Shay Koren.

Experience

Work, Education and Community.

A timeline of everything I've done.

  1. Mar 2026 — Present
    · 8 mos

    Principal Product Manager — AI Products

    Optus · Full-time

    Product work

    Leading the development of Optus AI's product practice — tools, AI agents, templates and frameworks that support product teams across the end-to-end delivery lifecycle.

  2. Dec 2025 — Mar 2026
    · 4 mos

    Lead Product Manager

    HCF · Contract

    Product work

    Worked under HCF Ventures, where I led product work on Active Locals, a social exercise platform that aimed to be the home of Australia's active communities (e.g. swimming, running and cycling groups). Was brought on board to help the product achieve product-market fit and mature the team's ways of working.

  3. Aug 2025 — Oct 2026
    · 1 yr 3 mos

    Lovable Ambassador

    Lovable

    Community

    Recognised as one of Australia's leading AI-led product builders and selected as one of the company's first global Ambassadors.

  4. Jul 2025 — Dec 2025
    · 6 mos

    Fractional Product Manager

    Self-employed

    Product work

    Put six months aside to upskill on AI-led product management through hands-on product work — building products for clients and on my own, and releasing a new product every few weeks.

  5. Jan 2024 — Jul 2025
    · 1 yr 7 mos

    Product Lead

    Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry · Contract

    Product work

    Led product efforts for two major national platforms from vision through launch — owning roadmaps, driving prototyping and user research, and partnering closely with senior leadership.

    Recognised with the Secretary's Award for Excellence.

  6. Jan 2021 — Feb 2024
    · 3 yrs 2 mos

    Head of Product & Founder

    Pebble

    Product work

    Founded a Sydney-based product studio partnering with teams to build new products, improve existing ones and mature product practices. Led 10+ initiatives and mentored internal and client teams.

  7. Dec 2020 — Dec 2025
    · 5 yrs 1 mo

    Guest Lecturer — Products & Ventures

    Maastricht University

    Community

    Served as a recurring guest lecturer at Maastricht University, teaching product and venture design to master's students in the Health Food Innovation Management program. Sessions covered product discovery, go-to-market strategy, user research, and entrepreneurship, applying design-led thinking to the development of new products.

  8. Mar 2020 — Jan 2021
    · 11 mos

    Principal Product Manager

    ABC Digital · Contract

    Product work

    Led the development of ABC Digital's product and people strategy, matured its product practice and co-created the strategy with hundreds of staff across the organisation.

  9. Apr 2018 — Apr 2020
    · 2 yrs 1 mo

    Fractional Product Manager

    Self-employed

    Product work

    Partnered with organisations to shape product strategy, guide teams and strengthen product practices — leading 15+ initiatives across industries.

  10. Apr 2018 — Apr 2019
    · 1 yr 1 mo

    Founding Product Manager

    Found Concrete · Contract

    Product work

    Took an on-demand concrete ordering and management app from concept to launch, growing the team from 2 to 10 and reducing ordering time from hours to minutes.

  11. May 2015 — Apr 2018
    · 3 yrs

    Senior to Lead Product Manager

    Fusion Labs · Full-time

    Product work

    Grew from Senior Product Manager into a leadership role at one of Australia's leading product innovation agencies, heading its product consulting arm before its acquisition by Deloitte.

  12. Dec 2014 — May 2015
    · 6 mos

    GTM Lead

    GoFar · Contract

    Product work

    Served as go-to-market lead for GoFar, an award-winning connected car startup. Defined target users, sharpened the value proposition, defined the product story, and led go-to-market strategy and execution.

  13. Jan 2014 — Dec 2014
    · 1 yr

    Product Manager & Co-Founder

    CrowdFlight · Full-time

    Product work

    Co-founded and led product at CrowdFlight, an in-flight entertainment startup utilising passenger spare time for user and market research. Defined target users, developed the product proposition, prototyped the MVP, shaped the business model, drove user research, and led a team of 5.

  14. 2013
    · 1 yr

    Master of Management (MMgt)

    University of Sydney Business School

    Education

    Human-centred design, strategy, entrepreneurship and innovation.

  15. 2013
    · 1 yr

    Assistant Manager & Creative Director

    Shir Madness

    Community

    Shir Madness was the annual Jewish music festival, welcoming thousands from across the community and working with hundreds of artists and musicians.

  16. 2011 — 2014
    · 3 yrs

    Co-Founder & Project Architect

    Train Tracks

    Community

    A cultural entrepreneurship project — a not-for-profit community music and arts initiative that hosted guerrilla events in public spaces and on public transport, built to bring people together and reimagine what public culture could be.

  17. 2009 — 2012
    · 3 yrs 6 mos

    B.Sc. Psychology

    University of Sydney

    Education

    Majored in Psychology and Environmental Studies, with an international exchange at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.