EVP, Product

position overview

The 4As is the voice of the agency community across America. The global ad industry is set to pass $1 Trillion in spend this year. The US is set to have $491 billion of that spend. And represent 20% of GDP. So, to be the voice of the industry is a real and unique honor. The things we do, stand for, and advocate for shape the direction of our industry. 

Over a 108 year history, the 4As have gone from reacting to member organization needs and key industry topics to the organization today which must set agendas, continually represent the broad agency community, and help its constituents voice in a more complex ecosystem of brands, platforms, creators, technology solutions and clients.

To do so, we need a systematic approach to driving the right types of solutions for our members. And we also need to think about solutions which bring more organizations and individuals in contact with the 4As. The days of having a stable, slow-evolving industry have gone. We have to be a t business speed to have any chance of staying ahead.

This role will be the first introduction of Product leadership to the 4As.

This is to set up what will be one of the most important of the newly formed Business Units. We will have one view across all of the experiences - events, surveys, research, community, programs, studies, etc - we provide to our members. We see these as products within a clear value  portfolio we must now create. And by having a Product Strategy we will be better set up to

• Have a runway for each product instance

• Undertake ongoing assessment, , competitor and market benchmarking,  that our products are best in class 

•  Expand our focus on  co-creation of new propositions  

• Strategic measurement and value assessment 

• Develop a strategic POV on which products drive best engagement and acquisition 

• Develop and execute a portfolio strategy ensuring that we are focused to deliver full portfolio leverage by our members 

• Innovate new types of experiences as the 4As 

• Bring measurement to the heart of product understanding. 

• Maximize acquisition 

• Maximize retention 

• Maximize revenue 

The Product Head will be at the center of building a new era of relevance for the 4As.

position responsibilities

This is a new role for the 4As, as EVP, you will lead our product journey – whether it be a white paper, event, study, research initiative etc – you have been charged with placing Product at the heart of our go to market strategy:

Product Management & Product Roadmap

This requires a clear view of the things the 4As undertakes today. You are the owner of our experiences. If it happens , then it has your endorsement and has its place in our product portfolio. 

You will define and develop our product strategy and to do this you will build fantastic relationships and shared plans  across our ELT. Priority Business Unit collaboration will be  Growth BU, Member Solutions BU and the Program Management  Innovation (PM&I) BU  .  You will take  counsel and strategic inputs. This will ensure that any and all products we have will be in tune with both our members and the market at large. Equally, you will be accountable to assess the relevance of every product and advise on the need to a) sunset b) evolve c) reset with partners and any other potential solutions you believe are necessary. 

This is a departure from the past where practice leads decided on the activities we would undertake.

  Portfolio Management 

You will help us  transition to a strategy of portfolio management. To do this you will question the status quo and always have a clear narrative regarding value creation, measurement and go to market strategy across the portfolio. You will be the architect and guardian of its consolidated value. 

You will also bring to the 4As a new understanding of the interconnection  between different products, and deliver member value. This is why working closely with the Member Solutions BU  will be critical. And working with the PM&I team to ensure correct and robust measurement is in place will be vital. You will also partner with the Content, Digital and Brand Team on go to market strategy across CRM, acquisition and paid, owned and earned channels.

You will work with the Growth BU team to strategically and tactically develop the ‘on ramp’ points within our portfolio – what works well for trial and consideration, etc. As well as understanding the ever changing needs they see in the market.

You will ensure our product portfolio stays ahead of member and market  needs. So you need to have vision! 

You will also assign a higher level of measurement across each product in the portfolio: understanding what works, what our benchmarks should be and how we should assess each experience.

Product Development

This role will require you to  develop a new approach to our development of experiences and propositions. Building from our starting portfolio you will work hand in hand with the PM I BU, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and ELT leaders of Growth and Member Solutions BUs to set out our product development strategy. 

This should be a reflection of how we see the industry, what we are hearing from the industry and also reflect the rolling agenda of the 4As. This latter point is important. Working with PM&I BU and the ELT at large you will have a quarter out view of the 4As rolling executional & build priorities.

You will leverage your creativity to reimagine our portfolio on an ongoing basis. Every 6 months you will undertake a full strategic review – making decisions on innovation needs as well as sunsetting imperatives, and you will bring this to the CEO and ELT.

You will bring inspiration into the 4As from external partners and what they are doing and how that can integrate into our portfolio

Go to Market Strategy

 In collaboration with the Head of Growth BU and President, Members Solutions BU, you will partner to understand and set down the business model needed to support taking our products to market. It will be critical that this  triumvirate collaborates   deeply and has a shared agenda on positioning, pricing and value-proposition development. So, this role requires a very keen commercial eye and the ability to collaborate and get things done. 

Product Revenue

In this role you will be invited to review existing revenue models and to propose new revenue models in line with your product strategy and new products.  For this you will partner with ELT and Finance to maximize and realize the full revenue potential of the 4As’ product portfolio. Drive revenue growth by identifying and executing opportunities across both member and non-member segments, ensuring optimization of existing offerings and development of new revenue streams.

You will work with CEO and CFO to develop clear P&L / commercial models to measure the business accountability of our products

You will work internally to measure all of our products and have this in place before they go to market

Salary : $280,000