Nita Maheswaren: Products That Count Crew Member Spotlight with Pivotree Director of Product Management
Every month, Products That Count will bring you stories from each of our crew members across the country. This month, the spotlight is on Nita Maheswaren, our Toronto chapter head.
Nita Maheswaren is a seasoned product management professional. He has served in various product and technical leadership roles at IBM and now Pivotree. Above all, Nita’s experience and background in both technology and business enable him to handle complex product challenges. This helps him seamlessly switch between big picture thinking and handling fire-drills all in the same hour.
What’s your favorite product and why?
“Week Plan – I love how easy it is to use for organizing and making sense of my busy week. Time management is critical to how I get things done. Week Plan brings a simplified user experience to organizing my schedule.”
Why does product management matter to you, Nita Maheswaren?
“Product provides the opportunity to collaborate with cross-functional teams including customers, development, operations, marketing, sales, finance, and legal. This is critical to building a holistic view of the business. Additionally, it helps drive customer value and success in the long run!”
What makes a great product?
“A great product adds value to a customer. It helps them solve real pain points they’re experiencing in a simple and effective manner.”
What makes a great product manager?
For Nita Maheswaren, there’s one skill required of a great product manager.
“There are many important skills – one of the top ones for me is being a good listener. This is important to help us really understand complex customer challenges. For instance, it helps to understand different points of view and to get to a winning solution.”
What are the blogs, newsletters, books, or resources that you find most helpful?
“I listen to a ton of podcasts on product management. This includes ones from Products that Count, a16z, Product to Product, Product Love, This is Product Management, etc. These help me stay up to date on the product management best practices,.”
If you’d like to connect with Nita Maheswaren, you can do so by reaching out on LinkedIn.