It's time for me to get back into it.
Skills and Experience Summary
Some of these skills and experiences were honed some time ago, but they are as sharp today as ever.
With four Agile certifications (two Scrum and two SAFe), I’m eager to put them to use. While I began with waterfall project management (and have to say was very good at it), I quickly saw the benefits of Agile. I’d already adopted certain Agile practices like maintaining a ready backlog for tech teams, developing MVP’s, or using rapidly developed prototypes to facilitate conversations the way user story maps do. My transition to Agile has seemed a natural and exciting step.
I’ve long been the person my peers and leaders turn to for setting a strategic vision and creating actionable paths forward. “strategic” and “thought leader” appeared frequently in my performance reviews, highlighted as core strengths. Time and again, I’ve been given a blank slate to envision where our business should be in the coming years—focusing on profitability, efficiency, competitiveness, and service improvement.
Customer Experience is both a skill and a talent. My work in Customer Experience greatly benefitted from my extensive experience in market research. The very first time I had he opportunity to redesign a web page in a way I thought made more sense to our prospective clients, I drew heavily not only on my experience analyzing and reporting dozens of research studies, but probably 150-200 focus groups. I spent a lot of time watching and listening to the perspectives our clients and prospective clients. By always keeping the perspective of the customer at the forefront, I have repeatedly been able to deliver superior digital products to them.
I dove into product leadership when I started redesigning our Financial Services client portal. This wasn’t a project with an endpoint—it was an ongoing responsibility post development and launch to shape strategy, make tough trade-offs, prioritize features, and achieve our OKRs. I continued to showcase my product leadership at American Express, both in Minneapolis and London.
Years in market research allowed me to listen directly to our customers, prospective clients, and field representatives, giving me an insider’s view of their needs. I’ve also seen development and marketing efforts go sideways when customer feedback was sidelined, distorted, or ignored. In the projects I’ve led, I’ve kept customer focus at the forefront, and that’s been central to my consistent, strong results—even when it meant challenging the status quo.
I love watching projects stay focused, on track, and hit their targets—much like watching sheepdogs at work in herding competitions I use to see on television in the UK. Eliminating distractions, redirecting efforts, and keeping KPIs and OKRs in sight are passions of mine. I drive results just as tenaciously as those dogs.
I have a proven track record of developing new products or enhancing existing ones to create greater customer value. Product innovation is second nature to me, as I constantly evaluate products, services, and features with an eye for improvement even when I am not at work.
Relationship management has been a cornerstone of every role I’ve held at American Express, where building strong, cross-functional relationships was essential to success. My approach centers on fostering collaboration and alignment while ensuring that everyone feels they’ve had a chance to be heard. Whether managing expectations, building consensus, or facilitating stakeholder communications, I consistently delivered results by creating a shared vision and keeping teams moving forward together. I especially take pride in the partnerships I built with my technology counterparts.
As a people leader, I prioritize the well-being and development of my team, fostering a culture where open communication, empowerment, and personal accountability are central. I aim to lead by example and strive to create a supportive environment where team members feel valued and fulfilled in their contributions. I strive to cultivate a team-oriented culture that values personal growth and enables each individual to reach their potential.
Where others might see roadblocks, I see a challenge to tackle. I thrive in situations with uncertain paths forward and obstacles in the way. Sure, we hope for smooth sailing, but when things get complicated, that’s where I do my best work. Seriously, if everything goes too smoothly and predictably, I get bored and go looking for other challenges.
While many focus on aesthetic UI, I find the structural elements of UI—particularly information architecture—equally critical to a successful UX. My background in market research honed my empathy for the customer, helping me resist the pressures to cut corners on UX for organizational convenience. A great UX isn’t just pretty; it’s built from the ground up with the customer’s needs in mind. Good UX work protects the customer from organizational forces that may seek shortcuts for the sake of speed or cost savings.
Being good at analysis is a critical skill when conducting and interpreting quantitative market research data, which I did for years. Being analytical is also critical in creating innovative solutions or designing systems. Analysis of data or other information allows us to more carefully define the problem, describe the situation, and ultimately determine better solutions.
Digital Servicing is about giving customers convenient self-service options that often outshine traditional methods. I’ve led numerous initiatives such as ACH money transfers, online statement delivery, email servicing, text and email alerts, and online card activation that empower customers through digital solutions. Most of these delivered solid ROI for the company. In the International Card Group cost savings from digital servicing were reinvested to improve call center interactions, creating value for both customers and CSRs—a true model of world-class service.
With an MBA in Marketing, I’ve always enjoyed crafting compelling messages for customers. Early on my customer-focused approach led to my involvement in developing marketing content for a new product, and I’ve since overseen marketing strategies for various products. As I stepped into product leadership I owned creating the marketing message and methods aimed at both internal and external targets. While I’ve had a few missteps (as any good marketer does), I’ve consistently made adjustments and went on to exceed business expectations. Recently my marketing work for a non-profit resulted in their website temporarily breaking due to high traffic that greatly exceeded expectations.
Transformational change doesn’t happen without challenging entrenched mindsets. I’ve led change initiatives at AEFA, from engaging financial advisors in new customer service strategies to promoting digital technologies. Shaking loose old ways and driving forward a new vision is something I embrace.
Creative thinking is about seeing beyond predictable solutions and dismantling conventional constraints. I take pride in being called creative, whether it’s for solving a complex problem others couldn’t or doing something truly unexpected, like the time I delivered an employee recognition speech in Swedish, a language I do not speak.
If you’ve read this far, my communication skills should speak for themselves. I adapt my style as needed, whether I’m speaking to a large audience, sending written communications to field representatives or international teams, or presenting to leadership. I listen, I convey my message, and I make sure it resonates.
As the project owner, I’ve worked hand-in-hand with my project managers, aggressively removing obstacles, making tough calls, and ensuring teams have what they need to keep the project on track. I have a strong record of delivering high-quality results on time and within budget, and I’m known for turning around projects that were struggling. And in case it isn’t clear, most of my projects used traditional waterfall methodology (which I was very good at), but I also have four current Agile certifications I am ready to put to use.
With a knack for math, I’m a natural at breaking down financial reports or building complex spreadsheets to showcase the financial impact of my work in marketing and digital development. I know how to quantify value and communicate it effectively.
Unlike Digital Servicing, which directly benefits customers, OpEx Reengineering focuses on creating cost savings for the business. During the design phase for self-service tools, I oversaw detailed analysis of the impact on operating expense. From paperless statementing to online payments, I could both improve customer experience and capture significant cost reductions for the business that measured well into the tens of millions of dollars.
I think of Business Emergency Management in two ways. First, there’s handling sudden, critical issues that arise, where quick solutions are needed to protect the business. I’ve been the one called on to fix serious customer related problems that escalate to the top, and I get them resolved. Then there’s planning for large-scale emergencies, like widespread technology failures or massive inability for employees to reach the office. In London I served as the group’s Business Continuity Plan leader and had the chance put our plan into action both for practice and for real.