Tom Stratton
Bellingham, WA 98264 • (213) 910-3503 • tom.d.stratton@outlook.com • linkedin.com/in/tomdstratton
Director of Product Management
Proactive product manager with extensive experience driving product strategy and key data assets for enterprise and startup companies. Advocates strongly for user needs and facilitates collaboration among disparate stakeholders to maximize success of product offerings. Excels at implementing efficient processes to improve operations and communication.
CORE COMPETENCIES
Product Management • Requirements Analysis • Product Road Mapping • User Experience (UX) • Product Launch Continuous Improvement • Asset Management • Data Analysis • Enterprise • Stakeholder Management Information Technology • Project Management • Agile Methodologies • Cross-Functional Collaboration • Scrum
Communication • Product Development • Microsoft Office Suite
EXPERIENCE
Y Meadows | Remote 7/2020-Present
Director, Product Management
- Recruited to manage product strategy and offerings for software startup delivering customer service automation platforms utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) solutions.
- Interface with potential clients to gather customer service data, requirements, and pain points; create comprehensive product roadmaps and provide customized automation solutions to resolve clients’ unique problems.
- Champion Scrum/Agile practices for team of seven engineers and supervise Product Manager/Business Analyst, ensuring alignment with delivery targets and key performance indicators (KPIs) to drive measurable revenue growth.
- Practice continuous improvement processes to deliver on strategic priorities by optimizing existing products; create detailed documentation of scalable standards for client onboarding and product implementation procedures.
- Collaborate with engineering team to translate client requirements into action plans and develop innovative solutions; identify product opportunities, priorities, and feasibility while building business cases.
- Provide dedicated support and technical training for clients during onboarding, implementation, and integration phases; act as first point of contact after product delivery to address additional concerns and requests.
Select Achievements
- Performed numerous product demonstrations, securing early clients and additional seed funding; helped grow company client base to 15+ mid- to enterprise-level clients, including Nestle, OpenTable, Divvy Homes, and Fleetworthy.
- Saved OpenTable’s customer service department one full-time employee and drove resolution of 75% of customer service issues without need for manual input by leading implementation of automated methods for four customer service processes.
- Reduced Divvy Homes customer service ticket resolution times from worst case of 10 days to less than one hour by spearheading automated system solution, ultimately saving company 120+ customer service labor hours per month.
- Initiated successful audit of company’s security processes and collaborated with newly hired CISO to capture ISO 27001 and SOC-2 certifications, which enabled company to obtain enterprise clients.
Warner Bros. | Los Angeles, CA 6/2018-7/2020
Product Owner / Senior Manager, Asset Applications for Content Management & Distribution
- Promoted to serve as Product Owner for new proprietary media asset management (MAM) application, utilizing extensive asset and stakeholder management expertise to spearhead creation of full-featured, user-friendly platform.
- Managed team of two product managers/two consultants and coordinated operations for software developers; collaborated with Vice President and Director of Engineering to establish product objectives, deadlines, and budgets.
- Established product vision and facilitated stakeholder engagement across six major business units to manage large-scale scope of new product offerings, gathering and meeting disparate requirements/use cases.
- Partnered with individual business units on product transition projects and maintained old MAM application; oversaw implementation of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) updates for asset management applications.
Select Achievements
- Captured $10M annual reduction in support and operating expenses without interrupting existing business unit operations by replacing obsolete, external MAM application; managed product roadmaps and negotiated scope with key stakeholders to meet critical delivery deadlines.
- Transitioned DC Comics business unit within first eight months as part of pilot project and enabled 25% of asset team’s staff to prioritize other projects and operations due to efficiency of new MAM application.
Warner Bros. | Los Angeles, CA 10/2015-6/2018
Manager, Digital Assets and Metadata
- Delivered strategic direction, architecture, and support for digital asset and metadata management across studio’s business units, initiating productive relationships with key stakeholders and external partners.
- Presented data management improvement initiatives to senior leadership and consulted with individual business units to select software best suited to their asset management needs.
- Conducted AI and machine learning (ML) research projects to resolve endemic data management issues in collaboration with Technical Operations team, implementing effective solutions to enhance daily operations.
Select Achievements
- Launched innovative collaboration with MovieLabs and led cross-studio effort to streamline interactivity processes by developing standardized data practices and film terminology across participating studios, such as Disney and Dreamworks.
- Enabled cross-application integration and improved master data management (MDM) outcomes by leading project to consolidate studio identifiers into single universally unique identifier (UUID) system.
- Submitted 10 patent ideas to studio, resulting in two patent-pending notices.
BiteSize Networks | Los Angeles, CA 12/2013-10/2015
IT Director
- Promoted from Asset Manager position in 7/2014 to lead organization’s IT department during company’s pivot away from web content to television content, architecting IT solutions and systems to optimize new operations.
- Oversaw production pipeline for born-digital content, ensuring value and accessibility of all digital assets.
Master FX | Los Angeles, CA 12/2012-12/2013
Data Manager / Software Developer, Visual Effects Pipeline
- Designed systems and processes to optimize addition of digital VFX effects to company’s existing practical effects capabilities; implemented data archive policies and practices to securely manage all digital assets and procured necessary hardware.
- Architected system that enabled company to secure and execute digital VFX contracts for two seasons of hit television show, Falling Skies.
Stratton Consulting | Los Angeles, CA 11/2008-12/2013
Principal Consultant
- Provided customer-focused software, data, and project management consulting for mid-sized media companies.
- Managed metadata migration for Epitaph Records as lead Project Manager (10/2011-5/2012), coordinating communication and operations with two external development teams.
- Managed all data during 3D conversion process for big-budget feature film, Immortals (12/2010-10/2011).
The Icon | Los Angeles, CA 9/2004-11/2008
Director of Digital Services
- Built digital services department for commercial photo services facility; grew team from six to 30 members and captured $3M in annual revenue.
- Selected as Product Owner to develop new order entry and job tracking application, providing strategic direction and technical expertise to optimize capabilities of new product during 11-month project.
EDUCATION
The University of British Columbia | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Completed 12 Courses toward Master of Applied Mathematics.
The University of British Columbia | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Bachelor of Applied Science; Engineering Physics & Applied Mathematics
CERTIFICATIONS
- Certified Scrum Product Owner – Scrum Alliance (2018 - expired)
- Technical Management Program Certificate – University of California, Los Angeles (2018)
- Continuing Education Certificate in Python – O’Reilly School of Technology (2011)