Niraj Gandhi

Experience

• 

  PalmSource

  Nov 2004 - May 2006

  Director of Product Management

  Reinvented and reinvigorated the Palm OS smartphone/mobile OS on Linux for consumer and enterprise segments (with planning, road maps, MRD, PRD, development, execution, partnerships, competitive positioning, collateral and launch).• Created and formalized the strategy and product roadmap for PalmOS on Linux to counter the decline in PDA sales• Led and collaborated with 120+ global team: PM, UX design, engineering, sales, partners• Retained and recruited dozens of key OEMs / partners to support the Palm OS transition• Led road map planning with operators, OEMs, and partners• Created developer program strategy. This included creating technical content, SDK and app store requirements, developer certification and testing program, developer support and evangelism tasks• Managed the product and team integration of China MobileSoft a company based in Nanjing, China and acquired by PalmSource.• Orchestrated the planning and launch of ALP at 2006 Mobile World Congress Show less

• 

  Hewlett-Packard

  May 2006 - Oct 2007

  Sr Manager, Product Management & Marketing, Smartphones

  Conceived, designed and led the development as well as launch of a smartphone all withing a short time frame of only 10 months from joining HP. • Propelled a turnaround of the iPAQ PDA group into a smart devices group with triple-digit YoY % growth in product development, customer engagement, user acquisition, satisfaction, and device sales. • Reinvented and reinvigorated the iPAQ brand by defining the iPAQ product strategy, roadmap and launching the first voice centric smartphone.• Drove an international cross-functional team of 100+ to develop and launch a smartphone in 10 months. • Conceived the first ever Voice command based UI and other differentiators for smartphone.• Created Sales and Marketing materials including product messaging, value proposition, pricing strategy.• Created the GTM strategy, value proposition, pitch deck, pricing strategy, channel strategy and other sales tools.• Represented HP at various industry, press and analyst briefings/events to launch the device Show less

• 

  Microsoft

  Nov 2007 - Sept 2008

  Sr. Product Marketing Manager

  Product Management and Marketing of EVS (an SMB focused PaaS UC solution).

• 

  Rhythm Services Network

  Sept 2008 - Aug 2010

  Chief Product Officer

  Conceived and built a unique (patented) mobile ad solution that included ad server, mobile marketing, device management and other innovative technologies and services.

• 

  Verizon Wireless

  Aug 2010 - Mar 2013

  Product Management Consultant

  • Led the design, development, deployment and enhancement of SSO solution for 4G/LTE smartphones.• Collaborated with Device Marketing, Network Planning, Engineering, Marketing, Operations, Maintenance Engineering, OEMs and vendors to get product developed and deployed.• Created the test lab for end-to-end testing. This resulted in savings of about $1M annually.• Led the management of development vendor’s SOW, budgeting, delivery schedules, acceptance testing resulting in higher quality product being delivered with no scope ambiguity.• Worked with Application Development Partners to help them integrate the SSO client and solution into their apps and servers.• Managed the SSO client integration on smartphones by directing OEMs (Samsung, Microsoft, Blackberry, LC, HTC, Apple, etc) as well as smartphone OSs. Show less

• 

  Verizon Wireless

  Oct 2013 - Sept 2015

  • Led a team of Product Managers and Business Analysts to operate Verizon’s Mobile commerce and mobile payments portfolio resulting in a double-digit YoY % revenue growth.• Collaborated with partners like Amazon, Google, PayPal, MasterCard, Visa, Blackhawk Network, etc to establish partnerships and create product offerings.• Managed the GTM planning and execution of Android Pay launch with Google resulting in Verizon being the carrier with most in-store activations.• Products managed: Google Wallet, Android Pay, Carrier Billing, Carrier Data Integration, Mobile location for Fraud management.• Created promotions, roll out strategies, in-store messaging, sales playbook and strategies Show less

  • Sr Manager, Product Marketing - Mobile Payments and Commerce

    May 2015 - Sept 2015

  • Sr. Product Manager – Device Management and Software Updates

    Oct 2013 - May 2015
• 

  Bakkle, Inc

  Oct 2015 - Mar 2017

  CMO & SVP Product Management

  Bakkle - a unique way for buying and selling on mobile using the swipe interface. The user friendly interface makes it appealing, fun and addictive. Hired and led a cross-functional group that, with strategic and Design Thinking, envisioned, developed and improved consumer experiences for a much needed consumer solution.• Defined product requirements and strategy• Created and executed marketing and promotion strategy for a successful launch of the app.

• 

  McAfee

  Apr 2017 - May 2020

  Partner Marketing - Customer Success

  Leading all marketing activities for select key partners – Verizon, CenturyLink, and D-Link. Delivered on very successful planning and execution at CES, MWC and several Media events generating over 1000 media articles.• Created the sales toolkit and ISP sales enablement assets, content, and tools such as datasheet, pitch decks, demos, competitive briefs, SWAT analysis, and whitepapers• Created product value proposition, pricing strategy, GTM plans, product educational and lifestyle videos and growth marketing activities as well as training• On a regular basis collaborate with sales, product, and support teams to deliver effective messaging to customers, partners, and customer.• Managed all aspects of SHP demo creation (defining the strategy, storyboard, script, demo devices, booth, etc) as CES and MWC in 2018 as well as 2019. Won a couple of awards.• Manage and execute events, conferences and tradeshows planning end-to-end including the creation of marketing collateral, event messaging, demo and booth set-up, demo script creation, defining the benefits and actual product features to highlight and performing the actual demos.• Invented the Away Mode feature for SHP and applied for patent• Partner Marketing / Customer Success Management: Managing ISPs and router OEM relations. I support them in all aspects of Marketing and launching McAfee products.• Marketing and Business Development with strategic accounts – Amazon, Google and Microsoft Show less

• 

  Allot

  Jun 2021 - Sept 2023

  Cybersecurity Marketing Director, North America