Sam Sesti, Product Manager in Waterford Township, MI, United States
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Sam Sesti

Verified Expert  in Product Management

Product Manager

Waterford Township, MI, United States

Toptal member since April 8, 2020

Expertise
Agile Product Management
Bio

Sam is a senior executive with expertise in building enterprise products for software companies. He embraces agile principles and encourages constant improvement. Sam's specialties include cloud architecture, database design, security, DevOps, and CI/CD. He has managed complex client relationships with companies such as Universal, Paramount, Fox, Lions Gate, and AMC Theaters. He brings over two decades of experience, delivering high-performing projects for multi-million dollar companies.

Project Highlights

Cloud Migration
Developed the migration of a large company from an on-premise datacenter to Microsoft Azure.
Replatform Entire Product
Re-platformed existing architecture. Included a shift to microservices using serverless technologies and an emphasis on CI/CD and DevOps.

Expertise

  • Agile
  • Cloud
  • Enterprise Architecture
  • Product Management
  • Remote Team Leadership
  • SaaS
  • Shopify
  • eCommerce

Work Experience

Software Consultant

2019 - PRESENT
NAS Services
  • Advised clients using my 25 years of experience building teams and products that sustain and scale.
  • Implemented agile and lean principles. Developed the proper process for each team and organization.
  • Assisted clients in building software development teams. This included local, distributed, outsourced, or offshore.
  • Partnered with clients to architect enterprise-grade software systems. Specialties include cloud architecture, database design, security, DevOps, and CI/CD.

CTO

2018 - 2019
NS8
  • Hired as the vice president of product, then promoted to CTO for a Las Vegas-based company that provides fraud protection for eCommerce vendors. Responsible for all aspects of product vision, architecture, development, testing, and deployment.
  • Created and maintained the product vision and roadmap in collaboration with the CEO, sales, marketing, and customer success.
  • Managed the development process, applying both agile and lean principles.
  • Built a fully remote development team with resources located in Michigan, Las Vegas, Seattle, New York, Texas, and Florida.
  • Led the re-platforming of the existing architecture. Included a shift to microservices using serverless technologies and an emphasis on CI/CD and DevOps.
  • Used a tech stack that included React and Node (both using TypeScript), with MongoDB and MySQL data stores. Utilized AWS services such as ECS, Lambda, Aurora, and CloudFormation.
  • Spearheaded machine learning efforts, using customer data to help refine our fraud detection algorithms.
  • Worked with our legal counsel to ensure compliance with GDPR and to obtain Privacy Shield certification.
  • Provided sales and technical support to other departments within the company.
  • Created strategic alliances in collaboration with vendors and partners.

President

2014 - 2018
ONU
  • Created the original concept for ONU, which is the first and only cloud-based 3D visualization platform on the market.
  • Secured and managed $2.5 million in angel funding from a Michigan-based investment group.
  • Built a team of ten Michigan based full-time employees, including a team of six developers.
  • Implemented agile software processes, including the use of programmer pairing.
  • Oversaw the product management of ONU One and ONU 3DLite products. These include highly available AWS-based infrastructures with web and native mobile front-end components.
  • Hired and managed the sales team. Helped determine the sales strategy, including the creation of the reseller group.
  • Defined and managed the marketing strategy, including trade shows, PR, email marketing, and inbound marketing. Frequently contributed to thought leadership-based marketing content.
  • Designed and implemented sales funnel nurturing campaigns, which led to a 1000% increase in web traffic, a 300% increase in leads, and a 150% increase in conversions.
  • Authored and filed two patents with the help of IP attorneys.
  • Spoke at several industry events about automating the 3D asset creation process. Events included CEO Summit in Detroit and AR in Action at MIT, among others.

SVP Software

2003 - 2014
Cinedigm
  • Managed over 30 employees, directly or indirectly, located in Michigan, Oregon, and Woodland Hills, California.
  • Managed the budget for the Michigan location and assisted in managing the development and hardware budget for the Woodland Hills location.
  • Oversaw the product management, development, and support of a flagship Theatrical Distribution System (TDS) product. A mission-critical product used by film studios of all sizes to manage all aspects of film distribution.
  • Researched and determined the complete hardware and software architecture for our Theater Management System (TMS) product for use in Digital Cinema theater deployments.
  • Led the research and development of the new Global Theatrical Distribution System (TDSg) product. The fully internationalized application was deployed to Fox in more than ten territories worldwide.
  • Assisted in managing client relationships with a major studio, a small studio, and exhibitor partners. These included Universal, Paramount, Fox, Lions Gate, AMC Theaters, Marcus Theaters, Carmike Cinemas, and many others.
  • Provided support during the sales cycle, the creation and presentation of materials, live product demonstrations and answering technical inquiries. This included international communications and travel to the UK, Ireland, Australia, and Poland.

Director of Development

1998 - 2003
Hollywood Software
  • Assembled the development staff for the new satellite office in Brea, California.
  • Provided analytical and sales support to a business unit located in Hollywood, California.
  • Led the architecture and development of a new Exhibitor Management System (EMS). A mission-critical system used by theater chains of all sizes to manage all aspects of theatrical exhibition.
  • Established a new product line for TDS, using a SaaS model to attract smaller customers lacking the infrastructure necessary to maintain the fully licensed product. This was the first SaaS offering ever available in the entertainment space.
  • Tasked with taking the TDS product, in production at a few small film studios, and re-architecting it to be scalable for three major studios.

Principal Software Engineer

1996 - 1998
Sage Software
  • Hired as the principal developer for a new large-scale client-server ERP system, developed using Visual Basic 4, Microsoft SQL Server 6.5, and Crystal Reports.
  • Collaborated with the architecture team, helped determine the direction of the application framework and data model.
  • Eventually became product manager of both the accounts payable and multi-currency product development efforts.
  • Traveled on-site to do initial installments of product, and provide additional on-site support for clients during testing and implementation phases.

Senior Developer

1994 - 1996
Perot Systems
  • Promoted from being a new hire to senior software developer within the first year of employment, managing projects with teams of two to five other developers.
  • Traveled on-site for over a year to assist a film studio client in developing an internal use mission-critical application. The solution was developed from the ground up in Visual Basic 3 and Sybase.
  • Developed custom solutions for Platinum Software’s client-server ERP system, using C++ and Sybase. Worked on projects for clients such as American Standard, Chrysler, and Tesoro.

Senior Developer

1993 - 1994
Platinum Software
  • Promoted to senior developer and team lead within two months.
  • Customized a mid-level accounting software package for large enterprise clients.
  • Utilized a technical stack consisting of C++ and the Sybase database.

Project History

Cloud Migration

Developed the migration of a large company from an on-premise datacenter to Microsoft Azure.

Participated in workshops to determine readiness for cloud migration. Gathered additional information to assemble a cloud readiness assessment and overall strategy for migrating. This included engaging with Microsoft and another third-party to assist in the effort.

Replatform Entire Product

Re-platformed existing architecture. Included a shift to microservices using serverless technologies and an emphasis on CI/CD and DevOps.

Worked remotely for Las Vegas-based company that provides fraud protection for eCommerce vendors. Hired as the vice president of product and then promoted to CTO. Responsible for all aspects of product vision, architecture, development, testing, and deployment.

Education

1989 - 1993

Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Certifications

JANUARY 2020 - JANUARY 2023

Agile Certified Practitioner

Project Management Institute

Skills

Tools

Slack, Zoom, Jira, GitHub

Paradigms

Agile

Platforms

Azure, Shopify

Other

Enterprise Architecture, Product Management, Remote Team Leadership, Microsoft Office, SaaS, Amazon Web Services (AWS), eCommerce, Cloud, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Clubhouse, Lean, 3D CAD

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