Christian Kemsies
Director Product Operations
Bio
From running bare-metal servers in the data centre to building systems in the cloud, from being a technical resource in a project to running multi-million dollar projects, from building tech products to building teams that build tech products, from watching my Dad doing BBQs to throwing awesome BBQs as a Pit Master. I had the privilege of learning from the best and practicing my knowledge. So while my learning journey is still intense, I realized that every problem is ultimately a people problem. Therefore my focus is on building product teams and coaching product managers, so they can build awesome tech products customers love.
Expertise
Building a team
In my last three positions, I was the first hire in that specific team or the first of my kind, so to speak, which gave me the opportunity to build the teams around me. All the teams have always been cross-functional, so not every team member reports to me, which requires leading without authority. I also jumped in and took over struggling teams and helped them get back on track so they could perform to their true potential.
Idea validation
I'm a practitioner of Conscious Discovery with all my product teams, so being able to test hypotheses quickly is crucial to the momentum and success of the team. Especially during the pandemic when our main product was no longer sold, being able to test new ideas, reliable and cost-efficient, was a matter of survival.
Product analytics
As a Product Manager myself, it is key for me to understand the product and the customers and the reasons for their behaviour so I can provide an experience tailored to their needs. Understanding a customer's motivation is as crucial as realising where they are struggling in using the product, and analytics can be a powerful tool in convincing others to move in the right direction.
Product management
Before the organisation became my Product, I worked as a PM on multiple products ranging from platforms for payment and loyalty to a billion-dollar omnichannel flight booking experience. I was fortunate enough to not only learn from my own wins & fails doing Product Discover & Delivery but also to work directly with some of the smartest and best people in the industry going through all stages of the product lifecycle.
Venting frustration
It has become a running gag in our organisation that I'm the Product Therapist because all I do is drink coffee and talk to people. Working for so long with a wide variety of people and mindsets required me to develop my own strategies to deal with my personal day-to-day frustration. By now, I probably had most of the problems myself, which helps me relate to most people coming to me to vent.
Toolkit
JIRA
9 years of experienceJIRA is one of those tools I need daily, and I have become the admin for all the digital teams, from easy project setup to complex workflows to automate the daily work of engineers and PM.
Industries
Travel Agency
Managing a team of talented Product Managers for customer-enabling products for the region's leading Online Travel Agencies - Almosafer and Tajawal, part of Seera group (former Al Tayyar). Responsible for all products around Payment, Loyalty, and WhatsApp.
Payments
Managing a team of talented Product Managers for customer-enabling products. - Integrated the Kuwait local payment method Knet driving 80% of the transactions in that market and therefore supporting Almosafer to become the biggest OTA in Kuwait. - Build an innovative transaction management system which reduced payment costs by 27%