Charles Polanco
Verified Expert in Project Management
Project Manager
New York, NY, United States
Toptal member since October 23, 2023
Charles is a visionary product and transformation executive with 15 years of experience leveraging design to drive customer-facing product excellence and organizational transformation. An IDEO alum, he is an accomplished leader who firmly believes that design lies at the heart of successful customer-facing products and organizational changes. With a track record of excellence, Charles drives remarkable achievements through innovation, team empowerment, and customer-centric approaches.
Expertise
- Agile
- Agile Coaching
- Agile Delivery
- Agile Leadership
- Design Thinking
- Product Management
- Project Management
- Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
Work Experience
Director | Agile Practice, Wealth Management, LEAN
UBS
- Achieved a remarkable 70% improvement in delivery experience, reducing lead times and enhancing team morale.
- Established an Agile playbook and taxonomy, enabling precise team alignment with dynamic customer demands.
- Collaborated with product leaders to establish a clear product vision and strategy, aligning the product portfolio with the organizational goals.
Executive Product Coach | Wealth Management, Innovation Lab, Hybrid SAFe
Wells Fargo
- Led a comprehensive design and development process that significantly increased user engagement for the wealth management mobile platform.
- Collaborated with product, technology, and design teams to transform customer insights into a tangible and visually appealing UI/UX experience, resulting in a notable boost in user engagement.
- Established efficient communication and collaboration strategies, reducing project delays and ensuring seamless updates on product progress.
Senior Principal | Agile Practice, Retail
Slalom
- Led the establishment of Slalom's product practice division, tailoring consultancy service offerings to precisely meet clients' evolving needs.
- Developed and implemented comprehensive training programs, upskilling and equipping current team members for Agile and product-focused roles, thus improving project efficiency.
- Spearheaded efforts to define products, foster team alignment on the product offering, and establish cross-functional teams to ensure a seamless business transformation journey for clients.
Director | Product and Agile Practice, Hybrid SAFe
Prudential
- Established robust taxonomies and product groups. Formed cross-functional Agile delivery teams meticulously aligned with emerging products and product areas, streamlining product development and delivery.
- Streamlined work intake, aligning delivery teams with customer needs, reducing scope changes, and enhancing project efficiency.
- Addressed conflicts and challenges within the product team and across teams, maintaining a harmonious and productive work environment while continuously refining processes to improve efficiency.
Head of Product and Agile Practice
BNY Mellon
- Spearheaded an Agile transformation project, achieving a 70% boost in delivery experience, reduced lead times, and enhanced team morale.
- Established an Agile playbook and taxonomy for precise team alignment with dynamic customer demands.
- Mentored and empowered a team of four enterprise Agile coaches and two product owners, contributing significantly to the Agile transformation journey.
Head of Agile Practice
Pitney Bowes
- Led the transformation of Pitney Bowes, streamlining operations through innovative cross-functional teams aligned with specific products and enforcing a more agile, product-centric approach.
- Developed an influential product-centric playbook and a highly efficient work intake process, incorporating design sprints, facilitating rapid evaluation of product enhancements, and reducing scope changes and project disruptions.
- Fostered collaboration with technology teams and external vendors, implementing cutting-edge tools and solutions to enhance the delivery experience, significantly improving operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Innovation Manager
Capital One Financial
- Spearheaded the ReConnect data platform, boosting insights and decision-making.
- Launched Tower, a platform that streamlined commercial real estate asset management processes.
- Played a pivotal role in driving innovation, ensuring compliance, and fostering client trust within the fintech industry.
Project History
UI/UX Transformation at Wells Fargo
https://www.wellsfargo.com/Orchestrated design sprints and customer interviews to drive the UI/UX transformation at Wells Fargo, resulting in a 15% increase in user engagement and satisfaction.
The project resulted in a 15% increase in user engagement and satisfaction, demonstrating the impact of a customer-centric approach.
Agile Transformation at UBS
Led the Agile transformative journey at UBS Wealth Management, achieving a remarkable 70% improvement in delivery experience while reducing lead times and boosting team morale.
I initiated and successfully established an Agile playbook and taxonomy, ensuring precise team alignment with dynamic customer demands. A comprehensive delivery experience program was introduced, resulting in a remarkable 70% improvement, translating into substantial reductions in lead and cycle times, as well as a notable boost in team morale.
This project demanded strong leadership, strategic vision, and the ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams.
Innovation in Commercial Investments
https://www.capitalone.com/Spearheaded innovation efforts and successfully led the development of two groundbreaking digital products, ReConnect and Tower, resulting in a significant increase in investment opportunities and asset management efficiency.
I led the development of ReConnect, a data and analytics platform focused on delivering insights into compelling and novel commercial investment opportunities. Additionally, I managed the creation of Tower, an asset management platform tailored for the commercial real estate sector.
Collaborating closely with cross-functional teams, including product managers and engineers, we drove the development and deployment of these innovative products. Both ReConnect and Tower were designed to enhance the competitiveness of Capital One by offering data-driven insights, efficient asset management, and improved investment decision-making. These projects strongly focused on data-driven insights, customer-centric design, and collaboration with internal and external stakeholders, including regulatory bodies.
Education
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science
Queens College, City University of New York - Queens, New York, USA
Certifications
Advanced Design Thinking Certificate
IDEO
SAFe Product Manager and Product Owner (POPM)
SAFe
Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
Scrum Alliance
Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)
Scrum Alliance
Skills
Tools
Jira, Miro
Paradigms
Agile, Agile Delivery, Agile Leadership, Agile Project Management, Requirements Analysis, Design Thinking, Scrum
Industry Expertise
Asset Management
Other
Agile Coaching, Agile Practices, Project Management, Program Management, Engineering Management, Scrum Master, Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Product Management, Feature Backlog Prioritization, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Project Reporting, Project Timelines, Release Management, Sprint Planning, User Interface (UI), Empathy, Design Sprints, Product Strategy, Agile Transformation, Leadership, Playbook, Delivery, Cross-functional Collaboration, Product Innovation, Data Analytics, Customer-centered Product Development, Regulatory Compliance, User Experience (UX), Computer Science, Product Owner, User Empathy
How to Work with Toptal
Toptal matches you directly with global industry experts from our network in hours—not weeks or months.
Share your needs
Choose your talent
Start your risk-free talent trial
Top talent is in high demand.
Start hiring