Michael Gordon
Verified Expert in Product Management
Product Manager
Denver, CO, United States
Toptal member since April 27, 2020
Michael Gordon is a software product management veteran with 30 years of technology experience, focused on helping clients implement, execute, and optimize the product management discipline. He also has deep healthcare industry expertise in both payer and provider markets. Michael excels at market analysis, product strategy, business and financial cases, market requirements, product road mapping, and agile product management methodology.
Project Highlights
Expertise
- Agile Product Management
- Business Cases
- Digital Health
- Health Insurance
- Market Research & Analysis
- Mobile Apps
- Product Roadmaps
- Strategy
Work Experience
Chief Innovation Officer
Friday Health Plans
- Led the FHP innovation team with a focus on reimagining the digital experience for health plan consumers and other constituents, incorporating best practices from consumer-centric industries.
- Conducted analysis of payer competitors’ member and broker digital experience, identified gaps and opportunities to lead, ranked, and prioritized initiatives into a multi-year innovation roadmap.
- Implemented member ID mobile wallet passes, new online provider search with cost transparency, consumer shopping and enrollment portal, broker portal, and SMS/micro-site member communication channel.
- Negotiated and managed pricing and contract terms with six technology and service vendors, and managed vendor adherence to pricing and service level agreements. Executive owner of these business partner/vendor relationships.
- Built a high-fidelity prototype for a new member mobile app utilizing UX research and interaction design best practices.
- Planned and facilitated bi-annual strategic planning meetings attended by the company leadership team, and built a quantitative initiative ranking methodology to facilitate executive team discussions and prioritization.
Chief Product & Strategy Officer
Healthx, Inc.
- Built a product management team from scratch and implemented best-practice agile product management processes.
- Managed new conversational artificial intelligence (AI) development from concept to launch, including market research, business case, board approval, user research, requirements definition, pricing model, marketing plan, and sales training.
- Repositioned the company from a legacy web portal provider to a leading-edge conversational AI engagement platform provider.
VP, Consumer Digital Products
Aetna, Inc.
- Organized and grew the product department from eight employees to 26 in support of the rapidly growing business, creating a scalable structure and processes to support the transition of the business from startup to growth company.
- Implemented best-practice agile product management methodologies.
- Grew the product platform from 2.8 million mobile app downloads to over 12 million, from 790,000 active users to 4.5 million with a revenue increase of 350%.
AVP, Product Portfolio Management
TriZetto
- Served as the product line general manager and was responsible for P&L, pricing, sales and pre-sales support, product development, implementation professional services, product strategy, and partner development.
- Built, prioritized, and managed product roadmap, ensuring competitiveness and relevance in the face of rapidly changing technology landscape.
- Supported a $40-million annual product line revenue budget through a roadmap, supporting key deals, and defining/executing product marketing programs.
Sr. Product Manager
Sybase
- Owned product management of “Integration Orchestrator,” winner of the Network Computing’s Editor’s Choice award, and “Web Services Integrator.” Wrote requirements, managed early adopter program, created content for collateral, and briefed analysts.
- Supported global sales channels in NAM, APAC, and EMEA. Engaged in major sales opportunities, presented at trade shows and industry events, provided training for sales and pre-sales, and briefed industry analysts on product line and future direction.
- Owned product road maps and product strategic direction. Provided content for messaging and positioning, marketing collateral, sales training, customer presentations, press releases, RFP's, competitive positioning analyses, and pricing justification.
CTO/Product Manager
MyRestaurants.com
- Owned product leadership for a startup company’s internet-based B2C/B2B technology solution. Worked with the executive team to define market requirements, design product features and functionality, and oversee the execution of development.
- Managed design, development, and implementation of the website and the back-end restaurant discount engine. Evaluated proposals, selected vendors, and coordinated and managed all phases of the project work performed by three vendors.
- Provided strategic direction for the company’s use of emerging technologies. Additionally prepared integration approaches with retail POS systems and on-line dining reservation systems.
Project History
Omnichannel Experience Platform
Managed the entire product lifecycle of the Omnichannel Experience Platform from concept to launch.
The Omnichannel Experience Platform (OXP) automates the interaction between payers, members, and providers through conversational artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP). Supported communications channels include telephone, web, text messaging, and email.
I originated the concept, validated the market problems and solution approach via primary and secondary research, created business and financial cases, obtained project funding from private equity board of directors, defined key solution capabilities, developed pricing, contracted with beta customers, developed sales training materials, and marketing launch plan. The product was launched to market on 10/23/19.
iTriage Healthcare Mobile and Web App
Led iTriage product management and UX teams. Grew the product platform from 2.8 million app downloads to over 12 million, the number of active users from 790,000 to 4.5 million, and achieved a revenue increase of 350%.
The iTriage mobile and web apps helped consumers identify potential medical conditions based on their symptoms and find relevant medical providers. The app supported integration with EMRs for appointment scheduling and had rich content on medications, medical procedures, and health conditions. iTriage was acquired by Aetna, which has since shut down the app, merging some features into the Aetna mobile app.
New Mobile App for Health Insurance Company
Led a project to reimagine a mobile app for a health insurance company, delivering detailed requirements and a high fidelity prototype.
Innovative health insurance mobile app prototype for members, supporting mobile wallet, mobile identification, mobile premium payments, access to claims, authorizations, and in-network provider search.
Education
Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Management
Carnegie Mellon University - Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Certifications
Pragmatic Marketing Certification
Pragmatic Institute
Skills
Tools
Jira, Balsamiq, Microsoft Word, Slack, Zoom
Paradigms
Agile Product Management, B2B2C, Requirements Analysis, Mobile App Design, Agile, Scrum, Design Thinking, Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C), Agile Project Management, Stage-Gate Process, User Testing
Industry Expertise
Insurance, Insurance Technology (Insurtech), Health, Healthcare, Health Insurance, Health & Wellness, Government
Other
Business Analysis, Portfolio Management, Thought Leadership, Customer Research, Chatbots, Chatbot Conversation Design, Product Ownership, Product Owner, Agile Product Delivery, Mobile, Healthcare Product Manager, Product Marketing, Go-to-market Plans, Product-market Fit, User Research, B2B Product Management, Market Research & Analysis, Competitive Strategy, Business Cases, Business to Consumer (B2C), B2B, Strategic Partnerships, Health IT, Healthcare EDI, Digital Health, Healthcare IT, Mobile Apps, Engagement Strategy, User Engagement, User Requirements, Requirements, Strategy, Pricing Models, Roadmaps, Product Roadmaps, Product Growth, Product Management, Product Strategy, User Flows, Wireframing, New Products, Requirements & Specifications, Business Requirements, Functional Requirements, Product Requirements Documentation (PRD), User Stories, Software as a Service (SaaS), Product Vision, SaaS, Enterprise SaaS, Growth Strategy, Product Launch, Go-to-market (GTM) Strategy, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Cost Estimation, Healthcare Software, Web & Mobile Applications, Business Models, Business Strategy, Chief Product Officer (CPO), Medical Software, Process Automation, Process Optimization, Scope, Vendor Selection, Websites, Project Timelines, Digital Product Management, Vendor Management, Request for Information (RFI), Request for Proposal (RFP), Mobile Applications, Ideation, Conceptualization, Monetization Models, Pitch Decks, User Journeys, Stakeholder Management, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Prototyping, Feature Backlog Prioritization, Feature Roadmaps, Web Project Management, Go-to-market Optimization, Service Design, Operational Workflow, Project Planning, Discovery Workshops, Medtech, APIs, Data Warehousing, New Product Business Cases, Voice of the Customer (VoC), Waterfall Methodology, Financial Analysis, Business Process Analysis, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Project Management, User Interviews, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Financial Modeling, UX Wireflows, Marketing, Electronic Medical Records (EMR), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Procurement, Salesforce, CRM Systems, User Experience (UX), Lean, Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT), Design Requirements, Architecture, RFP Negotiation, Negotiation, Price Negotiations, Contract Negotiation, Vendors & Suppliers, iOS, Android, Web
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