Simon Waldman Product Director, RAC
Previously
Group Director of Product Management – TV Products, SkyDirector, Product Research, Design and Definition, Sky
Director of Product Management, Amazon Instant Video, Amazon
Company
The automotive industry is going through a huge transformation as new technologies impact user behaviour across purchasing, usage and maintenance of vehicles. RAC sits at the heart of this market transformation and combines 125 years of mission critical services to the motorist with a unique data set from their 12M users and huge growth. Silver Lake invested in RAC in 2021 as part of RAC accelerating their next phase of digital and data-enabled growth.
Search Background
With Silver Lake investing in late 2021, and the onboarding of a new CPTO (Chris Astall), there was a need for a Product Director to lead the newly established Digital Product function. This person will be responsible for devising and executing the RAC’s product strategy to drive continued growth and increased usage through development of net-new products and the improvement of the existing digital offerings.
Requirements
The successful candidate needed to bring a mix of strategic vision combined with an ability to thrive (and lead) in a hands-on and execution-focused environment. Experience in scaled organizations and in particular experience of going through digital transformations would be helpful. Combining these experiences with a commercial savviness to enable product prioritization and drive ROI for RAC was essential.
Result
Erevena introduced Simon Waldman, a former Product leader from LOVEFiLM during their transition from DVD to digital streaming. Following their acquisition by Amazon he continued to lead product and launched Prime Video in the UK. He then joined Sky where he led a team of c. 45 people across Sky’s set top boxes, mobile and Smart TV apps and led the development of the broader product management capability at Sky.
Chris Astall
Chief Product and Technology Officer
When I started my search for a Product Director, I reached out to my network and the clear recommendation was Jonnie and Erevena. Having completed the search, I can see why; they really understand the market for Product Management and are able to use their extensive network to attract great candidates. They were also a very professional to work with supporting me throughout the whole recruitment journey with its usual ups and downs. I am really happy with the outcome and am very excited to work with Simon.
