ILLONA B. WHATLEY
Richmond,VA
Summary
Results-driven technology product leader with over 20 years of experience in shaping enterprise platform strategy, spearheading AI-enabled transformations, and developing data products within the healthcare and information services sectors. Proven track record of building high-performing cross-functional teams and modernizing complex SaaS ecosystems while effectively translating business strategies into measurable product outcomes. Expertise spans the entire product lifecycle, consistently aligning roadmap investments with business objectives, enhancing operational efficiency, and driving competitive differentiation. Committed to leveraging innovative solutions to deliver impactful results in dynamic environments.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
Work History
Vice President, Product Management
Managed Markets Insight & Technology (MMIT) - a Norstella Company
01.2020 - Current
- Lead a team of Technical Product Managers and Product Owners supporting seven enterprise platforms spanning master data management, data acquisition, processing, and quality operations.
- Own end-to-end product strategy, roadmap prioritization, platform investment decisions, and cross-functional delivery execution across data and technology teams for Internal Platforms.
- Directed full replacement of legacy data collection and quality management platforms, enabling the daily automated collection of >3,500 public web locations and driving source collection growth of ~100%.
- Delivered commercial alerting platform from concept through Alpha release, creating competitive takeout opportunities and generating new revenue streams.
- Led AI-enabled transformation of data quality workflows and process reengineering, reducing manual effort in targeted workstreams by up to 75% and accelerating operational throughput by 80%.
- Directed content-related AI projects in collaboration with the centralized data science team, providing requirements, model feedback, gold data sets, and model metrics review.
- Partner with executive leadership to align technology investments with business growth objectives and enterprise product strategy.
- Led cross-functional teams to define product strategy and roadmap aligned with market needs.
Director of Implementations
Silverchair
01.2018 - 01.2020
- Led enterprise implementation delivery organization responsible for customer onboarding and platform deployments at scale.
- Improved delivery consistency, stakeholder engagement cadences, and operational efficiency across the implementation lifecycle through technology and process improvements.
Director of Software Engineering
01.2016 - 01.2018
- Led Architecture, Engineering, Technology Operations, and UX functions across the product delivery organization.
Director of Data Architecture
American Red Cross
01.2016 - 01.2016
- Led enterprise data architecture, governance frameworks, and data quality initiatives at national scale.
Global Solutions Leader
GE Healthcare
01.2013 - 01.2016
- Built and led globally distributed technical product management teams creating and delivering technology-enabled (RFID) solutions in the US healthcare market to improve operational efficiencies in hospitals.
- Managed system integration activities, enabling data interoperability between source systems and EMR (HL7).
- Partnered with Product Management to define product roadmaps and deliver strategic solutions aligned with market needs.
US Development Manager
01.2011 - 01.2013
- Built and scaled U.S.-based engineering teams within a globally distributed development organization.
Solutions Leader
01.2008 - 01.2011
- Led healthcare systems integrations and customer solution delivery across complex enterprise environments.
Manager, Technology Operations
Agility Healthcare Solutions
Richmond, VA
01.2006 - 01.2008
- Led deployments, systems integrations, customer support, and offshore development team coordination.
Early Career
- Progressive leadership roles spanning software development, systems integration, product delivery, implementation management, and customer-facing technology solutions across healthcare, logistics, and supply chain.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Business Administration
University of Phoenix
2016
Higher National Diploma (HND) - Information Technology
Vaal University of Technology
South Africa2000
Skills
- User-centric Design and Workflows
- Systems Thinking and Strong Architecture and Technical Foundation
- Data Architecture & Master Data Management
- Data-driven Decision Making
- Change Management & Digital Transformation
- Strategic Product Roadmap Ownership
- Enterprise SaaS Platform Management (AWS)
- Cross-Functional Team Leadership
- OKR / KPI Definition & Tracking
- Agile / SAFe
- Discovery, Innovation and Execution
- Jira, Confluence
- Use of Common Data Tools (MSSQL, MongoDB, Snowflake, DBT, Fivetran)
- Healthcare Data & Payer/Formulary Workflows
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
- 20+ Years leading technical product management, engineering, data platforms, and enterprise implementations across healthcare and information services.
- AI & Automation: Transformed data quality workflows with AI, cutting manual effort by up to 75% and boosting throughput by 80%.
- Platform Modernization: Replaced legacy data collection systems, doubling source collection through automated daily monitoring of 3,500+ web locations.
- Revenue Impact: Delivered commercial alerting platform from concept through Alpha release, creating competitive takeout opportunities and new revenue streams.
- Team Leadership: Built and led globally distributed teams spanning product ownership, engineering, and delivery.
Timeline
Vice President, Product Management
Managed Markets Insight & Technology (MMIT) - a Norstella Company
01.2020 - Current
Director of Implementations
Silverchair
01.2018 - 01.2020
Director of Software Engineering
01.2016 - 01.2018
Director of Data Architecture
American Red Cross
01.2016 - 01.2016
Global Solutions Leader
GE Healthcare
01.2013 - 01.2016
US Development Manager
01.2011 - 01.2013
Solutions Leader
01.2008 - 01.2011
Manager, Technology Operations
Agility Healthcare Solutions
01.2006 - 01.2008
Early Career
Bachelor of Science - Business Administration
University of Phoenix
Higher National Diploma (HND) - Information Technology
Vaal University of Technology