which allowed the team to release four new products in one year. These products are part of Appway’s solution offering as of today.
- Contributed to speeding up the COB processes, compliant by design, and significantly improving the customer experience.
- Released multiple integrations, which helped automate the processes (DocuSign, IDnow, Accuity, WorldCheck, and others).
President
2014 - 2015
OBIS (ETH Zurich)
- Led the rebranding and repositioning of the organisation to increase relevancy and attract new audiences.
- Managed sponsorships and developed contacts with the entities at the organization's boundaries.
- Represented 200+ students in front of the professors and the managers of the department.
- Led a team of eleven board members.
Co-founder
2014 - 2015
EyeSpoke Glasses
- Drove the product roadmap, definition, and analysis.
- Modeled and coordinated the production of 3D-printed glasses.
- Pitched the concept to prospective clients and competitions.
Assembly Planning Consultant
2012 - 2013
Audi AG
- Created a prediction model for faulty vehicle run-ups with respect to completion time, needed surface area, and personnel.
- Supported the project management of the Golf 7 and Audi A3 Sportback.
- Oversaw and was responsible for knowledge transfers between Germany and China.
- Contributed to implementing the first production line in the world that assembles cars from two different brands in a 1-minute takt time (1400 cars per day); a completed ramp-up in 5 months, one month less than the average.
- Generated a €1.5 million savings—30% of the total budget—through algorithm optimization.
Project History
Digital Scan
Assessed the digital readiness of the company-wide divisions and created a specific action plan.
Alexander performed a scan on the digital readiness of Switzerland Global Enterprise. The scan was based on the digitalization achievements between 2017 and 2019 and on industry best practices. It included an assessment of the company’s operations, marketing, strategy, business line, culture, HR, and governance.
The result of the digital scan was used to adapt the company 2022 strategy and to create company-wide objectives and an action plan.
The result of the digital scan was used to adapt the company 2022 strategy and to create company-wide objectives and an action plan.
EyeSpoke Glasses
Owned the project—leading the product strategy, design, and development.
EyeSpoke Glasses was an eyewear startup that had the goal of merging existing technologies—mobile 3D scanner, augmented reality, and 3D printing—to offer one-of-a-kind sunglasses, fitted to the customer's face along with a customized design.
Appway Product Portfolio
Delivered four product launches in one year.
As part of the company's expansion strategy, my team was asked to launch multiple digital products to create a product portfolio. We developed four new products for the banking industry, and they have been built modularly to increase the release speed and leverage existing knowledge.
One of the products, client onboarding, was the market leader in the wealth management banking sector.
One of the products, client onboarding, was the market leader in the wealth management banking sector.
Education
2013 - 2016
Master's Degree in Management, Technology, and Economics
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich - Zurich, Switzerland
2010 - 2013
Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Design Automation and Manufacturing
Tongji University - Shanghai, China
2009 - 2012
Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical and Production Engineering
Politecnico di Torino - Torino, Italy
Certifications
JULY 2017 - PRESENT
Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO)
Scrum.org
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