# Karen Velasquez ## Head of Product & Design [knv568@gmail.com](mailto:knv568@gmail.com), [+44 7840 021 660](tel:+447840021660), Bath, UK, [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-velasquez/) Hi, I'm Karen. I create environments where product teams can do their best work. With over 20 years of professional experience, I bring a blend of engineering roots, delivery depth, and strategic Product Leadership. My career evolved from front-end engineering and Project Management into Product Management and now Head of Product with leadership across Product, Data, and Design. I help businesses turn customer and market signals into better decisions, shape clear commercially viable bets, and execute with confidence across cross-functional squads. I am deeply data literate, comfortable with technical trade-offs, and fanatical about AI. # Experience ## Head of Product & Design, Signable #### Apr 2021 - Present [Signable](https://www.signable.co.uk/) is a scaleup B2B2C SaaS platform helping UK SMEs in Finance, Real Estate & Education to get documents signed digitally. - Progressed through Product Manager, Lead Product Manager, Head of Product, and Head of Product & Data roles. - Designed and engineered an automated continuous-discovery system that converted customer feedback into a reliable near-weekly interview cadence. - Introduced and operationalized Money Stories to connect product bets to first-year commercial impact and improve decision quality. - Led rollout of a Shape Up-inspired discovery operating model (Shaping Sessions, Shaped Bets, and development kick-offs) to replace PRD-heavy workflows. - Led roadmap and cross-functional delivery across Product, Engineering, Design, Data, DevOps, and QA. ## Technical Product Manager, Aer Studios #### Dec 2018 - Apr 2021 Aer Studios is an agency that designs and builds applications using a wide range of technologies: websites, mobile apps, games, platforms, and interactive experiences. - Diabetes UK: Planned and delivered new functionality for their main website and e-learning platform, as well as ongoing maintenance of both applications. - Historic Royal Palaces: Led delivery of a new augmented reality digital visitor guide app for Kensington Palace. I also looked after the Tower of London visitor app. - Roman Baths: Led the development of an app with image recognition and augmented reality for educating school children. - RadioPlayer: Created a new radio web player, a React front-end that consumes several metadata APIs and streams for audio playback. - Dogs Trust: Led the discovery phase and created the alpha and beta phase strategy for the delivery of their new website, which integrates with several back-end systems to manage the dog adoption process. ## Scrum Master & Agile Project Manager, Unite Students #### Apr 2018 - Dec 2018 Unite Students is a FTSE 250 enterprise that invests in student accommodation. - Acted as Scrum Master for Unite's in-house website and mobile app development team. - Project governance: communicated with the PMO and management on progress. ## Lead Project Manager, Blubolt #### Jul 2014 - Mar 2018 At the time I was here, Blubolt was primarily an ecommerce platform startup called BluCommerce, rivalling the likes of Shopify. - Managed the delivery of several B2B and B2C ecommerce websites on the BluCommerce SaaS platform. Some brands I worked with: TeaPigs, Whittards, Robert Welch, and Seasalt. - Grew and led the Project Management team (three direct reports). ## Web Support Team Lead, TravelClick/Amadeus #### Jun 2009 - Jun 2014 I supported a platform called Toolbox, a CMS designed for the hospitality industry that powers thousands of hotel websites and booking engines all over the world. - Grew and led the web support team (five direct reports). The position had a significant company-wide impact and was critical to ensuring a seamless customer experience. ## Software Engineer, Freelance #### Oct 2007 - Jan 2010 - Worked as both a remote and on-site freelance front-end developer for multiple clients. ## Implementation Manager, Pearloverseas/Facilisimo #### Jan 2007 - Nov 2007 Pearloverseas.com was a startup marketplace platform for Spanish property developers to sell their new and off-plan properties to the UK market. - Helped Spanish sellers onboard their properties onto the platform. # Languages English (Native), Spanish (Native) # Education 1997 - 2001 - University of North London BA, Leisure and Tourism Management (2:1) and Principles of Web Design and Development. # Interests Between looking after my two children and keeping up the household, I like to walk in the countryside; we're avid Geocachers. I'm a keen reader and podcast listener, consuming way too many work-related books. I'm also a fan of sci-fi; it helps me disconnect and stretch my imagination. I enjoy playing board games, card games, computer games, and anything that involves logic, strategic thinking, and problem-solving.