Christopher is a senior product manager with eight years of experience and a business and technical background. He has managed more than 100 software products for clients ranging from startups to Fortune 100 enterprises, primarily based in the US. Previously he co-founded an edtech startup, a nonprofit which organized hackathons in 15 African nations, a B-corp software agency with 25 staff, and a platform that enabled teachers in Mexico to crowdfund projects for more than 8,000 students.
Created scalable processes for our partner charity, Teach for Mexico, to follow the implementation of Da-Mas.org technology in their country.
Managed the full cycle of product discovery, roadmap (development and prioritization), design, and implementation (with one of my co-founders handling development and the other handling corporate fundraising).
Co-founded an organization that funded 130+ projects worth more than US$100,000 for schools in Mexico.
Advised the team in Mexico on the day-to-day platform implementation including process design, Agile coaching, and training.
Managed the project handover to the partner charity in late 2019 (partner decided to sunset the technology).
An Online Freelance Agency
Software Architect | Product Manager
2017 - 2018 (1 year)
Remote
Managed enterprise software development projects with globally distributed teams (designers and developers) for several US-based clients (including Fortune 500).
Oversaw and was responsible for software architecture and product and project management.
Acted as an agile coach for the design/engineering team and client stakeholders.
Managed the product requirement documents (PRDs) and interviewed stakeholders to ensure requirements alignment.
Ensured compliance of process and product for enterprise customers with strict/complex requirements.
Homies.io
Co-founder | CEO | Product Manager
2017 - 2018 (1 year)
Remote
Co-founded a software agency as a public benefit corporation, where we spent 50% of our time pro-bono or heavily discounted working on impact projects.
Grew the agency to 25 consultants at its peak, in a hybrid on-site (Austin, TX) and remote format.
Worked with notable clients including Handup.org, King.com, Outdoorsy, Orthly, Noson.io, and Netramark.
Udacity
Technical Project Manager
2016 - 2017 (1 year)
Remote
Worked remotely as part of the founding team for Udacity Blitz, a small division that created a software agency model on top of the core $2+ billion Udacity educational business.
Created internal products fully from the product ideation, design, development, to the final launch.
Managed client projects across IoT, fintech, health tech, VR, and more.
Researched the market and competition, interviewed customers to generate compelling user stories.
Provided strategic input to the company, from prior market experience and new research, in the design of the agency business unit.
An Online Freelance Agency
Product Manager
2015 - 2016 (1 year)
Remote
Managed projects worth more than US$2.5 million for the agency, with 50+ designers and developers under management at any given time.
Rated in the top 1% amongst 600+ contractors on the platform based on client satisfaction and team reviews.
Oversaw and was responsible for both product and project management on client projects.
Gained experience across industries (fintech, edtech, healthcare, marketplaces, social, IoT, and so on), company stages (bootstrapped startups through Fortune 500), and platforms (web, mobile, hardware).
Worked remotely with a globally distributed team spanning California/PST through to Australian timezones, and everything in between.
StartupBus Africa
Co-founder | Partner
2013 - 2015 (2 years)
Remote
Co-founded a nonprofit that organized hackathons on buses across sub-Saharan Africa. The nonprofit ended-up scaling to 16 countries under the name Ampion.org. My previous startup, Sterio.me, started on the first edition of StartupBus Africa.
Oversaw and was responsible for partnerships with co-working spaces, startup/founder networks, and conferences across the continent.
Created a mentor network so that participants could receive guidance on their ideas during (and after) the five-day event.
Sterio.me
Co-founder | CEO
2013 - 2015 (2 years)
Remote
Oversaw and was responsible for fundraising, hiring, the product, and more as the CEO of a small startup (ten people at our peak).
Was featured on the BBC, Guardian, WIRED, El Mercurio, and more.
Won various awards, was part of Start-Up Chile, WISE Accelerator, and was accepted to the Unreasonable Institute Global.
Created technology that enabled teachers to send homework to students' mobile phones using SMS and IVR technology so that students in our market of Lesotho could access content using feature phones (and no internet).
Gained experience in education technology, mobile, and web applications as well as startups in the Latin American and African markets.
Led PruExpert Labs at Prudential Corporation Asia as interim team lead and PM to create digital training materials for 600,000+ insurance agents across eight countries.
Coordinated with 50+ stakeholders and managed an extended team of around 20, involving people, project, product, and program management.
Completed the project as a nine-month full-time remote engagement with Toptal, as part of a COVID-19-accelerated digital transformation effort.
Led a team of senior designers and engineers to create an IoT microcontroller for K-12 code education and a custom e-learning platform on AWS for a California-based Toptal client
Successfully launched both products after nine months, with the microcontroller selling out its first production run and the learning platform being used internally by the business and its customers
Collaborated with industry professionals in designing casings and packaging, creating custom studio footage and animations, and carried out market research to create a brand appealing to core demographics in 2019
Developed a scalable product from a proof of concept for a behavioral change health app targeting prediabetics by overhauling various critical features such as customer experience, analytics setup, notifications and customer service flows.
Implemented comprehensive strategies for internationalization and white labeling that significantly contributed to securing contracts.
Achievements included winning a national contract with the NHS catering to 600,000 users in the UK and three private insurers in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the UK in 2019.
Sterio.me is a time-saving tool for teachers, automating homework processes from preparation to administration, and providing learners with out-of-classroom materials. The service can be accessed via basic phone/SMS, with no internet required, as well as an Android/web product for those with more tech access.
A custom Learning Management System (LMS) was developed within Sterio.me to support K-12 SMS, IVR, and mobile app-based homework flows. The company expanded to include ten staff members at its peak.
Sterio.me achieved several honours, including a finalist position at SXSW Launch EDU 2015, nominee for Young Mobile Innovator of the Year at GSMA Global Mobile Awards 2015, and second place at the World Summit Award for African Content + Education 2014. It also won in the 'Education for All' category at the UN World Summit Youth Award 2014 and received the Start-Up Chile (Gen X) and 1% Club awards.
Co-founded FounderBus UK and StartupBus Africa which later transitioned into Ampion.org that held hackathons on buses across various cities focused on regional impact.
Handled formulating teams, strategizing, enlisting mentors, speakers, partners, sponsors and assisted in recruitment and marketing during the founding period.
Ampion.org, established as a non-profit in 2014, has successfully organized venture buses across several countries incubating the most promising ventures with help from mentors, partners, and investors.
Education
Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Business Administration
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (OneMBA)
2019 - 2021 (2 years)
Coursework Toward a Master of Arts Degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
University of Oxford
2010 - 2012 (2 years)
Advanced Software Engineering Immersive in Software Engineering