Charles Trostle, Project Manager in Denver, CO, United States
Charles is available for hire
Hire Charles

Charles Trostle

Verified Expert  in Project Management

Bio

As a product owner and project manager, Charles has led Agile and distributed teams, delivering enterprise commerce, web, mobile, and marketing communication initiatives. His past clients include Activision, Anthem Healthcare, Charter, Dell, Disney, Guthy-Renker, NBC Universal, Nissan/Infiniti, Toyota, VSP/eyeconic, and dozens of other high-profile clients. He has solid business acumen, is CSPO certified, and has 20+ years of delivery experience as an agency consultant and client-side executive.

Project Highlights

E! Online Website Branding and CMS Implementation
Liaison between E! Online executive team and design agency for the redesign of the E! Online publishing website.
Shaneco.com Hybris Implementation
Technology executive who led digital transformation and agile adoption for robust eCommerce platform design and delivery.
DisneyCruiseLine.com Redesign
Senior producer accountable for all design and development activities from discovery to delivery.

Expertise

  • Agile Project Management
  • Mobile Apps
  • Product Management
  • Product Strategy
  • Scrum
  • Team Leadership
  • Technical Project Management
  • eCommerce

Work Experience

Global Product Owner

2023 - PRESENT
Caldic
  • Integrated a global B2B portal in a $3 billion legacy company, enhancing user experience and access to product info. Collaborated for smooth deployment and improved satisfaction.
  • Drove business optimization via digital transformation, leveraging PIM for enhanced product discovery, resulting in improved efficiency and engagement.
  • Led the integration of MDM, ERP, and CRM systems, aligning PIM and portal for efficiency. Streamlined workflows and drove productivity.

Project Manager (Toptal Teams)

2023 - 2024
MATCLINIC SERVICES, LLC
  • Led a multidisciplinary team in designing and building a user and company management interface, which enabled management to secure and control access to lab result data.
  • Partnered with engineering to conceptually develop an authentication protocol that federated logins between two domains using a single Auth0 authentication platform instance.
  • Defined the project scope based on twelve single-line story definitions with minimal discovery definitions and wireframes.

Technical Program Manager

2022 - 2023
Coupang – Rocket on Demand
  • Standardized the implementation and management of Jira among four engineering teams.
  • Unified communication and reporting between the product management and engineering teams.
  • Coached engineering team leads on Jira best practices.
  • Crafted custom BI project status reports on top of the Jira database for 42 engineers.

Product Owner | Delivery Lead

2021 - 2022
nXlvl Inc.
  • Served as an executive leader from concept to delivery for social media mobile applications and the NFT marketplace. The application focused on performers, players, promoters, and fans to easily build, manage, and monetize their personal brands.
  • Focused on product leadership and delivery, transitioning into a pure product role, improving overall user experience, and hardening the application for production launch.
  • Engaged with the company's leadership and end users to prioritize feature enhancement and new development aligning the product with ongoing market needs and business objectives.

Product Owner | Agile Project Manager

2020 - 2021
Z News Service, Inc.
  • Led a diverse development team building a global news agency's next-generation digital content management and workflow SaaS platform. Mainly used Azure, React, and React Native.
  • Collaborated with the company's leadership to determine business requirements and priorities to generate a multiphased roadmap while leading product requirements and delivery in an iterative, Agile development environment.
  • Optimized intake, design, development, and deployment processes, supporting the team residing in seven countries.

Agile Project Manager

2020 - 2020
Anthem - Digital (Reorg - Web & Mobile)
  • Led a focused innovation team for a large healthcare organization to migrate legacy web views and consolidate native iOS and Android mobile applications into React Native.
  • Collaborated with the company's executive leadership to understand objectives and devise a technology strategy and roadmap supporting a multiphased approach that reduced overall development and support costs for a 200+ developer-strong organization.
  • Gathered high-level, interdependent business and technical requirements from twenty-three product owners and Agile project managers necessary to illustrate the conceptual architecture, resource requirements, and timelines.

Agile Project Manager | Scrum Master [Toptal Projects]

2019 - 2020
Vexxit
  • Led a Toptal team through discovery sessions and the delivery of an MVP web application.
  • Facilitated the design and delivery of an AI-based system that matches professionals (CPAs, attorneys, and financial advisors) with customers based on quantitative and qualitative metrics.
  • Engaged with the subject matter experts and UX, UI, and technology resources to define user journeys and craft a consumer-facing website and a professional-facing administration hub.

Agile Project Manager | Scrum Master

2019 - 2020
Advertise Purple, Inc
  • Served and coached the leadership as one of a three-member team that scoped the original project and led Agile development through the initial product launch.
  • Worked with the technology lead on creating a solution that aggregates data from multiple data warehouses and unifies visual reporting for the company's agents.
  • Expanded scalable architecture and enabled the ability to service paying customers for access to its data and reporting capabilities. The engagement is ongoing after successfully coaching and transferring project management roles to the customer.

Vice President

2016 - 2018
Shane Co.
  • Championed digital transformation and Agile enterprise adoption.
  • Led a team of 35 overseeing the design and delivery of technical applications and 3rd-party integrations supporting a multi-warehouse, omnichannel eCommerce platform.
  • Transitioned to a legacy eCommerce platform with SAP Hybris.
  • Served on governance committees for Hadoop big data, enterprise security, and PCI/ADA compliance.
  • Assumed the interim CTO role for six months while my leader was on a medical leave of absence.

Senior Principal Consultant

2015 - 2016
Slalom Consulting
  • Defined and optimized processes and systems to facilitate fiscal year budget planning, scoping, and estimating activities for Charter Communications for 20 product verticals and 400+ developers.
  • Created import and export process using Jira and Excel supporting fiscal budgeting and planning for 24 product divisions at Charter Communications.
  • Achieved continuous improvements in operational objectives by implementing production, quality, and customer-service standards for Vail Resorts.

Senior Program Manager

2011 - 2015
SapientNitro
  • Served as the delivery lead for Guthy Renker's direct-to-consumer eCommerce platform for six independent brands.
  • Led cross-functional global technology team of 36 resources on a Demandware platform.
  • Acted as the delivery lead for VSP/eyeonic.com redesign and re-platform of their consumer website.
  • Performed as the delivery lead for the redesign of NHL GameCenter mobile application; final product won APPY award in Sports Category.
  • Served as the delivery lead for interactive TV application for Qualcomm, including facial recognition, live data feeds, and social media integration.

Senior Interactive Producer

2010 - 2011
Saatchi & Saatchi
  • Implemented Agile, delivering UX and visual design for $2 million revamp of Toyota Owner's website.
  • Delivered a multivariant advertising engine for Toyota's entire product line. Exceeded KPIs by 125% and backed by a $40 million ad-buy.
  • Conceived and delivered 26 interactive banners for Toyota's annual marketing campaign. Achieved conversion rates that exceeded success metrics by 200%.

Senior Project Manager

2009 - 2010
The Designory
  • Led teams delivering online product experiences for Infiniti's vehicle lineup.
  • Optimized and documented the exhaustive product launch activities for new and existing vehicles.
  • Documented the complete production workflow for agency handoff to Critical Mass in Calgary.

Senior Program Manager

2008 - 2009
Schematic
  • Managed the PM team responsible for product launches and updates for Dell's small and medium businesses.
  • Defined process and system requirements supporting 450 monthly requests from 200+ global stakeholders.
  • Served as the primary contact for clients supporting BPR, issue resolution, risk mitigation, and change management processes for Dell's Global Online division.

Production Manager

2006 - 2008
Mirum Agency (formally Digitaria)
  • Ran Los Angeles office supporting 14 clients in the entertainment industry (CBS, NBCU, Fox, KCRW, NPR, etc.).
  • Led a multi-national team producing an online ticketing system for ArcLight Cinemas.
  • Led user experience refactoring of NBC Universal's internal music licensing application.
  • Led RFP process for Fox enterprise content management solution.
  • Directly managed and produced the NPR and KCRW media players.

Engagement Manager

2005 - 2006
E! Online
  • Oversaw the overall quality, delivery, and execution of the re-architecture and redesign of the E! Online website and "The Vine" video player.
  • Led RFP, scoping, and design exercises with executive stakeholders and the project team.
  • Led the project communication strategy within the organization to ensure organizational readiness.

Senior Producer

2003 - 2005
Disney
  • Served as the lead producer for enterprise releases of DisneyCruiseLine.com, DisneyWorld.com, DisneylandMeetings.com, and commerce engines for Disneyland.com and DisneyCruiseLine.com.
  • Directed teams and managed project budgets ranging from $500,000 to $2 million.
  • Acted as a key contributor in generating budget models supporting 350+ resources for annual, 3-year, and 5-year fiscal budget planning.

E! Online Website Branding and CMS Implementation

https://www.eonline.com/

Liaison between E! Online executive team and design agency for the redesign of the E! Online publishing website.

E! Online needed a leader to manage the day-to-day operations for rebranding and rearchitecting the E! Online publishing website. I partnered with the executive team, editorial, technology, and creative teams to run the overall project while bridging the gap between business requirements and tactical implementation. Day Communique was the selected CMS which was later purchased by Adobe and is now the foundation for Adobe Experience Manager.

Shaneco.com Hybris Implementation

https://www.shaneco.com

Technology executive who led digital transformation and agile adoption for robust eCommerce platform design and delivery.

As the vice president of digital experience and technology, I directed the implementing agile/scrum in concert with the digital development team, authored their SDLC documentation while leading the transformation of the eCommerce platform from Umbraco to Hybris Commerce Cloud. I was part of the executive governance committee defining overall strategy and was accountable for the approval of user experience, commerce flow and integration and management of 30+ 3rd party vendors supporting implementation, optimization, and ongoing maintenance activities.

DisneyCruiseLine.com Redesign

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/

Senior producer accountable for all design and development activities from discovery to delivery.

Complete site strategy including CRM, redesign, and re-platform on Disney’s go network. The site included visual walk-through of main ship attractions, all-new photography, personalized content and a robust booking engine that enabled customers to complete all pre-board documentation, on-shore, and off-shore excursion booking, babysitting, dinner reservations, land and sea packages, car rentals, transportation to-from airport and more; all custom developed on a Java-based platform.

VSP/eyeconic.com Redesign

https://www.eyeconic.com/

Led delivery of strategy, user experience, visual design, and technology integration.

While at SapientNitro, I led engagement responsible for site strategy, content strategy, user experience, visual design, and technology integration for the eyeconic.com eCommerce site on a Demandware platform.

Infiniti USA Product Launches

Senior project manager responsible for Infiniti product launches.

The last delivery I completed with the company was for the complete G line of automobiles. After revamping the process and adding extended lead times for critical 3D visuals, the project was a complete success. The client said, “it was the most successful online product launch in history.” It also made JD Powers Top 5 in the category.

The digital business was transferred to Critical Mass in Calgary during my last few months with the company. I was on the transition team and authored a product delivery manual that outlined every minutia of detail necessary to launch a new or update a vehicle online.

NHL Gamecenter Live Mobile Application

https://www.nhl.com/info/mobile-app

Senior project manager for the NHL that included front-end strategy and user experience on multiple mobile devices.

APPY award-winning Game Center Live mobile application. The mobile experience supported native iPhone, Android, and Blackberry devices. The client was amazing and partnered with us at the hip from the very beginning. Initially, there was resistance with my team. However, the project turned out to be one of the most successful and visible projects in my career. It made me truly believe that joint-design with the right client; who advocates design decisions that were made within their organization, leads to a superb experience that is well received by customers.

Disneyland.com Booking Engine

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/

As a senior producer, I led the technology team through a revamp of the Disneyland online booking engine.

The biggest challenge of this project was the lack of documentation. The red flag I discovered early on was in the SOW. “Supports existing functionality” was scattered everywhere. As it turned out, very little of the complex ticketing options were documented. This forced the project budget to more than triple before TDDs or one ounce of code was written. I discovered this within the two weeks of taking on the project and was quickly able to get additional funding (and time) to complete the project.

Toyota Interactive Ads

https://www.charlestrostle.com/toyota-ideas-for-good

Led creative and technology from ideation to delivery for 26 interactive ads supporting Toyota's annual brand campaign.

As the senior interactive producer, I led the creative team in developing interactive ads for Toyota's Ideas for Good branding campaign. Interactive ads exceeded 200% of the target conversion.

Dell SMB and Dell Global Online Operations

Led business process reengineering activities within a complex organization.

As a senior program manager for Schematic (now Possible Worldwide), I led a team of project managers responsible for the maintenance and operations for product launches supported Dell’s small and medium business. The team also supported thousands of monthly requests from global business partners supporting ad campaigns and vanity sites through a system I designed and enabled a single project manager to support all requests with a 100% followthrough.
2019 - 2021

MBA Candidate in Business Administration

Johns Hopkins University - Carey Business School - Baltimore, MD

2010 - 2013

Bachelor of Science Degree in Management Science and Business Management

Pepperdine University - Graziadio Business School - Malibu, CA

MARCH 2023 - PRESENT

Certified Monday.com Product, Workflow, and Implementation Consultant

Monday.com

FEBRUARY 2019 - PRESENT

Digital Marketing Strategies: Data, Automation, AI & Analytics

Northwestern - Kellogg School of Management

SEPTEMBER 2018 - PRESENT

Certified Scrum Product Owner

Scrum Alliance

Tools

Atlassian Suite, Jira, Confluence, Project Management & Work Tracking Tools, SAP Hybris, Trello, Azure DevOps Services, Stripe Checkout, QuickBooks Online, Slack, Provisioning Tools, ETL, Asana

Paradigms

Scrum, Agile Product Management, Agile Project Management, Agile, Requirements Analysis, Change Management, Agile Workflow, Agile Leadership, Servant Leadership, Implementation Project Management, Agile Delivery, Marketplace Platforms, Kanban, Waterfall Delivery, User Acceptance Testing (UAT), Organizational Change Management (OCM)

Industry Expertise

Digital Marketing, Luxury Goods, Entertainment & Leisure, Hospitality, Professional Services, Music, Healthcare, Electronics, Retail & Wholesale, Automotive

Platforms

Demandware, iOS, WordPress, Monday.com, Azure, Blockchain

Other

Mobile Apps, Technical Project Management, Client Relationship Management, Communication, Conflict Resolution, Leadership, Stakeholder Management, Team Leadership, Mobile, Project Discovery, eCommerce, Team Building, Budget Management, Project Budget Management, Distributed Team Management, Product Management, eCommerce Management, Mobile eCommerce, User Experience (UX), Project Management, Web, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Program Management, Product Owner, Product Development, Backlog Management, Project Planning, Project Delivery, Web Applications, Feature Backlog Prioritization, Project Reporting, Project Timelines, Web & Mobile Applications, Agile Product Delivery, Cross-functional Collaboration, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Product Ownership, Web Development, Process Flows, Jira Administrator, Scrum Master, Budgeting, Planning, Media, Payment Gateways, Sprint Planning, Digital Project Management, Startups, Business Analysis, Enterprise Project Management, Mobile Applications, APIs, Jira Administration, Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), Integration, Consulting, Estimation & Planning, Estimations, Requirements & Specifications, Technical Requirements, Product Requirements Documentation (PRD), Vendor Management, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), SOP Development, Process Management, Process Improvement, Process Improvement Project Management, IT Project Management, Remote Team Leadership, Risk Management, Facilitation, Business Process Automation, Business Process Re-engineering, Process Optimization, Operational Streamlining, Enterprise, Project Tracking, Project Scheduling, Software Development, Task Management, Organization, Best Practices, Content Management, Roadmaps, Social Media Apps, Software Development Management, Delivery Management, Web Technologies, Documentation, Negotiation, Agile Coaching, Healthcare IT, Machine Learning, Product Strategy, Data Analysis, Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Big Data, Discovery Workshops, Data Management, Data Transformation, Release Management, Digital Strategy, Product Roadmaps, PMO, Discovery, Native Mobile Apps, Product Design, App Store, Stripe, iOS App Design, Stripe API, PCI Compliance, Digital Transformation, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Enterprise SaaS, Project Rescue, Software as a Service (SaaS), Dashboards, Governance, Project Management Office (PMO), Direct to Consumer (D2C), A/B Testing, Quality Assurance (QA), Migration, Software QA, System Implementation, Build Releases, Digital Asset Management, Interactive Web Development, Airtable, SAP, Data Governance, Annual Budgets, Dashboard Development, Data Analytics, SaaS Product Management, SaaS Design, Executive Presentations, Executive Reporting, Feature Roadmaps, IT Strategy, Non-fungible Tokens (NFT), Quantitative Analysis, Finance, Communications Management, Project Scoping, Schedule Optimization, Business Requirements, Data Visualization, Data Reporting, SaaS, Resource Allocation, Process Design, Workflow, Project Estimation, 3D, Web Content, Mobile UI, Mobile UX, Scrum Product Owner, React Native, GraphQL, Node.js, UI Design, Music Recording, Healthcare & Insurance, Smart Contracts, Resource Management, Web Platforms, Marketplaces, Vendor Selection, Product Launch, Warehouse Operations, Warehouse Management, Settlements, Social Media, Artificial Intelligence (AI), eCommerce UX, eCommerce UI, B2C Marketing, Rational Unified Process (RUP), IBM Rational Rose, Critical Path Analysis, User Requirements, Business Process Refinement, Business to Business (B2B), Business to Consumer (B2C), Standard Operating Procedures Development, Process Documentation, Business Processes, Business Process Improvement (BPI), Process Definition, Strategy, Automation, Microsoft Teams, Stakeholder Engagement, Request for Proposal (RFP), RFPs, International Projects, Global Strategy, Scaling, Accounting, Corporate Communications, Managerial Economics, Marketing

Collaboration That Works

How to Work with Toptal

Toptal matches you directly with global industry experts from our network in hours—not weeks or months.

1

Share your needs

Discuss your requirements and refine your scope in a call with a Toptal domain expert.
2

Choose your talent

Get a short list of expertly matched talent within 24 hours to review, interview, and choose from.
3

Start your risk-free talent trial

Work with your chosen talent on a trial basis for up to two weeks. Pay only if you decide to hire them.

Top talent is in high demand.

Start hiring