Product Management

• The product manager position evolved from the brand manager role in CPG firms.
• The role is typically in-charge of setting the "strategy, roadmap, and feature definition" of a product.
• The role can also be responsible for the following tasks: "marketing, forecasting, and profit and loss (P&L)."
• The role was originally conceived as a brand manager job by an agency working for Procter and Gamble in 1931.
• The job entails overseeing the entire product brand and be responsible for its success.
• The notion of product ownership is at the center of the current product management framework.
• Over the next fifty years, many firms embraced the product management strategy.
• The approach became known as "consumer product management."

Typical Product Management Titles

Chief Product Officer (CPO)

• The CPO is typically under the CEO and is in-charge of all product-related tasks within a company.
• The CPO usually formulates the general product strategy that is in line with the company's overall vision.
• The role sometimes act as the CMO who is in-charge of marketing and developing the product.

Senior Vice President of Product Management (SVP of Product)

• The SVP of Product is a "senior-level product leader" inside a company.
• The role is typically under a C-Suite personnel, EVP, or a GM.
• The person manages a big group of product managers.
• The SVP also collaborates with other key managers in "engineering, sales, support, and marketing" to enable the development of the right product that is in line with the company's objectives.

Vice President of Product Management (VP for Product)

• The VP of Product is typically found in bigger and highly established companies.
• The role is considered to be an "executive influencer" who is in-charge of big projects that provide the largest value to the firm.
• The VP also has a place in the executive meetings when tackling strategy and M&A concerns.
• The role extends its influence beyond the group that they are in-charge of.

Director of Product Management

• This role is typically under the VP for Product in enterprise-size companies.
• Sometimes, it is under the CEO or a business unit head in smaller firms.
• This is a senior leader role that needs leadership experience and the skill to work with other leaders.
• The person should be able to communicate a solid vision for the product, deal with customers, and should focus on prioritizing the product attributes that will bring the most business value.

Group Product Manager (GPM)

• The GPM is in-charge of managing and setting the direction of the team that is tasked for a specific set of products.
• The role is the most critical non-executive job.
• The GPM typically leads other product managers.
• The role is also in-charge of "research, strategy, product development," and executing strategies from upper management.

Product Manager

• The Product Manager is usually referred to as the "visionary of the product" and the client-facing employee who is responsible for deciding what product to develop and the reason for creating the product.
• The role entails collaborating with cross-functional groups.
• The Product Manager can also work on tasks involving "marketing, forecasting, and profit and loss (P&L)."
• The role also evaluates the market and the competitive landscape to formulate a distinct product vision that can provide a one-of-a-kind value to the business.
• The role's responsibilities include multiple types of tasks that range from "strategic to tactical."
• The Product Manager can act as the cross-functional leader and can also fill in organizational gaps among other functional teams such as "engineering, marketing, sales, and support."

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