Kleanthis Georgaris, Product Manager in Athens, Central Athens, Greece
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Kleanthis Georgaris

Verified Expert  in Product Management

Product Manager

Athens, Central Athens, Greece

Toptal member since January 13, 2025

Bio

Kleanthis is an entrepreneurial product management leader specializing in people and service marketplaces. With a bachelor's degree in computer science and an MBA, he worked as a software engineer before transitioning to strategy consulting and product management, leveraging technology and data for business impact. At Toptal, Kleanthis scaled the product team from 5 to 30+ members, fostering a high-performing culture that drove hypergrowth and success.

Project Highlights

Toptal AI
Developed Toptal's AI strategy, creating a framework to identify and validate ideas while designing a robust AI infrastructure using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), vector databases, and pipelines.
Conversion Optimization at Toptal
Drove a 2.5x increase in end-to-end hiring conversion by delivering new product features, implementing optimizations, and introducing innovative operational solutions.
Conversion Rate Optimization for a Job Board for Freelance Work
Drove a 2x increase in end-to-end hiring conversion by delivering new product features, implementing optimizations, revamping the UX, and introducing a new successful product line.

Expertise

  • Artificial Intelligence Product Manager
  • Business Analysis
  • Leadership
  • Management Consulting
  • Product Development
  • Product Management
  • Strategy
  • Two-sided Marketplaces

Work Experience

SVP of Product

2016 - 2024
Toptal
  • Scaled the product team to more than 30 product managers and UX researchers.
  • Built a product team that significantly sustained Toptal's hypergrowth status and grew the company's revenue by 6x.
  • Reinvented the product team multiple times to adapt to the needs of each different phase of scaling.
  • Handled the launch of Toptal Marketplace as a general manager.

Founder and CEO

2015 - 2016
DigiServed
  • Founded DigiServed, which aspired to be the Amazon of creative freelance services. Based on a pioneering eCommerce model, it offered the fastest way on the internet to buy freelance services in just three clicks.
  • Built an eight-person team that launched the product in less than six months.
  • Validated the business idea, prepared the pitch deck, and raised seed funding.

Head of Product

2012 - 2014
Job Board for Freelance Work
  • Increased end-to-end client funnel conversions (visit to purchase) by 2.5x.
  • Re-built the company's platform and transformed it into a world-class product that introduced a new, unique business model in the freelance jobs industry.
  • Turned the company from a VC-backed burning capital business to a profitable one through extensive optimization and cost-cutting.

Head of Product

2010 - 2012
Golden Deal
  • Re-built the company's general classifieds platform and launched two vertical ones for real estate and automotive.
  • Increased online consumer revenues by 15x through extensive optimizations.
  • Launched and grew from scratch a new flash-sales platform with three verticals for services, travel, and fashion.
  • Managed a team of 12 engineers, product managers, and designers.
  • Led the company's successful transformation from an offline business into a fully-fledged internet enterprise.
  • Contributed significantly to defining the company's strategy as an executive management team member.

Strategy Consultant

2007 - 2009
McKinsey & Company
  • Helped blue chip companies in the banking, telecommunications, and metals and mining sectors achieve real impact by increasing their revenues, squeezing their costs, and transforming their operations.
  • Implemented advanced financial models and conducted expert analysis.
  • Worked with senior client executives, developing corporate strategies and recommendations.
  • Managed client teams in the implementation of proposed recommendations.

Lead Software Engineer

2005 - 2007
Sycada
  • Spearheaded the development of the company's main product, a GPS tracking and tracing ASP solution.
  • Handled product specifications, requirements management, and technical implementations.
  • Built and led a team of six software engineers to create the company's core product.
  • Worked with the management team to develop the company's strategy for new products.

Technology Specialist

2004 - 2005
Microsoft
  • Acted as an evangelist for the launch and adoption of Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005.
  • Conducted technical presentations, workshops, demos, pilots, and proof of concept projects for targeted audiences around cutting-edge Microsoft technologies.
  • Recognized as one of the most prominent event speakers on Microsoft technologies with an average speaker rating of 9.1/10.

Project History

Toptal AI

Developed Toptal's AI strategy, creating a framework to identify and validate ideas while designing a robust AI infrastructure using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), vector databases, and pipelines.

I developed Toptal's AI strategy from the ground up and successfully built and launched seven AI-powered products. I played a pivotal role in these products' technical design, architecture, and implementation, ensuring the solutions were scalable and leveraged AI as a core component to deliver maximum impact.

Conversion Optimization at Toptal

Drove a 2.5x increase in end-to-end hiring conversion by delivering new product features, implementing optimizations, and introducing innovative operational solutions.

During my tenure as head of product, I optimized every step of the hiring funnel, leveraging a systematic approach and achieving a 2.5x increase in end-to-end hiring conversion. This was accomplished through strategic product optimizations, revamping key user experience elements to enhance value, and building a robust operational infrastructure that boosted the effectiveness of client service teams.

Conversion Rate Optimization for a Job Board for Freelance Work

Drove a 2x increase in end-to-end hiring conversion by delivering new product features, implementing optimizations, revamping the UX, and introducing a new successful product line.

Throughout my tenure as head of product, I optimized every step of the hiring funnel, leveraging a systematic approach and achieving a 2x increase in end-to-end hiring conversion. This was accomplished through strategic product optimizations, revamping key user experience elements to enhance value, and launching an entirely new way of hiring talent.

Education

2022 - 2023

Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA)

National Technical University of Athens - Athens, Greece

1998 - 2002

Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science

Athens University of Economics and Business - Athens, Greece

Skills

Tools

Jira

Paradigms

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), Marketplace Platforms

Other

Business Strategy, Business Analysis, Computer Science, Product Management, Leadership, Product Development, Strategy, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Artificial Intelligence Product Manager, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), Two-sided Marketplaces, Management Consulting, Public Speaking, Strategy Consulting, Retrieval-augmented Generation (RAG), Business Administration

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