Pamela is available for hire
Hire PamelaPamela Schure, MBA
Verified Expert in Product Management
Product Manager
Location
San Jose, CA, United States
Toptal Member Since
November 23, 2022
Pamela is a product management leader with a deep understanding of the product lifecycle, turning strategic analysis of customer needs into products that deliver results. Pamela has deep consulting experience in creating business agility and digital transformations with a focus on value delivery systems. Pamela has worked with (consulting and W2) Apple, Adaptec, Harley-Davidson, AspenTech, and Ford. She is exceptional at collaborating with clients to build alliances for change and progress.
Project Highlights
Stood up Product Coaching Service
Created a new category of Coach at Ford IT to assist in the transition from project to product-led organization and funding.
Professionalism of Product Managers
Upskilled the product managers who trained and consulted for 280 Group.
Expertise
Work Experience
Managing Consultant, Product Coach
2021 - 2023
LeadingAgile
- Engaged and aligned stakeholders in complex transformation at Fortune 10 client to increase focus on outcomes and value.
- Stood up product coach service, resulting in up to 87% increase in targeted expertise focused on product skills.
- Trained 500 IT staff members on OKR improvement and strategic mapping to the backlog.
- Coached internal coaching service to turn value propositions into actionable backlog.
- Provided coaching to 15 diverse IT teams and their leaders in OKR creation to ensure team funding.
- Developed OKR content, encompassing presentations, videos, job aids, blog posts, and web pages for internal use, marketing, and sales efforts.
- Led digital transformation efforts for a customer-oriented group within MTA IT organization on time, with additional content added to address the needs of that organization.
- Coached the Reporting arm of MTA IT in agile and product transformation skills, including structure, governance, and performance metric improvements.
Director of Products and Services
2012 - 2020
280 Group
- Tripled sales in five years at a training and consultancy firm by delivering a comprehensive portfolio of products based on Agile, SaaS, and product lifecycle frameworks.
- Provided executives of large organizations with a framework and clarity for organizational change linking consulting offerings to an 8-step change management process.
- Hired and coached a vibrant, growing, and professional group of product managers and consultants who were prepared to deliver products for product professionals across any industry and time zone.
- Delivered eight interlocking classes with a strong, effective, and interactive training curriculum. Courses were offered in classrooms, in learning management-based self-study versions, and online.
- Co-authored the signature Product Management for Dummies book.
- Wrote SEO-based content that generated over 25% of traffic to the company website.
- Developed two online learning management delivered courses that increased revenue by 25%.
- Created one of three top product management skills assessments taken by over 4,000 product managers.
Director and Owner
2006 - 2012
Belvoir Lettings West Cumbria
- Increased productivity transitioning to cloud-based solutions.
- Tripled revenue through geographic expansion, acquisition, and a move to a retail location.
- Delivered service offering differentiation through the use of digital assets.
- Explained business survival through natural disasters, including floods.
- Managed over 300 rental properties over a large rural area. This portfolio is larger than most property portfolios.
Owner
2003 - 2005
Dunbar Estates
- Managed a 330 acre citrus farm in rural South Africa in a potentially volatile environment.
- Oversaw complex sales and distribution of citrus and wood products including doors to a diverse customer set.
- Managed staff of up to 30 primarily Zulu-speaking people with complex health issues due to HIV/AIDS.
- Added a sawmilling to existing farm operations to increase revenue. This included contract negotiations for the delivery of wood and the supply of additional transportation resources.
European Marketing Manager
2001 - 2003
Adaptec Europe
- Transitioned the marketing department from Belgium to the United Kingdom to reduce costs and increase flexibility.
- Transitioned marketing from printed media to online on-demand information.
- Updated the Adaptec Europe website to a database-driven format in five key languages.
- Conducted product launches across Europe delivering presentations in English and French.
Manager, Desktop Solutions
1998 - 2001
Adaptec Inc
- Specified a CD-R software product, which resulted in 3x sales when launched.
- Introduced a key product into the Mac market resulting in an immediate industry-leading solution and 10x unit sales from one quarter to another. This created a $100 million annual business from a $16 million annual business.
- Managed overwhelming demand for product through skillful alignment of internal operations to deliver product as soon as possible.
- Trained and coached group of five culturally diverse and inexperienced product managers.
- Created a range of Adaptec branded solutions through new distribution channels, especially in the retail space.
- Developed two products that had patents: A software utility and a USB Hub.
- Became the first to market with a USB 2.0 solution in the US market.
- Developed a repeatable and rapid development to launch process in a new market.
European Product Line Manager
1993 - 1997
Apple
- Served as product manager for the second-largest revenue contributor in the European Market. Around $300 million annual revenue.
- Revamped forecasting and other business processes to decrease variability in product supply.
- Shared new product information with 13 peripheral product managers across Europe. Ensured efficient transfer by adopting video communications starting US-based product managers with product info and me with forecasts.
- Increased information flow across all aspects of product development, marketing, and launch through systemic communication vehicles. This lead to smoother product launches and less information churn.
Product Manager/Product Marketing Manager
1988 - 1993
Apple UK
- Launched peripheral products at the rate of approximately one every 2-3 months over several years.
- Created marketing and launch material for a broad range of peripherals: Printers, scanners, monitors, CD-ROM players, keyboards, and mice.
- Presented to customers and retail sales on an almost daily basis. Due to the nature of the work, presented on every Apple product, sometimes within the same day.
- Localized all Apple peripheral software and HyperCard for the UK market.
- Served as the multimedia product manager and contact for multimedia developers in the UK market.
Mechanical Engineer
1985 - 1986
Dalmo-Vctor
- Completed computer thermal analysis of defense components to avoid thermal failure.
- Designed cooling for high altitude-printed circuit boards. Coordinated layout of boards to meet target completion dates.
- Drafted a variety of components and layouts. Investigated component compliance with MILSPEC library.
Project History
Online Courses Created
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9r9y1czFJ4&t=82sCreated the first online courses for 280 Group leading to a completely new revenue source.
I created three courses to reach people who could not attend in-person courses and needed flexibility in when they could take the course: Certified Product Manager, Certified Product Marketing Manager, and Agile Certified Product Manager and Product Owner. In conjunction with a technical courseware expert, we created and launched these courses that have remained the mainstay for 280 Group offerings until this day.
Stood up Product Coaching Service
Created a new category of Coach at Ford IT to assist in the transition from project to product-led organization and funding.
Through consultation with stakeholders and a deep understanding of the type of knowledge that would be needed, I created the product coaching service within Ford IT. This included:
• Persona definition
• Content definition
• Content creation, including scripts.
• 18 weeks of workshop-style training sessions.
• Recordings of all sessions.
• Assessment of change in self-reported expertise of participants.
• Trained other trainers
The result was a new cohort capable of assisting the eight different groups at Ford IT in their next phase of funding and organizational change.
• Persona definition
• Content definition
• Content creation, including scripts.
• 18 weeks of workshop-style training sessions.
• Recordings of all sessions.
• Assessment of change in self-reported expertise of participants.
• Trained other trainers
The result was a new cohort capable of assisting the eight different groups at Ford IT in their next phase of funding and organizational change.
Professionalism of Product Managers
Upskilled the product managers who trained and consulted for 280 Group.
Delivering a training and consulting service that creates impact with clients means being very specific in the skills, attributes, and techniques used.
At 280 Group this included:
• Detailed selection criteria
• Ongoing training and sharing of best practices.
• Ongoing feedback on course material to improve quality and options.
• Creation of detailed engagement guides for each offering so that consultants could work independently if needed.
• Self-guided detailed assessment lists so that each consultant could grow over time and provide specific and actionable feedback for growth.
• Change from optional survey input to required survey input for each training engagement.
The result was a cohort of exceptional consultants and product managers who bought into and shared in the organization's success. This was part of the reason for the tripling of revenue at the company.
At 280 Group this included:
• Detailed selection criteria
• Ongoing training and sharing of best practices.
• Ongoing feedback on course material to improve quality and options.
• Creation of detailed engagement guides for each offering so that consultants could work independently if needed.
• Self-guided detailed assessment lists so that each consultant could grow over time and provide specific and actionable feedback for growth.
• Change from optional survey input to required survey input for each training engagement.
The result was a cohort of exceptional consultants and product managers who bought into and shared in the organization's success. This was part of the reason for the tripling of revenue at the company.
Education
1986 - 1988
Master of Business Administration Degree in Marketing (MBA)
Columbia School of Business - New York, USA
1982 - 1984
Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering
University of California, San Diego - California, USA
Certifications
SEPTEMBER 2012 - PRESENT
Certified Agile Product Manager
AIPMM
SEPTEMBER 2012 - PRESENT
Certified Product Marketing Manager
AIPMM
SEPTEMBER 2012 - PRESENT
Certified Product Manager
AIPMM
Skills
Tools
Zoom, Slack, Google Docs, Asana, Rally, MURAL, Trello, Skype, Jira
Paradigms
Agile Workflow, Agile, Scrum, Kanban
Other
Training & Training Content Development, Workshops, Presentations, Product Coach, Coaching, Product Management, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Employee Training, Customer Analysis, User Interviews, Webex, Marketing, Objectives & Key Results (OKRs), Personas, Communication, Business Planning, Distributed Team Management, Learning Management Systems (LMS), Leadership, Strategy, Property Management, Product Launch, Product Strategy, Product Marketing, Positioning, Impact Mapping, Consulting, Languages, Negotiation, Management, Forecasting, Sales Presentations, Business Analysis, Structure & Organizational Design, E-learning, Miro, Quality Management, Statistics, Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Videos, Scripting, Thought Leadership, Writing & Editing, Product Development, Impact Assessment, Value Analysis, Web Marketing, Sales, Property Insurance, Contract Drafting, Contract Negotiation, Vendors & Suppliers, Acquisitions, Farms, Distribution, Websites, Localization, Influencer Marketing, OEMs, Patents, Supply Chain, Pricing, Sales Forecasting, CAD, Finite Element Method (FEM), Thermal Analysis, Drafting, Microsoft, Training, Team Leadership, Project Management, Discovery Workshops
Collaboration That Works
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