Justin is available for hire
Hire JustinJustin Whittaker
Verified Expert in Project Management
Project Manager
Location
Salt Lake City, UT, United States
Toptal Member Since
July 8, 2020
Justin is a project manager (PJM), a product manager (PDM), and a product marketer with over a decade of experience leading teams to create and market B2B and B2C products used by millions of people in the US, Canada, and Europe. The products that Justin has built have powered experiences for brands like Disney, DIRECTV, Nintendo, FOX, NBC Universal, TELUS, Huffington Post, and Time Warner.
Mobile AdsMobile MarketingMobile ApplicationsTechnical Project ManagementProgram ManagementMobile App DevelopmentProject ManagementDigitalDigital Project ManagementStartup ConsultingBusiness Transformation Program ManagementProcess Improvement Project ManagementScrum MasterAgile Product ManagementAgileShopify
Project Highlights
TELUS Optik Smart Remote — Enterprise White Label and Implementation Project
Led the design, development, launch, and operation of a successful white label and integration project for the TELUS Opitik IPTV service.
i.TV Platform and White Label
Led the team that productized and licensed i.TV technology to B2B companies like Nintendo, Time-Warner, DIRECTV, and nearly every major TV network in North America.
TVtag
Led my team to deliver a product that reached over ten million people every month and that every major TV network in the US and Canada came to rely on to drive tune-in and engagement with their TV shows.
Expertise
Work Experience
SVP Product and Operations
2023 - PRESENT
Wetx
- Served as a product owner for a blockchain-powered water rights and shares asset management software.
- Applied for and established the First Water Bank of Utah (FWBU), Utah's first statutory water bank.
- Led the development and launch of Water Savers, a gamification solution to help municipalities motivate their residents to conserve water.
Technical Project Manager
2023 - 2023
The Forward Thinking Company, LLC
- Was the first product/project manager hired by TFTC to manage the company's project and product offering. The product serves a multi-billion dollar industrial agricultural foods producer.
- Set up an Agile and Scrum project management system for a distributed team of developers working across several time zones. Repeatedly delivered on sprint goals on time and with a high degree of quality.
- Integrated myself into the team, won the trust of the client's customer, and was entrusted to work directly with the client's customer without involvement from the principals.
Multifunctional Agile Project Manager
2022 - 2022
Commonwealth Financial Network - Main
- Worked as a product owner and project lead for multiple RTB (run-the-businesses) products and initiatives, including Robotic Process Automation (RPA), MSFT SharePoint application development, and public website support and development.
- Trained my team in Agile, Scrum, and Kanban methodologies as part of the enterprise's efforts to transform standard company processes.
- Co-led a project to migrate mission-critical applications from an on-premises server to the cloud.
Product Manager | Project Manager
2020 - 2022
WaitWhat
- Joined the project as a project manager and led a team of mobile and back-end developers, designers, and QA people with the challenge of bringing fully-featured iOS and Android apps to market for a high-profile customer in the space of four months.
- Led all aspects of the project according to Agile and Scrum principles.
- Provided product leadership and direction for the mobile apps and back end.
- Worked closely with the marketing and growth team to drive paid and organic growth.
Adjunct Professor
2021 - 2021
Brigham Young University — J. Reuben Clark Law School
- Designed and taught a course to help law students learn and internalize design thinking concepts.
- Led law students through a design sprint process to ideate, research, prototype, and deliver a new law-based product/service concept to market within the course of a semester.
- Delivered an impactful solution to the market to help eligible people receive criminal record expungements.
Consulting Product Owner
2020 - 2021
Jeri
- Joined the team to ideate on product ideas, get customer feedback and define the product roadmap.
- Worked with the design team to turn sketches and product requirements into high-fidelity designs.
- Recruited and hired the software development team.
- Set up project management and development processes.
Consulting Product Owner
2020 - 2021
WETx.io (Freelance)
- Brought WETx Dashboard product from a conceptual design to a production-ready product; led the design, customer research, recruiting, software development, and implementation.
- Developed and implemented a new product and service offering for WETx, called WETx Cloud; led the design, customer research, recruiting, software development, and implementation.
- Executed plans to develop a strategy around a water banking system for municipalities, regional water and sewer districts, irrigation companies, and federal water conservancy districts.
Social Media/Video Sharing Platform Technical Project Manager
2020 - 2020
B2G Holdings
- Worked with the founder to define the scope of his MVP product.
- Defined key KPIs and milestones to prepare the founder to begin product design and software development work on the product.
- Leveraged my experience as a founding team member of multiple early-stage startups to help the founder plan for the path ahead.
Executive Vice President, Business Solutions
2018 - 2020
Radiant — Video Messaging Solutions for B2B, Learning, and Higher Education
- Led a project to develop and implement a customer acquisition strategy for the pre-launch of the B2C streaming app, SAY. The effort resulted in a cost per acquisition that was more than 25% below the industry standard.
- Oversaw product development, business modeling, and marketing launch of Kinmundo.com for sister organization, BN Media.
- Led the build and market product concepts for B2B audiences including building three different asynchronous video streaming concepts targeting biopharma sales training, a job reporting tool for field services, and a higher ed learning tool.
Chief Product Officer
2015 - 2018
Yours.co — AI-powered Home Movie Streaming Service and Optical Media Storage.
- Recruited the product design and software team and introduced an agile software and product development practice to the company.
- Led company rebranding efforts from MDISC to Yours.co.
- Launched two new products and raised a $4 million Series A round from TPP Capital Advisors to build and scale the business.
- Led digital transformation of the company from a manufacturing company to a SaaS-first company.
CEO
2015 - 2018
Invisible Home, LLC — High-end Home Goods and Furniture
- Launched an eCommerce Shopify store selling high-end, designer home home goods to customers in the US, Canada, and Europe.
- Developed a successful social marketing strategy as part of the GTM plan. Targeted design and architecture enthusiasts that garnered nearly 10,000 followers on Instagram.
- Executed a paid media customer acquisition strategy using Google AdWords, Facebook, and Instagram ads.
- Developed a line of Invisible Home called The Fleet, which was a "storage system in a box," designed and manufactured in Scandinavia from eco-friendly materials.
Executive Vice President, Business Solutions and Marketing
2008 - 2015
i.TV — TV Discovery and Social TV Platform and Second-screen TV Ad Network
- Built and led a 35-person team comprised of product managers, designers, software engineers, and marketing, business development, and editorial staff in Utah and New York City.
- Managed enterprise-scale software development contracts and B2B platform licensing with Nintendo, AOL, Huffington Post, TELUS, and DIRECTV.
- Directed a highly successful joint marketing program with the world's top entertainment brands (ABC, NBC, FOX, AMC, HBO, and Time Warner), resulting in tens of millions of social media shares and hundreds of millions of social media impressions.
- Led pre-acquisition negotiations and post-acquisition merger activities and integrated GetGlue's team and technology into i.TV's operations when i.TV acquired GetGlue in 2012. Managed customer relationships with TV networks and advertisers.
Account Executive
2007 - 2008
CONNECT MARKETING
- Placed and worked on top accounts with Symantec and Siemens Enterprise Communications.
- Assisted clients in gaining earned media coverage and drove awareness around strategic communications objectives.
- Positioned executives as thought leaders and drove coverage in publications such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CIO, MSNBC, and others.
Operations Director, EMEA
2004 - 2007
Bridge Atlantik — Business Development and Marketing Firm
- Led the successful European launches for multiple clients (security, edtech, home goods, distributed computing, and HVAC, to name a few).
- Established new sales and distribution channels for clients across Europe, including with public sector procurement organizations and pan-European distributors.
- Spearheaded successful marketing and public relations campaigns to establish clients as leaders in their respective fields, garnering coverage with top-tier media outlets worldwide.
- Led the business development efforts to sign on European reference customers for our edtech and security clients as part of the market launch.
Project History
TELUS Optik Smart Remote — Enterprise White Label and Implementation Project
https://www.theinvisible.co/telus_osrLed the design, development, launch, and operation of a successful white label and integration project for the TELUS Opitik IPTV service.
About:
TELUS Optik Smart Remote apps for iOS and Android were powered by the i.TV platform and offered TELUS Optik IPTV customers TV guide (EPG), DVR control, TV remote control, and rich TV metadata for all TV shows available through the service.
Mission:
I led the product development and integration team at i.TV to build and deploy a white-label version of the i.TV Platform to TELUS Optik IPTV customers.
Accomplishments:
• Built and led a dedicated agile product development and integration team to customize the i.TV platform to the client's specifications.
• Established QA and release management processes that were aligned with the client's internal processes.
• Consistently delivered stable, feature-rich, and performant experiences to the client's end-users.
TELUS Optik Smart Remote apps for iOS and Android were powered by the i.TV platform and offered TELUS Optik IPTV customers TV guide (EPG), DVR control, TV remote control, and rich TV metadata for all TV shows available through the service.
Mission:
I led the product development and integration team at i.TV to build and deploy a white-label version of the i.TV Platform to TELUS Optik IPTV customers.
Accomplishments:
• Built and led a dedicated agile product development and integration team to customize the i.TV platform to the client's specifications.
• Established QA and release management processes that were aligned with the client's internal processes.
• Consistently delivered stable, feature-rich, and performant experiences to the client's end-users.
i.TV Platform and White Label
https://www.theinvisible.co/i_tv_platformLed the team that productized and licensed i.TV technology to B2B companies like Nintendo, Time-Warner, DIRECTV, and nearly every major TV network in North America.
About:
The i.TV Platform powered EPG (Electronic Program Guide), DVR control, and TV remote control experiences for TV providers and media companies.
Tasks Performed:
• Led the design and development of multiple white-label versions of i.TV for TV providers and media companies.
• Successfully integrated services and data from partners like Roku, TiVo, TMS, Amazon, Apple, and others.
• Repeatedly delivered quality work and products that resulted in multi-year contract renewals and tens of millions of dollars in revenue.
• Led the design and build of i.TV's ad platform that served hundreds of millions of ad impressions and delivered successful campaigns for brands like Pepsi, Microsoft, Disney, and others.
The i.TV Platform powered EPG (Electronic Program Guide), DVR control, and TV remote control experiences for TV providers and media companies.
Tasks Performed:
• Led the design and development of multiple white-label versions of i.TV for TV providers and media companies.
• Successfully integrated services and data from partners like Roku, TiVo, TMS, Amazon, Apple, and others.
• Repeatedly delivered quality work and products that resulted in multi-year contract renewals and tens of millions of dollars in revenue.
• Led the design and build of i.TV's ad platform that served hundreds of millions of ad impressions and delivered successful campaigns for brands like Pepsi, Microsoft, Disney, and others.
TVtag
https://www.theinvisible.co/tvtagLed my team to deliver a product that reached over ten million people every month and that every major TV network in the US and Canada came to rely on to drive tune-in and engagement with their TV shows.
About: TVtag was a social TV engagement and advertising platform for iOS, Android, and white-label partners.
Mission:
Create a second screen, social TV experience for consumers that would drive massive engagement around TV shows and televised sporting events. Develop TVtag as a platform that would power experiences for TV networks, tech companies, and brand advertisers.
Tasks Performed:
• Led the design and development of an in-app experience specifically for sporting events called "Run or Pass" that synchronized second-screen content with the live TV broadcast.
Results:
• TVtag content reached over ten million people every month) and drove 1/3 of Twitter traffic around primetime scripted TV.
• Nearly every major TV network in the US and Canada utilized the TVtag platform to drive tune-in and engagement around their shows. TVtag white-label partners included DIRECTV, Nintendo, Time Warner, and others.
Mission:
Create a second screen, social TV experience for consumers that would drive massive engagement around TV shows and televised sporting events. Develop TVtag as a platform that would power experiences for TV networks, tech companies, and brand advertisers.
Tasks Performed:
• Led the design and development of an in-app experience specifically for sporting events called "Run or Pass" that synchronized second-screen content with the live TV broadcast.
Results:
• TVtag content reached over ten million people every month) and drove 1/3 of Twitter traffic around primetime scripted TV.
• Nearly every major TV network in the US and Canada utilized the TVtag platform to drive tune-in and engagement around their shows. TVtag white-label partners included DIRECTV, Nintendo, Time Warner, and others.
Kinmundo Proof of Concept
https://www.theinvisible.co/kinmundoLed a product and marketing team to develop and launch a proof-of-concept product.
About:
Kinmundo—literally meaning "family world"—is inhabited by 16 different family cultures. To find out which is yours, just take Kinmundo’s expert-designed Family Culture Quiz. It measures your family on multiple dimensions that define family life. Each of your family members' quiz results is combined to find out which of the 16 cultures your family lives in. Why is family culture important? Because making positive changes from within your existing family dynamic is much easier than changing how your family works completely.
Mission:
Develop, brand, and launch a scientifically valid family assessment tool to help families understand their family culture.
Tasks Performed:
• Led a team of product managers, designers, software developers, and marketers to create and launch a proof-of-concept product for Radiant.
• After Kinmundo's launch, I led the team through a design sprint to ideate, prototype, and test new approaches to monetizing Kinmundo, which led to a product extension called 21 & Done to help families and individuals develop positive behavioral habits in 21 days.
Kinmundo—literally meaning "family world"—is inhabited by 16 different family cultures. To find out which is yours, just take Kinmundo’s expert-designed Family Culture Quiz. It measures your family on multiple dimensions that define family life. Each of your family members' quiz results is combined to find out which of the 16 cultures your family lives in. Why is family culture important? Because making positive changes from within your existing family dynamic is much easier than changing how your family works completely.
Mission:
Develop, brand, and launch a scientifically valid family assessment tool to help families understand their family culture.
Tasks Performed:
• Led a team of product managers, designers, software developers, and marketers to create and launch a proof-of-concept product for Radiant.
• After Kinmundo's launch, I led the team through a design sprint to ideate, prototype, and test new approaches to monetizing Kinmundo, which led to a product extension called 21 & Done to help families and individuals develop positive behavioral habits in 21 days.
Yours.co — Video-streaming Service for the Memories Stored on Your Phone
https://www.theinvisible.co/yoursDeveloped two new products for Yours. The company was able to raise $4 million in Series A funding, based on these products.
Mission:
Lead Yours.co (formerly MDISC) through a digital transformation process in preparation for new rounds of venture capital funding.
Tasks Performed:
• Innovated two new products (MDISC Archive Service and Yours.co).
• Recruited, built, and led software development and technical fulfillment teams.
• Led a robotic automation project for the MDISC/Yours.co fulfillment center.
• Led the rebranding of MDISC to Yours.co. Instituted agile software development processes.
Result:
The company raised $4 million in Series A funding from TPP Capital Advisors.
About:
Yours.co automatically transformed video and photos in your camera roll into long-form home movies. The movies were streamed via the web, mobile, and OTT apps on Fire TV, Roku, and Apple TV, as well as on archive-grade DVDs and Blu-rays.
Lead Yours.co (formerly MDISC) through a digital transformation process in preparation for new rounds of venture capital funding.
Tasks Performed:
• Innovated two new products (MDISC Archive Service and Yours.co).
• Recruited, built, and led software development and technical fulfillment teams.
• Led a robotic automation project for the MDISC/Yours.co fulfillment center.
• Led the rebranding of MDISC to Yours.co. Instituted agile software development processes.
Result:
The company raised $4 million in Series A funding from TPP Capital Advisors.
About:
Yours.co automatically transformed video and photos in your camera roll into long-form home movies. The movies were streamed via the web, mobile, and OTT apps on Fire TV, Roku, and Apple TV, as well as on archive-grade DVDs and Blu-rays.
SAY — Video Messaging Applications for Business and Education
Led the SAY Business Solutions product team, tasked with leveraging the SAY Video Messaging platform for B2B applications.
SAY is a video messaging platform for Android and iOS (think "video Slack") that enables users to communicate and engage around digital content via video messages.
SAY is a Bonneville Communications company (formerly Radiant).
SAY is a Bonneville Communications company (formerly Radiant).
Brand Marketing
https://www.theinvisible.co/brandmarketingPersonally led multiple brand identity and brand marketing projects throughout my career.
Throughout my career, I have been directly responsible for leading efforts to create new brand identities and rebrand existing products and companies.
At i.TV, I worked with world-class designer Adrian Pulfer to create the i.TV brand identity. At tvtag, I led the team that created the brand identity and implemented the brand into i.TV-owned user experiences, as well as all tvtag partner experiences (DIRECTV, Nintendo, ABC, NBC, and HBO, to name a few.) At MDISC, I was tasked with rebranding the company to Yours.co.
At i.TV, I worked with world-class designer Adrian Pulfer to create the i.TV brand identity. At tvtag, I led the team that created the brand identity and implemented the brand into i.TV-owned user experiences, as well as all tvtag partner experiences (DIRECTV, Nintendo, ABC, NBC, and HBO, to name a few.) At MDISC, I was tasked with rebranding the company to Yours.co.
i.TV for iOS and Android — TV EPG App
https://www.theinvisible.co/i_tv_platformCo-led the creation of i.TV mobile apps. In the iOS App Store, i.TV achieved a #1 overall ranking and a top 100 ranking in its category.
i.TV for iOS and Android was the #1 TV guide app in North America for nearly seven years before it was acquired by another company.
As a co-founder of i.TV, I co-created the app, including the following features:
• TV guide
• DVR scheduling
• Remote control for TiVo, Roku, DIRECTV, and TELUS Optik TV
• Entertainment news and other content
• Social TV features
As a co-founder of i.TV, I co-created the app, including the following features:
• TV guide
• DVR scheduling
• Remote control for TiVo, Roku, DIRECTV, and TELUS Optik TV
• Entertainment news and other content
• Social TV features
WETx Cloud
http://www.wetx.ioDeveloped a new product offering for water service districts, irrigation companies, manufacturing and industrial customers, and municipalities to help these organizations inventory, understand, and manage their water resources and infrastructure.
WETx is a blockchain-based technology platform that helps water special service districts, agriculture, and irrigation companies, M&I, and municipalities to inventory and manage their water resources and the infrastructure that delivers water to their customers.
I was hired as a consulting product owner to work with the executive team and customers to discover customer needs and design and build a solution to fit those needs. My work also included recruiting and leading the software development team and hiring and managing a technology services fulfillment team.
Role: Consulting Product Owner and Project Manager
I was hired as a consulting product owner to work with the executive team and customers to discover customer needs and design and build a solution to fit those needs. My work also included recruiting and leading the software development team and hiring and managing a technology services fulfillment team.
Role: Consulting Product Owner and Project Manager
Education
2002 - 2004
Master's Degree in European Union Policy
University of Birmingham - Birmingham, United Kingdom
1995 - 2002
Bachelor's Degree in German
Brigham Young University - Provo, Utah, United States
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