Taryn Walker
Product Management / Design Operations Leader
Pioneering business strategist and innovator with a history of defining trailblazing solutions to business dilemmas.
Offering rare blend of innate curiosity, strategic vision, business acumen, strong leadership skills, and high EQ.
Dynamic leader with 20+ years of repeated success bringing best-in-class products and experiences to end users by driving strategy development and execution. Visionary and product expert—driving growth, innovation and operational product experience across entire lifecycle from inception to sunset. Collaborative leader whose method for inspiring cross-cultural teams to achieve more in high-energy, challenging yet fun environments is featured in The Leadership Challenge: How to make extraordinary things happen in organizations.
Global consultant and world traveler; multilingual in English, German, French, Italian, and Spanish.
Professional Experience
AAA (AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION) – Non-profit membership and service organization with 60M+ members. 2022 – Present Head of Design and Digital Product Management
Selected to lead design operations, digital product management, and strategy by partnering with lines of business and digital development teams. Ensure top-quality digital member experience, product site uptime, and user functionality to website with internally built Content Management System (CMS). Partner with development teams using Agile and Kanban sprints for continuous quality improvements. Research and analyze data to identify trends in product usage, gaps in experience, and needs of users/members.
Led and implemented strategic initiatives that sparked collaboration across the organization. Served as consultant and chief of staff to ensure the strategic alignment and efficient execution of critical projects. ▪ Redesigned outdated enterprise website from concept to launch, serving 61M members. Drove website changes that resulted in over 1,000 releases with fewer than 5 rollbacks in one year.
Bridged previously ‘siloed’ workstreams and cross-functional teams, while instilling product management and incorporating product strategy and goals into roadmaps.
▪ Stabilized and turned around corporate venture products within 3 months by addressing gaps in the product MVP and supporting business operations. Migrated duplicative systems, which led to $150K in cost savings.
Streamlined processes, improved systems, innovated products, and reduced costs. Created goals, initiatives, and actions to achieve objectives; obtained resources to execute.
▪ Partnered with development teams to build an internal AB test tool saving $200K/year in costs, eliminated developer test creation, and improved ease of testing. Integrated design operations into the process of delivering digital products and services. ▪ Implemented artificial intelligence machine learning models that provided personalization for website users.
STRATEGIC PARTNERS CONSULTING – Product innovation and strategic solutions provider. 2013 – 2022 Product Management & Strategy Consultant
Founded consultancy providing product innovation that defined compelling, synthesized solutions to overcome seemingly insurmountable business challenges. Led team of senior-level consultants and worked closely with clients, including large corporations, start-ups, and investors. Overhauled business models with engagement scope that included, new product development, strategic planning, business case creation, process reengineering, technology development, partnership building, go-to-market planning, and product innovation. Selected engagements:
Spearheaded $150M turnaround project for high-profile insurance client with slumping sales due to outmoded technology and changing marketplace. Led major re-envisioning of innovation strategy and business processes that delivered $300M in profit. ▪ Drove cross-organizational process to develop new vision, business strategy, and execution plan; led cross-functional redesign of processes and built consensus organization-wide for entirely new approach to business. ▪ Implemented new technology that drove 100% project ROI and reversed downward trend to quickly increase revenues by 10%. ▪ Grew sales an additional estimated 10% by recommending product enhancements and potential strategic partners.
Assisted multiple start-ups to turn bleeding-edge, disruptive technology ideas into viable and profitable businesses capable of capturing market share from top name brands and industry-leading competitors. ▪ Reduced annual supply chain costs by $1M and tripled inventory turn for Aruba Networks prior to acquisition by Hewlett Packard.
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▪ Created vertical channel marketing approach and go-to-market strategy that generated $5M in 1 year from Alacritech’s oil and gas clients. ▪ Grew revenue from $7M to $12M in 1 year by creating a detailed operational plan for an early-stage, Shanghai-based semiconductor firm. ▪ Forged 10+ lucrative strategic partnerships, raised over $7M in funding, and led development of more than 10 innovative products. ▪ Positioned 3 companies for successful acquisition due to innovation, technology, product portfolios, and revenue growth.
KAISER PERMANENTE – $95.4B global leader in integrated health plans and healthcare. 2007 – 2013 Product Manager
Recruited to define and execute a compelling, innovative, forward-thinking business strategy. Developed/managed 3 product portfolios (15+ total products) of health plans including P&Ls, technology and supporting operations. Built product management infrastructure from the ground up. Led design and integration of websites and systems including ecommerce and ongoing online payments. Partnered with government agencies. Created cross-functional internal and external teams to define the business strategy.
Volunteered to develop business strategy to steer company through an uncertain future with unprecedented disruption and change. ▪ Generated $7M increase in net income and 50% increase in customers – to 9M – within months after implementation. ▪ Defined the strategy that positioned the company as a top competitor in the new market landscape based on insightful analysis.
Appointed by President to lead influential cross-functional team of financial services department heads and healthcare providers. ▪ Increased team participation to 97% while greatly enhancing collaboration. ▪ Reduced costs ~$3M while increasing customer satisfaction 30% and retention 15%.
Aligned diverse perspectives and synthesized extensive data to lead the turnaround of an unprofitable business sector. ▪ Launched 3 product lines to recapture revenue working with a small team of trailblazers to define strategy and integrate technology/operations.
▪ Introduced product development and product management processes and defined go-to-market strategy/implementation. ▪ Led transition from waterfall to agile and scrum development methodology to increase responsiveness and decrease timelines.
Integrated 100+ divergent systems into a single technology ecosystem in one year.
NATIONWIDE INSURANCE – $270B+ Fortune 100 global leader in financial services. 2002 – 2007 Product Manager
Recruited as key member of trailblazing team that launched a start-up subsidiary and tackled complex business challenges to expand into new geographies, increase market share, and spur revenue growth. Led the entire product development process including market research, business strategy, product lifecycle and roadmap for execution. Managed a 10-member team and a $1.2M budget.
Launched a new division in less than 3 months, exceeding revenue target by $1M with $4M in overall sales the first year. Led key acquisition to accelerate revenue growth, ultimately attaining $21M in revenue. ▪ Introduced 80+ insurance, life, health, investment, and banking products, after gaining full government regulatory approval. ▪ Built team of “go-getters” as underwriting manager while creating collaborative culture with 15% higher employee satisfaction scores.
Education & Qualifications
Master of Liberal Arts in Finance Coursework – HARVARD UNIVERSITY Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Entrepreneurship – SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business Administration – CALIFORNIA COAST UNIVERSITY ~ graduated with honors Professional Development:
Contentsquare Certification | Google Data Analytics Professional | Google UX Design Courses | Google Analytics Platform Principles | Google Project Management | Agile Scrum Certification | University of Pennsylvania Computational Thinking for Problem Solving | Duke University Data Science Math Skills | Duke University AI Product Management Specialization Courses | Python | SQL | R | Tableau | Figma Community Involvement: Volunteer at Big Daddy’s Community Garden, Emeryville; Emeryville Citizens Assistance Program (ECAP); and Reading Partners.