An introduction
Yue Zhou
Finding the customer problem worth building for.
China · Global perspectiveOpen to Board appointments · Advisory roles · Speaking invitations
Start a conversationMy approachProduct leadership is a discipline of choosing. I connect customer evidence with commercial judgement and technical possibility, so teams understand why an investment matters and what would cause us to change direction.
- Active customers
- 12 M
- Across four product lines
- Net Promoter Score gain
- +46
- After a discovery-led redesign
- Products to $100 M ARR
- 3
- From zero, in five years
- Roadmap retired
- 70%
- To focus on what customers valued
Work worth discussing.
01Product portfolio focus
The product portfolio had become a collection of commitments without a shared view of customer value. I worked with commercial and engineering leaders to identify the problems each initiative addressed, the evidence behind them and the capacity required. We reduced competing priorities and gave each remaining investment an explicit learning objective.
02Customer discovery
A proposed feature had strong internal support but an unclear user problem. We ran a focused discovery programme with customers, observed the work surrounding the request and tested a smaller proposition. The findings changed both the product scope and the way the team described the value to customers.
03Product adoption
A launch met its delivery milestone but required a clearer path to adoption. I brought product, customer success and sales into a common review of onboarding friction, usage signals and customer expectations. Product decisions were then informed by the whole customer journey rather than release completion alone.
The leadership record
Trusted with consequential decisions.
In the boardroom
- Lumen PaymentsNon-Executive Director · 2023 — Present
- The Inclusive Design CollectiveAdvisory Board Member · 2021 — Present
Recognition
- Product Leader of the YearThe Product Leaders Forum · 2024
- Best Digital ExperienceThe Enterprise Technology Awards · 2022
In conversation
- “Retiring 70% of the roadmap was the best decision we made”The Product Leaders Forum · 2025
- “Discovery as a leadership habit”The Technology Leaders Review · 2024
- “Episode 125 — The problem worth solving”The Leadership Ledger podcast · 2024
Gave the whole company a shared definition of what customers actually need.
An invitation
The most consequential work begins with a conversation.
For board, advisory and leadership conversations where product strategy matters.
- Board appointments
- Advisory roles
- Speaking invitations
office@yuezhou.example