Niek van Hoewijk

Handelsbanken

Channel modernisation and enhancement

Provide clear direction for product development  process in line with business goals/customer needs by defining product vision and strategy. 

Ensure achievement of common goals by aligning team and stakeholders on product objectives. Maintain top-tier quality standards by competently overseeing end-to-end development process. 

Engage all stakeholders throughout the product development phase by communicating progress and changes to concerned parties.

• Gained client satisfaction by driving on-time product delivery within budget.

• Met end-user's demands/expectations by conducting market research as well as collaborating with stakeholders to understand customer needs and validate product-market fit.

Group Product Manager

Blockwise

Freelance productdirector with a focus on

- Fintech, 
- Innovation,
- Blockchain 
- Web3 in general

Clients; Deloitte, Neom, Handelsbanken

Founder

Metaworks

Achieve a global community of empowered digital creators capable of bringing unique visions to life by onboarding and supporting digital workers worldwide with tools needed to build the web. Improve team performance and increased growth opportunities by assisting workers in making informed decisions about career paths.

• Provided innovative and user-friendly products to meet market demand by managing all product-related aspects, such as discovery, tech implementation, OKRs, and roadmap.

Product

Deloitte

Building a new blockchain based land registry for a project in KSA. Responsible for the development of the prototype based on a Ethereum Blockchain.

Responsibilities
- Define the product vision and strategy
- Conduct market research and validate product-market fit
- Work with stakeholders to understand customer needs and develop personas - Develop product roadmap and backlog
- Align team and stakeholders on the product goals and objectives

Product Lead

Covantis

Led discovery and delivery phases for Covantis blockchain platform domains, including documents exchange, API & document integration, and success metrics implementation by competently serving as Senior Product Manager. Enhanced employee engagement by implementing feedback loop to ensure continuous improvement in organisation.

• Optimised transaction speed and reduced costs by creating new business line from 0 – 1 to increase payment efficiency using non-fungible tokens as Product Lead.

• Maintained accountability/transparency to drive overall business success through implementation of success metrics across whole company to track progress and measure performance.

Senior Product Manager

Encouraged innovation by defining clear and compelling product vision, principles, and product strategy for DLT Infra team. Facilitated smooth implementation and delivery of value to customers by moving initiatives to production within DLT programme. Supported reliable and efficient hosting of DLT-based applications by successfully building DLT Hosting Platform. Fostered collaboration by integrating different partners on DLT Infrastructure to create robust and interconnected system. Increased accessibility and flexibility for users and stakeholders by hosting different DLT Nodes on cloud.

• Drove growth/success by developing sustainable business model for DLT Infra team.

• Maintained high availability of services by efficiently managing overall IT infrastructure of DLT programme.

• Promoted creativity and teamwork within innovation branch of ING (NEO) through deployment of collaboration tooling.

• Achieved common goals by building successful partnerships with strategic partners of DLT programme, including R3 Corda, Hyperledger, and ECUC.

• Enforced compliance with regulations by managing non-financial risk of different DLT initiatives, including IRM, ORM, Legal, and Compliance.

The Product Lab

We support product experts and develop future leaders by empowering, mentoring and enabling them to build successful products, keeping focus on human interactions.

https://www.theproductlab.nl

Mentor

Mobiquity Inc - Europe

Improved quality of digital products and services by serving as knowledgeable and experienced Senior Product Manager Consultant. Supported global brands in digital transformation by providing valuable digital engagement services as part of Mobiquity's team of 600 professionals. Enhanced skills and knowledge of colleagues by sharing expertise in product management best practices whilst mentoring others in the field.

• Attained desired project goals by streamlining adoption of Agile Scrum methodologies for newly onboarded colleagues.

• Created diverse and inclusive work environment by working alongside nearly 200 talented individuals from 35+ nationalities at Mobiquity's Amsterdam office.

Senior Productmanager

Rabobank

Product Manager for the innovation center of the Rabobank. Working with different phases according the innovation funnel and lean start up methodology; Discovery, ProblemFit, SolutionFit, MarketFix,Scale

Responsibilities;
- Validation lead for setting up the experiments to define the ProblemFit in preparation for the SolutionFit.
- Conducting interviews with potential users
- Created the first inception and prototype for testing

Senior Productmanager / Validation Lead (via Mobiquity)

ila Bank

Worked as a Product Owner for Ila bank, building the first Arabian Digital native bank. 

(Best Mobile banking app & Best Consumer Digital Bank app 2021) 

Responsibilities
- Grooming the backlog,
- Researching the new topics for the backlog,
- Preparing new features for the differentDevTeams 
- Stakeholder management
- Writing the User-stories so that
- Requirement Workshops

Worked closely with the Product Designers, Solution Architects and tech leads for developing the Epics and User Stories.

https://www.ilabank.com

Senior Product Owner  (Via Mobiquity)

Seasoned Product Leader with 12+ Years in Product Development & 10+ Years in FinTech

Specializing in Web3 & Blockchain Technologies | 8+ Years Experience in Innovation

Transformative Product Manager and Visionary Leader with a strong background as a Business Analyst, passionate about harnessing the power of Crypto, Blockchain, and Web3 technologies. With over a decade of experience in Product Development, I have an unwavering commitment to driving cross-functional teams to create and deliver groundbreaking products.

Expert in fostering a culture of collaboration, utilizing exceptional communication skills, and guiding teams to achieve shared objectives. Responsible for the creation and execution of numerous innovative products within the FinTech and Blockchain domains across diverse platforms (mobile, platform, and web). Skilled in guiding products through the complete lifecycle, from inception and design to development, testing, production, and scaling.

Extensive experience in the following domains: FinTech, Payments, Digital, and Web3 (Blockchain). Equipped with a deep understanding of market trends and emerging technologies, I am dedicated to elevating businesses to new heights through the development and implementation of cutting-edge products.


Objective was to identify and solve the 3 biggest problems for Handelsbanken NL customers and employees. In charge and responsible for building and implementation of 3 new Products to solve the biggest blockers:

- Document Container: Sharing documents between the bank and customer
- Zivver: Secure emailing / Digital signing between the bank, the customer and internal 
- FUBE/ Exbe: A new mandating solution for giving profit access to 3th parties

Responsibilities
Discovery phase:
- Define the product vision and strategy
- Conduct market research and validate product-market fit
- Work with stakeholders to understand customer needs and develop personas - Develop product roadmap and backlog
- Align team and stakeholders on the product goals and objectives

Delivery phase:
- Prioritize and manage the product backlog
- Ensure the product is delivered on time and within budget
- Oversee the development process and ensure the team is following best practices 
- Manage stakeholder relationships and communicate progress and changes
- Ensure product quality and that it meets customer needs
- Ensure the product is launched successfully and adoption is tracked

🌟 Exciting Times Ahead! 🌟

As one chapter closes, another opens! I'm thrilled to announce that I am now available for new freelance assignments. Ready to dive into fresh challenges and contribute my expertise in Product Management and Product Leadership.

A heartfelt thank you to the fantastic team at Handelsbanken for an incredible journey together. Special thanks to Ursula Los, Cyrus Dorival, Hend Swadi, Linda Koek, and Lena Williamsson for their collaboration and support. 

Also, a big shout-out to the brilliant dev team in Sweden: Sami Jussila, Daniel Millevik, Hampus Pukitis Furhoff, Agnes Altin, and Rebecca Staffas. Working with you all has been nothing short of inspiring. 🙏🏼🙌🏼

🚨 NOW AVAILABLE for new freelance gigs! 🚨

To all recruiters and companies looking for a dynamic product guy who can drive your projects forward — I'm your guy! Feel free to slide into my DMs, and let's set up a call to discuss how I can bring value to your team! 👍

#opentowork #productmanagement #freelance #techindustry #networking #collaboration

Let's make magic happen together! ✨

Niek V.

Please, lets work together to kill SAFe

In the agile community, the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) often emerges as a go-to solution for organizations striving to scale agile practices. However, an intriguing perspective shared by Jeff Gothelf on his blog opens the floor to a critical evaluation of SAFe's effectiveness in truly embodying agile principles.

A poignant critique is the structure of SAFe's Program Increment (PI) planning, notably the adoption of a 6-sprint PI cycle. The idea of dedicating a substantial part of the 6th sprint to planning the next three months stands in stark contrast to the agile doctrine of adaptability and responsiveness. 

Agile thrives on the premise that requirements, customer needs, and project directions evolve—sometimes daily—as we deepen our understanding through research and discovery. Encapsulating agility within a rigid, pre-defined planning structure reminiscent of the Rational Unified Process (RUP), arguably the most refined iteration of waterfall methodology, seems antithetical to the core agile values of individuals and interactions over processes and tools, and responding to change over following a plan.

The essence of SAFe, with its meticulous planning and dependency management, echoes the spirit of RUP, positioning it as a sophisticated iteration of waterfall under the guise of agility. This observation raises concerns about its efficacy in fostering genuine agile transformation, especially in large organizations where SAFe is often seen as a convenient bridge to agile—minimizing the need for the significant management reorganization that true agility necessitates.

Moreover, SAFe's structure has been critiqued for diluting the autonomy and empowerment of the teams at the coalface of product development. By centralizing decision-making and planning, it inadvertently shifts control away from Product Owners, Product Managers, and the teams themselves, handing it back to a middle management layer. This move not only undermines the principle of team empowerment, fundamental to agile's success, but also risks stifacing innovation and adaptability.

The journey towards agile is as much about cultural and organizational transformation as it is about adopting new practices and methodologies. For organizations genuinely committed to fostering an agile mindset, it is crucial to scrutinize not just the frameworks they adopt but also the underlying values and principles they promote. 

As we navigate the complexities of scaling agility, let's ensure our focus remains on empowering teams, fostering innovation, and maintaining the flexibility to adapt to change—core tenets that make agile truly transformative.

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