John Geddes Email & Phone Number

Mclean, Virginia, United States

Georgetown, Dc

• Lead SaaS content and product teams that create best-in-class, cross-platform adult financial education solutions• Conduct, gather, and analyze human-centered design thinking research to determine and prioritize necessary product feature sets• Collaborate closely with engineering, design, content, marketing, sales, and research/analytics team to create realistic roadmaps and ensure business and development milestones are reached successfully and on-time• Work daily with internal Content Management System and Platform teams to guarantee front-end development and design efforts will work seamlessly with back-end capabilities• Report regularly into senior executive team and C-suite with product updates and to facilitate hands-on showcases that allow for more in-depth product/feature walk-throughs

Mclean, Va

• Using design thinking principles, helped develop employee-generated product concepts into viable lines of business• Established and maintained open lines of communication with senior executive leadership, including C-suite and Board of Directors • Developed and managed a diverse portfolio of products that integrated a wide array of digital technology, including native apps, social videos, e-commerce solutions, chatbots, API integration, and interactive editorial features• Produced product roadmaps, established KPIs, assessed ROI, and made go/no-go decisions on product viability based on regular data analysis• Maintained Agile product backlog, prioritizing tasks to achieve optimal sprint results and long-term product goals• Consistently managed multiple product teams of 4-8 individuals, both in-person and at remote sites• Created and taught a design thinking innovation boot camp, available to all employees across the Gannett nationwide enterprise • Worked extensively with the Gannett C-suite, USA TODAY newsroom executive leadership, journalists and producers to discover and create new consumer-facing features and publishing solutions

Mclean, Va

• Developed successful strategies and tactics to expand and exploit high-growth digital content verticals • Optimized performance of existing digital products through analytic research efforts and new, creative social tactics• Developed USA Today Network digital gaming product that tripled ad revenue and doubled engagement in first year after launch; increased 12-month totals from $620k to well over $1.8M and 60M annual page views to 120M views • Scaled same digital gaming solution for use across 109 local properties' mobile web and desktop platforms • Led product team that included project manager, front and back end developers and UX designers

Mclean, Va

• Product owner for a sweeping redesign and re-launch of USA Today's mobile web and desktop sites over to a new, industry-pioneering visual storytelling platform• Translated third-party design consultant recommendations into actionable design and development tasks• Helped convert and train journalists on to a new internally-created Content Management System (CMS)• Developed and implemented project prioritization system that allowed USA Today executive stakeholders to achieve product goals by aligning and scheduling available design and development resources• Negotiated a mutually beneficial relationship between Gannett Digital and USA Today executive stakeholders to balance desired UX changes with required technical performance/functionality

Mclean, Va

• Hired and led the first-ever team of UX Information Architects within Gannett Digital’s product division• Collaborated with VP of Design to implement project management layer and develop workflow processes intended to improve prioritization and resource allocation• Team developed wireframes and UX recommendations for internally developed CMS (Presto) and user flows for USA Today news apps, desktop, and mobile web platforms• Assisted in development, deployment, and tracking of all major editorial event interactive graphics and visual coverage

Mclean, Va

• Assisted in creating and leading a first-of-its-kind team responsible for developing innovative products and tactics to meet executive mandated strategic goals• Developed end-to-end B2C and B2B campaigns for advertising sales division to pitch to potential sponsors• Led team that developed and launched an active outdoor lifestyle publication that generated over $1M in its first year• Understanding a massive, burgeoning industry trend, I pitched, developed, and became lead journalist for a new LIFE section and was quickly nominated for an Eisner Award for Excellence in Journalism• Negotiated a $1.8M partnership between USA TODAY, a major comic/graphic novel publisher, and an international consumer electronics brand for a six-month exclusive marketing campaign

Mclean, Va

• Developed and launched initiatives intended to expand content scope and support cross-organizational teams• Supported USA TODAY Marketing, Advertising Sales, and Editorial with acquired reader knowledge, reader engagement trending data, and discovery of content areas/types that could be improved, expanded, or offered as sponsorship opportunities• Served as category lead for Automotive, Finance, Entertainment, and Sports & Leisure industries, creating weekly C-suite newsletter updates, as well as executive year-end trending and directional reports• Worked with Design & Innovation Group (DIG) to develop USA TODAY’s first Green/Eco section, which eventually influenced Gannett corporate green policy; this project was a DIG Award winner• Created and administered surveys, focus groups, qualitative and quantitative research studies and A/B tests• Learned to master MRI, Scarborough, Nielsen, J.D. Power, Omniture, ComScore, Insight Express, Mendelsohn, Hoovers, and eMarketer syndicated research studies

San Diego, Ca

In this role, I was responsible for providing competitive product intelligence to a roster of technology corporation clients. Deliverables mainly concentrated on new/upcoming product releases, retail cost margins, industry news, and market trends.

In this role, I handled a high volume of customer inquiries and learned effective communication and negotiation skills.

Bachelor Of Arts - Ba, Mass Communication/Media Studies

Computer Graphics