Career Track: Product Management

Product Management is a core function of all organizations that make any kind of product.

A product could be anything tangible such as a car, magazine or jeans, or intangible such as software, a movie or a CDO. The purpose of creation of any product is for its consumption by a set of consumers and the role of Product Management is to focus on creation of new products that meet the consumption needs of its target consumers.

Product Management can be internal focused (product development aligned) or external focused (product marketing aligned). Different organizations leverage product managers from strategic to tactical activities but the end result is to create products that will drive sales, increase market share, reduce incremental costs and enhance the valuation of the organization.

Product Managers are responsible for the all stages of the lifecycle of the product and need to collaborate closely with marketing, engineering, sales / business development and finance functions. At senior levels, product managers are responsible for the P&L associated with a product or set of products.

MBA Entry Level - MBA’s are usually picked up by companies as Product Managers (one level above a Product Management Analyst). Product Managers are central to all activities around a product and are responsible for the product roadmap. Product Managers are also responsible for reporting up to higher management such as VP’s, Directors and Sr. Product Managers.

Requirements – Product Managers are expected to have strong analytical skills, deep industry knowledge and understand the needs of their consumers. In terms of personality, Product Managers should be diplomatic and confident because it is important for them to balance product priorities and drive consensus among multiple groups of people that do not necessarily report to them.

Questions? Discuss or Contact Us, if you have specific questions about Product Management as a career option.