Fergal Kelly, Product Manager in Cork, Ireland
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Fergal Kelly

Verified Expert  in Product Management

Product Manager

Cork, Ireland

Toptal member since June 17, 2019

Expertise
Virtual Product Management
Bio

Fergal has 15 years of experience successfully launching software portfolios across airline pricing, travel distribution merchandising, and digital solutions for millions of travelers. He has worked with both startups, and NYSE listed companies. Fergal brings to the table a commercially focused set of leadership skills to help globally distributed teams deliver successful products.

Project Highlights

Travelport TripAssist
Led the product and marketing teams to launch Trip Assist, a configurable itinerary management platform for travel agencies.
Travelport Merchandising Solutions
Led the initial development and launch of Travelport Merchandising. Supported the airline retailing in the indirect channel.

Expertise

  • Global Distribution Systems (GDS)
  • Portfolio Management
  • Product Evangelism
  • Product Launch
  • Product Management
  • Product Marketing
  • Strategy
  • Travel & Leisure

Work Experience

Vice President of Product, and Merchandising

2011 - 2104
Travelport
  • Launched market leading merchandising solutions for the airline industry.
  • Researched the market and competition, building a clear profile of unmet needs.
  • Developed and secured C-Level commitment to a multi-year business case to create a leadership position in merchandising for airlines.
  • Oversaw the leadership of a multi-site product and technology team, while developing merchandising capability.
  • Worked as the industry representative with a focus on key issues such as the IATA New Distribution Capability.

Chief Commercial Officer

2015 - 2018
Travelport Digital
  • Pivoted professional services business to a product-led business model.
  • Built and launched new digital (mobile app) products aimed at the travel agency, and airline space.
  • Built a global travel brand (Travelport Digital) from scratch with a new digital marketing strategy and team.
  • Led rebranding of a product portfolio to set out a new positioning for mobile based on an engagement economy paradigm.
  • Worked closely with customers and market to define new capabilities for a mobile push notification solution.

Head of Commercial Strategy

2014 - 2015
Travelport
  • Led the commercial strategy on behalf of the Travelport Commercial Organisation.
  • Applied influencing leadership skills to align key deilverables across multiple business units.
  • Led the commercial due diligence on a $57 million acquisition of a mobile development team in Ireland.

Director and Vice President of Product

2009 - 2011
Travelport
  • Launched a new version of the Travelport ePricing solutions to 67,000 agency customers worldwide.
  • Researched the market to create a key customer facing team called 'Bookability' team. This created new value for the Online Travel Agency, customers in particular.
  • Led hotel, car, and advertising product teams to research the market, and build new capability with compelling user stories.

Product Director

2005 - 2009
SITA
  • Researched the market and competition through market research. New user stories were developed via customer interviews.
  • Built a new portfolio solution set called Total Fare Management.
  • Led and mentored product teams in the UK, and North America.
  • Developed a strategic portfolio business case working through internal financial approval processes resulting in C-level pitch and approval for a three year investment case.

Head of Product

2000 - 2005
Marrakech
  • Managed multiple product teams and backlogs to deliver procurement to the payment platform.
  • Worked closely with the sales channels to land new major accounts.
  • Mentored and developed product leaders.
  • Presented and worked alongside C-Suite in investment rounds.
  • Researched the market and competition, worked closely with existing customers and prospects to generate compelling user stories.

Travelport TripAssist

Led the product and marketing teams to launch Trip Assist, a configurable itinerary management platform for travel agencies.

Travelport Trip Assist is a configurable mobile app which was designed to address a need for a lower cost entry point for small to medium travel agencies seeking to offer a branded mobile itinerary experience to their travelers. The product was heavily focused on helping agencies extend their brand proposition, and engage with their travelers after booking. The solution was launched in 2017 and required a significant retooling of the underlying technology as well as the building of new product teams and capabilities to address this market need.

Travelport Merchandising Solutions

Led the initial development and launch of Travelport Merchandising. Supported the airline retailing in the indirect channel.

Travelport Merchandising Solutions is a multi-product suite which, when launched in 2013, was the first in the market to support airlines in using their retailing capabilities in the indirect channel. The project had three key elements to it, 1) To do the market research and crystallize complex needs from airlines worldwide into a set of clearly defined user stories, 2) Work with C-level leadership to build the multi-year business case with key delivery milestones, 3) Build the multi-site and multi-team program of work to implement new capabilities across the global technology stack, and 4) Launch and win new business.
1991 - 1993

Master's Degree in Statistics

Trinity College Dublin - Dublin, Ireland

1987 - 1991

Bachelor's Degree in Management Science

Trinity College Dublin - Dublin, Ireland

Industry Expertise

High-tech Startups

Other

Product Management, Digital Product Management, Portfolio Management, Product Marketing, Global Distribution Systems (GDS), Travel & Leisure, Product Launch, Product Evangelism, Strategy, Strategy Planning, People Management, Business Analysis, Requirements, Product Strategy, Product Roadmaps, Go-to-market Plans, User Research, Business Models, Product Design, Product Frameworks, Innovation, Product Ownership, Product Discovery, Early-stage Startups

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