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About Me.

I’m a results-driven, experienced, dynamic, and pragmatic Product Manager. I love enhancing the lives of real people with thoughtful and well-executed technology solutions.

I'm excited to leverage my skills and experience to drive growth, enhance your product, and create meaningful value for your customers and company!

What Excites Me

Great Products

I love building great products that make a difference in the lives of real people—solving real problems and satisfying desires.  I become an expert on and an evangelist for products I truly believe in.

 

Thought Leadership

I enjoy being a thought leader - building on the ideas of others and my own personal experience to advance us all.  Let’s do it better, together!

 

Enabling Others to Succeed

I grow and coach other product leaders - I measure my ultimate success by the success of those I enable to succeed.

Characteristics & Core Strengths

Here are a few of my most prominent attributes, how they benefit companies and products I work with.

 

Self-awareness

I’m always watching my own thoughts and reactions.  Being aware of my own conditioned responses and biases allows me to ensure I am responding rather than just reacting.

 

Assuming the best in others

This creates trust and a sense of safety.  People can be themselves around me, and know that any ‘mistakes’ will be used only for our mutual growth.

 

Empathy and Emotional Intelligence (i.e. reading the room)

Closely related to my ‘superpower’ of intuition, the ability to put myself in another’s shoes and adjust my communication and approach in real time enables accurate communication, shared understanding, trust and true collaboration.

 

Optimistic & positive, yet realistic disposition (the Stockdale Paradox

I KNOW we will prevail and achieve our goals, and I’m aware that the first step in doing this is to look with clear eyes at the current situation.  I truly believe what we think about we bring about; honestly examining our conscious and perhaps unconscious beliefs and actively retraining our habits of thoughts and expectation work to ensure we see and act on the opportunities that move us towards our goals.

 

Humility & Beginner’s Mind

I approach all things, even things I’ve been doing for years, with a sense that I’m just starting out, because in a sense I am!  There is ALWAYS more to learn and realizing what you don’t know everything opens the door to growth.  I seek out mentors, teachers, and new perspectives and I’m driven by a desire for deeper, more complete understanding.

 

Curious, Perpetual Learner

I continuously explore evolving customer needs, industry trends, technology, tools, and emerging ideas to bring the best insights and innovations to my users and business.

 

Focus on Clear Communication

Effective communication builds shared understanding of vision, strategy, goals, and agreements. I take responsibility for ensuring ideas are conveyed accurately and understood correctly, using proven techniques I've practiced over the years.

 

An Engineering Mindset (Deep Technical Understanding)

While trusting and empowering the engineering team, I actively engage with technical solutions to grasp system architecture, data flows, and infrastructure. This enables me to make informed product decisions that align with both user needs and long-term business goals.

 

Business Acumen

With experience as a business owner and deep knowledge of operations, finance, and compliance, I ensure product decisions align with both customer impact and long-term business viability.

"Aaron coalesces team members with various views and levels of understanding into a cohesive group working toward the same business outcome."

 

Jeff Pietrowicz - Product Owner Lead - Amadeus Hospitality

My Superpowers

Intuition

I can quiet my own thoughts, set aside preconceived ideas, and deeply tune into people and situations. I often sense what others are thinking and feeling, even when they may not be fully aware of it themselves. My intuition builds on insights received from conversations and data, and guides me toward the best solution, continuously refined through testing and experimentation.

 

Collaboration

I firmly believe that "we" are smarter than "I." Diverse perspectives and experiences consistently lead to better solutions than any individual working in isolation. I excel at fostering an environment where teams can harness their unique strengths to tackle the biggest challenges together.

 

Creative inspired solutions

Building on this idea, even the brightest minds don’t always have immediate access to the best answers. Often, the most profound ideas emerge when we tap into a deeper sense of intuition and universal intelligence. Gathering extensive information, asking the right questions, then shifting into a state of openness and deep listening can bring the most elegant solutions (often at 2AM!).  I'm naturally adept at guiding teams through this process, helping them access and trust these higher levels of insight, both individually and collectively.

Skills & Expertise

Product Strategy & Execution

  • Product Vision, Strategy, Release Planning & roadmap creation

  • Continuous Product Discovery techniques

  • Agile methodologies: Scrum, SAFe, Kanban

  • Cross-functional team leadership & collaboration

  • Market Research and competitive landscape analysis

  • Software as a Service (SaaS)

  • ML/AI Implementation

Tools & Technologies

  • Azure DevOps (ADO), Jira, etc.

  • API tools: Postman, Swagger, Insomnia

  • Data-driven decision-making: Basic SQL, MongoDB querying

  • Thoughtful use of Generative AI tools to enhance productivity

  • Modern web-application architectures & technology stacks

  • CI/CD pipelines & containerized cloud deployments (Azure, AWS)

Leadership & Communication

  • Driving alignment across product, design, and engineering

  • Coaching and mentoring product leaders & teams

  • Stakeholder engagement & executive-level communication

  • Customer-focused problem-solving with deep industry insights

  • Empathy-driven leadership, influencing without authority, high emotional intelligence

  • Flexible, adaptable, and nimble

  • Exceptional presentation, verbal and written communication skills

Personal Interests

I believe how we spend our free time reflects the way we contribute professionally. My personal interests fuel my creativity, sharpen my problem-solving skills, and enhance my ability to connect with others. Here’s how I spend my time outside of work:

Travel

The more I travel, the more I realize how much there is still to explore. In recent years, I’ve visited Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Greece, Malta, Spain, several Caribbean islands, and have crisscrossed the U.S. by car at least twice. A highlight of my recent career break was a five-week, unscripted road trip down the West Coast and through the Southwest with my partner Tara and a Great Dane named Grace. Travel broadens my perspective, challenges my assumptions, and fosters deep insights—all of which enrich my work. It also serves as a powerful reset, replenishing my energy and creativity.

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Music

Two years ago, I finally pursued a lifelong dream and started taking violin lessons. I’ve played guitar on and off since childhood, recently started teaching myself piano, and still enjoy singing when the moment is right. I have a deep appreciation for music theory—its structure, logic, and beauty—and I know that studying and practicing music strengthens my ability to learn and adapt in all areas of life.

Nature & Exercise

I love being outdoors.  Whether climbing an icy mountain, hiking through an ancient forest, or simply sitting by the ocean, I feel most at home, most at peace, and receive the strongest inspiration and insights when I choose to spend time in nature.  I’m at my best, both mentally and physically, when I prioritize movement, so I make a daily run or walk an essential part of my routine.

My Classic Car

I recently acquired a 1977 Alfa Romeo Spider—the very same car I was lucky enough to be loaned as a teenager. It had changed hands a few times, and I was able to find and purchase it.  I love the meticulous work of restoring and preserving this meaningful piece of my past, the challenge of tuning carburetors and updating wiring, and, of course, the thrill of driving with the top down on a crisp fall day.

Self-Improvement

Just as I continuously refine my skills in business and Product Management, I’m equally committed to personal growth. I’m always seeking to better understand myself—why I think the way I do, how I can improve, and how I can bring my best self to everything I do. I regularly dive into self-improvement, psychological concepts, and spiritual teachings, all of which shape how I engage with my products, colleagues, teams, and the world around me. I believe that when we grow as individuals, we elevate the way we show up in our work.

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