You can download a PDF copy of my CV here. The postal address and telephone number have been removed for online publication, so please contact me by email in the first instance.
Februrary 2020 - Present
PROWLER.io is "the Decision Making Company", applying AI and Machine Learning to real-world client problems, such as Supply Chains.
I joined the company as a Senior Product Manager in February 2020. Since then, I have worked with multiple engineering teams to create internal tooling and the "execution framework" for running AI/ML experiments at scale in the cloud.
I have also collaborated with the other Product Managers to undertake market research, competitor analysis and develop the Product Requirements Document for PROWLER's core "decision-making engine". I have taken part in user story mapping workshops, facilitated Spotify-style "squad healthchecks" and worked with a multi-disciplinary panel of stakeholders to develop the company's Open Source Strategy.
November 2017 - February 2020
I was a Product Owner, and later a Product Manager, within the "Ocado Smart Platform". I helped to build the end-to-end grocery eCommerce and fulfilment platform that Ocado has licenced to Kroger in the USA, Sobey's in Canada, Aeon in Japan, Groupe Casino in France, ICA in Sweden, Morrisons in the UK and Bon Preu in Spain.
In a short space of time, I gained experience working on Order Management, Geolocation of international addresses and supply chain systems. I sometimes worked in tandem with other Product Managers to assist them in the delivery of the products in their domain, helping my team to adapt to new challenges and domains as demand within our programme of work fluctuated. By putting aside my personal objectives, I was able to help my team continue to deliver the most valuable work at the most effective time. This helped to improve programme delivery across the whole of the platform, and I shared my understanding of this way of working with other teams, product owners and development managers at a departmental off-site.
I later took on the responsibility for creating a product to integrate Ocado's international automated warehouses with the rest of the Ocado Smart Platform. This was a challenging project of high strategic value, which we completed on time and to an exceptionally high standard of quality.
Within a few months of working as a Product Owner, I received a Peer Award thanks to a nomination from my team in which they said: "Lawrence moved into the role of PO recently joining Order Management OSP, quickly picking up the domain understanding. Despite tough challenges, Lawrence is always proactive in unblocking stories, challenging standards, and representing his team across OSP, in addition he is approachable, professional, good-humoured, insightful and always willing to help the team in any way."
As well as developing great products by working closely with my development team, stakeholders and Ocado Solutions - our client relationship arm - I also initiated various initiatives aimed at helping my department work more effectively. I organised "Town Hall" meetings where leaders shared the product vision, I took part in a workshop that defined the role of "Product Owner" across the whole of Ocado Technology and instigated various improvements to the process through which we manage both our product portfolio and our collaboration across it.
I have spoken at several large conferences and Meet Ups.
September 2012 - November 2017
Worked on a variety of legacy and greenfield products that shape the incredible technology that powers Ocado, primarily coding in Java and operating in a DevOps manner.
Was involved in the testing, launch and support phases of Ocado's second Customer Fulfillment Centre (Dordon) as it went live in early 2013. This work focused on creating some of the sophisticated Warehouse Management Software for Ocado's famously highly automated warehouses.
Later, I was part of a team that built Ocado's first dedicated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, as well as maintaining and extending our existing Marketing, transactional email and SMS communications systems. Ocado didn't have Product Owners until some time after I joined this team, so I often worked closely with Ocado's head of marketing to help establish which new features should be built and how they should be prioritised. During this time I also helped establish these products as part of the new, greenfield, AWS cloud-based "Ocado Smart Platform" that would later be sold to international retail clients.
Before moving into Product Ownership, I spent two years improving the on-road Delivery Systems that helped drivers to make their way to customer's houses. I took part in many user workshops and worked closely with senior stakeholders, including the Director of Service Delivery, in order to improve the day-to-day lives of our drivers. Working on this product also brought me even closer to Ocado's customers, as the drivers are the only human interaction between Ocado and our customers. The products we built in this area had a very significant impact upon this relationship and I found this aspect of my work particularly impactful and meaningful.
April 2011 - August 2012
Working with another intern, I built a simulation of Betfair's sports betting exchange. The simulation was designed to allow Betfair's pricing team to obtain early feedback on various different pricing strategies, allowing them to see how their changes would affect the balance of user interactions across the betting exchange.
Betfair's exchange is similar to a stock market for betting odds, with users placing bets directly against other users of the site. This made for an interesting "ecosystem" to analyse. We spent some time analysing the behaviour of different customer groups and defined personas that covered different user traits. We then created simulations of these user traits that utilised different types of AIs to place bets on realistically simulated sporting events. Running this simulation repeatedly showed us how the different user groups would change behaviour in reaction to changes in fees charged to them.
This began as a six-month industrial placement over the summer of 2011, but continued on a part-time basis during my final year at university.
I have spoken at multiple conferences and meet-ups across the UK:
You can view recordings of my Agile Cambridge talks on Vimeo:
Imperial College London
October 2008 - June 2012
The Blackpool Sixth Form College
September 2006 - June 2008
Cardinal Allen Catholic High School
September 2001 - July 2006