Chief Product Officer / United States · Global perspective
BenjaminHawthorne
Finding the customer problem worth building for.
I lead product organisations at the intersection of customer problems, business ambition and technical possibility.
- Board appointments
- Advisory roles
- Speaking invitations
04
Product operating models
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
I believe
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.
— Benjamin Hawthorne
The work
Decisions that moved the needle.
- 01
Product 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.
- 02
Customer 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.
- 03
Product 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.
Boardroom
Seats at the table.
Lumen Payments
Non-Executive Director
Product & Customer (Chair)
2023 — Present
The Inclusive Design Collective
Advisory Board Member
Accessibility Standards
2021 — Present
Others say
Word from the boardroom.
Gave the whole company a shared definition of what customers actually need.
Says no with more clarity and kindness than anyone I know.
An invitation
Let's talk properly.
Bold mandates, difficult turnarounds, board seats that need conviction — I want to hear about them.
- Board appointments
- Advisory roles
- Speaking invitations
office@benjaminhawthorne.example