Jay is available for hire
Hire JayJay Horne
Verified Expert in Product Management
Product Manager
Dallas, TX, United States
Toptal member since November 5, 2019
Expertise
Bio
Jay has more than 20 years of experience creating products and solutions for clients such as AT&T, Capital One, Best Buy, US Bank, T-Mobile, PNC, and numerous smaller companies. He has worked extensively in digital marketing, telecom, and enterprise apps and platforms. He has also built high-functioning teams that deliver excellence and enjoy the work. Jay has a bachelors in electrical engineering (philosophy double major) from Rice University
Project Highlights
Acquisition Microsite and Fulfilment Back End
Acquired thousands of new credit card clients for a national bank via a microsite and points giveaway program.
Online Work Management Solution
Shifted a startup's roadmap to greatly increase the addressable market with minimal new investment.
Redemption of Mobile Rewards
Enabled the redemption of loyalty points via a mobile app for a Fortune 100 company.
Expertise
- Digital Marketing
- Go-to-market Plans
- Loyalty Programs
- Management Consulting
- Pitch Decks
- Product Management
- Product Roadmaps
- Product Strategy
Work Experience
Product and Management Consultant
2018 - PRESENT
Horne Consulting
- Significantly enhanced the roadmap and product vision for an online work management startup. New roadmap required very little additional investment but addressed a new market segment.
- Created the investor pitch deck and necessary branding (including a new logo) for an online work management startup.
- Constructed the sales deck and partnered with a startup founder on pursuing a lead client (a Fortune 500 company).
- Developed the brand and product vision for a blockchain startup based on a loose idea from the founder.
- Built a solid set of product values and established a clear path to monetization for a loosely defined blockchain startup.
- Developed the investor pitch deck for a blockchain startup and all associated details: product value, competitive analysis, go-to-market strategy, investment ask, and more.
- Managed a client on behalf of a tech consulting firm and worked with the development team on a large enterprise app project.
- Reworked the entire ticketing system for the company sponsoring large events.
- Led the deployment of the new ticketing system. The average event check-in time reduced by approximately 80%.
Client Services
2009 - 2018
Epsilon
- Designed, developed, and integrated loyalty program redemptions into a multi-LOB brand mobile app. Integrated APIs to a back-end loyalty platform and the national bank's client management system. Supported full ADA compliance on mobile deployment and performed UI studies with consumers. The end product received industry accolades.
- Researched and identified a partner and created the deal structure to have a third-party company provide TaaS (test as a service) to test all new Android and iPhone hardware and software releases for a Fortune 100's mobile app.
- Wrote a statement of work (SOW), developed, and delivered a three-way capability with a credit card association and a large bank to enable loyalty redemptions via text at the moment of purchase on a credit card. The program led to both redemption and spend lift among users.
- Designed and developed a marketing program fulfillment microsite and the associated back-end fulfillment process (including receiving and screening faxes) for a huge acquisition marketing campaign that involved giving away loyalty points to acquire new credit card customers from competitor cards. The program was so successful and ran so smoothly that the original scope of the points giveaway was expanded from 1 billion reward points to 1.5 billion reward points (approximate value of $15 million).
- Created and integrated a custom CRM into a large call center staffed with several hundred client reps. This included APIs to the marketing platform and multiple corporate databases. Synced it with all activity that took place on the associated customer website.
- Took over a major enterprise platform development project (8,000+ hours) when the project went into red status with the client. Realigned staffing to remove or quiet the main client pain points. Worked with a client to solidify launch priorities and enhanced and frequently communicated about the project both internally and with the client. Successfully launched the platform on the original schedule.
- Delivered monthly data enrichment to the client for the marketing acquisition file. Keyed, structured, and filtered data from multiple sources across millions of prospects.
- Worked with client to migrate a massive amount of data associated with 30 million credit cardholders in a structured Oracle database to Hadoop.
Product Owner
2008 - 2009
Viewzi
- Defined the public beta roadmap and led the agile/scrum methodology to deliver a successful beta launch of a highly visual internet search portal.
- Led a three-way engagement with Accenture and Best Buy to perform rapid prototyping on behalf of Best Buy for a complex media manager product.
- Developed the roadmap to customize an internet search portal as a site search tool for large enterprises with rich media assets that could be syndicated.
- Led the agile/scrum process to deliver all product enhancements and deliverables.
- Wrote multiple deal proposals representing the startup's site search offer.
- Signed first revenues with a client (approximately $400,000) for a 12-person startup.
Product Manager
2004 - 2008
Alcatel
- Expanded the Spatial NGN Softswitch roadmap from two clients to 15 over a span of eight months (Spatial Wireless was a startup bought by Alcatel).
- Concurrently led development projects on three continents for the Spatial NGN Softswitch product with each of three teams working on a roughly nine-month release cycle.
- Managed a team of product managers and led integrated teams comprised of system engineering, development, test, commercialization, and marketing.
Product Manager
1994 - 2004
Nortel
- Took the brand-new mobile local number portability standard and determined all of the development required for a major wireless switching platform to conform to the standard.
- Created requirements and worked with development on the successful coding and deployment of the LNP capability.
- Specified the means to adapt the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) to the then-new GSM standard for a major wireless switching platform for use in the United States.
- Led the development to implement the NANP and provided support at launch.
- Defined an adaptation to an existing capabilities on a major wireless switching platform to support the new German requirements to enable emergency responders to have their mobile calls go through successfully even in times of extreme network saturation during emergencies.
- Oversaw the development and launch of the modifications needed to support German emergency mobile calling.
- Partnered with product management and sales to bring the then-new GPRS wireless data to market. Documented product values and capabilities. Talked to client organizations at the executive level at companies such as T-Mobile and AT&T Wireless.
Project History
Acquisition Microsite and Fulfilment Back End
Acquired thousands of new credit card clients for a national bank via a microsite and points giveaway program.
Tasks Accomplished:
• Designed and developed a marketing program fulfillment microsite and the associated back-end fulfillment process (including receiving and screening faxes) for a vast acquisition marketing campaign.
The program gave away loyalty points to acquire new credit card customers from competitor cards. The program was so successful, and it ran so smoothly that the original scope of the points giveaway was expanded from 1 billion reward points to 1.5 billion reward points (approximate value of $15 million).
• Designed and developed a marketing program fulfillment microsite and the associated back-end fulfillment process (including receiving and screening faxes) for a vast acquisition marketing campaign.
The program gave away loyalty points to acquire new credit card customers from competitor cards. The program was so successful, and it ran so smoothly that the original scope of the points giveaway was expanded from 1 billion reward points to 1.5 billion reward points (approximate value of $15 million).
Online Work Management Solution
Shifted a startup's roadmap to greatly increase the addressable market with minimal new investment.
Tasks Accomplished:
• Significantly enhanced the roadmap and product vision for an online work management startup (in the Trello and Asana space).
• Created the investor pitch deck and necessary branding (including a new logo) for the startup.
• Developed the sales deck and partnered with the founder on pursuing a lead client (a Fortune 500 company).
The resulting product required very little additional investment but was primed for a massive new market segment.
• Significantly enhanced the roadmap and product vision for an online work management startup (in the Trello and Asana space).
• Created the investor pitch deck and necessary branding (including a new logo) for the startup.
• Developed the sales deck and partnered with the founder on pursuing a lead client (a Fortune 500 company).
The resulting product required very little additional investment but was primed for a massive new market segment.
Redemption of Mobile Rewards
Enabled the redemption of loyalty points via a mobile app for a Fortune 100 company.
Tasks Accomplished:
• Designed, developed, and integrated loyalty program redemptions into a more extensive brand mobile app.
• Integrated APIs to a back-end loyalty platform and the national bank's client management system.
• Created a partnership with a third-party company to provide TaaS to manage compliance on a wide range of mobile devices.
• Supported full ADA compliance on mobile deployment.
• Performed UI studies with consumers.
The end product received industry accolades.
• Designed, developed, and integrated loyalty program redemptions into a more extensive brand mobile app.
• Integrated APIs to a back-end loyalty platform and the national bank's client management system.
• Created a partnership with a third-party company to provide TaaS to manage compliance on a wide range of mobile devices.
• Supported full ADA compliance on mobile deployment.
• Performed UI studies with consumers.
The end product received industry accolades.
Blockchain Startup Value Proposition and Pitch Deck
Developed a pitch deck for blockchain startup used by the founder to seek investments.
Tasks Accomplished:
• Developed the brand and product vision for blockchain startup based on a loose idea by the founder.
• Created a solid set of product values and established a clear path to monetization.
• Developed the investor pitch deck and all associated details, including the product value, competitive analysis, go-to-market strategy, investment ask, and more.
• Developed the brand and product vision for blockchain startup based on a loose idea by the founder.
• Created a solid set of product values and established a clear path to monetization.
• Developed the investor pitch deck and all associated details, including the product value, competitive analysis, go-to-market strategy, investment ask, and more.
Redemption of Loyalty Points at the Time of Purchase via Text Messages
Enabled a credit card provider's clients to pay for purchases at the time of purchase with reward points via a text.
Tasks Accomplished:
• Wrote a statement of work (SOW).
• Developed and delivered a three-way capability with a credit card association and a large bank to enable loyalty redemptions via text at the moment of purchase on a credit card.
The program led to a redemption-and-spending lift among users.
• Wrote a statement of work (SOW).
• Developed and delivered a three-way capability with a credit card association and a large bank to enable loyalty redemptions via text at the moment of purchase on a credit card.
The program led to a redemption-and-spending lift among users.
Global Wireless Softswitch Roadmap
Expanded a roadmap of an acquired startup from two national clients to 15 global clients in eight months.
Tasks Accomplished:
• Expanded the Spatial NGN Softswitch roadmap from two clients to 15 over eight months (Spatial Wireless was a startup bought by Alcatel).
• Led concurrent development projects on three continents for the Spatial NGN Softswitch product, with each of three teams working on a roughly nine-month release cycle.
• Managed a team of product managers and led integrated teams comprised of system engineering, development, test, commercialization, and marketing.
• Expanded the Spatial NGN Softswitch roadmap from two clients to 15 over eight months (Spatial Wireless was a startup bought by Alcatel).
• Led concurrent development projects on three continents for the Spatial NGN Softswitch product, with each of three teams working on a roughly nine-month release cycle.
• Managed a team of product managers and led integrated teams comprised of system engineering, development, test, commercialization, and marketing.
Enterprise Software Evaluation and Recommendation
Established a formal process for a company to assess and choose strategic software critical to its core healthcare business
I fully defined and documented a process to choose a strategic enterprise software package using a key discriminator methodology. The software was in the healthcare management space.
Education
1989 - 1993
Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy
Rice University - Houston, TX, USA
1989 - 1993
Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering
Rice University - Houston, TX, USA
Skills
Tools
Microsoft Project
Industry Expertise
Financial Services, Telecommunications, Banking & Finance
Paradigms
Waterfall Development, Agile, Scrum
Other
Loyalty Programs, Loyalty Management, Product Roadmaps, Product Strategy, Digital Marketing, Microsoft Office, Technical Product Management, Product Management, Go-to-market Plans, Product Marketing, Branding, CRM Systems, Mobile Apps, Regulatory Compliance, Mobile, Management Consulting, Digital Transformation, Enterprise, Pitch Decks, User Experience (UX), Pricing
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