Ben Gutkovich, Product Manager in London, United Kingdom
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Ben Gutkovich

Verified Expert  in Product Management

Product Manager

Location
London, United Kingdom
Toptal Member Since
August 3, 2020

Ben is an entrepreneurial and impact-oriented professional with over 15 years of international experience in strategy development, growth hacking, innovation, commercial due diligence, and technology-driven consumer product management. As an independent consultant, he supports C-level executives and investors on a variety of strategic topics, ranging from lean operations and procurement to digital and growth strategy, to commercial due diligence focusing on the TMT sector.

Product Management

Work Experience

Senior Manager

2018 - 2019
Strategy& (part of the PwC network)
  • Offered strategy and M&A consulting in the TMT sector.
  • Advised private equity and technology portfolio companies on investments, growth strategy, and corporate development.
  • Pitched for, won, and delivered a sell-side commercial due diligence, advising a PE-owned global HR technology and services vendor, on a sale worth £200 million+.
  • Led teams of 3-6 consultants to deliver 10+ buy and sell-side commercial due diligence reports for European software, technology, and telecom businesses with £100 million+ EV.

Head of Business Development

2016 - 2018
easyCar Club
  • Doubled supply-side (car owners) growth rate cost-effectively, through multiple levers (e.g., funnel redesign, referral program launch, and strategic partnerships).
  • Launched a ridesharing product, easyCarPool, in record time, to leverage and engage our customer base.
  • Negotiated the UK’s first lease-to-rent funding solution to offer members a “free” car deal.

Junior Engagement Manager

2013 - 2016
McKinsey & Company
  • Analysed three years of purchasing data to develop a plan of promotional activities for a CEO of an eCommerce venture to boost basket size and reduce churn by 30%+.
  • Supported the CSO of a major telecommunications company with a new B2C strategy to close a $100 million forecast gap.
  • Managed four clients and three external consultants; identified and evaluated M&A targets and arranged war-gaming sessions with the management board.
  • Identified a set of “back room” operational improvements for a major UK retailer to increase same-store revenues by 8%; in the process of nationwide roll-out to 550+ shops.

Head of Product Management

2006 - 2010
Orange
  • Handpicked for the founding team to steer innovation in the highly commoditized landline communications business, launched with a $50 million investment as the company's growth engine.
  • Directed the design and launch of two first-in-Israel services. Initiated and carefully planned the move to in-house development, achieving over 50% in project cost savings.
  • Convinced CTO and CMO to select a start-up vendor over an established supplier to launch a mobile backup service ahead of the competition, and generate $4 million in annual revenue.
  • Managed project teams of 15-20 members across functional areas (e.g., marketing, IT, network, finance), without a direct line of authority and with diverse goals and priorities.

Growth Strategy for a Telecommunications Group

Launched growth initiatives across seven countries.

Led a team of four consultants to develop a video-driven digital strategy for a multi-national telecommunications group. Launched initiatives (video streaming service and sports rights acquisition) across seven countries with total value creation potential of $1 billion.
2011 - 2013

Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA)

London Business School - London, UK

1998 - 2001

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science

Technion - Israel Institute of Technology - Israel

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