VP

Rai Vivek Prakash

Strategic & Visionary Product Leader

A highly strategic and visionary Product Leader with over two decades of experience spanning product management, engineering leadership, and agile transformation across diverse sectors including digital marketplaces, Fintech, Automotive, Insurtech, SaaS, and enterprise IT. I possess a proven track record of defining compelling product visions, orchestrating high-performing cross-functional teams, and delivering innovative, market-leading solutions that drive significant business growth and customer value. My expertise lies in crafting long-term product strategies, optimizing backlogs for maximum impact, and leveraging data-driven insights to inform critical product decisions, ensuring seamless alignment with overarching business objectives.

About Me

With over 20 years of experience in the technology sector, I command a profound understanding of the entire product lifecycle, from strategic ideation and meticulous development to successful market launch and sustained growth. My career trajectory has forged a unique synergy of strategic foresight, deep technical acumen, and transformative leadership capabilities. I thrive in dynamic, fast-paced environments, consistently leveraging Agile methodologies to cultivate robust collaboration and accelerate high-quality product delivery.

My core passion is to architect and build products that solve complex real-world challenges, coupled with developing market-penetrating strategies that deeply resonate with target audiences. As an IT Leader, I have successfully spearheaded numerous digital transformations and optimized operational efficiencies, always maintaining a sharp focus on pioneering innovation and fostering sustainable growth. I am deeply committed to continuous learning and empowering teams to unlock their full potential, driving collective success.

Key Achievements

  • Cultivated and scaled high-performing product and engineering teams through strategic mentorship and a focus on cohesive, results-driven collaboration.
  • Orchestrated a comprehensive overhaul of the company's IT product strategy, directly contributing to a 30% increase in revenue within the initial two years.
  • Forged seamless collaboration frameworks between product, engineering, and marketing, resulting in a significant 20% reduction in time-to-market for new product releases.
  • Pioneered the integration of AI-driven features into core product offerings, substantially enhancing user experience and operational efficiency.
  • Provided critical strategic sales support, directly contributing to the acquisition of significant enterprise clients and expanding market share.
  • Championed and implemented advanced Agile methodologies across departments, boosting overall team efficiency by 30% and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

Professional Journey

Core Expertise

Product Leadership
Product Strategy & Vision
Roadmapping & Prioritization
Product Lifecycle Management
User & Market Research
Data-Driven Decision Making
Business Acumen & Growth
Agile & Project Management
Scrum Master & Kanban
SAFe Frameworks
Risk & Stakeholder Management
Project & Portfolio Management (PPM)
OKR Master & Execution
Process Optimization
IT Leadership & Digital Transformation
Strategic IT Planning
High-Performing Team Building
Vendor & Partner Management
Cloud Adoption & Strategy
Digital Transformation Initiatives
IT Security & Compliance
Product Marketing & Sales Enablement
Go-to-Market Strategy
Content Strategy & Development
Sales Enablement Programs
Competitive Analysis
Pre-sales & Solutioning
Negotiation & Deal Closing
Fintech & Advanced Technical Skills
Fintech Ecosystem (SEPA, Forex, Visa/MasterCard)
Complex API Integrations
Cloud Infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP)
Microservices Architecture
DevOps & CI/CD
Front-end Frameworks (React)
AI / ML Integration (CV, NLP, Generative AI)
User Experience (UX) & Design Thinking
User-Centered Design Principles
Usability Testing & Iteration
Interface Redesign & Optimization

Showcase of Work

Education & Certifications

Education
  • Product Management Professional, 2015, IPM, Bangalore
  • Master's Degree, Computer Science (2007) – IGNOU, New Delhi
  • Bachelor's Degree, Physics and Mathematics (1999), IGNOU, New Delhi
Certifications
  • PRINCE2 Practitioner
  • Agile Coach and Facilitator
  • Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)
  • CCNA
  • ISTQB Certified Tester
  • AI and ML Fundamentals with DeepLearning.AI

Tools & Methods

Product Management & Strategy
Atlassian Jira
Confluence
Trello
MS Azure Suite
Miro
Product Canvas
Windchill
Aha!
Design & Prototyping
Figma
Sketch
Adobe XD
Data Analytics & BI
Google Analytics
Power BI
Tableau
Mixpanel
Development & DevOps
GitHub
Jenkins
Swagger
Docker
Kubernetes
SonarQube
OpenAI API
Postman
Cloud Platforms
AWS
Azure
Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
Render
Vercel
Programming & Frameworks
Python
JavaScript
TypeScript
HTML/CSS
React
Next.js
PHP
Java
Laravel
Flask
Django
Enterprise Systems (ERP/CRM)
Oracle ERP (EWM)
SAP ERP
Microsoft Dynamics 365
Salesforce
Hubspot

Language Knowledge

  • Deutsch (Fluent)
  • English (Fluent)

References

Interim Reference from AFC Claims GmbH
Mr. Vivek Prakash Rai, born on February 17, 1980, has been employed with AFC Claims GmbH since March 1, 2020, in various positions, currently as Head of Product in the IT Product Management department. AFC Claims GmbH is a service company specializing in the complete claims processing for commercially used vehicle fleets, being the market leader in Germany with over 90,000 claims processed annually. During his tenure, Mr. Prakash Rai has been entrusted with disciplinary and technical leadership of the team, building and supporting the product team (including personnel management), establishing and integrating key IT systems for Nobleglass GmbH & Co. KG, setting up an IT support system, developing product strategies and roadmaps for Nobleglass GmbH & Co. KG and Auto Fleet Control GmbH, contributing to the product design of internal systems, designing the early phases of the BI system, conducting contract negotiations with partners, suppliers, and customers, modernizing in-house legacy systems, defining KPIs and success factors for new product launches, establishing prioritization processes for the company's product and IT service portfolio, and leading various digital transformation, integration, and migration activities, as well as project management activities. Mr. Prakash Rai possesses excellent and very deep expertise, which he consistently applies to our company in a highly profitable manner. Due to his excellent comprehension, he is always able to immediately grasp even difficult situations accurately and quickly find excellent solutions. Mr. Prakash Rai is an always exceptionally committed employee who consistently stands out primarily due to his extraordinary willingness to perform and exceptional dedication. Even in situations with the highest workload, he consistently proves to be exceptionally resilient. He performs all tasks completely independently, extremely carefully, and thoughtfully. He always acts calmly, deliberately, goal-oriented, and with the highest degree of precision. In doing so, he consistently impresses in a special way both qualitatively and quantitatively. His absolute and unrestricted reliability and honesty are particularly noteworthy. He finds very effective solutions even for the most difficult problems, which he always successfully implements in practice, thereby consistently achieving excellent work results. His outstanding social competence is also to be highlighted. Due to his leadership qualities, he is as a superior highly recognized and popular. He always behaves openly and collegially towards his employees but nevertheless knows how to assert himself in difficult situations and motivate employees to optimal performance. Mr. Prakash Rai's performance receives our unreserved and in every respect fullest recognition. He is universally highly esteemed for his consistently friendly and balanced nature. He is always helpful, courteous, and, if necessary, puts personal interests aside. His behavior towards superiors, colleagues, and customers is without exception exemplary and loyal. The reason for issuing this interim reference is Mr. Prakash Rai's request. We thank him for his consistently very good performance in the employment relationship to date and wish him continued success and all the best. Hamburg, December 12, 2024 AFC Claims GmbH Daniele Baldino Managing Director AFC Claims GmbH

Other Formal References

Reference from Deposit Solutions GmbH

Deposit Solutions GmbH

March 2020

[Please provide the summary text for the Deposit Solutions reference here. This section is for formal references beyond LinkedIn recommendations.]

Reference from Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric

October 2016

[Please provide the summary text for the Schneider Electric reference here. This section is for formal references beyond LinkedIn recommendations.]

LinkedIn Recommendations

Garrick Simeon

Managed Vivek directly

August 5, 2020

Vivek came to work for me as a delivery manager of software development teams during the bedding in of a companywide agile transformation. There were many challenges Vivek defined and resolved using his experience and mentoring approach combined with an acute understanding of process management. Many of the systems in operation required adjustment to align with the other parts of the organisation to provide clarity on delivery time frames and usable MVP’s. Vivek is a trustworthy, diligent, experienced delivery and product manager, that understands the important of software development limitations and the business need for actionable and relevant information. His contribution translated into actionable business outcomes. I wholeheartedly recommend Vivek as a highly skilled, respectful, and trustworthy delivery and product manger to any company that values professional commitment with a salient understanding of what a business needs to succeed.

Alex Sloley

Senior to Vivek but didn't manage Vivek directly

August 20, 2017

Vivek is a diligent and thoughtful leader who inspires calm and cohesiveness on his teams. His pragmatic approach emphasizes the value of people and not just blind adherence to process. He has a solid grasp of fundamental management principles and executes a variety of practices with expertise. Vivek is a leader that I have come to deeply respect and admire. I would be honored to work with him again.

Daniel Rea

Worked with Vivek but on different teams

May 16, 2017

Vivek hat eine bemerkenswerte Fähigkeit, gleichzeitig auf niedriger und höherer Ebene zu operieren. Er ist bereit, sich mit technischen Problemen zu befassen, hat aber gleichzeitig ein scharfes Verständnis für die Geschäftsposition und alle Unternehmensziele. Er kümmert sich um seine Mitarbeiter und kennt ihre Fähigkeiten. Er wechselt reibungslos zwischen technischer und nicht-technischer Sprache, um der Situation gerecht zu werden, und kommuniziert präzise mit verschiedenen Stakeholdern und Teammitgliedern. Mit hervorragenden Planungs- und Organisationsfähigkeiten und einer angenehmen und unerschütterlichen Veranlagung ist Vivek eine Freude, mit ihm zu arbeiten und definitiv jemand, den ich jeder Organisation empfehlen würde.

RaviKiran Perumalla

Reported directly to Vivek

January 6, 2016

Me and Vivek were part of the long journey in the design tools team and I saw him in many different roles. He was best in his all roles he did at Schneider and has the best knowledge on all the products our team has. He is the best decision maker when the team is in confusion. He handled many tough situations by driving the team towards the goal. He understand the team members needs and tries to solve their problems with his best abilities. He can recognise the talent and encourage them to reach their goals in his career. I recommend him for any organisation for any of the roles he wants to perform.

Anoop jha

Reported directly to Vivek

June 21, 2008

Vivek is a fun loving, disciplined and managed person. The best part which I liked about him was handling issues in the project. I found him to be the best in difficult situations. He was a good team leader and mentor for me.

Manjunath M Shringeshwara

Reported directly to Vivek

May 23, 2008

“Vivek is a man of high commitment and with great leadership qualities. He is a great team player and wonderful friend, He was both my mentor and my lead in Sapient. It was a pleasure to work with him,He has capability and commitment to achieve the set goals .He has a uncanny ability to perform different roles ,and achieving the desired result with ease .”