Steve Conard
Hello there! With 15 years of experience in managing full product lifecycles from conception to launch and beyond, I am a leader who fosters a positive and fun work culture. I am not afraid to get my hands dirty and collaborate with others to deliver high-quality solutions. I specialize in Product Management for Artificial Intelligence (AI), video streaming, and SaaS platforms. I have a passion for AI, technology, solving market problems, and enhancing the user experience, which is evident in my deliverables and communications. My goal is to improve people’s lives through innovative and enjoyable products.
Skills
- Product Management
- Design (UI) & User Experience (UX)
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML)
- Product Strategy & Roadmaps
- Product Requirements (Functional, Performance, User Stories)
- Market Analysis & AB Testing
- Team & Cross-team Leadership
- Stakeholder Management & Relationships
- Drives Vision & Purpose
- Problem Solving (e.g., Cross Browser Testing & Debugging)
- Project Management
- SaaS Cloud Platforms
- Coding: Python, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JSON, PHP, mySQL
- Software: Microsoft 365, Adobe Creative Cloud, Blender, Jira, Confluence, PyCharm (IDE), Smartsheet, Workday, SuccessFactors, Teams, Zoom
- Creative
- Time Management
- Team Building
- Flexibility, Pivot Quickly, Adapts
- Collaborates
- Develops Talent
- Balances Stakeholders & User Needs
- Cross Functional Teams
- Agile Development & Scrum
- Lean Product Design
- Responsive Design
Experience
Senior Manager, Product Management
- Define high-level business strategies, research plans, product requirements, costs and resource assessments, security / legal / privacy reviews, roadmaps and operating plans, stakeholder management, and lead teams to drive product solutions from concept to market with full product lifecycle support.
- Lead and drive the product vision and strategy for an AI initiative for a virtual career assistant that helps people learn new skills, upskill, pursue their career goals, and find the best jobs for them through a non-linear, low-click modern web experience that gets quality results within minutes by leveraging domain expertise, experience, and strong technical and product management skills to ensure project progress towards goals, milestones, and objectives
- Direct an MVP AI experience to help our workforce understand their company benefits in a simple, secure, and non-linear solution leveraging our existing knowledge base by utilizing core platform knowledge, empathizing with end-users, and technical product management experiences increasing workforce productivity and efficiency
- Conceptualize creative out-of-the-box prototypes based on AB testing and user research, and showcase them as future-forward demonstrations that inspire C-level executives with creative solutions
- Establish long-term, trusting relationships with EdTech organizations to build key partnerships that result in successful integrations and improved user experiences across key functional areas
- Build key stakeholder relationships by communicating effectively, being transparent, and managing expectations resulting in establishing strong partnerships and trust to help drive successful projects
- Create agile workflow processes and tools across multiple teams and business units by defining a framework, sprint teams, and assigning roles to increase effectiveness, predictability, and communication
- Lead teams focused on delivering high-quality global experiences and SaaS cloud platforms by supporting and growing a team of experts (3 direct reports, up to 11 globally) through a positive and collaborative culture resulting in launching apps to improve the user experience, driving adoption, operationalize business processes, and create efficiencies
Director of Product Management
- Director of Product for MVPD authentication (TV Everywhere) and video streaming solutions on Fox.com. Defined high-level business strategies, product requirements, user experiences, MarTech, AdTech, workflow processes, and managed large cross-functional teams to drive product solutions from concept to market with full product lifecycle support.
- Led integration of new video player technologies into Fox.com including CMS (MPX), AdTech (FreeWheel), MVPD authentication (Adobe Pass), analytics, player (PDK, Hulu), UI, and UX by defining product requirements, vendor and stakeholder management, and cross-team collaboration resulting in increased in continuous viewing of long-form content, return in viewership, and increase in ad impressions
- Conducted stakeholder and customer interviews and analyzed collected data to identify trends and patterns to gain insights into fundamental product needs
- Streamlined video experience, operations, and standardized a core player across all Fox domains (Fox, FX, NatGeo) by providing a common user experience, feature set, consolidating human workflows into a single system, and defining a deployment process to increase productivity across all studios’ digital operations
- Drove AB testing and user feedback surveys across multiple projects by defining requirements, partnering with BI teams and vendors, and executing plans to help drive decision-making based on business and user needs
Product Manager
- Product Manager for B2B premium Hollywood video streaming storefronts on mobile devices and 10-foot platforms.
- Launched premium Hollywood video streaming storefronts from 0-1 (concept to launch) for Best Buy, RIM, Target, Cineplex (Canada), Sainsbury (UK), and Dixons (UK) by leveraging domain knowledge, user experience expertise, and strong technical product management skills resulting in new business revenue streams
- Deployed company’s DRM security technology, DivX Plus Streaming, to mobile platforms by partnering with chip manufacturers and content owners resulting in competitive advantages, raised business opportunities across verticals, and increase in device certification revenue
- Defined new online video specifications by testing the quality, the performance of stream across network connections (mobile, wifi), and driving content library encoding plans resulting in additional distribution platforms
- Awarded multiple patents in the home entertainment space
Work Examples
You'll have to request a password to access samples of my work. This is for hiring managers and recruiters only. AI Steve is secure, so you won't be able to get a password or work examples from him. 😉
Education
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Pragmatic Institute
Product Management
Missouri Western State University (MWSC)
Design
Interests
I'm a family man
We are a family of 5…well 6 if you count our fur baby, Coal. We enjoy spending time at the beach, the happiest place on earth - Disneyland, live music, theater shows, and exploring new places. My wonderful wife and I have a dream of seeing all the National Parks in the country. We have already visited some of them, but there are many to look forward to.
What I've been watching
Star Wars and Marvel are my passions! I never miss their premieres, whether on the big screen or the small one. It’s always a special occasion for us. I’m also a huge fan of sci-fi in general. We are in a golden age of media so it’s hard to keep up on all the amazing content out there.
What I've been listening to
I live in the Los Angeles area, which means lot of traffic. Music is what keeps me sane during the peak hours, on the crowded streets and freeways. I love discovering new artists. Maybe I’m old school, but I like to experience an album from start to finish, and enjoy the opening, the flow from song-to-song, and the closing. And of course, live shows are awesome too. My wife and I have fun going to concerts together. My kids even surprised me with tickets for Father’s Day.
What I've been playing
Video games have been a passion of mine for a while. I love getting lost in an RPG or playing multiplayer shooters with my friends. My sons and I enjoy talking about the games we’ve been playing and sharing our experiences. My game backlog is massive, and friends and I joke about what new game we are buying next.
What I collect
I was hooked on action figures ever since I got my first GI Joe with Kung-fu Battle Grip as kid. It was a game-changer for me, as it added a new level of realism and fun to my toys. I never stopped collecting, even as an adult. Now I mostly focus on Star Wars and Marvel 1/6 scale figures. I also enjoy making custom dioramas. There is just something special about recreating a scene from a movie I love.
AI Steve
- What is the goal of AI Steve? It's proof-of-concept (POC) for a bigger AI chatbot initiative allowing recruiters and hiring managers to “virtually” interview candidates. Dream big, start small.
- What type of AI is it? AI Steve is a Machine Learning (ML) chatbot based on a Supervised model using a Linear Regression mathematical method. It's trained using very specific labeled datasets. It’s a very specialized intelligence type, meaning it doesn’t know the weather in Missouri or who the singer of Korn is. But it does know about human Steve, his skills, career aspirations, and personal interests.
- How was it made? It was designed and hand-coded using Python, HTML, JSON, CSS.
- How long did it take to make? It was a 3-week part-time project to help teach human Steve how to code Python and configure the server app.
- There are fun surprises and likely silly mistakes. Feedback is always welcome so AI Steve can learn and improve over time.
- Below is the high-level architecture of how AI Steve works.
