Valerio Zanini

Spark Engine offers product innovation training and certification programs to help you effect change and innovate consistently in any organization. Our programs help teams and organizations spark a culture of innovation and develop product management skills to deliver great products. The Spark Engine Framework is a cornerstone of our program, aimed at sparking innovation and driving execution through a combination of training and hands-on consulting work. Our team of Certified Product Innovation Trainers (CPIT) delivers Spark Engine programs to organizations worldwide and helps them spark a culture of product innovation. www.sparkengine.co

5D Vision delivers Product and AI training: * AI training for product teams * Product Management and innovation training with real-life simulation and use cases, frameworks, and implementation support. * Agile + Scrum training - Help your team get the foundations needed to become agile. With a combination of consulting and training, 5D Vision helps your organization spark innovation, develop great products, and empower teams to be more productive. We work at the intersection of product management, AI, design thinking, and agile practices. We merge a passion for human-centered design with expert application of agile and development practices. We are a team of product innovators and agile practitioners. We consult and work side-by-side with your team to deliver results, or act as coaches to help your team become more effective and empowered. We deliver training in the following areas: - Product management and innovation - Design thinking for creative problem solving and human-centered design - Agile practices (Scrum, Kanban) - SAFe for large teams and scaled organizations Our upcoming classes: https://www.5dvision.com/training Check out our website for downloadable templates that you can use for your projects: MVP definition, Customer Journey Maps, WSJF, User Personas, etc. www.5dvision.com

Led digital product development initiatives for Retail Bank. Formed and coached several teams of Product Managers/Owners and developers, leading strategy and execution for Retail Bank's digital initiatives. Winner of the CEO’s “Circle of Excellence 2015” award. Led largest-to-date Salesforce implementation in banking. Built data integration across a variety of data sources and delivered front-end for bankers. The goal of the platform was to provide deeper insights for bankers about their customers and help them lead development conversations. Rolled-out to the entire branch network with an MVP in production in just 4.5 months from inception. The project was presented as a successful case study at Dreamforce 2017. * Coached Agile, Design Thinking, and Lean Startup principles in several teams in Retail Bank. Created a culture of value-driven MVPs, earning a reputation for “Valerio Driven Development”. * Built next-generation customer relationship tools using Salesforce CRM, delivering concrete results – in just 4.5 months with minimal resources – and out-pacing other better resourced teams. * Led the development of an innovative lobby management tool, which was successfully launched on time in the flagship branch, and received rave reviews from customers and bankers.

Led the discovery, design, development, and delivery activities for the $4M+ introduction of Apple iPads and public Wi-Fi in all 900+ Bank Retail locations. Led product strategy in a cross-functional team of 30 members through the full development cycle from ideation to implementation. First among major banks to introduce iPads and public Wi-Fi in all retail locations. The project strongly pushed adoption of our digital tools and built a stronger digital brand. * First team to implement ATDD, AirWatch, and IOS Swift in Capital One Bank. * My team won two “Tech Excellence” awards for Agile/SAFe adoption and ATDD practices.

Led the technology and software development teams; responsible for all web services, new product/feature development, IT infrastructure and support, quality control, and data administration. * Redesigned the main e-commerce website, resulting in +30% conversion rate and -10% bounce rate. * Directed and launched a complex system integration project aimed at consolidating a company-wide database that the company had planned for more than 2 years but was previously unable to execute. * Rebuilt the technology team from a group that was barely on speaking terms, to a cohesive and collaborative unit, through a combination of servant leadership and team building activities.

Co-founded Goozex.com and led the company to become the #1 video game and movie trading service online. Sold the company in 2012 to a leading investment group in New York. * Led product development, business development and partnership activities. * Negotiated several M&A agreements, including the company’s acquisition by a NY firm. * Managed a team distributed locally and internationally. * Developed a set of public APIs for third-party web and mobile apps. Goozex.com became the leading online trading platform for video games and movies, competing directly with Gamestop and Gamefly. Keys to its success were a unique product offering, a strong service focus, and an effective feedback loop established with our customers. Goozex's platform won several prizes for the best web-site design in 2006 and 2007, and was recognized as the best online platform for trading used physical media by independent media outlets and magazines.

* Instrumental in the development and launch of the Cisco Mobile Wireless Router product. * Deployed a $1.1M project for Telecom Italia Mobile's innovative SS7 over IP signaling network. * Designed a custom network node for the CMX platform for a $3.5M project for Telecom Italia Mobile

Graduated from highly-competitive Academy for Auxiliary Officers in the Army. Led a platoon of 60 military police personnel, employed in emergency and anti-riot actions. Nominated instructor of officer training class. AUC 177 "Trasmissioni" and "Carabinieri".

Co-founded one of the first web development companies in Italy specializing in web design and development. Built the first movie website in Italy with social content created and shared by users, creating the first community-driven website for cinema. Won web development contracts for Iridium LLC (a Motorola spinoff), Telecom Italia, and several other companies.

Dean's Fellow + Scholar at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship

Bachelor and Master degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering