Mark V. Smetanin

Unlock Success for Airbnb and Short-Term Rental Business. Recently by Improving the Product - Increased Engagement by 42% , conversion rate by 74%, and acquired 2.5M new users.

I am a fan of technology and business process reengineering to drive business growth. My expertise lies in product management, agile coaching, portfolio management, and strategic planning.I have experience in increasing user engagement, optimizing technical processes, and leading high-performance teams.

Payments and fintech product leader with 15+ years across digital product development, operations, and
customer experience (10+ years owning payment and checkout platforms). Known for combining strategic UX
with process reengineering to deliver secure, compliant, high-conversion payment experiences and measurable
growth.
Selected Results:
• Reduced failed transactions 28% and improved checkout reliability via gateway optimization and UX fixes.
• Increased retention 58% and reduced marketing costs ~40% through funnel and lifecycle redesign.
• Reduced chargebacks 37% and implemented fraud controls that reduced fraudulent activity ~40%.
• Led $10M+ partner funds operations; improved controls, reporting, and reconciliation visibility

Key Highlights:

Director of Product Management: Enhanced user engagement by 16% and improved product value description by 14% through strategic market research and collaboration.

Senior Product Portfolio Manager: Managed a $1.2M project, leading to an $8M revenue projection and a 17% increase in Net Promoter Score. 
Risk assessment methods were applied, which reduced project disruptions by 24%.

Head of Product Strategy: Increased customer engagement by 42%, improved conversion rates by 74%, and acquired 2.5M new users—reduced marketing expenses by 28% by addressing critical pain points.

Skills and Expertise:

Product Management/Product Owner: Agile Frameworks, Scrum, Kanban, SAFe
Technical Proficiency: Jira, Asana, Hubspot, Salesforce
Industry Expertise: Fintech, E-commerce, Property Management, Vacation Rentals
Certifications: PMI-ACP, PMI-PMP, CSM, CSPO

Professional Experience:

Nine years in product management, agile transformation, and strategic planning
I have experience in leading cross-functional teams to deliver high-performance products.
Skilled in negotiating and managing key partnerships and stakeholders

Interests:

The God's Flow State, Process re-engineering, Growth,  Coffee, Stand-up comedy, Kite surfing, Skiing, Music, martial arts (2 black belts), Reading, Ski, Shooting, Snowboarding, and Hiking.

Lead Product Manager / Product Owner / Consultant

•     Improved a Product using a customer journey map, understanding and prioritizing the most critical pain points in the most profitable segment. Provided clear concept and design strategy. Collaborated with Dev and UX teams. Increased customer engagement by 226%, Improved conversion rate by 74%, and acquired 2.5M, new users.

•     Planned and facilitated an extraordinary spike for (AI) Artificial Intelligence tools and prompts. Fixed and resolved seven major issues when team members just felt stuck. 

•     Raised team confidence after the last check-in. Positive emotions and gratitude are on our happiness radar. The current sprint is 100% happiness VS 78% at the previous sprint. 

•     Organized the most efficient communication with stakeholders and implemented advanced product backlog refinement, reducing the backlog by 16%.

•    Stepped forward with special coaching from our Unique Coach and very advanced Scum Master. Differentiated workflow steps, business rule variations, variations in data, and interface variations, polished and deepened INVEST criteria. Dramatically improved the slicing of our vertical stories. Delivered value ~20% faster with the smallest increments to our customers. 

•   Implemented automated test script, additional smoke test after the build is released to QA, and code review by peers. Armed new Definition of Done (DOD) for our dev team. Changed Sprint Planning Agenda. Raised team confidence level in delivering the sprint goals to 94%. 

•    Implemented automated test script and code review by peers. Armed new Definition of Done (DOD) for our dev team. 

•     Collected the data via Web-tracking and customer interviews,  tested and validated assumptions with the development team. Provided much precise anatomy of personas. Redesigned current marketing campaign reducing waist by 28%

Spikes:
Sustainable and environmentally conscious business practices
Enterprise Agile: Changing your culture

Experienced VP of Product Strategy & COO | Fintech & E-commerce Expert | Founder & Investor | Driving Growth in SEA & Italy

🚀 VP of Product Strategy (5 Years) | 🛍️ Chief Operating Officer (5 Years) | 🔍 Fintech & E-commerce Expert (12+ Years)

With a seasoned career of 15+ years steering the helm in fintech and e-commerce, I've been privileged to lead as VP of Product Strategy and Chief Operating Officer in some of the industry's most innovative companies. 

My journey isn't just about leadership roles— as a founder, executive, and mentor, I've been hands-on in creating and scaling multiple fintech and e-commerce ventures from the ground up.

Additionally, I bring a strong focus on data-driven pricing optimization, revenue growth, and international market expansion, making me a strategic fit for dynamic, multi-country businesses.

Latest accomplishments:
# Raised USD 15 mio. for 2 startups in SEA in the fintech & e-commerce space
# Key member of the team that scaled Lazada from $100 mio. to $1.5 bio. in yearly GMV
# Generated >100 mio. in online sales for lifestyle brands like Philips, Nescafe, Ray-Ban, etc.
# Developed & launched the Alibaba selling platform for 60,000 active sellers in Southeast Asia
# Managed regional & local teams in the product, sales & pricing and operations departments

Nicolo R.

I’ll be attending Insurtech Insights Europe 2026 this March in London with Prima!

I’m particularly looking forward to discussing the evolving role of AI and LLMs in insurance — from operational efficiency to customer experience and decision intelligence — together with an outstanding panel of industry experts.

The pace of innovation in this space is extraordinary, and events like #ITIEU26 are where meaningful conversations about real-world adoption happen.

If you’re attending, let’s connect and exchange perspectives.

Nicolo Robba

15+ Years in Insurance, E-commerce & Fintech | Chief Product Officer at Prima | Amazon Brand Advisor | Ex-Alibaba & Lazada

Open article: Insurtech Insights Europe | Europe's Largest Insurtech Conference by insurtechinsights.com

Insurtech Insights Europe | Europe's Largest Insurtech Conference

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