Career Paths (Product Management): Profiles Of Women In Tech #GHC18

Megan DeLaunay

Sr. Associate, Product Management Capital One Tech

Describe your current role. I am the Product Lead for an internal web tool used to build and improve the conversations that our customers are having with Eno. I prioritize features on the product’s roadmap, justify the business value of those features, and then meet with product stakeholders to make sure everyone is aligned.

What is it you really do? While the development team works on the “how,” my job is to decide on the “what.” I decide which features are the most important to our product, and then communicate those decisions to users and stakeholders. I’m my product’s biggest advocate!

What did you study at college? I graduated from the University of Richmond with a BA in Computer Science and Cognitive Science.

How did you end up doing what you’re doing today? I joined Capital One’s Eno team as a Software Engineer in the Technology Development Program. At the time, this role meant a lot of SQL queries and sending Excel sheets to stakeholders, so I built a side-of-desk web tool that made it possible for the entire team to see how customers were interacting with Eno. As the product grew and we hired a few more engineers, I realized my passion had never been in building the tool — it was in my vision for what this tool was and everything it could be. Luckily, I work with amazingly supportive leadership, across both the Technology and Product organizations, who saw my dedication and worked with me to transition into a product-focused role, where I lead the product that I actually created myself. It’s been quite the road to get here, but I couldn’t be more excited about where I ended up!

What’s the technology (app, tool, device, hack) you can’t live without? YouTube! It’s the perfect smorgasbord of everything.

Best career advice you’ve been given? Learn to say “no.” If you spread yourself too thin, eventually something will fall through the cracks, and that’s going to be way more disappointing than just saying “no” to begin with. A narrower focus allows you to do more good instead of just doing more.

If you’re headed to #GHC18 I look forward to meeting you on Thursday, September 27 in the Career Fair expo at the Capital One Booth at 1:15 pm #CapitalOnePartner