Brennon Martin, Product Manager in Denver, United States
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Brennon Martin

Verified Expert  in Product Management

Bio

Brennon is a software strategy, design, and development professional with 20+ years and deep expertise in product management, marketing, and cross-functional team leadership within both enterprises and small companies. He is known for his ability to combine big-picture thinking with disciplined execution. As a freelancer, Brennon finds great satisfaction in his ability to help a diverse client base bring new products to market, find new sources of revenue, and create new business opportunities.

Project Highlights

Digital Banking Transformation
Led creative & technical teams through a multi-year transformation in digital consumer banking for Umpqua Bank, rolling out tech improvements across 400 locations. We hit all timelines and stayed within budgets ranging from $750,000 to $1.5 million.
Healthcare Service Design
Led a team of creative and technical staff to help envision and deliver a wholly new experience for both practices and patients in the fertility services market for IntegraMed.
SaaS Platform Strategy for Imagery Services
Resuscitated the failed launch of an on-premise imagery service SDK by defining a revolutionary product strategy to move up the value chain that more than doubled the annual revenue of a $100-million business

Expertise

Work Experience

Product Management Consultant

2010 - PRESENT
BMM Services LLC
  • Assisted and advised clients with product strategy and design, market positioning, go-to-market alternatives, and software development practices (independent consultant work).
  • Worked with a client still operating in stealth mode—researching, drafting specs, and creating a static prototype for a SaaS-based B2B2C travel services platform. My work captured the investments needed to launch product development.
  • Developed the positioning and a go-to-market strategy for a data analytics app extension marketplace for a client who wants to monetize a previously free app plug-in gallery.
  • Designed and implemented an online store for an independent kid's clothing designer.
  • Defined user requirements and designed a mobile app for an independent entrepreneur that reached the Top 10 Fitness Apps list at Apple.
  • Envisioned, designed, built, and launched airyPRM.com, a lightweight CRM for individuals like job seekers, independent consultants, and active networkers.
  • Served as a product management and delivery coach for ServiceCore, a startup SaaS company providing operational software for waste managers. Drove measurable improvements in development velocity, quality, and strategic alignment.
  • Worked as a mentor in the Travelport Startup Accelerator and Innosphere and provided product management, development, and marketing advisory services to early-stage (pre-funding) startup leaders, helping to prepare them for the pursuit of investors.
  • Served as a Product Owner for Inteleos, managing a knowledge assessment mobile app for operators of diagnostic ultrasound equipment. Optimized item creation through the implementation of process checklists and continuous improvement practices.
  • Authored expanded glossary definitions, articles, and blog posts on various topics related to product management for ProductPlan, a provider of roadmap management software.

Senior Product Manager

2021 - 2022
Nymbl Science
  • Handled the day-to-day product management for Nymbl, including a balance improvement mobile app for older adults, a member web portal, and a data analytics function.
  • Introduced Agile practices that drove a 50% increase in development productivity.
  • Built a company-wide framework for user research and design testing.

Senior Product Manager and Leadership Advisory Consultant

2020 - 2021
VMware
  • Provided product leadership of modern, cloud-native application development in a Lean, Agile, DevSecOps-enabled environment with balanced, empowered product teams.
  • Drove a 15x improvement in data hygiene while also experiencing a 500% increase in audited data as data portfolio product manager at the US Air Force software factory Kessel Run.
  • Led a team of one UX designer and three developers in the redesign and front-end re-development of a legacy application that supports all 70k+ USAF Reserve members in scheduling, approving, reporting, and validating required duty hours annually.

Product Development Director, Practice Area Director, Department Leader

2018 - 2019
Slalom Build
  • Directed, as head of my department, a team of six project leads, each responsible for planning and executing product design and development projects on behalf of mid-market clients with more than $5 billion in annual revenue.
  • Managed, as a project lead, a cross-functional team—design, development, quality engineering—to integrate voice assistant technology from Amazon and Google using a serverless architecture for a streaming television service provider.
  • Drove, as a member of the Denver Leadership Team, efficiencies in leadership team operations and initiatives through workshops and the introduction of a scrum-based approach to initiative management, resulting in an increase in leader engagement.
  • Led quality improvements in and standardization of project documents and processes by creating reference materials used across seven independent project teams, resulting in client adoption of best practice processes.

Engagement Director, New Product Development

2013 - 2016
Isobar
  • Steered cross-functional teams to document requirements, design web and mobile apps, and deliver user-experience-focused digital products and custom software projects, overseeing the full product lifecycle.
  • Wrote new contract language rolled out nationally that implemented proactive risk management to limit company financial and reputation liabilities and protect against delays due to client strategic and delivery issues.
  • Spearheaded departmental unification by instituting monthly informational and developmental teleconferences to promote community and enhance delivery leadership practices, attracting over 80% of my discipline's nationally dispersed team.
  • Led the product development for a UX-focused consumer banking transformation, rolling out technology improvements across 400 locations. My team of 10 delivered multiple high-quality internal banking systems, a mobile application, and a new website.
  • Worked with a healthcare company, leading a team of 10 to strategize a technology overhaul and create branded websites for each location. We pitched a $30 million technology product contract and earned approval to implement phase 1.
  • Led, in my final role at Isobar, US-based and near-shore teams in Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina to oversee the last legs of an eCommerce site delivery for Royal Caribbean. We brought the project in on time despite delays in client deliverables.
  • Led every project for which I was responsible during my entire time at Isobar—6+ years—planning and executing from beginning to end to an on-time and on-budget delivery.
  • Oversaw a complete, 12-week re-envisioning of the online trading experience for Scottrade, including persona development, strategy and positioning, brand evolution, and prototyping.

Project Manager, New Product Development

2010 - 2013
Isobar
  • Orchestrated the full product development lifecycle, from strategic development to delivery and end-user support.
  • Clarified and documented requirements, built roadmaps, conducted testing, and delivered functional websites, software, and applications.
  • Led a team of six to evaluate customer-facing and internal technology and create a comprehensive strategy to transform a regional bank's digital capabilities, user experience, and brand. My team won acceptance for multiple projects.
  • Guided a team of user experience designers, graphic designers, and technologists to generate an intranet and public marketing site for Time Warner Cable. The work included a massive front-end customization of an Ektron content management system.
  • Identified a 500-person-hour underestimation due to integration issues with a client's newly acquired web content management system and earned a commendation for rapid and accurate issue identification and executive escalation.

Strategic Alliances Director

2008 - 2009
Maxar
  • Created strategic partnering frameworks and secured technical partnerships with Oracle, Microsoft, NAVTEQ, Google, and ESRI to catalyze the company's expansion into the enterprise software market.
  • Resuscitated a failed launch of an on-premise imagery service software development kit by defining a revolutionary SaaS product strategy to move up the value chain that more than doubled the revenue of a $100-million business.
  • Managed a team of marketers to plan and staff an industry trade show presence in India, including presenting to more than 40 potential clients as an invited speaker.

Account Director

2007 - 2008
EffectiveUI
  • Directed a team of designers and technologists in creating a web application for T. Rowe Price to help their clients who are already in retirement better manage the use of retirement account funds.
  • Led the design of a web application for tracking and improving customer satisfaction using Net Promoter Scores for Franklin Covey's Corporate Education division.
  • Provided leadership and oversight of the creation of a web application for Quiznos franchisees to manage restaurant operations.

Market Development Manager

2002 - 2005
Wavelink (now Ivanti)
  • Managed technical partnerships with hardware manufacturers like Cisco, Proxim, Intel, Motorola, and HP to assure hardware firmware and applications software compatibility for a wireless network monitoring and management product.
  • Created and managed partner programs and established new go-to-market channels and agreements that drove a 20% increase in revenue.
  • Served as the company representative to the WiFi Alliance, contributing to industry-wide improvements in user experience in the setup and management of WiFi security still used today.

Manager, e-Business Services

2000 - 2002
Deloitte
  • Envisioned, created, and launched the Venture Situation Analysis, a new consulting product for assessing startup organizational maturity in preparation for seeking additional investments, resulting in a 150% increase in services revenue.
  • Led the creation of a customer-feedback-centric product management process for a provider of outsourced contact center services that resulted in more rapid releases and higher customer satisfaction.
  • Envisioned and built a web assessment methodology for insurance companies, creating objective benchmarks against which clients could evaluate the maturity of their digital presence.

Director of Corporate Strategy, Ventures, and Business Development

1997 - 1999
Philips Electronics
  • Assembled and led a cross-business-unit team for the pursuit of an automotive entertainment electronics component offering resulting in a $70 million win.
  • Envisioned and led the design and specification of the Digital Family Center, a connected consumer device aimed at helping to manage household logistics with calendars, shopping and to-do lists, phone numbers, and communication tools.
  • Identified and led due diligence on a $5 million investment and licensing deal in a panoramic video technology company, capturing the rights to key hardware and software technology for video-based security systems.
  • Contributed to the creation of a stage-gate process for pursuing internal innovations and served as the charter entrepreneur, championing a new product through the process.
  • Managed various exploratory projects in multi-user virtual world technology, testing the capabilities of third-party systems in order to inform internal development efforts.

Analytics Marketplace Strategy

Executed a competitive analysis and delivered strategic recommendations related to the transformation of a free plug-in gallery into a monetized app extensions and data science solutions marketplace.

The client is a leader in the data analytics software market and has offered a gallery through which users can download free application extensions built by the company, company partners, and other users for many years. Seeing the financial value of some app marketplaces like the Salesforce AppExchange, company leaders wondered whether they could benefit from monetizing their gallery. Based on my research, no company has ever successfully monetized a previously free exchange.

I reviewed the marketplaces of their direct competitors and also looked outside their industry for best practices of successful exchanges. Using an Exponential Organization framework, I prepared a marketplace strategy and go-to-market plan that kept the free gallery in place and augmented it with a suite of differentiating data science solutions that could be monetized through an expanded marketplace.

Digital Banking Transformation

Led creative & technical teams through a multi-year transformation in digital consumer banking for Umpqua Bank, rolling out tech improvements across 400 locations. We hit all timelines and stayed within budgets ranging from $750,000 to $1.5 million.

Various Projects
• Concept design and roadmap for retail
• Small business and commercial banking
• Website redesign for implementation on the Ektron CMS
• Interim redesign for online banking on the Fiserv Corillian platform
• Digital banking platform evaluation
• Omnichannel digital banking redesign and development support for the Q2 eBanking platform
• Online loan application process design
• Campaign landing page design and development
• Design and development of an iOS application to help users better manage discretionary spending

Healthcare Service Design

Led a team of creative and technical staff to help envision and deliver a wholly new experience for both practices and patients in the fertility services market for IntegraMed.

I led cross-functional teams that designed and developed custom, stylable templates for a multisite WordPress implementation. I created personas, user journeys, and service blueprints to inform the design of a new patient portal, specialized patient-facing mobile apps, and a new electronic medical records system that integrates multiple legacy systems (practice management, EMR, patient relationship management, and labs) into a single, unified interface. The work also included the design of a future state technical architecture based on MuleSoft and Node.js to modernize a disparate legacy environment.

Online Brokerage Marketing and Client Site Redesign

Led a team of creative staff and technologists through a process of discovery and design of a best-in-class online trading and investment experience and the creation of a multi-year digital product roadmap for Scottrade.

Scottrade had pursued a product strategy based on the integration of third-party solutions, resulting in a disjointed-and-outdated user experience. My team's work focused on the post-login trading experience and how to integrate both in-house and vendor-based capabilities into a consistent, unified client experience.

Standardized Test Score Monitoring Product

Managed a team of developers distributed across four US timezones, Brazil, and Argentina for the implementation of a Java/Flex commercial software application serving the pre-K through 12th-grade education market for Pearson Education.

AIMSweb is a tool for teachers and parents to track student performance in standardized testing. The product is proven to uncover learning gaps quickly, identify at-risk students, and assess individual and classroom growth.

National Cable TV Operator Website and Intranet

Managed creative design and technical development teams for the creation of two CMS-enabled websites serving the Time Warner Cable Media Sales division, including both an internal sales team support site and a customer-facing marketing site.

I took over an internal and external website development project. Within the first two weeks, I realized that, due to the client’s procurement of a new CMS system, an additional 500 hours would be required to integrate the planned sites with the new system.

This analysis brought two distinct positive results: commendation for the quick issue recognition and presentation and taught me the importance of creating highly specified contracts.

Wealth Management Website Redesign

Managed a small team of creative design, copywriting, and user experience resources through the final stages of conceptual design and all of a detailed design for the BNY Mellon website.

When I stepped into this role, the project was well underway, but it was in complete disarray because an executive was (poorly) playing the role of a project manager. The team was confused about what was expected and what to work on next. The client was also unhappy because of the lack of visibility into the current status of the promised deliverables and a general lack of confidence in the team.

I quickly assessed the work completed to date and the outstanding work and necessary effort not just to meet the obligations of the statement of work but to make sure that the client was satisfied, and I implemented a regular status reporting meeting with the client. Although the work came in a couple of weeks late compared to the initial estimate, the client was happy with the final product and maintained a relationship with my company after I moved on to another project.

Franklin Covey Winning Customer Loyalty

Provided account management, team leadership and experience design for the creation of a custom Flex application for tracking, analyzing and improving customer loyalty based on the Net Promoter Score (NPS) methodology.

After delivering what the client buyer described as "the best pitch I've ever seen," I led an outsourced design and development team in the creation of a product used by Franklin Covey's professional development group in its NPS training service for use by corporate trainees to track NPS after learning the methodology.

T. Rowe Price Quick Check

Account management and team leadership for the design and development of a custom Flex application for planning the disbursement of retirement funds.

T. Rowe Price had a lot of tools to help clients analyze their portfolio and plan for retirement, but they needed something to help those who are already in retirement to better plan their spending in order to avoid exhausting their retirement funds too quickly. I secured T. Rowe. Price as a client, planned the engagement, and oversaw execution and delivery.

SaaS Platform Strategy for Imagery Services

Resuscitated the failed launch of an on-premise imagery service SDK by defining a revolutionary product strategy to move up the value chain that more than doubled the annual revenue of a $100-million business

DigitalGlobe (now Maxar) hired me to help them enter a new market for their satellite imagery service, taking their high-resolution earth imagery to the enterprise market through integrations with map-oriented software applications used in the supply chain, insurance, customer support, shipping, and many other industries. Unfortunately, their on-premise, self-hosted imagery service didn't meet market requirements and was more expensive than that of their competitors.

I developed a strategy that was oriented around moving their entire system to the cloud while enhancing it with value-added solutions that would allow them to solve problems for multiple enterprise markets rather than merely being a provider of raw data.

Veon Interactive Streaming Video

Led the specification and launch of a major new release of suite of products for authoring and delivering clickable video.

VeonSuite was a portfolio of products including an authoring tool, streaming server, and viewer that allowed content developers to create and deliver interactive video with clickable hotspots. The hotspots could be static and styled like a button or dynamic and transparent, following but not obscuring content moving within the video such as an actor's item of clothing.

As acting director of product management, I created the MRD and product specifications for the new release that focused on improving the authoring experience for content developers and preparing the platform for delivery via application service providers (ASPs), which were the precursor to the cloud-based SaaS model in use today.
I also created all of the go-to-market messaging and materials and delivered training to key content partners.

B2B2C SaaS Travel Services Purchasing Platform

Defined requirements, designed prototypes, led tech design, and established go-to-market strategy leading to seed funding

I was recruited by an independent entrepreneur operating in stealth mode to productize his patent-pending idea for a industry-changing way to purchase travel and other perishable services. My work included all aspects of turning his basic idea into a viable product offering ready to move into development. Using my work, he successfully landed seed funding to get his idea off the ground.

Quiz App for Healthcare Certifications

https://www.ardms.org/maintain-certification/skills-app/

Led the optimization of content development operational processes, improving quiz item quality and operational efficiency. Executed a user research project that resulted in a better understanding of negative feedback received about the product.

Inteleos is a provider of specialty healthcare certifications for operators of ultrasound devices through their family of associations including ARDMS, APCA, and POCUS. In mid 2022, they released a pilot mobile app aimed at reducing certificants' need to take periodic, expensive, high-stakes exams and instead to have access to regular, low-stakes quizzes in order to maintain certification. I served as product owner, overseeing all aspects of product operations including management of outsourced development, data analysis and reporting, and optimizing content creation operations.

Balance Improvement App

https://nymblscience.com/the-program/

Introduced agile practices that drove 50% increase in development productivity and built a company-wide framework for user research and design testing.

Day-to-day product management for Nymbl, including a balance improvement mobile app for older adults, member web portal, and a data analytics function. Nymbl helps older adults reduce the risk of falls and fall related injuries via an app that combines simple balance exercises with brain games.

Data Portfolio Quality Management

Acted as the data portfolio product manager at the US Air Force software factory Kessel Run, driving a 15-time improvement in data hygiene while also experiencing a 500% increase in audited data.

The Data Portfolio at Kessel Run is responsible for establishing common standards and building tools for multiple applications that support the maintenance and flight readiness of the department's fleet of aircraft. My work was focused on creating a data dictionary and auditing application and a set of analytical applications used to feed key metrics to various teams.

Military Staff Scheduling and Payment Portal

Led the design and development of a new front-end application to support duty scheduling and service verification for all members of the U.S. Air Force Reserve force.

Project SUPRA was funded to rebuild the outdated user interface to UTAPS, an application built on 20-year-old technology that used Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0. My team designed and built in six months what the existing Air Force contractor team had not been able to complete in six years.
1994 - 1996

Master of Arts Degree in Communications

University of Washington - Seattle, WA, USA

1987 - 1991

Bachelor of Arts Degree (Cum Laude) in International Studies

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - Chapel Hill, NC, USA

JULY 2023 - PRESENT

AI Product Management

Product HQ

MARCH 2023 - PRESENT

Transacting on the Blockchain

Coursera

FEBRUARY 2023 - PRESENT

Introduction to Blockchain Technologies

Coursera

MAY 2020 - PRESENT

Digital Marketing Foundations

The Trade Desk Edge Academy

FEBRUARY 2019 - FEBRUARY 2021

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

Amazon Web Services

APRIL 2013 - APRIL 2019

Certified Scrum Product Owner

Scrum Alliance

SEPTEMBER 2011 - APRIL 2019

Certified Scrum Master

Scrum Alliance

Tools

Jira, Google Workspace, Slack, Balsamiq Mockups, Figma, Rally, Balsamiq

Paradigms

Scrum, Agile Product Management, Agile, Agile Workflow, B2B2C, B2C, Mobile App Design, Design Thinking, Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C), Requirements Analysis, Agile Project Management

Industry Expertise

Financial Services, Consumer Products, Banking & Finance, Health & Wellness, Healthcare, Marketplaces

Platforms

Amazon Alexa, Blockchain

Other

Mobile Apps, Product Owner, Program Management, Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Scrum Product Owner, Process Design, Process Improvement, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Mentorship & Coaching, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Release Planning, APIs, Distributed Team Management, Microsoft Office, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Interviewing, Use Case Analysis, Coaching, Feature Analysis, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Product Analytics, Vendor Selection, QA Testing, Technical Architecture, Product Management, Business Analysis, Requirements, Feature Backlog Prioritization, Product Strategy, Product Roadmaps, User Research, Business Models, Product Design, Product Marketing, Product Frameworks, Product Innovation, Product Ownership, Product Discovery, Agile Product Delivery, Waterfall Delivery, Strategic Partnerships, Project Management, Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), Market Research & Analysis, UX Design, Go-to-market Plans, Channel Strategy, Channel Management, Customer Experience, Product Vision, Software as a Service (SaaS), Technical Product Management, Executive Presentations, P&L Management, Pitch Decks, Ideation, B2B, B2B Partnerships, Business Planning, UI Prototyping, Product Launch, Research Analysis, Fintech, Mobile Banking, UX Research, eCommerce, Project Timelines, Project Planning, Project Scoping, Project Tracking, Scope, Scope Management, User Experience (UX), User Requirements, Startups, Web Platforms, Communication, Digital Product Management, Project Estimation, Stakeholder Management, Stakeholder Interviews, Backlog Management, UI Design, Waterfall Methodology, Strategy, New Product Development, Website Audits, Startup Consulting, Partner Management, Channel Sales, Contract Negotiation, Partnership Strategies, Client Management, Account Management, Web UI Design, SaaS, Trade Shows, Web Project Management, Software Consulting, Engagement Strategy, Agile Practices, Scrum Master, People Management, People Development, Management Consulting, Agile Coaching, SaaS Product Management, Digital Transformation, Web App Design, Web App Development, Mobile UX, Mobile UI Design, A/B Testing, Feature Planning, Feature Prioritization, Roadmaps, Business Cases, Business to Business (B2B), Feature Roadmaps, Invoicing, Staffing, Business Development, Mobile App Development, User Experience Design, Consumer Behavior, User Behavior, Remote Team Leadership, Web & Mobile Applications, Web Applications, Product Operations, Documentation, Objectives & Key Results (OKRs), Project Coordination, Digital Product Management, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), User Flows, User Interface (UI), User Stories, Wireframing, Content Management, Sprint Planning, API Integration, Incubator Management, Business Strategy, Discovery, Discovery Workshops, Technical Project Management, Market Research, Qualitative Research, Early-stage Startups, Competition Research, Consumer Technology, Business to Consumer (B2C), B2B Product Management, Mockups, Business Process Analysis, Technical Analysis, Content Management Systems (CMS), Consumer Electronics, Contract Drafting, Contract Review, Marketing, Offshore Team Management, CRM Systems, Data Analytics, Two-sided Marketplaces, Data Quality Management, E-learning, Education, Miro, Growth Strategy, Marketing Strategy, User Journeys, Data Analysis, Prototyping, Legal, Enterprise Software, Process Optimization, Investments, Travel, Salesforce, Adobe Photoshop, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Journey Mapping, Web Analytics, Video Streaming, Technical Documentation, Hardware Development, Speech Recognition, Google Voice, Digital Marketing, Extreme Programming, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3), Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT)

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