Spotlight on the Equiem Product Team: Chet Manek

March 21, 2022

3 minute read

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Equiem's Product Team sits at the nexus between our clients and our products. It's their expertise that allows us to tailor our offering to solve our clients' problems.

That's why we've decided to help you get to know the team. If you read our blog last week, you already got to know Helene. Now it's time to meet her fellow Product Manager, Chet Manek!

Tell us a little about your professional experience

"After completing my university qualification in Business Information Systems at Sheffield Hallam University in 2011, I jumped straight into the deep end. I learnt the ropes through a variety of roles within a software development house that also built and provided a paywall solution across digital news outlets across the globe.

"This role within the Media & Publishing industry was an important stepping stone for my career and taught me a lot of what I know today with the need to learn. I still love a fast-paced environment that lets me develop and demonstrate my skills.

"My next role saw me move to a very different environment within the commercial real estate sector at CBRE. My role there was more client facing, with my key responsibilities covering products that are used by investment brokers across the EMEA region within the Capital Markets line of business. CBRE taught me the importance of having a process-oriented approach towards all forms of product delivery. I learned the importance of defining a measurable set of success criteria. After more than five years at CBRE, I decided that I wanted a new challenge. So, I joined Equiem in October 2021!"

What does your job entail?

"I have a variety of responsibilities to achieving a successful outcome with the fundamental output being a software solution that is designed and developed with the end user and their complex workflows in mind.

‚"The role of a product manager can include the broad strategy behind a software solution being developed and launched into the market while also including elements of project management to ensure that the product is launched with the best chance of success in mind.

"We're also responsible for working with clients to define the development requirements and collect the user stories required by developers to develop and build a solution that meets a client's expectations. The role of a product manager can also be extended out to include showcasing of features as new enhancements are built and launched while also maintaining a close relationship with clients to ensure that future roadmap items are taken on board for future consideration."

What do you love most about your job?

"I enjoy rolling my sleeves up and digging into the problems facing our users and clients. This ensures that I'm adding value and directly resolving issues that impact our clients and users through my day-to-day role.

"I enjoy the opportunity that operating within the commercial real estate sector affords us. Generally speaking, the industry has been slow to adopt modern development techniques and frameworks. That makes my role so much more exciting, as I know there is so much still to do which in turn will bring significant value back to end users and clients."

Tell us something fun about you!

"I'm a huge Liverpool FC fan! I regularly make an eight-hour round trip to watch a two-hour game. I also have a long standing hobby (or maybe habit?) of collecting trainers. You might have noticed them behind me during video meetings!

"And I'm a keen follower of street artists like Brian Donnelly (Kaws) and Jack London (Shoeuzi)."

Eager to work with the best product team in the biz? Book a free demo today and find out how Equiem can make your building better.