Meet the participant #2: Ines Sadouk
Great participants shape the experience at ProductCamp Amsterdam. The meet the participant series explores the product and ProductCamp story of some of our participants.
Up next: Ines Sadouk, who made the switch from Sales and Project Management to Product.
Hey Ines! Can you tell me a little about yourself and how you ended up in Product?
Hi, I’m Ines! I’m 30 years old and I’ve been living in Amsterdam since 2017. I work as a Product Owner for BESTSELLER, a Danish fast fashion company. As a Product Owner I am responsible for the Product data management domain. The next edition of ProductCamp will be hosted by BESTSELLER at our new offices.
My first job in Product was at the Louis Vuitton technology department in Paris. I did not have the official job title, I was a junior project manager there. I had to a develop a high-end product catalogue for Louis Vuitton stores. The catalogue would allow the stores to showcase all Louis Vuitton products, even if they had no stock or it was outside of the boutique’s product range.
This was the first time I built a product and I was really excited and proud. I was in charge of the pilot for 5 different stores and interacted with stores in New York, Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai, Sao Paulo and Moscow. I particularly enjoyed seeing all the cultural differences which affected how they use the tool and were able to give feedback.
Do you think your background as Project Manager benefits you as a Product Owner?
Without a doubt, the negotiation skills I obtained as Project Manager are very useful. Time management and the ability to quickly see next steps and actions points are extremely valuable.
Without a doubt, the negotiation skills I obtained as Project Manager are very useful. Time management and the ability to quickly see next steps and actions points are extremely valuable.
Also by doing many projects I have developed a sixth sense for risks (which can sometimes can annoy my colleagues). You learn from your mistakes and something that might seem small might actually become a problem.
What is the difference between managing a product or managing a project?
At Runpath, a company I used to work for in London, I was a project manager together with several product managers. As a project manager, I was more focused on the delivery, estimation, billing, client management and account management. In short, I was focused on the delivery side of things. The product manager was focused more on discovery, figuring out what to do and why.
As a Product Owner you are responsible for outcome you are delivering and not just the delivery itself
As a Product Owner you are involved in discovery and delivery, which I found more exciting. You are responsible for the outcome you are delivering and not just the delivery itself.
This is the first time you’re attending right? Why did you decide to attend?
It’s always interesting to meet people with different Product Owners’ backgrounds. We all come from different places and everybody has their own weak and strong points. I want to learn from others who are strong at my weak points.
What are you hoping to learn by attending ProductCamp?
I am curious to learn what it’s like to be a different Product Owner in different industries. I’m curious how it affects the role.
Are you going to propose a session, if so what session and format will you propose?
I would like to learn what other Product Managers do to reduce the amount of meetings they have. This can really distract you productivity can prevent you from focusing on the right things. So if anybody has any great tips, talk to me! So the format would be birds of a feather and the topic would be reducing meetings as a Product Manager.
What do you like doing in your free time?
I really love travelling. I lived in Paris, Brussel, London, Barcelona, Madrid and Amsterdam. So I still feel a strong connection to these places and love visiting my friends there but also discovering new places of course!
Thanks for your time Ines, hope to see you at ProductCamp in a few months!
