Tara Jones
Cincinnati,OH
Summary
Strategic Director of Product with a strong background of leading high-performing teams and executing strategic initiatives that drive organizational growth. Expertise in directing cross-functional projects that yield significant process improvements and enhance operational efficiencies. Proven ability to cultivate collaborative environments through exceptional leadership and communication skills, consistently delivering impactful results aligned with business objectives. Committed to driving innovation and excellence in product development while fostering a culture of teamwork and accountability.
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Director, Product Management
Kroger | 84.51
02.2019 - Current
- Set the direction for enterprise-wide Data Strategy & Engagement, including AI-Ready Data, ensuring high-quality, governed, and trusted data to power advanced analytics and AI capabilities.
- Drove omnichannel product strategies for Kroger Marketing and CPG's, overseeing $20M+ in annual performance with personalization sciences and marketing technologies.
- Built a Product Management organization responsible for all marketing and media technologies for Kroger Marketing - Campaign Management and Media platforms from targeting to measurement and insights
- Translate organizational priorities into actionable roadmaps, leveraging data-driven insights to influence decisions, optimize processes, and accelerate delivery of high-impact solutions.
- Foster innovation and collaboration across business and technology teams, aligning product development with strategic data and AI goals to drive measurable business outcomes.
- Responsible for budget management processes, long range planning, Capital and Operating Expenses within the Product organization.
- Cultivated strong stakeholder relationships, vital to building trust and confidence in the team, and expediting buy-in for new projects and initiatives critical to product innovation and evolution.
- Influence business leadership to make data-driven decisions, building strong relationships with leaders and stakeholders, creating a solid vision for the product portfolio, and repeatedly securing stakeholder buy-in for major change management initiatives and thought leadership actions.
Director Product Management, POS
PCMS Datafit
11.2013 - 02.2019
- Responsible for full customer account ownership, playing an integral role in the business development process, writing all project SOWs and SLAs, and leading a team of Customer Success Managers and Product Managers driving client satisfaction and elevating brand equity to support future growth.
- Increased commercials—on an annual basis—by understanding each client’s strategic roadmap; investing significant time onsite with customers to better understand needs, and opportunities, and developing and maintaining account plans including new enhancements to the base product.
- Tripled new business objectives and built out a backlog of 3 years of upgrade projects, generating over $6M in revenue against a $1.3M goal and onboarding 7 new projects, totaling over 10M in annual revenue.
- Managed and expedited the resolution of escalations, serving as a 24/7 point of contact, advocating for customers’ needs, and fueling a focus on data-driven strategic decision-making.
- Ensured total engagement of mission-critical internal and external stakeholders—throughout the project lifecycle—sharing account updates, strategies, and project statuses and priorities.
- Directed budget planning and resource allocation, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
Lead Product Manager
Vantiv
01.2013 - 01.2016
- Managed implementation and upgrade projects, owning the process of mapping clients’ needs, defining requirements, identifying product development opportunities, and leading implementations in alignment with project roadmap.
- Planned and managed projects leveraging Agile and Scrum methodologies—driving on-time, within-scope, and in-budget outcomes—collaborating cross-functionally with PMs, technical leads, and client stakeholders to achieve project deliverables.
- Cultivated rich client relationships, proactively communicating across stakeholder groups, mitigating risks to project delivery, and recognizing upgrade and incremental value opportunities.
- Led cross-functional teams to develop and launch innovative payment solutions.
- Analyzed market trends to inform product strategy and roadmap prioritization.
- Collaborated with engineering to define product specifications and ensure alignment with business goals.
- Mentored junior product managers, fostering skills in product development processes and agile methodologies.
Lead, Customer Success Manager
Vantiv/World Pay
10.2008 - 11.2010
- Responsible for building a Customer Success Management team overseeing airline, hospitality, hotel, restaurant, retail, and grocery accounts, representing $18B+ in credit card processing.
- Developed strategic account management plans and coached team in optimizing daily touchpoints, project status reporting, and issue resolution..
- Built a comprehensive account management / customer success training manual outlining the merchant setup and settlement process, reporting protocols, and internal technology systems.
- Worked closely with Point of Sale providers to ensure new store setups and conversions were in alignment with service-level agreements, scheduling training for retail merchants to optimize adoption.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to address customer concerns and improve service delivery.
Product Manager
Intensity Software
01.2005 - 10.2008
- Partnered with the Executive team to shape custom technology solutions, leading all phases of the project & product lifecycle requirements, stakeholder management, to contract negotiations and deployment.
- Built a sound and scalable sales and marketing infrastructure to support exponential revenue growth, reaching $2.2M in annual sales through capture of major software migration projects.
- Maintained involvement with projects pre- and post-implementation, not only building client relationships but supporting the identification and deployment of incremental solutions.
Education
Program Management Certificate - Technology Management
Xavier University
Cincinnati, OH01.2018
Bachelor of Arts (BA) - Art History & Design
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH06-2005
Skills
- Product leadership
- People management
- Collaborative team development
- Strategic planning
- Stakeholder Influence
- Operational process implementation
- Budget management
- Contract and vendor management
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Effective verbal and written communication
- Strategic decision-making
Certification
- TOGETHER DIGITAL
- Board of Directors, Speaker Chair, 2018-present
Board of Directors, Together Digital
Served as Co-Community Chair and Speaker Chair
Timeline
Director, Product Management
Kroger | 84.51
02.2019 - Current
Director Product Management, POS
PCMS Datafit
11.2013 - 02.2019
Lead Product Manager
Vantiv
01.2013 - 01.2016
Lead, Customer Success Manager
Vantiv/World Pay
10.2008 - 11.2010
Product Manager
Intensity Software
01.2005 - 10.2008
Program Management Certificate - Technology Management
Xavier University
Bachelor of Arts (BA) - Art History & Design
University of Cincinnati