Hi, my name is

Billy Gast

I am a Remote based
Director of Product

ABOUT ME

You should meet me first

I love unraveling customer problems, digging into the job they are trying to accomplish, and delighting them with innovative solutions that they love to use. To accomplish this I focus on outcomes, both the outcomes a customer wants to achieve as well as what works best for the business.

I have brought many products to market in a wide variety of industries by:

Being the voice of the Customer putting them at the center of what we do
Gaining a deep understanding of all aspects of the problem space
Developing a strong product vision
Fostering relationships with key stakeholders
Working with teams to make sure they focus on the vision and the outcomes
Bring about a collaborative environment where all opinions are respected and valued.
Always learning

Through product discovery, I work with UX and Engineering experts to reduce upfront risk and ensure Value, Viability, Usability, and Feasibility in all the initiatives we pursue. Making sure we are doing the right things at the right time, through product prioritization.

I believe in fostering a culture of experimentation by applying the scientific method to product discovery. Using both quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate results and continually innovate.

I enjoy meeting and learning from new people, reach out to me if you want to talk about trends in Product Management, Developing Software Products, or Football.

MY SKILLS

What I do the best

Product Discovery Process

Working to ensure Viability, Value, Usability, and Feasibility

customer research

Understanding the customer needs, and becoming their voice

roadmap prioritization

Understanding the value of outcomes for the business and customers

Product Analytics

Usage of data to help make decisions and uncover customer behaviors

Product strategy

Developing a vision and a plan to get there

Communication

Keeping all stakeholders and team members informed and aligned at all times

EDUCATION

Where did I get my skills

Brigham Young University

Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science

Performed analysis, specification, design, implementation, and testing resulting in quality computer software solutions. I used data structures, algorithms, programming languages, and software engineering techniques in my programming.

I also used theoretical concepts in my programming. Gaining a theoretical computer science background and the mathematical and analytical maturity necessary to allow me to follow and adapt to technological changes.

Where did I get experience

WORK

Feb 2022 —Current

MX

Lehi, UT

Director of Product Management

Managed Product portfolio on MXMobile product seeing 1.6M MAU
Mentored and coached 6-10 Product managers
Drove roadmap and product discovery effort for the mobile product offering
Established high level vuision and objects to help teams align and deliver against

Key Achievements

Implemented a Product Development Lifecycle to drive alignment and improve the prioritization of objectives across the company
Brought a innovative Fintech mobile development platform to market resulting in faster implementation time
Increased ARR by 4 M by partnering with sales to present and win multiple deals
Implemented a product roadmapping system and philosophy to provide internal and stakeholders the visibility they need to be confident in the future of the product
Set up a system of coaching and mentoring process for Product Managers improving the efficiency and validity of their discovery efforts

May 2021 —Feb 2022

Homie

Draper, UT

Group Product Manager

Key Achievements

Coaching of talent product managers to improve their skills and drive successful outcomes.
Developed a technology platform strategy to drive a united information sharing model to give customers insights into all aspects of their homeownership journey.
created short and long term strategy for the financial arm of Homie's lending offerings.
Improved policies and practices of product operations emowering Product managers and teams to implement real change in the product offerings.

Dec 2020 —May 2021

MX

Lehi, UT

Senior Product Manager

Key Achievements

Increased effeciency in UAT testing cycles which resulted in accurate timeline delivery and effective prioritization of issues.
helped drive and improve the go live process for a client bank resulting in smooth transition to the helios mobile banking platform.
Improved customer app rating from 3.5 to 4.7 start with innovative new customer experiences and data

MAR 2019 — Dec 2020

Progressive Leasing

Draper, UT

Senior Product Manager

Driving outcomes for the Cart, Invoice, and Signing process of the Progressive Leasing checkout experience.
Delivered outcome-focused value through strategic initiatives.
Collaboration with key stakeholders to ensure a shared vision.
Engaging with customers and retail partners to understand their needs and behavior
Directing product priorities and strategy based on qualitative data insights and rapid prototyping.
Working with design and tech partners to ensure usability, feasibility, and value in everything we do

Key Achievements

Increased yearly invoice by over $500M by providing over 400K new customers with an efficient and engaging leasing experience partnering with our retail partners
Implemented a new itemization process for collecting item details resulting in a greater than 95% increase in the accuracy of capturing of delivery fees. Resulting in a higher level of compliance with state and federal regulations.
Reduced invoice reconciliation issues with a large retail partner to 0.7% resulting in a higher NPS with that partner and a stronger overall relationship.
Automated the returns process taking the backlog of returns processing from 10 days to same day, while reducing the manual work load from 5-6 hours a day to less than 1.
Worked with technology team to implement a micro-front end architecture allowing for faster deployment and enhanced ability to iterate and experimentation (A/B testing) with minimal disruption to other domains.

MAR 2007 — MAR 2019

Navigator Business Solutions

Pleasant Grove, UT

Technical Product Manager
Product Consultant

Directing remote teams in diverse locations to drive innovation with new and exciting products.
Managing the product backlog, writing effective user stories and acceptance criteria and developing Technical Requirements documents.
Conduction effective customer and client interviews
Market analysis
Go to market strategy

Key Achievements

Through detailed discovery and customer research brought to market an innovative warehousing solution, resulting in faster task times and overall usability for our retail partners.
Managed a CAPA Case management product for use in the Life sciences vertical from concept to market, significantly increasing SAPs reach into the Life sciences market.
Used APIs such as SOAP, JSON, REST and ODATA to architect, develop and bring to market an Integration platform to SAP that connects to over 30 different applications such as EDI and Ecommerce, and handles over 10 M transactions a year with 99% uptime.
Overhauled the Azure DevOps CI/CD environment, which slashed monthly costs by 87%, maintained system performance standards and increased product deliverables.
Architected tailored solutions to enhance daily workflows for hundreds of companies in diverse industries.
Drove Agile transformation among the Development teams, which improved the software release cycle and enhanced efficiency.
Deployed large-scale SAP ERP systems integrated with systems such as EDI and E-Commerce.

NOV 2005 — MAR 2007

Unison Inc.

Provo, UT

Development Manager

Led the development and architecture of tailored customer solutions designed to assist customers to enhance workflow and increase productivity.

Key Achievements

Designed and implemented CRM and accounting systems for companies located throughout the state of Utah.
Developed a custom Sales Opportunity Pipeline Management System that improved company sales workflow substantially.
Created a tailored Sales Analytics Dashboard that improved insight into the activity of Sales Agents.

AUG 2004 — NOV 2005

Dialogue Marketing

Orem, UT

SQL Database Administrator

Developed and managed applications used by Customer Service Representatives to store, track and manage lead data. General SQL database administration responsibilities, which included the management and reporting on lead data.