Product Owner
2014 - 2017
Application Development Manager
2014 - 2017
At Penn Mutual, I led strategy, delivery, and agile transformation for Penn Mutual’s core financial and platform systems. These ranged from commission processing and licensing to identity, access, and mobile experience, which drove modernization and value across the business.
General Responsibilities
As Application Development Manager and Product Owner, I drove the vision, prioritization, and execution of enterprise platforms supporting Penn Mutual’s financial advisors, back office, and customer experiences. My work spanned across systems critical to licensing, commissions, and annuity product support, directly impacting field productivity and company revenue.
Product Ownership & Delivery
Led product ownership for Sales Compensation and Licensing Systems, ensuring compliance with federal/state regulations and supporting over 5,000 users
Built the strategic roadmap for Annuity Products Support Systems, helping manage offerings that accounted for 40% of company revenue
Conceptualized and launched a Mobile Application Program, which evolved into a broader Customer Experience initiative spanning web and mobile
Created and maintained prioritized product backlogs, driving agile execution and raising release frequency from 2 per year to 11 annually
Directed backlog grooming, feature planning, and end-to-end delivery for over 200 software enhancements, resulting in a 75% increase in user productivity
Cross-Org Collaboration
Worked closely with executive leadership, including the CIO, CTO, and business/technical VPs, to align product direction with company priorities
Acted as the bridge between field users, compliance/legal stakeholders, and engineering teams to ensure accuracy, usability, and delivery of high-impact features
Served as Technical Lead on a multi-million dollar modernization initiative for subsidiary back-office systems, managing internal development teams and external vendors
Communication & Stakeholder Management
Provided regular updates and roadmap briefings to senior leadership and department heads
Facilitated cross-functional collaboration between technical and non-technical stakeholders to ensure vision alignment and effective delivery
Supported the launch and scaling of a corporate wiki, growing adoption from one department to over 50% company-wide
Agile Leadership & Continuous Improvement
Provided agile coaching to teams across maturity levels, fostering iterative delivery and continuous improvement
Co-founded the Scrum Master Guild to foster best practices and knowledge sharing across the organization
Founding member of the Organizational Agile Scaling Team, helping to implement change and drive transformation across Penn Mutual’s technology org
Built and implemented a focused delivery vision for the Identity and Access Management team, increasing delivered value by 63%
Role Highlights
Product Owner
At Penn Mutual, I served as Product Owner for core customer- and advisor-facing platforms, leading the vision and delivery of digital programs that modernized client engagement and field operations. Working closely with executive stakeholders (CIO, CTO, and business/technical VPs), I translated strategic priorities into actionable roadmaps and partnered with engineering teams to deliver secure, compliant, and intuitive experiences.
This role blended vision-setting, cross-functional alignment, and iterative delivery, ensuring Penn Mutual’s customer-facing platforms were modern, user-centric, and business-aligned.
Features Highlighted
-
Conceptualized and launched a mobile application program that was so successful it evolved into a full Customer Experience initiative, including redesigns of both web and mobile platforms.
-
Developed the strategic product vision for annuity support systems representing 40% of company revenue, ensuring alignment with business and client needs.
-
Designed persona-driven digital workflows (for clients, advisors, CSRs, field offices, and treasury teams) to enhance payment management, account access, and service interactions
-
Coached teams at varying maturity levels, co-founded the Scrum Master Guild to drive knowledge sharing, and served as a founding member of the Organizational Agile Scaling Team to advance enterprise agile adoption
-
Partnered directly with executives to build a narrow, value-focused vision for the Identity and Access Management team, increasing delivered business value by 63%.
Application Development Manager
At Penn Mutual as an Application Development Manager, I led the strategy, development, and delivery of the Sales Compensation and Licensing Systems, which supported over 5,000 field and home office associates and processed commissions for more than $60B in managed assets. This role combined technical leadership, program oversight, and stakeholder management to ensure these mission-critical systems were reliable, compliant, and optimized for productivity.
In this role, I combined program leadership, engineering oversight, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver complex systems that were foundational to Penn Mutual’s revenue and operational success.
Features Highlighted
-
Directed the development and enhancement of the Commissions and Licensing platforms, ensuring compliance with evolving federal and state regulations.
-
Delivered over 200 custom software enhancements, resulting in a 75% increase in user productivity across field and back-office operations
-
Appointed Technical Lead for a multi-million-dollar back-office overhaul for a subsidiary, coordinating internal development teams and multiple third-party vendors.
-
Founded and scaled a corporate wiki, growing adoption from one department to more than 50% of the company as active daily users.
-
Implemented a new backlog management process, increasing transparency and delivery, and raised release cadence from 2 per year to 11 per year.