Richard Thwaite
Head of Product at Straker- Claim this Profile
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Bio
Ritika Fernandes
Richard is a passionate product leader that is ready to solve any complex problem that is put in front of him. I had the pleasure of working with Richard for 1+ year, during which Richard directly managed me. I was highly impressed by his passion for continual improvement and his ability to adapt to ever-changing business demands, especially through a pandemic. Richard was always able to build strong relationships with various stakeholders, making him an asset to the organisation. Richard is a natural leader. He brings a wealth of knowledge, and his drive for learning created an excellent environment for the team to continuously grow and learn from him. I also really appreciated that he always went out of his way to ensure I always felt supported. I hope to work with him again in the future, and any organisation would be lucky to have him leading their products!
Shauna Tucker
Richard is an accomplished leader in the Product Management field. Having the pleasure of working together for 3+ years, he continually impressed on devising and executing product strategy, driving the product roadmap and key communications, and leading his team to success. He was vital in establishing product processes and refining these as the business scaled. I always valued how versatile Richard would be with the exceptional ability to converse with engineering teams and clients alike, fostering strong and genuine relationships whilst always achieving the desired business outcomes. A tricky balance that Richard effortlessly mastered. He is a high-performing and commercially astute product leader with several sought after skills, which I often still think of even though we no longer work together! Based on this, Richard was a key asset in the leadership team and any business would feel the same should they have the opportunity to work with him.
Ritika Fernandes
Richard is a passionate product leader that is ready to solve any complex problem that is put in front of him. I had the pleasure of working with Richard for 1+ year, during which Richard directly managed me. I was highly impressed by his passion for continual improvement and his ability to adapt to ever-changing business demands, especially through a pandemic. Richard was always able to build strong relationships with various stakeholders, making him an asset to the organisation. Richard is a natural leader. He brings a wealth of knowledge, and his drive for learning created an excellent environment for the team to continuously grow and learn from him. I also really appreciated that he always went out of his way to ensure I always felt supported. I hope to work with him again in the future, and any organisation would be lucky to have him leading their products!
Shauna Tucker
Richard is an accomplished leader in the Product Management field. Having the pleasure of working together for 3+ years, he continually impressed on devising and executing product strategy, driving the product roadmap and key communications, and leading his team to success. He was vital in establishing product processes and refining these as the business scaled. I always valued how versatile Richard would be with the exceptional ability to converse with engineering teams and clients alike, fostering strong and genuine relationships whilst always achieving the desired business outcomes. A tricky balance that Richard effortlessly mastered. He is a high-performing and commercially astute product leader with several sought after skills, which I often still think of even though we no longer work together! Based on this, Richard was a key asset in the leadership team and any business would feel the same should they have the opportunity to work with him.
Ritika Fernandes
Richard is a passionate product leader that is ready to solve any complex problem that is put in front of him. I had the pleasure of working with Richard for 1+ year, during which Richard directly managed me. I was highly impressed by his passion for continual improvement and his ability to adapt to ever-changing business demands, especially through a pandemic. Richard was always able to build strong relationships with various stakeholders, making him an asset to the organisation. Richard is a natural leader. He brings a wealth of knowledge, and his drive for learning created an excellent environment for the team to continuously grow and learn from him. I also really appreciated that he always went out of his way to ensure I always felt supported. I hope to work with him again in the future, and any organisation would be lucky to have him leading their products!
Shauna Tucker
Richard is an accomplished leader in the Product Management field. Having the pleasure of working together for 3+ years, he continually impressed on devising and executing product strategy, driving the product roadmap and key communications, and leading his team to success. He was vital in establishing product processes and refining these as the business scaled. I always valued how versatile Richard would be with the exceptional ability to converse with engineering teams and clients alike, fostering strong and genuine relationships whilst always achieving the desired business outcomes. A tricky balance that Richard effortlessly mastered. He is a high-performing and commercially astute product leader with several sought after skills, which I often still think of even though we no longer work together! Based on this, Richard was a key asset in the leadership team and any business would feel the same should they have the opportunity to work with him.
Ritika Fernandes
Richard is a passionate product leader that is ready to solve any complex problem that is put in front of him. I had the pleasure of working with Richard for 1+ year, during which Richard directly managed me. I was highly impressed by his passion for continual improvement and his ability to adapt to ever-changing business demands, especially through a pandemic. Richard was always able to build strong relationships with various stakeholders, making him an asset to the organisation. Richard is a natural leader. He brings a wealth of knowledge, and his drive for learning created an excellent environment for the team to continuously grow and learn from him. I also really appreciated that he always went out of his way to ensure I always felt supported. I hope to work with him again in the future, and any organisation would be lucky to have him leading their products!
Shauna Tucker
Richard is an accomplished leader in the Product Management field. Having the pleasure of working together for 3+ years, he continually impressed on devising and executing product strategy, driving the product roadmap and key communications, and leading his team to success. He was vital in establishing product processes and refining these as the business scaled. I always valued how versatile Richard would be with the exceptional ability to converse with engineering teams and clients alike, fostering strong and genuine relationships whilst always achieving the desired business outcomes. A tricky balance that Richard effortlessly mastered. He is a high-performing and commercially astute product leader with several sought after skills, which I often still think of even though we no longer work together! Based on this, Richard was a key asset in the leadership team and any business would feel the same should they have the opportunity to work with him.
Experience
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Straker
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New Zealand
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Translation and Localization
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100 - 200 Employee
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Head of Product
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Mar 2023 - Present
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AskNicely
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United States
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Software Development
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1 - 100 Employee
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Director of Product
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Jul 2021 - Jan 2023
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Circles
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New Zealand
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IT Services and IT Consulting
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1 - 100 Employee
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Product Management Lead
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Dec 2020 - Mar 2021
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Talegent
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New Zealand
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Human Resources
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1 - 100 Employee
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Head of Product
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Sep 2019 - Nov 2020
Key responsibilities:• Ownership of product strategy & roadmap including product-market fit• Competitive Intelligence & identification of emerging market trends• Creation of functional specifications and user stories• Leadership of Product team to understand the client "why" and share insights with broader organisation (including Design, Engineering, Quality & Sales)• Relationships with key clients and channel partners
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Product Manager
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Feb 2017 - Sep 2019
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Quality & Support Manager
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Sep 2015 - Feb 2017
Management of Quality and Support functions including reporting into leadership team.Two direct reports handling day-to-day quality assurance and client support.Tier 2 escalation for client and reseller tickets and tier 3 for all candidate tickets.Accountable for signoff of product QA. Key point of contact for support of strategic clients/accounts.
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Product Analyst
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Aug 2014 - Aug 2015
First hire in client support and quality assurance functions. Tier 1 support for all client and reseller tickets, tier 2 escalation for all candidate tickets.Responsible for all quality assurance of all product and client projects shipped.
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Independent Contactor
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Auckland, New Zealand
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Private Tutor
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Apr 2009 - Nov 2016
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Education
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University of Auckland
Bachelor's Degree, Psychology & Statistics -
Sacred Heart College, Auckland
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