Geir Westgaard, Ph.D.

Certified Product Management Professional | Continuous Improvement Lead | Oil and Gas

Oslo, Oslo, Norway

About

I am a Certified Product Management Professional for a very good reason. First, it is my experience that energy lies where people come together and create products users love. The teamwork, creativity, engagement, and drive are just incredible. Secondly, you need great products to thrive and make money in today’s global market and business. Thirdly, it is complex, involving many stakeholders, and practical adjustments to real-life challenges. And that is why I am so passionate about Product Management. At the beginning of my carrier, that picture was not that clear. But after working on many technical projects and products, it became clear that the business part was almost non-existent, and the product life cycle management was fuzzy. Hence, not sustainable, reinventing the wheel, again and again, wasting time, money, and resources. It was many pieces missing, but it was when I discovered and learned about product management it all came together. My job career has given me broad international experience from various industries, IT, Medical, Oil & Gas, Power T & D, Research, and High-tech startups. Roles covering researcher, co-founder, product development manager, product manager, CEO, and startup entrepreneur. A few key achievements: • Conducted interviews of 60+ managers and cross-functional team members across 9 industries to get insight on how to best operate a product business. #1 pain is lack of overview to make the right decisions on product & service innovations. • As CEO & Founder build a product life cycle framework (SaaS) that helps managers and teams get the big picture overview to prioritize innovative and high feasibility projects. • As Co-founder started the company SimSurgery AS together with investors and The National Hospital with base technology from SINTEF (Research Institute). Have been a key driver in the whole process from idea through research and commercial product sold in the USA, Canada, China, Russia, France, England, Germany, Italy, Brazil, and Norway. • As Product Development Manager taking an innovative cable diagnostic technology into a commercial portable CE approved hardware product. Sold in Europa, the USA, and Asia. • Winner of the European innovation IST prize for transforming research results into an innovative digital surgical training simulator for the marketplace. Competencies: product management, innovation management, startups, SaaS, project management, product life cycle management, product roadmaps, strategy, cross-functional teamwork, lean startup, entrepreneurship, R & D, surgical training simulator.

Experience

  • Product Manager - Subsea Structures & ASSIST & Product Catalogue at OneSubsea
    Oct 2023 - Present · 2 yrs 10 mos

    Structues: We help clients to protect subsea components and ensure efficient operation during installation and through a field's life by providing surrounding structures that gather or distribute subsea infrastructure. ASSIST: A digital ecosystem that helps us in Subsea to visualize and interact with data from multiple sources. Product Catalog: A digital grahical layout of all main product offeings for each product line.

  • Product Manager - Subsea Structures and ASSIST at Aker Solutions
    Aug 2022 - Oct 2023 · 1 yr 3 mos

    We help clients to protect subsea components and ensure efficient operation during installation and through a field's life by providing surrounding structures that gather or distribute subsea infrastructure.

  • Innovation Consultant & CEO & Senior Product Manager at Product Office AS
    Apr 2017 - Aug 2022 · 5 yrs 5 mos

    As CEO & Product Manager build a product life cycle framework (SaaS) that helps managers and teams get the big picture overview to prioritize innovative and high feasibility projects. Conducted interviews of 60+ managers and cross-functional team members across 9 industries to get insight on how to best operate a thriving product business. #1 pain is lack of overview to make the right decisions on product & service innovations. As Innovation Consultant e.g., running workshops, product discovery, experimentation, user-centric design, ideation processes, customer interviews, and developing business cases.

  • Board Member at IF FRØY
    Feb 2011 - Feb 2018 · 7 yrs 1 mo

    Selected by club members to lead the recruiting committee. In this period the members grow to over 800. My job was to support existing members and recruit new members. The main responsibility was to operate the sponsorship program to give new members a warm welcome to the club. In this program, new members were informed about security on the road, and practice safe test rides with a mixed group of cyclists. This program was super popular among new members, and our best way to recruit.

  • Product Management at PM Consulting
    Jul 2015 - Mar 2017 · 1 yr 9 mos

    Product Management consultancy offerings e.g. facilitate workshops on product strategy and roadmap, develop market insight, idea brainstorming, concept screening, concept formulation for customer feedback, business case development, product requirement document, launch planning, optimize product portfolio.