Product Manager Development

ROBERT SCHIFF

Atlanta, GA 949-***-**** **********@*****.*** Linkedin.com/in/robert-m-schiff-98ab953b

Senior Product Operations Leader managing projects and teams that exceed critical goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), driving integrations in post-M&A environments, and aligning resources and strategic plans.

Sr. Product Manager with track record of success in creating and prioritizing user stories, conducting user research/ testing to understand needs, and guiding junior team members to thrive within collaborative, cross-functional, hardware/software/firmware/IoT development teams. Well-accomplished leader who drives product development in Agile environments, initiates and executes revenue-generating opportunities, and owns roadmap for multiple features/products in collaboration with a partner team. Delivers and owns end to end product creation, delivery, and life cycle management.

Expansive Product Management Experience: +10 years of experience in facilitating senior-level usability reviews with customers, translating business goals and end-user needs into product strategy, owning roadmap for multiple product launches, building marketing and roll-out plans, and managing teams/stakeholder expectations to execute product strategy.

Operational and Product Thought Leadership: Stand out for communication, relationship building, and organizational skills leveraged to build trust with targeted customers, advocate for modern software development practices, translate technical concepts into non-technical language for stakeholders, and guide junior team members.

Trailblazing Business/Project Impact: Demonstrate solid achievements in generating multi-million dollars profit for business, delivering 8 large-scale, nationwide product launches, turning around least performing areas to top performers, and significantly increasing customer satisfaction scores.

Core Competencies

Agile Product Development

Requirement Gathering

Roadmap Development

Project Management

Change Management

Strategic Planning & Execution

Post-M&A Integrations

Operational Leadership

Budgeting & Analytics

Customer Service

Vendor Management

Training & Mentoring

Professional Experience

Darquerwun Collectibles – Remote 09/2024 -Present

Product Director

Drives strategic vision and innovation at Darquerwun Collectibles as a key leader shaping the future of the collectible industry. Oversees end-to-end product strategy and lifecycle management, delivering exclusive, high-value collectible offerings that captivate diverse customer segments and define market trends. Leads transformative initiatives to expand revenue streams, enhance brand loyalty, and establish Darquerwun Collectibles as a premier name in the collectibles space. Partners with executive leadership and cross-functional teams execute high-impact product launches, optimize operations, and align company objectives with industry-leading standards. A visionary leader committed to elevating the collectible experience and driving organizational success.

Pioneering the development and growth of Darquerwun Collectibles, a start-up specializing in collectibles such as comic books, statues, toys, and original comic art, achieving $3 million in sales during the early stages.

Leading the end-to-end development of the company's e-commerce website and managing the iOS and Android apps to enhance user experience and customer engagement.

Overseeing logistics, warehousing, and distribution operations to ensure efficient fulfillment processes and scalability for diverse product lines.

Defining and executing the marketing strategy to drive brand awareness, customer acquisition, and retention, leveraging platforms like Whatnot and eBay.

Managing contracts and partnerships with publishers, merchandise providers, and artists, ensuring alignment with the company’s business objectives and growth plans.

Driving operational efficiency by developing sales strategies, optimizing processes, and implementing innovative solutions to enhance the customer journey and expand market reach.

Building and mentoring cross-functional teams, fostering collaboration and driving successful product launches and business initiatives.

Cox Communications – Atlanta, GA 11/2021 – 7/2024

Sr. Product Manager, Interoperability and Managed Services

Delivers business value to drive sales and improve customer service by executing end-to-end product development and life cycle support for Cox Business Interoperability services for Mid-Market and SMB, including SD-WAN with IPC PRO/Select and Managed Wi-Fi, SD-WAN Pro with SASE (Cloud Firewall/IDaaS/EMS), SaaS, IoT, Unmanaged Switch, Cradlepoint, Converged 4131/4332 Gateway Router, UCaaS, Ring Centra, customer portal and Apps. Manages the Customer Service Assurance Protection program.

Just completed the company objective to have all products in the catalog work tighter utilizing SD-WAN as the backhaul. Generated $1M for the company in Capex savings in the first year by managing end-to-end product development and reducing equipment installation time.

●Drove product development in Agile environment by collaborating with technology boundary partners to facilitate standups, iteration planning sessions, product demos, and retrospectives.

●Delivered 8 large-scale, nationwide product launches annually across Mid-Market and SMB by defining, implementing, and maintaining operating KPIs for all Interoperability products in portfolio and product life cycle management.

●Identified, developed, and oversaw three-year initiative to make all products in the catalog (Video, Core Voice, Data, Managed Wi-Fi, and Business Security) work over a single device utilizing SD-WAN (SASE, SD-WAN, SD-Gateway, and SD-Branch). This initiative included software development, hardware development, and portal development.

Cox Communications – via 22nd Century Technologies Inc. – Atlanta, GA 1/2020 – 11/2021

Sr. Product Manager, Detection and Surveillance – Cox Business Security Solutions 1/2020 – 11/2021

Drove product roadmap, budget, requirements, development, management, launch, operations, and lifecycle support of all Cox Business for Detection and Surveillance. Products include monitoring, SVR recorders, cameras, Legacy iControl, ADC, PowerG, CBSS Alarm Panel Partitioning, Enterprise Service Groups, Identity/Access Controls, IoT, customer portal, Apps, and Platform Migrations.

●Spearheaded the launch and scaling of Cox Business Security Solutions, growing it from inception to a $23M run rate with a lean team of three.

●Led product strategy and roadmap for integrated smart business solutions including security, video surveillance, refrigeration monitoring, and temperature control – catering to customers in retail, food service, and healthcare.

●Oversaw API development and management using Apigee, enabling seamless integrations with third-party platforms and ensuring secure, scalable interoperability across services.

●Collaborated cross-functionally with engineering and operations teams to deliver a robust fleet management capability, allowing business to track, monitor, and respond to real-time vehicle and asset data.

●Developed and executed go-to-market strategies in partnership with sales, marketing, and customer success teams to drive adoption and retention.

●Defined KPI’s, monitored usage analytics, and implemented feedback loops to continuously optimize product performance and user experience

●Ensured new products were implemented in line with regulatory compliance through collaboration with local markets and product teams.

●Launched new products, expanding the portfolio and driving growth while successfully migrating customers from a legacy platform to Alarm.com, improving system reliability and customer experience.

●Oversaw regulatory compliance across all product rollouts by partnering with legal, local markets, and cross-functional product teams, reducing risk and maintaining adherence across regions.

Sr. Product Operations Manager, Video Services – Cox Business 11/2018 – 12/2019

Executed operations, product launch, and life-cycle support of all Cox Business Video products/services, including National Pro: Idiom, Contour for Hospitality CBIG Evolution, and CB Smart Gateway via Auto Configuration Server.

●Added over 20,000 subscribers in declining video market by creating business plans to maximize new opportunities and developing user-centric strategies to improve efficiency and enhance customer satisfaction.

●Managed video product roadmap and product launch activities across all markets for assigned products such as National Pro: Idiom, Contour for Hospitality, CBIG, and CB Smart Gateway via Auto Configuration Server.

●Built, implemented, deployed, and coordinated marketing efforts for virtual reality products by performing product trials, supporting user acceptance testing activities, and managing KPIs for all video products in the portfolio.

Charter Communications – Atlanta, GA 5/2016 – 5/2018

Supervisor of Field Operations - Site Manager & Implementation

Led 50 direct reports in Technical Operations, Network Operations, and Charter Business through standardization efforts in M&A environment with Time Warner Cable and Brighthouse Cable. Standardized enterprise-level methods and oversaw budget.

●Turned around underperforming territory from last place at 16 of 16 to #2 ranking within 6 months by standardizing Technical Operations and Customer Care between Charter-Spectrum, Time Warner Cable, and Brighthouse.

●Rebuilt teams during high-attrition, merger environment, provided training, motivation, and accountability, which decreased market attrition to less than 2.5%.

●Managed and implemented Ultra Speed and World Box roll-out, meeting and exceeding both timeline and expectations as well as enterprise roll-out of 1Gb product and speed increases.

●Created and implemented new metrics and bonus structures for all Field and Care employees throughout the enterprise.

●Increased customer satisfaction scores from 95% to 98% through team cross-training and focus on customer experience.

DIRECTV/AT&T – Las Vegas, NV 11/2015 – 5/2016

Supervisor Field Operations/Manager Technical Operations

Steered organizational change efforts during AT&T and DIRECTV merger at an enterprise level. Provided site direction, managed multiple direct reports across the region, and coordinated training and onboarding of new hires.

●Structured corporate-level communications, standardized procedures, and established best practices during AT&T and DIRECTV merger by effectively managing change and communications efforts for this sweeping organizational change.

●Created and deployed companywide employee metrics and bonus program by leveraging market research to devise best-in-class strategies to bolster performance growth.

LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS – Las Vegas, NV 5/2015 – 09/2015

Sr. Manager of Field Operations & Managed Services

Managed 50 field operations direct reports (Field, Engineering, Fiber Techs) and a $1M budget. Established annual goals, headcount numbers, forecast training needs, and operational budget. Directed field operations supporting Tier 2 (Synergy) and Tier 3 (ILA) sites in coordination with Southwest regional management team.

●Transformed underperforming market ranking in last place at 38 of 38 to #3 ranking within 90 days.

●Rebuilt team in high-attrition, post-acquisition environment by providing training, motivation, and accountability necessary to lead through difficult organizational change.

●Reduced overtime by $20K within 3 months through effective hiring, training, and cross-training of employees.

●Led merger efforts between Level 3 and Time Warner Communications at enterprise level.

●Completed Starbucks migration project to relocate Nevada and Arizona locations to company owned T1 & T3 lines.

COX COMMUNICATIONS – Orange County, CA / Las Vegas, NV 1/1998 – 5/2015

Supervisor of Field Operations 5/2010 – 5/2015

Promoted from Universal Home Technician to supervisor role focusing on leading and mentoring +25 direct reports servicing video, data, telephony, and Homelife needs.

●Significantly increased Net Promoter Score (NPS) to rank among company’s highest by building roster of high-potential talent as well as creating and managing Cox/Northwest Technical Academy Internship Program.

●Drove multiple product launches, including the flagship Fiber to the Home 1GB launch.

●Managed end-to-end build of fiber network within Southwest Region beating official roll-out date by several weeks, earned recognition from Southwest Senior Vice President, John Wolfe for completing early and under budget.

Education

Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business Management, John F. Kennedy University

Associate of Applied Science (AAS) Degree in Business Management, College of Southern Nevada

Certifications

Six Sigma Green Belt

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