I
Product portfolio focus
The product portfolio had become a collection of commitments without a shared view of customer value.
The full account
Chief Product Officer · United States · Global perspective
JonathanSterling
Finding the customer problem worth building for.
I lead product organisations at the intersection of customer problems, business ambition and technical possibility.
Open to
- Board appointments
- Advisory roles
- Speaking invitations
12 M
Active customers
Across four product lines
+46
Net Promoter Score gain
After a discovery-led redesign
3
Products to $100 M ARR
From zero, in five years
70%
Roadmap retired
To focus on what customers valued
Product 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.
Jonathan Sterling
Chief Product Officer
Areas of stewardship
Where accountability has been mine.
- IProduct strategy
- IICustomer discovery
- IIIPortfolio prioritisation
- IVProduct operating models
Selected work
Decisions, and what they changed.
II
Customer discovery
A proposed feature had strong internal support but an unclear user problem.
The full accountIII
Product adoption
A launch met its delivery milestone but required a clearer path to adoption.
The full accountIn the boardroom
Stewardship beyond the executive role.
Lumen Payments
Non-Executive Director
Product & Customer (Chair)
2023 — Present
The Inclusive Design Collective
Advisory Board Member
Accessibility Standards
2021 — Present
In the words of others
Trusted by those who appoint.
Gave the whole company a shared definition of what customers actually need.
Says no with more clarity and kindness than anyone I know.
The journal
Perspective, set down with care.
A roadmap should explain the trade-off
A feature list tells a team what has been requested, but not why one investment matters more than another.
Read the essayDiscovery needs a decision at the end
Customer interviews and experiments should answer a question that matters to an investment.
Read the essayLaunch is the beginning of an adoption story
Shipping a product moves the work into the customer's environment, where onboarding, expectations and existing habits shape its value.
Read the essayRecognition
Honours
- Product Leader of the YearThe Product Leaders Forum2024
- Best Digital ExperienceThe Enterprise Technology Awards2022
On record
As featured in
The Product Leaders Forum · 2025
“Retiring 70% of the roadmap was the best decision we made”
The Technology Leaders Review · 2024
“Discovery as a leadership habit”
The Leadership Ledger podcast · 2024
“Episode 125 — The problem worth solving”
An invitation
The most consequential work begins with a conversation.
For board, advisory and leadership conversations where product strategy matters.
Open to
- Board appointments
- Advisory roles
- Speaking invitations
office@jonathansterling.example