John Brennan

People First Leader driving cross-functional delivery of cloud and online software products. Expert in Agile transformation, engineering collaboration, and development-wide process improvement.

Beverly, Massachusetts, United States

About

Experience

  • Senior Technical Program Manager at Microsoft
    Aug 2023 - Jan 2026 · 2 yrs 6 mos

    • As part of the Microsoft acquisition of Nuance, directed the migration of 110 Scrum teams from Jira/Confluence to Azure DevOps, adoption of Microsoft Way of Work practices, and established unified cloud development workflows, KPIs, and reporting mechanisms. • Managed the division-wide product planning process ensuring alignment of engineering goals with corporate objectives, resource allocation consistent with business priorities, and full transparency to stakeholders at all levels.

  • Senior Technical Program Manager at Nuance Communications
    Aug 2013 - Jul 2023 · 10 yrs

    • Led complex, cross functional programs across an 1000-person product delivery organization, driving alignment, dependency management, delivery and continuous improvement. • Facilitated roadmap creation, release planning, and prioritization across engineering, product, and operations teams for multiple commercial software products. • Co-led a multi-year Agile transformation. Championed continuous improvement by designing and rolling out Agile/Scrum practices; coached engineering, product, and PM teams to improve predictability, quality, and team engagement. • Co-led the creation of a division-wide product planning process ensuring alignment of engineering goals with corporate objectives, resource allocation consistent with business priorities, and full transparency to stakeholders at all levels. • Created cadence-based mechanisms to identify risks and systemic issues across development; implement mitigation plans and escalate effectively to maintain delivery commitments. • Partnered with engineering managers and cross functional leaders to refine development-wide processes, standards, and metrics, reducing variation and improving efficiency.

  • Senior Agile Coach / Engineering Manager at EBSCO Publishing
    Jul 2012 - Aug 2013 · 1 yr 2 mos

    • Led Agile transformation across engineering and product teams, establishing Scrum practices, coaching teams, and improving delivery flow. • Facilitated cross team planning, dependency alignment, and release coordination for online publishing platforms.

  • Software Program Manager at EnerNOC
    Jan 2008 - Jun 2012 · 4 yrs 6 mos

    • Spearheaded adoption of Scrum across the engineering and product management organizations. This included training, coaching, and tool (Rally Software) adoption. • Managed development and release of cloud-based energy management software, coordinating engineering, product, QA, and operations.

  • Director, Software Project Management at Picis, Inc
    Jan 2005 - Dec 2007 · 3 yrs

    • Oversaw development of clinical and perioperative software products used in hospital environments. • Led multi-team planning, milestone tracking, and risk management across engineering and product groups. • Implemented agile project management practices to improve transparency and delivery consistency.