Christopher Makarsky
I'm a product manager and web developer living in San Francisco. I spend my time blogging, microblogging, posting links, uploading photos, and listening to music.
Skills & Competencies
Project & Product Management
- Over four years of management experience in fast-paced, technical environments, with a consistent record of surpassing objectives and delivering exceptional results.
- Proven ability to manage multiple aggressive projects with competing resources and priorities.
- Demonstrated proficiency in all phases of the development life cycle.
Web & Software Development
- Expertise in implementing simple, elegant, and creative solutions, with a strong interest in consumer products, standards compliance, and human interaction.
- Familiarity with common development tools and environments, coupled with a strong understanding of today's best practices in graphic, interaction, and social design.
Professional Experience
Product Manager
Yahoo!, Sunnyvale, CA
September 2007 — March 2008
- Oversaw the development and launch of the World of Star Wars, a unique strategy featuring integrated Yahoo! platforms and custom functionality to engage users within the Star Wars universe.
- Directly involved in creating product requirements; worked closely with the development, content, and other platform teams to prioritize requests and align roadmaps.
- Assumed responsibility for the site's community features and owned the customer-facing portions of the product, including care, help, and abuse moderation.
- Earned official ScrumMaster certification; worked with other managers to analyze areas where agile methods could be best implemented within the team.
Project Manager
Category 4, Charlottesville, VA
January 2005 — July 2007
- Managed teams of designers, developers, and programmers to successfully launch over 50 sites for a wide range of audiences and industries.
- Continuously monitored schedules and budgets to identify and meet critical milestones, coordinating daily with the management team to prioritize resources.
- Stepped in as an additional team resource where needed, assisting with graphic and interaction design, programming, and QA in order to ensure the timeliness and success of projects.
- Championed new systems and technologies, including standards-compliant layouts, content management frameworks, and project management methodologies, helping to reduce budgets and schedules by as much as 50%.
- Assisted in executing strategic marketing plans to support the sale of company products and services; directly involved in growing the client base and signing over $250,000 of new sales.
Research Analyst
Musictoday, Crozet, VA
November 2003 — December 2004
- Worked with other analysts, developers, and clients to meet business requirements and resolve service issues; provided daily maintenance support for customers.
- Aided in the creation of upgrade paths after analyzing user feedback and business goals; researched technologies employed by industry competitors and reported on business trends.
Education
Master of Science, Management of IT
McIntire School of Commerce, University of Virginia
Graduated May 2007
- GCOM 784: Strategic Management of IT
- GCOM 786: Advanced Enterprise IT Management
- GCOM 783: IT Project Management
Bachelor of Arts, Economics & Psychology
University of Virginia
Graduated May 2003
- ECON 435: Corporate Finance
- ECON 401: Game Theory
- ECON 371: Statistical Analysis
References
I have both professional and educational references available upon request.