Meet a FutureMaker of Product

Mel McVeigh is ex VP of Product for CondeNast & now runs Mel McVeigh Studio

“In my experience, in terms of how people look at strategic planning, the good people, the people I’ve been most impressed with as leaders, are the ones where they hold the line. Even when there are headwinds, they know very clearly the direction what we need to go in”

No-where is it more challenging than in the world of product & technology to galvanise teams together behind a vision, plan effectively behind that vision, and stay firm in the face of potential ‘shiny’ distractions.

We spoke to Mel McVeigh to get an inside track into how this works at some of the world’s largest and most challenging organisations. Mel was most recently VP of product at Conde Nast, an organisation that has had a significant digital transformation over recent years; and one that has had to shift from a model of pure audience growth, to a mindset of community building and gated content. Prior to this she was Product & Design Director at Photobox, and Product & Design Director at The Telegraph. She’s also a photographer and experimenter of all things AI in the visual arena.

A number of key themes emerged from our conversation: