Meet our panelists!
Gerry Caron, Principal at Caron Product Management Consulting, LLC.
Gerry is Principal at Caron Product Management Consulting, LLC. Throughout his career he has led product organizations across a range of tech industries at companies including iRobot, Universal Robots, Bose, OtterBox and others. He has also contributed significantly to the success of startups like iZotope and Swippitt, propelling their growth and establishing them as industry leaders. He currently is a Director on the Board of Hirebotics.
Gerry's educational background includes an MS degree from MIT, where he studied under Dr. Amar Bose, founder of Bose Corporation. He also holds an MBA from Babson College's Olin Graduate School of Business and a BSME from UMass, Amherst.
As an innovator, Gerry has been awarded 10 US patents, with more pending. The products under his purview have earned numerous industry distinctions, including an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, and several Red Dot, NAMM Tech, and Best of What's New honors. His expertise in product management and innovation has led to several engagements as an international panelist and keynote presenter.
John Torrance, SVP of Product Management at FuelCell Energy
Olga Perfilieva, Product Design Consultant
Olga Perfilieva is a product design consultant specializing in early- and growth-stage startups. With a background in product design leadership and hands-on execution, Olga has successfully designed and launched automation-driven platforms and tools in accounting technology, online catering marketplace, and automotive industry. Her focus is on creating scalable, user-centric solutions that enhance user outcomes and drive business impact.
Olga began her career in commercial interior design, which shaped her human-centered approach to problem-solving. Outside of work, she enjoys running, creating art, and singing Ukrainian folk songs.
Vicky Li Horst, Product Coach and Consultant
Vicky Li Horst is an independent product coach and consultant, specializing in the biotech and life sciences space. She helps organizations with product challenges: escaping the build trap, finding product-market fit, improving internal process inefficiencies, improving product strategy, and more. She has extensive hands-on experience in product management, learning to apply tech best practices to scientific products during her time leading product teams at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. With a background in bioinformatics and over a decade of experience in biotech/healthcare, she understands the nuances of the field, enabling her to efficiently help these organizations with their product management challenges. Through her coaching sessions, webinars, and grad school classes, Vicky has taught product management to hundreds of product managers and leaders. Ultimately, her goal is to help clients understand the gap between where they are and where they want to be, and work with them to know what to do to close those gaps.
She has a newsletter where she, along with a variety of guests, share knowledge about product management. It can be found at https://vickysnewsletter.substack.com.
