Manager, Product Leader

Aegon is an insurance and retirement services company seeking a Manager, Product Leader to drive retirement product strategy from market research and inception through launch. The role manages product portfolios, leads cross-functional development and innovation initiatives, evaluates market opportunities, and presents strategic recommendations to senior leadership.

Responsibilities:

• Establish and drive the strategic vision for market analysis and competitive intelligence, identifying emerging trends, disruptive market shifts, and growth opportunities. Translate market insights into product strategies and differentiated value propositions that drive business growth and competitive advantage
• Direct the evaluation and prioritization of market opportunities and innovation initiatives, building compelling business cases that influence investment decisions. Leverage distributor feedback, consumer insights, industry trends, demographic changes, and competitive dynamics to shape the long-term product roadmap and strategic portfolio direction
• Lead product development initiatives, aligning cross-functional teams around product vision, feature prioritization, profitability objectives, market positioning, sales targets, and launch strategies. Ensure initiatives support enterprise growth objectives and deliver measurable business outcomes
• Champion innovation and product incubation efforts by overseeing feasibility assessments, research and development activities, hypothesis testing, and opportunity sizing. Lead the development of enterprise-level capability-based assessments and execution strategies while identifying operational, technological, and market implications of new opportunities
• Serve as a thought leader and product subject matter expert to executive leadership and business stakeholders, partnering with Distribution, Marketing, Finance, Technology, Operations, and other functional leaders to define and optimize product strategy, investment priorities, and go-to-market plans
• Leverage strategic partnerships with distributors, TPAs, vendors, and external industry stakeholders, influencing product direction, identifying new growth opportunities, and enhancing organizational market intelligence
• Develop and deliver executive-level communications and recommendations, synthesizing complex research, financial analysis, and market intelligence into actionable strategic insights. Present business cases, innovation opportunities, and portfolio recommendations to senior leadership to support enterprise decision-making

Requirements:

• • Bachelor's degree in a business-related field or equivalent experience
• • Seven years of product development experience in the retirement industry
• • In-depth knowledge of retirement product features, trends, and shifts in regulatory requirements
• • Working knowledge of profitability metrics
• • Analytical skills and attention to detail to perform market analysis, customer research, opportunity sizing, profitability assessments, and risk/legal/compliance assessments
• • Communication and interpersonal skills to educate audience and advocate recommendations with team members and stakeholders at all levels of the organization
• • Decision making skills to create scope and content for consumer market research, and use insights to develop product design and features
• • Strategic thinking and facilitation skills
• • Leadership and coaching skills to mentor peers and guide team members
• • Presentation skills to provide research data and recommendations to senior leadership
• • Willingness to pursue and complete higher education/professional designations
• • Advanced proficiency in MS Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word)
• • Professional designations (e.g. CLU, ChFC, CFP, MBA, PMP)