Ike Mbuko
Verified Expert in Project Management
Project Manager
Fort-de-France, Martinique
Toptal member since June 14, 2022
Ike is a seasoned Agile project and product manager with over 12 years of experience. He is innovative, versatile, and commercially astute, with a background across B2B2C, B2C, multi-channel finance, fintech, banking, retail, commercial, consulting, SMEs, and international corporate sectors. Ike is an expert in digital optimizations and transformations and a confident leader who can build and foster strong relationships at all levels, including senior management.
Project Highlights
Expertise
- Agile
- Agile Product Delivery
- Agile Project Management
- Mobile Apps
- Product Ownership
- Scrum
- Scrum Master
- Web Development
Work Experience
Technical Product Manager (via Toptal)
Play Yur
- Executed the documentation planning phase, ensuring all project requirements were captured accurately and efficiently to kickstart product development.
- Translated complex business requirements into well-structured product backlogs, enabling clear project direction and alignment with stakeholders.
- Created detailed acceptance criteria that facilitated seamless communication between teams and clients, reducing ambiguity and improving delivery quality.
- Collaborated with client and team to prioritize product backlogs strategically, aligning deliverables with tight timelines and achieving key milestones ahead of schedule.
Project Manager
Traditions LLC
- Led a 2-week discovery phase, gathering product requirements, defining scope, and creating a roadmap for an AI-driven B2C mobile app MVP.
- Collaborated closely with stakeholders, leveraging Agile project management methodologies to guide technical development and ensure project success.
- Built and prioritized the product backlog by translating high-level requirements.
Project Manager
See On Me LLC
- Facilitated cross-functional collaboration by implementing sprint reviews and daily stand-ups, enhancing communication and team alignment.
- Created detailed user stories and acceptance criteria, reducing development cycle time with clear, actionable requirements.
- Created and managed a project timeline to deliver key features on schedule with a team of two iOS developers, one web developer, and one AI engineer.
- Oversaw successful integration of GenAI technology, allowing users to visualize garments on photos of themselves.
Senior Scrum Master | Analytics (via Toptal)
Ricoh Corporation - DSC - PortfolioSoftwareSolutions
- Facilitated key scrum events, including sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint review, and retrospectives. Ensured the team comprehended the purpose and objectives of each sprint.
- Led a user data migration at Ricoh, porting users from a legacy database to a new platform while ensuring data integrity, minimal downtime, and full compliance.
- Oversaw the development team, including front-end, back-end, QA, and BA team members.
- Collaborated with the team and stakeholders to devise solutions and maintain a seamless workflow.
- Served as a liaison between the tech and product teams within the organization.
- Collaborated closely with internal teams to synchronize timelines and deliverables.
Senior Project Manager
Warner Bros. Discovery
- Delivered digital transformations across the discovery video-on-demand service.
- Facilitated planning and requirements-gathering sessions with various stakeholders and product teams.
- Managed a team of over 20 people comprised of iOS and Android developers, mobile QA officers, and UI/UX designers.
- Set up all in-app purchases, managed the App Store, and maintained the company's relations with Apple.
- Owned communications with relevant business stakeholders, including tracking and reporting capacity.
- Collaborated continually with the team to identify, manage, and resolve any dependencies, risks, and issues.
- Facilitated Scrum ceremonies such as planning, daily stand-ups, retro, backlog grooming, and sprint demos.
Project and Product Manager
Visa
- Defined and mobilized processes and systems to drive the delivery of all prepaid programs.
- Developed a process to improve the onboarding of new prepaid programs, allowing their tracking and approval.
- Collaborated with our global team to develop a plan to implement a new digital system for onboarding clients.
- Provided training for the clients and internal staff.
- Approved the service-level agreement and tracked delivery with internal Visa teams.
- Collaborated with our innovation, fintech, and business development teams to support the implementation of new prepaid programs and interactive displays.
Agile Project Manager
Deloitte
- Delivered bespoke solutions within the financial services client portfolio.
- Collaborated with portfolio leads and key stakeholders within the business to support the delivery of digital solutions.
- Managed the project timelines and provided constant updates on the project progress with senior stakeholders.
- Coached the team on Agile concepts of Scrum and Agile methodologies.
- Collaborated with the team and business stakeholders to prioritize backlogs and supported the team in providing estimates.
- Managed a team of product owners, business analysts, senior developers, and solutions architects.
- Operated the end-to-end project management of the complete project lifecycle.
Digital Project and Product Manager
Tesco Bank
- Managed a multi-disciplinary team to deliver a digital wallet app for both iOS and Android using Scrum methodology.
- Operated the end-to-end delivery of a groundbreaking change project within the digital wallet in partnership with Mastercard, which focused on mobile secure digital payments with a budget of £2+ million.
- Prepared the strategic plans and goals for delivering the prepaid proposition.
- Collaborated with the payment strategy, payment operations, and reconciliation teams to set up all operational processes for the prepaid proposition, such as Bacs, FPS, and CHAPS.
- Cooperated with Legal and Compliance to align with financial bodies such as the FSA, e-money issuers, and banking providers.
- Managed all aspects of the delivery while working with the head of fraud, head of operations, legal and bank finance, and 3rd-party suppliers.
- Ran weekly meetings with senior stakeholders and provided regular updates on the project status.
Digital Project and Product Manager
Soho House
- Operated a greenfield project and implemented Agile processes across the digital team.
- Managed a team of developers, UI/UX designers, and QA officers to deliver The Ned website, which included multiple 3rd-party integrations, a booking engine, and a complete payment system.
- Conducted resource allocation and budget management.
- Engaged with multiple stakeholders within the business, including the head of membership, director of communications, and operations and digital director.
- Oversaw the prioritized backlog, ensuring it represented the business needs and requirements.
- Ran retrospectives at the end of the project to improve the working efficiency.
Technical Project Manager
Concentrix
- Ensured business goals were achieved and removed any blockers or dependencies within the team.
- Prioritized the backlog and managed client feedback.
- Reviewed the burndown chart and reported on the progress.
- Produced weekly reports on the project status to the broader business and senior stakeholders.
- Contributed to several iOS and Android apps for clients, such as Emirates and the United Nations WFP.
Project Manager
Future Workshops
- Led project teams in delivering client requirements from inception to completion.
- Ensured the project delivery was on time, on budget, and within the expected level of quality.
- Contributed to various mobile apps for clients such as Royal Bank of Scotland, Bloomberg, Coutts, The R&A, and the Saudi government.
- Coordinated and managed all project activities to achieve project deliverables in each sprint.
- Collaborated with a team of UI/UX designers, developers, and product owners in an Agile environment and reported to the program manager.
- Communicated the progress and identified risks to key stakeholders.
- Delivered a comprehensive wealth management app for RBS Bank, streamlining financial planning, investment tracking, and client advisory services, enhancing user experience and operational efficiency.
Mobile Analyst
Immediate Media (Formerly BBC Magazine)
- Participated in the development of the very first Radio Times iOS app for the BBC Magazine.
- Oversaw the overall quality of the Radio Times Christmas mobile app.
- Achieved a very high number of downloads, much higher than the business expected.
Consultant
TBWA Worldwide
- Contributed to successfully delivering HTML5 animations as part of the digital team.
- Collaborated with Media Arts Lab, Apple's advertising agency, to help launch new features for their marketing team.
- Performed cross-platform testing across all macOS and Windows platforms.
Project History
Discovery+ Mobile App
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/discovery-stream-tv-shows/id1498327873Delivered Discovery+ across EMEA and launched the app for the Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Olympics on iOS and tvOS platforms, reaching over one million daily users.
I fostered continuous collaboration within the team to identify, manage, and resolve dependencies, risks, and issues while tracking and communicating the project's progress to key business stakeholders.
Tesco Pay+ Digital Wallet App
Launched a prepaid digital wallet for Tesco customers around the UK, allowing customers to top up and pay while accumulating loyalty points.
The NED
https://www.thened.com/Launched a 5-star hotel, which included multiple third-party integrations, a booking engine, digital directories, and a full payment system.
Education
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science
University of Westminster - London, UK
Certifications
Certified Scrum Master
Scrum.org
ISEB Software Testing
ISTQB Foundation
Skills
Tools
Jira, Slack, Confluence, Zoom, Asana, Trello, Google Sheets, Zapier
Paradigms
Agile Software Development, Agile Project Management, Agile, Agile Delivery, Kanban, Scrum, Change Management, Requirements Analysis, Agile Product Management, Azure DevOps, App Store Optimization (ASO), Implementation Project Management, HIPAA Compliance, Lean Project Management, Organizational Change Management (OCM), Testing
Platforms
iOS, tvOS, Android, Azure, Monday.com, WordPress, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Industry Expertise
Financial Services, Healthcare, Architecture
Other
Agile Product Delivery, Stakeholder Management, Card Payments, Proof of Concept (POC), Team Management, Scrumban, Mobile Apps, Project Management & Delivery, Digital Project Management, Native Mobile Apps, In-app Purchase (IAP), Web, eCommerce, Scrum Master, Project Management, Project Planning, Technical Project Management, Discovery, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Backlog Grooming, Estimation & Planning, Video Streaming, Video on Demand (VOD), Business Analysis, Sprint Planning, Agile Coaching, Healthcare & Insurance, Software Development, Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Stakeholder Engagement, Fintech, Product Ownership, Discovery Workshops, Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Web Development, Delivery Management, Finance, Agile Transformation, Strategic Planning, Operational Excellence, Objectives & Key Results (OKRs), Project Management Professional (PMP), Risk Management, Supply Chain, Backlog Management, Web & Mobile Applications, Project Coordination, Collaboration, Program Management, Product Roadmaps, Feature Backlog Prioritization, Documentation, Project Reporting, Project Budget Management, AI Integration, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Business & Digital Transformation, Transformational Leadership, Business Transformation, Business Transformation, Change Management, Agile Project Management, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Roadmaps, Project Management, IT Project Management, Consulting, Project Discovery, Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), Planning, Prototyping, CRM Systems, Project Scoping, Workshops, Reporting, Agile, Cost-benefit Analysis, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Operational Efficiency Improvement, Agile Certified Practitioner, Migration, Status Updates, Project Timelines, Web Applications, Project Delivery, Client Management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Business Services, Management Consulting, B2B Marketing, Technical Leadership, Enterprise Project Management, Client Delivery Management, Google Drive, Communication, Organization, Resource Management, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), Product Discovery, Feature Backlog Prioritization, Product Roadmaps, Product Planning, Delivery, Web UI, eCommerce, Mobile Wallet, PI Planning, User Interface (UI), App Store, Google Play Store, Apps, App Product Management, Mobile Applications, Regulatory Compliance, Mobile/Web Project Management, wrapper, App Store Acceptance Process, Sprint Retrospectives, Retrospective Techniques, Agile Scaling Frameworks, IT Infrastructure, Over-the-top Content (OTT), Streaming, API Integration, Integration, Payment APIs, Technical Product Management, Feature Prioritization, Issue Tracking, Mobile Device Management (MDM), Certified Project Manager, IT Security, Content Management Systems (CMS), APIs, Dashboards, Reports, User Onboarding, Product Delivery, Cross-functional Collaboration, Workflow Automation & System Integration, Product Requirements Documentation (PRD), API Integration, Feature Prioritization, Product Ideation, Credit Card Processing, Digital Wallets, Mobile Payments, Payment Processing, Websites, Education, Negotiation, Waterfall Methodology, Contract, Contract Negotiation, Product Management, Business Processes, Marketing, Startups, Machine Learning, Transformational Leadership, Organizational Change Management (OCM), Agile Product Management, Strategy, Product Management, Business Analysis, Learning Management Systems (LMS), Productivity, Process Improvement, Workflow, Agile Program Management, Technical Product Management, Business Cases, Waterfall Methodology, Quality Assurance (QA), ClickUp, User Stories, Customer Data Platform (CDP), Streaming Data, Data Migration, System Migration, Vimeo, Linear.App, Cryptocurrency, Cryptocurrency Exchanges, Foreign Exchange, Foreign Currency, Compliance, Microsoft Intune, POS, PCI Compliance, Healthcare IT, Electronic Medical Records (EMR), Virtual Assistance, Notion, Technical Writing, Automation Tools, Large Language Models (LLMs), Release Management, Product Owner, Booking Systems, QA Testing, Analysis, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), Impact Analysis
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