Senior Product Manager

I turn stalled roadmaps into shipped products.

Turning ambiguity into clarity across AI, FinTech, and HealthTech — from B2B platforms to consumer products. Engineer-built. Strategy-driven.

Ryan K. McDonald

My Story

From Engineer to Product Leader

I started my career writing code — building the systems that power media delivery, ad platforms, and SaaS tools. That engineering DNA never left.

Today, I bring that builder's instinct to product strategy. I see around corners, untangle technical debt from feature debt, and ship in environments where others stall. I'm the person who gets the call when nobody agrees on what to build next.

Whether it's leading a 20-person cross-functional team through a platform pivot, standing up an AI-powered MVP in three months, or coaching junior PMs to challenge the status quo — I operate at the intersection of technical depth and strategic clarity.

$5M
revenue retained
40%
faster delivery
10x
user growth
20+
team members led

From People I've Worked With

What Others Say

On Leadership
“Showed grace under pressure and still tried to help everyone be great at their roles. That kind of leadership stays with you.”
— M.J., Former Peer
On Strategy
“Challenged rigid ways, coached junior PMs to always evolve, and pushed us to question the status quo instead of trusting playbooks blindly.”
— M.R., Former Peer
On Craft
“His ability to quickly get proof of concepts to working code enabled deeper conversations with stakeholders about the what-ifs.”
— C.W., Former Peer
On Empathy
“A relator who reads the room, connects one-on-one, and knows when to push and when to back off. He understood the reality of the situation.”
— K.T., Former Peer
On Influence
“Convinced us to adopt Lean Canvas as part of our product process. I still use it to this day and now recommend it to others.”
— E.K., Former Peer
On Grit
“I've never seen him give up. Strong, optimistic, and dedicated — that's the opinion I've formed over years of working together.”
— A.S., Former Peer

Selected Work

Case Studies

AI · FinTech StrategyCraft

Cerebro — AI-Powered Financial Advisor

Designed the full product strategy — from business case through GTM — for an AI robo-advisor that combines real-time budgeting with investment guidance, making personal finance accessible to everyone.

$2.75B total addressable market7 feature MVP3 mo sprint to launch20 person cross-functional team
Business CaseMVP PRDGTM StrategyProduct RoadmapPR/FAQPersona Research
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AI · HealthTech LeadershipInfluence

Exposter — Mental Health AI Platform

Explored how AI and behavioral science could transform imposter syndrome from an isolated struggle into a scalable, guided journey toward confidence — laying the foundation for a digital-first mental health product.

Business CaseMarket ValidationProduct StrategyBehavioral Research
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Enterprise · Healthcare LeadershipGritInfluence

Abbott BinaxNOW — Scaling COVID Testing

Took over Abbott's BinaxNOW population management platform and recruited a cross-functional team to scale from pilot to 50 million tests per month — enabling mass-market at-home COVID testing when the country needed it most.

50M/mo test production throughput30–90M tests shipped in H1 20216 cross-functional workstreams coordinated
Population Management PlatformDistribution ProgramNAVICA App Integration
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Media · Streaming LeadershipStrategyCraft

ESPN — Streaming & Ad Monetization

Led ESPN's migration from Flash to HTML5 live streaming, drove a 25% uplift in video engagement and 60% increase in ad insertion success, and architected the platform pivot from FreeWheel to Google Ad Manager across Disney.

25% uplift in video engagement60% increase in ad insertion success4K streaming readiness enabled
HTML5 Streaming Player4K ArchitectureAd Tech MigrationQA Automation Framework
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Enterprise · Security LeadershipStrategyCraft

Splunk — Security Content Platform

Security customers struggled to find and adopt detection content scattered across three systems. I unified engineering and product around a centralized discovery platform, driving a 12% adoption lift and cutting onboarding from 10 weeks to 3.

12% Increase in security content adoption70% Faster onboarding (10 weeks → 3)ES 8.0 Shipped automated version tracking at scale
Centralized Discovery PlatformAutomated Version TrackingOnboarding RedesignES 8.0 Features
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Enterprise · Streaming LeadershipStrategyCraft

Yahoo Edgecast — Session-Based Playback

Live-stream viewers had no way to pause, rewind, or replay — a growing retention risk. I led the zero-to-one launch of session-based playback, driving a 35% engagement lift while reducing cloud storage costs by 18%.

35% User engagement lift within months18% Cloud storage cost reduction50% Faster delivery timelines
Session-Based PlaybackMulti-CDN OptimizationEU GeoblockingCaching Architecture
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AI · Founder LeadershipStrategyGrit

Ascendvent — AI Confidence Engine

Creators, PMs, and mentors lose momentum after setbacks, and static coaching tools don't rebuild lasting confidence. I'm building Ascendvent — an agent-orchestrated confidence recovery engine powered by adaptive AI, behavioral reinforcement, and community.

MVP AI coaching with behavioral reinforcementAOSI Agent-Orchestrated Self-Improvement frameworkValidated Demand via user discovery & ad experiments
Serenity AI AgentAOSI WorkflowsMicro-Games FrameworkMVP
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EdTech · Strategy Strategy

Coursera Monetization Strategy

Analyzed Coursera's full revenue portfolio and proposed three monetization initiatives — Career Services, Talent Intelligence, and AI-Powered Adaptive Learning — projected to generate over $71M in incremental annual revenue.

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IoT · Platform Strategy StrategyCraftGrit

BryteIQ — Venue Network-as-a-Service

An interview asked for one API PRD. I taught myself venue connectivity from scratch and delivered a full Network-as-a-Service platform strategy — complete with personas, tiered fan experiences, MVP scoping, and research-backed KPIs.

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Automotive · IoT StrategyCraft

Ford Power-Up OTA Strategy

Conducted a full teardown of Ford's OTA experience and built a data-backed recovery framework to cut update failure rates, reduce fleet downtime costs, and restore customer trust in connected vehicle updates.

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AI · EdTech CraftStrategy

Coaching Companion — AI Skills Platform

I designed Coaching Companion to make coaching skill-building scalable and personal — pairing AI-generated feedback with gamified practice loops so coaches can sharpen their craft anytime, anywhere.

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AI · Game CraftStrategy

7 Sharp — Communication Micro-Drills

I created 7 Sharp to help professionals practice turning complex ideas into clear, compelling statements — using AI feedback and micro-drills that fit into minutes per day.

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Community · Gaming LeadershipInfluence

Tech Yeet — Gaming Community

I lead the TechYeet gaming community, applying product thinking to brand building, content strategy, and engagement experiments that drive meaningful membership growth.

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Personal Project · Game Dev CraftGrit

Quest for Innovation — Interactive Resume

I built an action-adventure game that transforms my career into an immersive, playable experience — trading the static resume for interactive storytelling that captures how I actually think, lead, and grow.

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Personal Brand · Creative InfluenceCraft

From Pixels to Punk — Creative PM Blog

I created a blog that explores the intersection of art, music, animation, and product strategy — using creative disciplines as metaphors for building great products and connecting with like-minded PMs.

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Leadership · Personal LeadershipEmpathyInfluence

Leadership Philosophy

I lead with purpose, grit, and heart — turning ambiguity into alignment, helping others find their voice, and leaving every team braver and more capable than yesterday.

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Go Deeper

Curious about how I think?

I trained a custom GPT on my work, my product philosophy, and my approach to building. Ask it anything about my experience, process, or point of view.

Start a Conversation →