References
References
The following page includes references from people with whom I have had the pleasure of working over the years.
Senior Leadership
Joel Brydon
Head of Digital Product
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
“Shay simplifies complexity and gets teams moving in the same direction. I've seen Shay earn trust, encourage collaboration, and lead with confidence and clarity.
Shay has a sharp instinct for product, always balancing what users need with what the business requires. There aren't many who just get product the way Shay does”.
Asim Mehr
Head of Innovation Delivery
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
“I had the pleasure of working closely with Shay Koren at Fusion Labs, where he consistently demonstrated his exceptional ability as an innovation expert, product leader, and designer. Shay is one of those rare individuals who can seamlessly bridge creative thinking with analytical rigour, and who brings a deep understanding of both users and business strategy to everything he does.
During our time working together, Shay led the development of multiple ventures and digital products—always with a clear, user-centred approach and a sharp eye for design. His ability to distil complex challenges into simple, elegant solutions is one of his standout strengths. Shay is equally comfortable in the details—interviewing users, iterating prototypes, managing delivery—as he is setting vision, shaping strategy, and aligning stakeholders at the highest level.
Shay is also a natural leader. He brings empathy, clarity, and energy to his teams, building strong relationships across disciplines and inspiring confidence from those around him. His presence in any team lifts the quality of the work and the people involved.
Any organisation or product team would be fortunate to have Shay on board. I wholeheartedly recommend him”
Designers
Adam Einfeld
Senior Product Designer
Envato
“Working with Shay has been a genuine highlight. He has a rare ability to cut through complexity and bring clarity to both the product vision and breaking down the path to get there. His thinking blends design and product seamlessly, always with a strong focus on innovation and real user needs.
Shay leads by example, bringing structure without being too rigid, and momentum without rushing the process. He’s great at getting teams aligned and moving in the same direction, creating space for creativity and new ideas while still driving decisions.
I still find myself using the tools and approaches Shay introduced me to. They've stuck around even in the new teams I work with and have heavily influenced my ways of working.
Shay’s impact is lasting, and I’d absolutely jump at the chance to work with him again!”
Nicol Ronga
Director, Head of Design
Hominum
“Shay turns rough ideas into solid products. On our project, he listened to users, set clear priorities, and kept designers moving.
He has a keen ability to dig deep into contextual research and get answers from otherwise unreachable stakeholders. Decisions were quick and grounded, problems were solved before they grew, and we launched on a tight schedule with great feedback.
Shay mixes big-picture thinking with down-to-earth action and keeps communication clear and direct. Working with him was straightforward and productive. I’d team up again any time.”
Engineers
Jon Alport
Full Stack Engineer
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
“I had the pleasure of working with Shay as a full-stack engineer on the cross-functional Entity Management team at the Department of Agriculture throughout 2024.
Shay consistently demonstrated a thoughtful and decisive approach, confidently sharing insights while maintaining a strong commitment to user experience and product design best practices. His ability to identify and mitigate common pitfalls was instrumental in driving our projects forward.
During our collaborative brainstorming sessions, I was particularly impressed by Shay’s rapid iteration, deep technical expertise, and ability to translate complex concepts into actionable solutions.
I wholeheartedly recommend Shay to any organisation seeking a dynamic and results-oriented product leader dedicated to delivering exceptional outcomes”.
Alister Phillips
Tech Lead
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
“Shay led a product vision and turned high-level ideas into actions that led to executable software and was a major reason we had a successful team that delivered our product on time, in scope and in budget, a product that our users were really pleased with and will use. Shay would be part of my dream product team every day of the week”.