Hello! I'm John. I’m an accomplished leader and love to work on interesting projects with creative, fun people. You can download a copy of my resume here.
Stensul
Product Director
2024 - Present
Focused on leading product management, driving innovation, and enhancing user-focused solutions for Stensul's Marketing Creation Platform.
Whalar
Product Director (Platforms)
2022 - 2024
Led the vision and strategy for large-scale platforms designed to support creator-led brand campaigns and talent management in the creator economy.
Managed and mentored three PMs across global teams, driving the development and launch of innovative tools, including a cross-platform content search engine and an AI-driven brand safety assessment tool.
Hearst
Senior Product Manager
2020 - 2022
Led a large-scale migration to a new REACT frontend framework for a CMS system supporting 60+ websites with over 500 million monthly impressions.
Developed and executed a clear vision and roadmap, ensuring accurate forecasting throughout the project while collaborating closely with Design, Data, Tech, SEO, Accessibility, and Content teams.
Kaplan
Senior Director of Product Development
2017 - 2020
Established and led a new product development team dedicated to transforming learning experiences for professional certification exams.
Led and developed the website team at kaptest.com, mentoring a direct report from associate to senior PM.
Supervised the development of a new CMS and optimized product pages and user flows in collaboration with the growth marketing team.
Joined early at Spotify (employee #200+), playing a pivotal role in defining strategy and roadmaps for spotify.com, significantly driving platform growth.
Ran user research and rebuilt critical user flows, including sign-up, premium subscription, and download processes, leading to millions of new registrations and improved user retention.
Developed a mobile-optimized account management section and led cross-functional collaboration across brand, creative, and growth teams.
Managed a growing list of stakeholders by introducing a thoughtful execution model, ensuring clear communication and effective prioritization.
Don't Stay In
Co-Founder
2003 – 2009
Co-founded dontstayin.com, scaling it to a top global social network with 2 million monthly unique visitors within six years.
Designed a viral loop that created a rich content ecosystem with over 12 million photos and 20 million forum posts, driving exponential platform growth.
Developed a backend enabling nightlife promoters to manage events, engage with communities, and purchase promotional banner ads and email campaigns.
Opened an office and grew the team to 15 staff members.
Education
1998 – 2001: University of Plymouth (UK) - BA (Hons) Business Administration.
Specialist Skills
Product Management
Team Leadership
Product Innovation
Growth Strategies
Wireframing
Data Analysis
Jira Advanced Roadmaps
Heap Analytics
Miro
Work Status
British citizen with a US Green Card.
Hobbies and Interests
Bicycles - I'm a keen cyclist and ride to work whenever possible. I enjoy bicycle touring and regularly head out on adventures. Occasionally my love of bikes makes the news.
Camping - I love the outdoors. You will normally find me up a mountain in a tent on summer weekends.
Technology - I love technology and always try and stay one step ahead of the curve. Occasionally my use of tech makes the news.
Gaming - I have a competitive mindset - I enjoy chess, poker, table tennis and online gaming. I like to win!
Music - I love music, be it festivals, gigs or just listening at home. I have a Spotify playlist called 'Music like Daft Punk' with over 5000 followers.
Recommendations
John is one of the most talented product managers I've had the pleasure to work with. Extremely hard working, diligent and strategic. John is excellent at collaborating with other PMs, designers, engineers and stakeholders and is known as someone who gets things done. He's a pleasure to work with and a rare talent. Niko Croskery, President, Moby Ventures at Whalar.
I've been really fortunate to work under John's leadership for several years, and I can't emphasize enough how much I recommend him. John has this incredible mix of strategic insight, analytical skill, and creative flair, all while genuinely caring about understanding and meeting the needs of our end-users. As a manager, John creates an atmosphere that's both collaborative and supportive. I've always felt valued and encouraged to give my best because of his leadership. Beyond that, he's a true team player, always ready to lend a hand, offer advice, or share insights whenever anyone needs it. I will forever be grateful to him for his support and guidance. Shirley Lee, Senior Product Manager at Whalar.
I had the privilege to work with John for 5 years, first as a stakeholder of his team and then as a colleague. During that time John created a fantastic team and scalable processes. Thanks to that they were ready when the company (and thus their stakeholders) grew by 20x. The team recently pivoted towards a growth role. John stepped up again and led the efforts to instrument and optimize the new user funnels, finding ways to increase our MAU base by leveraging the website. - Felix Bouleau, Product Owner at Spotify.
I have worked alongside John at Spotify for four years. Despite the fast pace and complexity of his team management responsibilities he is always happy to make the time to share his expertise and help solve complex challenges. His thoughtful insight, technical skills and manner makes working with him productive and fun. John will be an asset to any tech team that needs to move fast and deliver results and will contribute a positive team dynamic. - Owen Parry, Business Development at Spotify.
John is an exuberant, welcoming, and incredibly smart individual, and I consider myself lucky for having the chance to work by his side. Not only is he a talented, data-driven, and user-centric Product Owner, but a daily positive force for every person that crosses his path. He's driven, kind, hilarious, and works extremely hard to ensure his teammates are inspired and delivering impactful work. Tl;dr: If you ever get the chance to work with him, take it. - Grace Larosa, Product Design at Spotify.