Project Manager Product Owner
Resume:
BALU NAIK DHANAVATH
*************@*****.***
Seasoned and versatile Project Manager and Product Owner with 19+ years of experience leading and executing large-scale programs across multi-vendor, multi-geography environments. I bring a rich blend of strategic leadership, technical acumen, and delivery excellence, currently serving as a Product Owner on Connected Car and Mobility Solutions for Toyota Motors Europe, and as a Scrum Master for a leading Automotive client in the telematics (IoT) domain
I’ve successfully delivered complex digital transformation, product rollout, and system modernization programs for top-tier international clients such as Ford, VISA, Walmart, Microsoft, Lowes.com, SunTrust Bank, and more. My expertise spans a wide range of domains including Retail, Banking, Telematics, Automotive, Cards & Payments, eCommerce, and Insurance.
I have a strong foundation in Testing, particularly Web Services and AWS, with hands-on experience in implementing regression, automation, and Agile testing strategies. My ability to bridge business and technology is evident in my close collaborations with IT Directors and client leadership, where I’ve translated pain points into actionable, scalable solutions.
Profile Summary
Strong project manager with experience in managing and executing large programs with
extensive exposure to multi-vendor environment across geographies.
Diversified experience with international clients (Ford, VISA, Walmart, First Group of America,
Solera, Nationwide USA, Microsoft, Lowes.com, SunTrust Bank)
Currently working as a Product Owner on Connected Car and Mobility Products and
Features for Toyota Motors Europe
Proven Leader for Product Rollouts, Business Transformations, Systems & Process
Transformations
Have closely worked with IT directors of different clients to understand the pain points and
business needs and provided solutions to address the same.
Currently working as a Scrum Master for Automotive client in telematics (Internet of Things)
for Modernization Program. Also, working on Generative AI tools for Infosys Product.
Strong customer facing skills and have directly with the client's senior leadership for
discussion of ideas, presenting solutions and delivery of programs
Background in Testing Specialized in Webservices testing and AWS Services. Have
experience in implementing regression and Agile Methodologies.
Extensive knowledge on Test Plan Creation and Test Case Development.
Worked on Retail, Banking, Telematics, Automotive, cards & payments, ecommerce &
Insurance Domains
Key Focus:
Effective product ownership through strong Product Backlog, Customer-Centric Vision,
Futureproof Product Roadmap, Functional Modularity, and alignment to E2E Business Goal
Define comprehensive requirements and overall Product Backlog with best fit possibilities.
and own the Requirements for the full Lifecycle of the Product
Practicing boundaryless requirement ownership across all Cross-Functional Domains of the
Business Systems and Processes
Prepare a mature and comprehensive Product Backlog And assist and guide all teams.
during the full life cycle of the requirements right from pre-grooming, grooming, dev, test, go-live and production issues.
Work History
2013- May 2025
Project Manager
Infosys Limited
Worked as Project Manager for Automotive client responsible for learning market and customer needs in telematics area.
Responsibilities were to prioritize features after consulting with product Owner that the team should be focusing on, detailing the specifications, planning, product backlog management, reviewing test cases and executing test cases.
Project Manager for a strategic and challenging transformation program for the largest logistics provider in USA.
Offshore program test manager working directly with the client IT Director for a large legacy modernization program. Developed solutions, tools for validation to increase the productivity and quality of the application being developed. The solutions developed were presented to the client IT Director and business teams and they were adopted for their business to use.
Delivery partner for a European client, responsible for the overall delivery. Built the client trust through quality of delivery which grew the Account from a 20-member team to the size of 75 within a 9 month period.
Facilitate scrum ceremonies (Daily Scrum/Standup calls, Sprint Planning, Story Point estimation and Retrospective meetings)
2007- 2013
SOA Tech Lead
IBM, Hyderabad
As a Consultant and Lead, Designed and Developed test cases for a financial client, involved in requirements gathering
As a Testing Consultant, I had setup a detailed Testing process and standards for a Financial client based out of US. The process had to be setup after discussions and alignment with different stakeholders across the board.
For US logistic provider, I had joined as the Lead when the program had run into effort overrun, cost overrun, and schedule overrun and poor quality. Had discussions with the client IT to understand the issue and devised a new strategy to improve the quality and delivered the program successfully to the client in 3 months with minimum UAT defects.
Automated webservices using HP Service Test 9.5/11.2 tool for different scenarios and executing test cases.
2007- 2005
QA Engineer
Symphony Services Corporation
Led the transition track of testing successfully and demonstrated it to the client successfully.
Carried out application analysis and data analysis to identify the test data to be used for testing.
Developed tools in excel to analyze defect data.
Skills
Program Management
Excellent
Client Relationships
Very Good
Time Management
Excellent
Project Methodology
Excellent
Telematics / IoT
Good
Team Leadership & Development
Excellent
Product Management
Very Good
Analytical problem solver
Excellent
Program leadership
Very Good
Education
1997 – 2001
Bachelor of Technology: Information Science & Technology
Nagarjuna University
Languages
English, Hindi, Telugu
Certifications
Scrum Master Accredited Certification
IBM - DB2 Certified Professional
IBM – SOA Certified Professional
Software
Middleware Technologies
Good
Database
Very Good
Test Management tools
Very Good
SOA/Webservices Testing
Excellent
Programming Languages
Very Good
JIRA/RALLY
Excellent
Project Management
Excellent
Accomplishments
Winner of the Bravo Award in the most valuable contributor of IBM Hyderabad.
Winner of the Achievement Award for contributing more than 1K test cases for different business scenarios
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