Barbara Surmanowicz

Founder @ Finbrave, Pixmau | Head of Product @ Belonio | Building products, companies and ownership

Greater Hamburg Area

About

Most people build products. Very few think like owners. — I grew up around financial instability. Not in theory — in real life decisions, bad advice, and the consequences that follow when no one really understands money. That taught me something early: If you don’t take ownership, you depend on systems you don’t control. — Today, I work at the intersection of product, companies and ownership. Head of Product @ Belonio Founder @ Finbrave I build products. I build companies. And I think a lot about how value is actually created. — One thing I keep seeing: Many people contribute to companies. Very few actually think like owners. And that changes everything. * how decisions are made * how risks are evaluated * how long-term value is built — I care about: → building products that matter → making better decisions under uncertainty → understanding how ownership shapes outcomes — I enjoy working with founders and early-stage teams — especially when product, strategy and execution come together. — If you’re building something meaningful or thinking deeply about product and company building — let’s connect. If you're curious about financial coaching and my progress on this, check out https://finbrave.com

Experience

  • Belonio (Remote)
    • Head of Product
      Nov 2024 - Present · 1 yr 8 mos

      Responsible for defining and shaping product and platform direction in a complex, crossfunctional environment. • Led product strategy, vision and roadmap development for a multi-stakeholder B2B2C platform • Built and lead a cross-functional product setup (engineering, design, research, QA, scrum master) • Introduced structured discovery and decision framework • Aligned product strategy with business goals and stakeholder needs • Enabled clarity across teams by establishing product principles, roadmaps and strategic narratives Impact: Created alignment and focus in a complex product environment and enabled structured, value-driven product decisions across teams.

    • Senior Produktmanager
      Apr 2024 - Oct 2024 · 7 mos

  • Karriereübergang at Career Break
    Feb 2024 - Apr 2024 · 3 mos

  • Taxfix (Full-time · 1 yr 11 mos)
    • Group Product Manager
      Apr 2023 - Jan 2024 · 10 mos

      Led strategic and operational initiatives at the intersection of product, data and compliance. • Led a cross-team initiative to significantly improve data privacy and compliance structures • Provided functional leadership for two teams and line management for a product manager • Established structured product and project processes (agile workflows, roadmaps, requirements management, user stories) • Acted as interface to management and executive stakeholders • Trained teams in project management, data fundamentals and product thinking • Developed a data strategy for data product management and contributed to the global data strategy Impact: Improved governance, decision-making and collaboration across teams while laying foundation for scalable, compliant data products.

    • Associate Group Product Manager
      Oct 2022 - Mar 2023 · 6 mos

    • Senior Data Product Manager
      Mar 2022 - Oct 2022 · 8 mos

  • BI Product Manager at New Work SE
    Mar 2019 - Mar 2022 · 3 yrs 1 mo

    Built and shaped data product mangement in an environment where the discipline did not yet exist. • Built B2B reporting structures and significantly expanded B2C reporting for paid memberships • Introduced product management as a new discipline within the data domain • Established agile product processes, roadmapping, user stories and requirements management • Led large, cross-company and migration projects within the group • Line management of working students • Initiated the development of a global data strategy Impact: Enabled data-informed decision-making across the organisation and professionalized data work through clear product structures and ownership.

  • Business Intelligence Engineer at bonprix Handelsgesellschaft mbH
    Oct 2017 - Feb 2019 · 1 yr 5 mos

    • Built and developed a team and introduced agile ways of working • Established standards and scalable processes • Further developed tracking and analytics concepts to improve data quality and usability Impact: Improved analytical capabilities and created a stable foundation for data-driven optimization across teams.