Geir Westgaard, Ph.D. Email & Phone Number

I am a Certified Product Management Professional for a very good reason. First, it is my experience that energy lies where people come together and create products users love. The teamwork, creativity, engagement, and drive are just incredible. Secondly, you need great products to thrive and make money in today’s global market and business. Thirdly, it is complex, involving many stakeholders, and practical adjustments to real-life challenges. And that is why I am so passionate about Product Management.At the beginning of my carrier, that picture was not that clear. But after working on many technical projects and products, it became clear that the business part was almost non-existent, and the product life cycle management was fuzzy. Hence, not sustainable, reinventing the wheel, again and again, wasting time, money, and resources. It was many pieces missing, but it was when I discovered and learned about product management it all came together.My job career has given me broad international experience from various industries, IT, Medical, Oil & Gas, Power T & D, Research, and High-tech startups. Roles covering researcher, co-founder, product development manager, product manager, CEO, and startup entrepreneur. A few key achievements:• Conducted interviews of 60+ managers and cross-functional team members across 9 industries to get insight on how to best operate a product business. #1 pain is lack of overview to make the right decisions on product & service innovations.• As CEO & Founder build a product life cycle framework (SaaS) that helps managers and teams get the big picture overview to prioritize innovative and high feasibility projects.• As Co-founder started the company SimSurgery AS together with investors and The National Hospital with base technology from SINTEF (Research Institute). Have been a key driver in the whole process from idea through research and commercial product sold in the USA, Canada, China, Russia, France, England, Germany, Italy, Brazil, and Norway.• As Product Development Manager taking an innovative cable diagnostic technology into a commercial portable CE approved hardware product. Sold in Europa, the USA, and Asia.• Winner of the European innovation IST prize for transforming research results into an innovative digital surgical training simulator for the marketplace.Competencies: product management, innovation management, startups, SaaS, project management, product life cycle management, product roadmaps, strategy, cross-functional teamwork, lean startup, entrepreneurship, R & D, surgical training simulator.

Listed skills include Product Management, Project Management, Product Development, Software Development, and 14 others.