Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Timeline

Jonathan Liska

Product Director
London

Summary

Strategic Leader with over 15 years of Product centric experience with a strong background in Ecommerce, Product Management and IT Project Management in Agile environments. Strong communication skills with considerable experience of managing stakeholders and suppliers (both internal and external) at a range of levels. Financial KPI, results and delivery driven with a keen eye for detail and innovation, keen to concentrate on requirements and build this into best in class end products and deploy content which satisfies both the customer wants and the business needs in terms of ROI and financial uplift whilst also providing an effective user experience and remaining compliant according to regulatory requirements.

Overview

17
17
years of professional experience
5
5
years of post-secondary education
3
3
Languages

Work History

Product Director

Ballys Interactive
London
10.2022 - Current
  • Focussed on the Core Player Experience, concentrating on the foundations of our Products, critical to the success of the business
  • Leading the way on delivering for our external and internal customers, areas include Onboarding & Access, KYC, Multi Factor Authentication, Help & Support, Payments & Wallet, Regulation, Responsible Gambling & Native Experience
  • Led the end to end Product delivery of Ballycasino.co.uk the first Bally’s branded site in the UK
  • Represented Bally’s and demonstrated Product capabilities in face to face meetings with Regulators and Licencing bodies in successful applications in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island
  • Successfully implemented migration of players from outgoing UK brands to new sites within the UK portfolio
  • Leadership of circa 16 Product Owners including 4 Senior POs, located in multiple locales including UK, Canada and Estonia
  • Providing guidance for POs and other colleagues both in their Professional Development and as a Subject Matter Expert on all aspects of the Core platform and the Casino/Betting sector itself
  • Overseeing the prioritisation, strategic direction and approach of development work across the whole of the Core area, covering circa 30 Development teams spread across the UK, Canada, Estonia, Ukraine and India
  • Ensuring that teams are focussed on ‘the right work’ and collaborating with internal Stakeholders and Product Managers to deliver value via Roadmaps which are customer centric and in line with Business goals
  • Providing guidance for POs and other colleagues both in their Professional Development and as a Subject Matter Expert on all aspects of the Core platform and the Casino/Betting sector itself
  • Met strict deadlines, coordinating moving parts in product team and orchestrating well-designed flows
  • Dealing with Stakeholders at all levels and leading on Product Demonstrations, technical incident investigations and escalations where required

Head of Product

Ballys Interactive, formerly Gamesys plc
London
01.2019 - 10.2022
  • Definition of Strategy and Vision for Regulatory Products and ownership of the Roadmaps associated with Responsible Gambling, Regulatory Requirements, Compliance and AML
  • Prioritized roadmaps in order to achieve product goals and metrics.
  • Responsible for the Product design and rollout of Affordability tooling in line with anticipated UKGC regulation changes
  • Introduced improvements to UK and US KYC processes which provided an increase in positive verifications via the addition of secondary and tertiary checks including automated document upload and verification
  • Ensured new Casino websites in the UK, Ontario, Spain, New Jersey, Pennsylvania were able to pass licencing at the Platform and Product level, as well as standalone Sportsbook apps in other North American States including Arizona, Indiana and Colorado
  • Developed product documentation to communicate upcoming features and products to internal teams
  • Reviewed new opportunities to drive business strategy at planning sessions
  • Analysed metrics to measure product performance
  • Management of a small team of Product Owners and responsible for a Development area including 5 teams spread across 2 countries
  • Remit covering core UK business, Spain and North American jurisdictions; ensuring websites and processes are compliant with local regulatory requirements
  • Working closely with all areas of the business to provide a balance of innovation, compliance and process efficiency on development work
  • Delivering Products in a configurable and componentised approach so that different jurisdictions can adapt quickly to local needs and development time/resource is not wasted by producing code in isolation
  • Ensuring the Customer Experience is continually improving and keeping an eye on the commercial KPIs whilst delivering initiatives to protect players.

Lead Product Consultant

And Digital
London
05.2017 - 01.2019
  • Working for a forward thinking, highly regarded Digital Agency/Management Consultancy in London where the focus is on Agile ways of working and new technologies
  • Lead consultant on 2 long running client assignments in the Insurance sector
  • Client based assignment with Covea (large Insurance company), delivering guidance on best practice, setting up a Product Management function in the head office and leading a Digital Transformation programme within the business
  • Established long term customer relationships by using effective communication and active listening skills
  • Strategic consultancy program to help build and prioritise the Roadmaps for all principal business areas at Covea
  • Project Management and Scrum Master responsibility for a number of key strategic and tactical initiatives ranging from software based Product developments to requirements gathering and analysis exercises aiming to produce a ‘wish list’ for an Enterprise wide workflow solution RFP
  • Working with senior stakeholders to prepare the IT budget for 2018 through 2019 as part of the Digital Transformation process
  • Leading a large scale RFI seeking to procure Enterprise level software solutions covering Business Process Management and Customer Experience needs.

Head of Gaming Products

Ladbrokes
London
11.2011 - 02.2017
  • Games Product Strategy, Development and Content Roadmap owner
  • Average roll-out of 2 online titles per week across mobile and desktop websites
  • Over 20% increase in Actives from 2015 to 2016 across Games titles
  • Games titles account for £30m+ annual NGR
  • Recruited internal and external hires into the team, mentored them and supported their development into subject matter experts in their Product areas
  • Successfully managed to maintain compliance with UKGC regulatory technical requirements including Level 3 test certification, Autoplay standards and Reality Checks
  • In house Lottos increase in weekly Actives from just 1300 to 6500 in 18 months by designing and introducing a new mobile site and then further increase from 6500 per week Actives and £70k weekly Turnover to 8000 Actives and £90k Turnover by the introduction of a responsive site across desktop , mobile and tablet with additional betting options
  • Inspired Virtual Sports increase in Actives and revenues by 400% via introduction of mobile product and continued rollout of new product features
  • Games Product Platform integrations with a number of Key content suppliers such as Net Ent, IGT, Scientific Game, Novomatic and Blueprint on both desktop and mobile platforms
  • Implementation of automated bonuses, freespins mechanisms and cross-sell promotional mechanics across Digital and Omni-Channel campaigns
  • Games Product revenue and Actives increases growth year on year for the past years despite increased regulatory and operational barriers
  • Improvements achieved via a combination of front end redesign, backend promotional enhancements and general improvements to the customer journey based on competitor analysis and customer feedback
  • Successful launch of regulated Casino and Poker businesses in Denmark, Spain and Italy
  • Active participation in the setup of the relevant processes involved and team structures as well as providing guidance on the regulatory requirements and certification and which Casino content to position where and how on the Product websites
  • Founder member on the NMB (MPN Network Management Board) from November 2012 onwards
  • Several initiatives implemented resulting in improved network promotional offerings and the acquisition of the Betsson group to the network
  • Instrumental in executing steps toward the reduction of drain (loss of Ladbrokes Poker player funds to network players) from £300k per month in January 2012 to effectively zero (positive figure) in January 2013
  • Design, introduction and implementation of automated welcome bonuses, reload bonuses and instant money bonuses, restricted by play through requirements creating an overnight increase in new actives on both Poker and Casino products
  • Direct line management of 4 Product Managers, including recruitment, coaching, development and review processes
  • Allocating workloads and supporting/directing team members in their appointed areas
  • Matrix management of testers, developers, CRM teams, Operational teams, support teams and external suppliers to ensure Content is delivered, deployed and promoted efficiently and effectively
  • Acting as Scrum master if required
  • Product ownership of all aspects of the Games and Lottos sites including the annual/quarterly and long term strategic initiatives which form the Product roadmaps, with responsibility over financial performance and operational stability of Content deployed and developments produced as well as ensuring regulatory compliance is in place in all required areas
  • Responsible for all product development and project delivery through Agile development streams, both desktop and mobile platforms on Poker, Casino and Games and strategic decisions regarding product placement and operations
  • Relationship Management of Key Suppliers such as Openbet, IGT, Inspired, Scientific Games, Net Ent, Realistic Games, Novomatic, Playtech etc
  • Principle point of contact/escalation between internal and external teams
  • Business Analysis - Gathering requirements from customer feedback and internal Stakeholders, forming these into formal requirements for future developments in the form of functional specification documents and acting as an approval point for many requests so as to refine them or offer functional alternatives based on predicted ROI.

Client Facing Project Manager

Maglabs
London
03.2011 - 11.2011
  • Consultancy role working full cycle with Marks and Spencer and Manchester United Football Club on key IT strategic back office developments
  • Successfully delivered every project using an Agile development approach on or ahead of scheduled timelines, generating £50k+ of business per calendar month
  • Designed and delivered new functionality to the customer (business development through product development consultancy)
  • Provided detailed project status updates to stakeholders and executive management.
  • Providing consultancy and managing the implementation of web based applications
  • Responsible for refining the client’s Product Development requirements and managing the Product Development roadmap and delivery process.

Senior IT Project Manager

Ladbrokes
London
11.2008 - 03.2011
  • Successful completion of various Casino, Gaming and Sports-book projects with values typically ranging from £50k to over £1 million
  • Management of Casino Content roadmap and deployment and testing of new games
  • Successful launch of Italian poker business, including project management of integration into Sogei’s systems and passing the AAMS test certification, founder member of the IPN (Italian Poker Network)
  • Successful migration projects including moving customers from .com platforms to territory specific platforms in Italy, Spain, China and France
  • Business migration from standalone poker operator to a network (MPN) resulting in a sharp rise of actives and revenues
  • Roll out of multiple poker software clients and platform upgrades
  • Roll out of an automated loyalty scheme for poker
  • Delivery and integration of a loyalty store solution
  • Principle point of contact for all Casino, Poker and associated back-office issues and Product Developments
  • Regular Stakeholder engagement on all stages of Projects
  • Demonstrating a solid understanding of Ladbrokes online business across all Product areas and a strong relationship with both internal and external business partners, working closely with various parties including product teams in Rayners Lane and Customer Services teams in Gibraltar
  • Regular involvement in product development exercises equating to full cycle project management, including a change in methodology from more Waterfall Prince 2 based approach to a Scrum based Agile sprint approach in the Project Management department
  • The main liaison between Ladbrokes and a number of 3rd party suppliers, including the relationship management of key suppliers/partners such as Microgaming and internal Stakeholders such as Marketing teams, CS teams and Senior Management
  • Providing extensive specialist gaming product knowledge including various integrations into the Openbet platform, as well as a good understanding of the technical architecture across the online business.

Product Development Team Manager/ Technical Project Manager

Reed Managed Services
London
07.2006 - 11.2008
  • Initially joined the business via the graduate development scheme
  • Roll out of business wide thin client hardware platform, creating a 40% saving in energy as part of a green strategy
  • Design and implementation of integration between principal back-office platforms, a project costing in excess of £1 million
  • Design of customised solutions for different sectors of the Reed business in order to secure new corporate managed services contracts such as LloydsTSB, Royal Mail and Hammersmith Hospital (NHS)
  • Team management of up to 15 developers including recruitment and task allocation of resources within the team and responsible for appointing Contractors as required and coordinating with 3rd parties when necessary
  • Worked on a variety of projects, mainly using web based technologies on HR, temp-payroll, recruitment systems development and some infrastructure projects
  • Providing an element of business analysis, sometimes at a customer facing level
  • Acted as a bridge between the development teams and the business units

Education

Professional Certifications - Various Information Technology Qualifications

Various, United Kingdom
  • Gained certifications in many areas whilst working in different roles including:
  • Senior Management Programmes
  • Professional Product Owner
  • Professional Scrum Master
  • AWS Cloud Practitioner (Cloud configuration)
  • Prince 2 Practitioner (Project Management)
  • ITIL (Sevice Management)
  • ISO (Quality Standards)

Management Development Course CIMA Certificate of Business Accounting - Management Accountancy

Reed Business School, United Kingdom
  • Whilst on the Graduate Scheme at Reed I studied the CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting
  • Gained a solid understanding of Accountancy, Economics and Legal areas associated with Business Management

PGCE - Education / Teaching

University of Reading, United Kingdom
08.2003 - 07.2004
  • Teaching Degree in Post Compulsory Education
  • Delivered Lectures at Thames Valley University
  • Information Technology
  • English Language
  • Film and TV Studies

Master of Arts - Critical Theory

University of Reading, United Kingdom
09.2002 - 07.2003


  • Interdisciplinary research degree
  • Critical theory including aspects of sociology, art, literature, technology, gender studies, fashion, language

Bachelor of Arts - English and French

Unversity of Reading, United Kingdom
09.1999 - 07.2002
  • Honours Degree in English and French
  • Language and Literature based
  • Included studies in English legal system, French Politics, French Canadian Culture and Film Studies

LLB - Law with French and French Law

Brunel University, London, ENG
09.1998 - 07.1999
  • Criminal and Contract Law in the UK
  • French Law
  • French Language

Skills

Product Roadmaps

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Timeline

Product Director - Ballys Interactive
10.2022 - Current
Head of Product - Ballys Interactive, formerly Gamesys plc
01.2019 - 10.2022
Lead Product Consultant - And Digital
05.2017 - 01.2019
Head of Gaming Products - Ladbrokes
11.2011 - 02.2017
Client Facing Project Manager - Maglabs
03.2011 - 11.2011
Senior IT Project Manager - Ladbrokes
11.2008 - 03.2011
Product Development Team Manager/ Technical Project Manager - Reed Managed Services
07.2006 - 11.2008
University of Reading - PGCE, Education / Teaching
08.2003 - 07.2004
University of Reading - Master of Arts, Critical Theory
09.2002 - 07.2003
Unversity of Reading - Bachelor of Arts, English and French
09.1999 - 07.2002
Brunel University - LLB, Law with French and French Law
09.1998 - 07.1999
Various - Professional Certifications, Various Information Technology Qualifications
Reed Business School - Management Development Course CIMA Certificate of Business Accounting, Management Accountancy

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