Steven Olawale
Verified Expert in Product Management
Product Manager
London, United Kingdom
Toptal member since January 14, 2022
Steven is an experienced product management professional who is well-versed in Agile methodologies and the principles of product development. He is comfortable making critical decisions for agile teams to move digital products efficiently from ideation to production. Steven is eager to support a wide range of technical teams with leadership and guidance in developing customer-centric products.
Project Highlights
Expertise
- Azure DevOps
- Communication
- Product Owner
- Product Requirements Documentation (PRD)
- Product Vision
- Scrum
- User Experience (UX)
- User Stories
Work Experience
Senior Product Owner | Business Analyst
Interswitch
- Led the development and management of a portfolio of B2B financial products, resulting in a £280,000 increase in product efficiency and a 25% reduction in project delays through effective prioritization and stakeholder alignment.
- Defined and executed the product vision and strategy, resulting in a 35% increase in customer engagement and a 20% improvement in user satisfaction by aligning product features with market needs and business objectives.
- Leveraged data analytics and reporting to identify improvement opportunities, resulting in a 30% increase in data-driven decision-making and a 15% reduction in operational costs.
- Built and maintained relationships with over 30 internal and external stakeholders, achieving a 90% stakeholder satisfaction score by ensuring alignment on product goals, timelines, and deliverables.
- Oversaw the full product lifecycle, managing a product backlog of 100+ user stories and features, reducing time-to-market by 40% and increasing release frequency by 30%.
- Coordinated activities across 10+ teams, maintaining service operations and development, and reducing cross-team dependencies by 50% to streamline product delivery.
- Managed relationships with 5+ key vendors, negotiating contracts that resulted in a 15% reduction in costs and improved service delivery by 20%.
- Mentored three junior product owners and business analysts, leading to a 25% improvement in their performance metrics and enhancing overall team productivity by 15%.
Technical Screener
Online Freelance Agency
- Reviewed and assessed online tests for product owners and managers applying to this talent network.
- Assessed applicants' technical and soft skills and validated their experience and knowledge.
- Screened and interviewed applicants in technical meetings.
Product Owner | Business Analyst
Eclipse Live Africa
- Led the complete revamp of the event management platform, enhancing user interface and functionality, which resulted in a 35% increase in client engagement and a 20% uptick in repeat business within the first year.
- Created a dynamic product roadmap that communicated the vision and phased goals of the platform revamp to all stakeholders, ensuring alignment and facilitating a smooth rollout that contributed to a year-on-year growth of 20% in user base.
- Spearheaded the adoption of Agile methodologies, shortening the product development cycle by 20% and increasing team productivity by 35%.
- Managed the backlog and prioritized features for quarterly updates based on stakeholder feedback and analytics, leading to a 30% improvement in customer satisfaction scores.
Product Owner | Business Analyst
Alat
- Led the design and development of an advanced payment gateway, accelerating transaction processing by 40%. Facilitated transactions totaling $5 million, achieving a 30% increase in revenue.
- Designed a significant bulk transfer model for corporate customers to process 10,000 transactions at once, which increased revenue by over 100%.
- Grew acquisition by 100% by developing a fully digital onboarding system for corporate customers who already have registered businesses but do not have corporate bank accounts.
- Reduced software delivery time by 50% by revamping and reprioritizing the product backlog.
- Boosted revenue by 50% through the automation of a payroll system capable of handling over £30 million monthly and 3 million recipients, reducing processing time by 30%.
- Led Agile ceremonies for a team of 10+ developers, designers, and QA engineers, resulting in a 35% increase in development velocity and a 25% reduction in defects.
- Directed cross-functional teams to deliver 50+ new features and enhancements, driving a 30% improvement in user satisfaction and a 20% growth in monthly active users.
- Collaborated with UX/UI teams to redesign key user interfaces, leading to a 15% increase in user engagement and a 10% improvement in task completion rates.
- Engaged with 20+ business stakeholders to define product goals, resulting in a 90% stakeholder approval rate and a 20% increase in project funding.
- Utilized data analysis tools to monitor product performance, achieving a 15% increase in product adoption and a 10% decrease in customer churn through targeted improvements.
Operations Lead
Wema Bank
- Oversaw daily teller operations by leading, scheduling, and monitoring tellers' daily activities.
- Ensured all transactions were conducted following established guidelines, policies, and procedures.
- Performed daily and monthly audits on all cash vaults and ATMs.
Relationship Manager
Wema Bank
- Created, followed up, and closed up sales opportunities. Followed up with existing and potential customers to retain and attract them.
- Supported emerging market campaigns to ensure financial and non-financial targets were met.
- Obtained referrals from existing customers and also deepened the wallet of existing businesses.
Channels Manager
Wema Bank
- Managed sales of prepaid cards and Master and Visa credit cards for corporate organizations and individuals.
- Ensured all ATM differences were spotted promptly and were accurately processed, balancing and adjusting entries and related reconciliations and reporting.
- Resolved all cash jams and cash loading and provided other needed support to branches bank-wide.
Project History
Bulk Transfer System
Led the design and implementation of a transfer model that allows corporate organizations to make bulk payments to as much as 10,000 beneficiaries.
• Single debit multiple credit model: Debits the bulk sum from the customer's account after upload and credits all the beneficiaries in the upload individually.
• Multiple debits multiple credit model: Debits the customer individually for each beneficiary in the upload done by the customer.
Over 40,000 corporate customers are currently using this solution to make salary and vendor payments.
Digital Onboarding for Corporate and Business Customers
Led the design and development of a fully digital onboarding solution for business owners.
• Sole proprietorship
• Partnership
• Limited liability company
The solution was able to digitally onboard and create an account for over 5,000 businesses in less than three months.
Foreign Currency Transfer
Led the design and development of a solution that allows users to transfer foreign currency from their local domiciliary bank accounts to beneficiaries outside the country.
Learning Management Platform
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1drPJIJq3y5UwwPkPpcAQrvldwbU274nR/view?usp=sharingLed the design and development of a learning management platform.
Omni Banq
Led the design and development of a mobile banking-as-a-service application, which currently has about 20 microfinance banks lined up for integration into the application.
Odudu eCommerce
Led the design and development of Odudu eCommerce store with over 200 merchants waiting to onboard on the platform.
Education
Master's Degree in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science
University of Hull - United Kingdom
Bachelor's Degree in Banking and Finance
Federal University of Technology, Akure - Akure, Nigeria
Certifications
Google UX Design
Software Product Management
Coursera
Skills
Tools
Confluence, Jira, Figma
Paradigms
Scrum, Agile, Azure DevOps, Agile Product Management, Requirements Analysis, Kanban, Manual Testing, Agile Project Management, Agile Business Analysis
Industry Expertise
Financial Services
Platforms
Azure
Other
User Flows, User Experience (UX), User Stories, Product Vision, Product Requirements Documentation (PRD), Product Owner, Scrum Product Owner, Backlog Management, Business Analysis, Business Requirements, Product Ownership, Documentation, Communication, Feature Backlog Prioritization, Sprint Planning, Agile Leadership, Planning, Software, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Project Management, Backlog Grooming, Roadmaps, Finance, Customer Journeys, Lucidchart, Microsoft Teams, Product Roadmaps, Technical Product Management, Scrumban, Quality Assurance (QA), SQL, Technical Writing, Business Processes, API Integration, Fintech, Scrum Master, Stakeholder Management, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Technical Documentation, Flowcharts, Business Process Flow (BPF), User Engagement, User Requirements, Product Thinking, Product Management, UX Research, Wireframing, Prototyping, Mockups, Microsoft Office, Data Analytics, Customer Support, Customer Success, Customer Analysis, Relationship Management, Operations, Technical Recruiting, Recruitment, IT Recruitment, User Journeys, UX Design, Data Science, Deep Learning
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