Bauer Media Group - Academy

AI Learning Specialist

Tara Tamiko Ltd

Fractional AI Advisor

AI Workshop Leader & Speaker

She Scales Collective

Founding Member

Women X AI (WXAI)

Member

Aperture

Operations Manager

Bauer Media Group

Mobile Marketing Manager

Digital Marketing Consultant

Curelator Inc.

Digital Marketing Manager

Product Owner

Now Computing

Social Media Marketing Manager

Appszoom

Content & Community Manager

𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲
Imagine walking into a room of world-class musicians, each holding their instruments before their first performance of the season. 

The talent is obvious, and the instruments are premium...

...but without a conductor, even these experts would create chaos rather than harmony.

Between first rehearsal and flawless performance lies an essential path of expertise, understanding, and clear guidance. 

This is where many businesses find themselves with AI today:
𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀, 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀, 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸
Your teams are skilled, motivated, and ready for AI transformation.

Moving from 'here's an AI tool' to 'we're confidently using AI' requires a path that's often less travelled or, devastatingly, abandoned.

𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗽
It’s about creating practical, engaging learning experiences that connect directly to your business goals.

When every minute counts, you need AI solutions that deliver real results. No complexities, just straightforward, actionable guidance.

𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀
Learning AI shouldn’t feel overwhelming. Here's how I help teams succeed:

🪗 Interactive workshops that bring AI and digital transformation to life through hands-on practice.

🪗 Learning experiences designed for real-world impact, where teams leave ready to apply their new skills.

🪗 Creative teaching approaches that use storytelling and relatable examples to simplify complex concepts.

🪗 Co-created learning programmes that align perfectly with your organisation's unique needs.

𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
From enterprise teams to solo ventures, I'm here to make AI learning as energising as a full brass section in full swing.

Let's have a conversation about your goals.

𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙚; 𝙢𝙮 𝘿𝙈𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣.

Tara Thompson

Sidebar

Sidebar is a private, highly vetted leadership program that accelerates your career. We have the people, the process, and the technology to drive your impact and growth.

Eksperiment Labs

I serve as leadership advisory and product executive to Fortune 500 companies and midsize enterprises to drive product-led growth by building differentiated products and experiences loved and used by millions.  

Applying customer empathy, emerging technologies, data, market insights and innovation to build and scale differentiated global products that drive customer value, a competitive edge, and accelerate growth. 

Drawing on my experience as a product owner, management consultant [Accenture] and entrepreneur [4 startups, founder of 2]building, launching and scaling over 60+ digital D2C, B2B global products including eCommerce, SaaS platforms, data platforms, and apps for Fortune 100 clients.  Driving engagement, retention and revenue for companies including Coca-Cola, Facebook, Diageo and The Home Depot.  

Leading cross-capability teams through digital transformations, building new capabilities, standing up automation Centers of Excellence and Enterprise Architecture functions, pivoting to agile frameworks, building ecosystems, and validating new business models.
 
I’m comfortable being uncomfortable. Thriving in the face of uncertainty, I excel at leading teams to embrace change as a catalyst for innovative product development and market disruption aligned to the enterprises' vision and strategic priorities.

Product and Innovation Strategist

Slalom

Partner with clients to co-create new products and solutions to become a product-led company that puts the customer at the center and delivers a differentiated experience to drive next generation growth.  Applying startup methodologies, tools and services to deliver scalable innovation for clients in retail, consumer goods [CPG], financial services, manufacturing industries. 

Lead operations and performance monitoring and reporting across team, clients and programs. 

Some of the client challenges I have solved for: 

• Define product vision, strategy, roadmap and secure investment to build a unified IoT global data-as-a-product platform connecting beverage devices globally to gain first party data and understand our customers.
• Product modernization of global financial services platform servicing 234 credit unions, to generate $100MM in ROI annually.  Delivering value at speed measured by customer experience, reduced operational costs, new capabilities, reliability, and mitigating security risks
• Transformation strategy to achieve business agility across the IT organization, including a business capability model, technology roadmap, data strategy.
• Reimagine how to approach automation and orchestration.  Creating a vision, operating model, communications strategy, roadmap and KPIs that CIO can sell to their peers and get alignment.  A crisp story that is understandable at a high level and consumable by the business. 
• Stand up enterprise architecture function, operating model, KPIs and capabilities to deliver on transformation to pivot from a manufacturing company to a product company.
• Data and analytics strategy to put timely performance insights at the fingertips of decision makers – a more disciplined, data-driven and ROI approach to managing the business.  Enabling the Enterprise to make better decisions, faster, and run more efficiently. Creating new opportunities for people to think creatively and innovate boldly.

Product + Technology Strategy Lead

Diageo

Created and lead product vision, strategy, roadmap, and cross-capability team to launch an MVP D2C e-Commerce site (thebar.com/en-gb) in one market in 12-weeks and scale globally. Applied experimentation to validate product-market fit and develop a go-to-market strategy for a new business model to drive business growth through D2C.  

To innovate and create new platforms, services, business models, processes and workflows that move with speed and put the consumer at the center and leverage emerging technology and data. 

• Championed transformation to agile methodologies and experimentation facilitating rapid testing and validating of hypotheses across: engineering, business model, operations, consumer segmentation, UX/UI, journey mapping, wireframes, data strategy, CRM, product marketing, merchandising, distribution, and partnerships
• Set OKRs and success metrics, set agenda for steering committee and board of directors.
• Partnered with global business leaders, stakeholders within the brands, markets and work stream leads to ensure needs were addressed and to socialize vision and roadmap.

Global Product Leader 

Accenture

Led disruptive product innovations focused on a differentiated customer experience to drive strategic growth for C-suite, CMO, CIO and CDO, and their agenda. Provided strategic product vision, strategy, roadmap, investment plans for consumer-packaged goods, food and beverage, retail and technology clients. 

Challenges I Partnered with Clients to Solve: 

• Built MVP grants platform in 15-days, and awarded $20MM in grants to small, black-owned, businesses. 
• Create product vision, strategy and roadmap to build an MPV package-less beverage delivery platform to deliver an experience that is environmentally friendly and supports consumer’s aspiration for healthier choices. 
• Create a guided selling strategy that aligned to personas + use cases for national sales teams
• Product strategy for global eCommerce experience for the consumer, the system, and partners.
• Reinvent a global route-to-market that can deliver a product to humans in 15 minutes and service eCommerce.
• Facilitate a workshop with CDO and leadership team to learn behaviors to become an innovative, data-driven, value-obsessed organization enabling growth.
• Co-create a future operating model including a shared vision + transformation journey to achieve business agility across the IT organization, including technology roadmap, data strategy. 
• Reimagine impulse buying in a virtual world - Post Covid.

Global Innovation Lead

Accenture’s innovation center. We make continuous innovation real, from idea to impact. Business as usual isn’t good enough In an era of disruption and seismic social change, we know the way the world has operated is no longer sustainable.

We’re a diverse team of cross-industry problem solvers bringing design, business and technology together to help solve some of the most complex problems facing our clients’ industries today.

We’re united by a shared purpose - to do good for business and society. We collaborate with powerful ecosystems of world-class companies and trailblazing start-ups to create new ways to fulfil human needs using emerging technology.

Client Engagement Lead, Innovation Hub

Surterra Wellness

Drove product and service innovation for rapidly growing medical cannabis company focused on bringing products to market that help medical cannabis patients and their well-being. 

Through data, research, physician education and strong ties with communities across the nation, we explored innovative avenues to take cannabis further than it’s ever gone before. A mission to empower patients with products that effectively target their symptoms, and advocate for them. 

• Developed and executed a customer experience strategy across B2B2C, D2C including digital eCommerce marketplace, 40 retail and pop-up stores, delivery, and call center. 
• Developed an innovation framework applied to product development + launch.
• Stood up and coached a consumer insights team and leveraged consumer data to drive new products and customer experiences, product marketing, customer acquisition and engagement.

Product Innovation Lead

MaxMedia

Delivered disruptive product-led growth for clients including The Home Depot, AT+T, McKinsey. Applied a data-centric, performance-oriented business strategy, to ensure delivery of firm and client’s business outcomes and bring to life transformational products and customer experiences.

• Built and launched $3MM digital marketplace product in 3 months for medical cannabis startup. 
• Improved unique website visitors by 100% by implementing content marketing and social media strategy.
• Developed and executed digital transformation strategy across 200+ US retail stores and 2 flagship stores. Increased NPS score, AT&T won top ranking in J.D. Power and “Top 50 Retail Experiences”.
• Led executive team to drive growth, vision and strategy for clients and the firm. 
• Applied a data-centric, performance-oriented business strategy to ensure successful delivery of firm and client’s business outcomes and bring to life transformational ideas and consumer experiences.  
• Secured new business, managed client accounts and relationships and led and coached cross functional team of 10 to generate revenue for our clients through new products, business processes, culture, and experiences. 
• Developed business strategy based on data, utilizing cross-functional teams to sell five core capabilities, created 2 new service offerings, and built a lead generation campaign. 
• Within first 6 months, secured 2 new clients that led to $3M in revenue. Clients included McKinsey, The Home Depot, AT+T and cannabis start-up Surterra Wellness [now Parallel].

VP Growth + Strategy, Account Executive

mobile STIR

Grew technology start-up and a SaaS product for publishers and brands to know their most valuable content by revenue - Instantly. Giving previously unknown content revenue insights for making real-time decisions. Using AI to analyse the data + provide a value score for each piece of content.

• Responsible for business strategy and direction of company.  Built company culture, led cross functional team. Secured sales and investments.

• Led product vision with a customer obsessed lens.  Determined product market fit by conducting research over 5 months with 200 digital industry experts, including CMOs, CDOs, CIOs, data scientists, audience teams.    

• Led product marketing, managed investor relations, oversaw cash flow management, created a metrics-driven culture, developed brand story. 

• Secured customers including Bravo TV, Spike TV, USA Networks, AMC, Turner Networks.

• 1 of 8 companies awarded participation in Georgia Institute of Technology [Georgia Tech] Center for Deliberate Innovation 6 month program. Trained on an innovation process built on proven principles from Nobel-Prize winning research in behavioural economics, developmental and social psychology and combining it with a logical framework applied to innovation.  

• Selected as an ATDC [Advanced Technology Development Center] company. ATDC is consistently ranked one of the world’s top technology incubators.

Co Founder | CEO | Product Lead

Georgia Institute of Technology

Our startup, mobile STIR, was 1 of 8 companies selected to participate in Georgia Tech's Center for Deliberate Innovation, a startup engineering program and framework for finding authentic demand and building scalable companies to satisfy it. Founded by Dr. Merrick Furst, Professor @ GaTech School of Computer Science, Algorithms & Randomness Center and Thinktank.

For 6 months our founding team worked in a startup studio, The Center for Deliberate Innovation, where we utilised methods of behavioural economics and startup engineering to develop authentic demand. and opportunities. Georgia Tech recognized Dr. Merrick Furst’s development of these methods with the university’s highest award for Outstanding Achievement in Research Innovation.

Our team worked to identify, not just a product that our customers want, but a product that they cannot not buy. Using insights from behavioural economics, immunity to change theory, and several theories of perception, startup engineering helps founders and innovators understand customers differently and to go beyond concepts like want, need, and market fit. 

The Center for Deliberate Innovation combines training in startup engineering techniques, support in using those techniques, and a high level of individualised mentorship. Working with founders to generate theories about customers and their situations (including existing solutions to problems.) They work toward actionable truth by testing to disconfirm their theories, modifying them, and retesting. They aim to understand their customers in a way that provides a stable, reliable foundation for predicting that, given a certain product and presentation, customers will default to buying.

Startup Engineering Accelerator @ School of Computer Science, Algorithms & Randomness Center

ATDC

Our startup, mobile STIR, was named an ATDC Accelerate company. The Advanced Technology Development Center [ATDC] is a science and business incubator in Georgia.  It is ranked one of the world's top technology incubators and named a Top 12 Incubator Changing the World by Forbes.

Startup at ATDC Science and Business Accelerator

WHO I AM: 
A seasoned product and technology strategy leader passionate about building differentiated global products and experiences loved and used by millions.  Leading talented, diverse teams, I've built 60+ products including Commerce, D2C, B2B, SaaS, apps and data platforms for Fortune 100 companies Coca-Cola, Diageo, The Home Depot, Facebook and others. 

I thrive on solving problems with diverse teams to drive product-led growth for Enterprises by applying innovation methodologies, customer empathy, data, and emerging technologies [IoT, digital twins, blockchain, 3D printing, AI/ML, AR/VR].

Innovating through experimentation to test, validate and de-risk investments to bring differentiated products, experiences and new business models to market fast that drive customer value, a competitive edge, and accelerate growth.  Testing hypotheses about an idea across desirability, feasibility and viability.  Validating whether this idea, business model and go-to-market strategy will drive value to customers, our partners, and the business.  And what investment will it take?

I'm comfortable being uncomfortable and have lead Fortune 100 companies through business transformations including digital, automation, agile, lean and pivots to D2C.  Transforming ways of working and building new capabilities.  

My superpowers are fostering collaboration and my innovative spirit and DNA. 

WHY ME
My unique blend of management consulting experience [Accenture, Slalom] and entrepreneurial [Built 4 startups, founder of 2] positions me to scale enterprise innovation and accelerate business growth through startup methodologies and design thinking to validate product market fit.  

Collaborating with business units and customers to understand the value proposition and translate into requirements and digital products. Skilled in leading cross-capability teams as large of 30, fostering strong business partnerships, driving value realization, and steering technology strategy to align with organizational goals and objectives.

ROLES: Product Owner, Global Innovation Lead, Technology Strategy Lead, Management Consultant, VP Strategy + Growth,  Founder + CEO [Built 4 startups, founder of 2], SVP Marketing + Sales

WHAT I BELIEVE:
team is everything • diversity of thought drives growth • be a doer • be authentic • be curious • customer driven • ask why • be transparent • share your knowledge • It's in the details • listen • laugh • do more with less • know your worth • have a plan • be prepared • have a hobby

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