Career profile · Christopher Walters

Product-led value creation

Senior product leader across telco, media, logistics and SaaS — from $1bn+ P&Ls to PE-owned transformation and start-up scale.

See the case studiesWork with me

$2bn+portfolio led at Telstra

~$1bnP&L owned at Optus

12organisations, corporate to start-up

2Australian-first launches

Unique value proposition

Commercial discipline, operator speed

Commercialleadership Hands-onoperator Customer, data and AI OptiProduct
01

P&L-grade product leadership

Owned $1bn–$2bn+ portfolios; I prioritise by revenue, ARPU, CAC and EBIT.

02

Operator, not just adviser

First product hire, teams built from zero, hands-on in PE-owned and founder-led firms.

03

Customer, data and AI-led

Journey-led change, single customer views and AI shipped into production.

Built for PE-backed and mid-market firms that need senior product leadership without a full-time CPO.

In 30 seconds

“I help PE-backed and mid-market businesses turn product, customer and data into measurable value. I've owned billion-dollar P&Ls at Optus and Telstra, and led a customer-first transformation in a PE-owned logistics group that cut enquiries by 25% and lifted NPS by 15%. OptiProduct gives portfolio companies that senior product leadership on demand — fractional, interim or advisory — without the cost or delay of a full-time CPO hire.”

In one line

Senior product leadership on demand, measured in revenue, margin and customer value.

Where I lead

Three domains, one product-led agenda

Customer

  • Journey mapping and service design
  • Voice of customer and NPS
  • Lifecycle, loyalty and retention
  • Customer value management
+15%

NPS on the new eCommerce portfolio, Team Global Express

Digital, data & AI

  • Digital platforms, web, apps and APIs
  • Single customer view and CDP
  • AI solutions, including computer vision
−25%

Customer service enquiries, Team Global Express

Go-to-market

  • Pricing, packaging and propositions
  • Launches and channel strategy
  • Sales pipeline and partnerships
−18%

Customer acquisition cost through pricing and simplification, Optus

Track record

Commercial scale, measured outcomes

$2bn+

Consumer & SOHO portfolio led as GM Product at Telstra

~$1bn

Broadband P&L owned as Director of Product at Optus

+25%

Record net subscriber growth QoQ at Optus, with ARPU up 15%

−18%

Customer acquisition cost at Optus, via pricing and simplification

Since 2012 in senior product roles12 organisations, corporate to start-up2 Australian-first launches

Value creation

Track record of delivering results

Revenue growth

+16% sales run-rate from new bundles at Telstra; +20% QoQ sales pipeline at Team Global Express

Margin and cost-out

−18% CAC and −15% capex at Optus; −25% customer enquiries at Team Global Express

Customer value

+15% NPS on the new eCommerce portfolio; +12% NPS from digital NBN onboarding at Optus

Capability and speed

Go-to-market 3 months faster at Optus; product teams built from zero with the group's top engagement score

Career at a glance · 2012–2026

Corporate scale, then operator agility

Scaling corporate portfoliosTransformation and scale-upsPE-owned and founder-led

20122014201620182020202220242026

Foxtel 2012–14

Telstra 2014–15

WooliesX 2015–16

Optus 2016–19

NSW Customer Service 2020

Webcentral 2020

Employment Hero 2021

Blisspot 2021

Mable 2022

Team Global Express 2022–24

BioScout 2025

OptiProduct 2025–now

Case studies

The brief, the work and the result

Team Global ExpressOptusTelstraFoxtelWooliesXEmployment HeroBlisspotMableBioScoutNSW Gov & Webcentral

Team Global Express

2022–24 · Logistics · PE-owned

Head of Product & Digital Solutions

CustomerDigital, data & AIGTM

The brief

New role to build a customer-first eCommerce Product team, measured on cost-out, CSAT and NPS.

Digital transformation in a PE-owned logistics group

Launched a returns portal, predictive notifications, Gen AI proof of delivery and a mobile app strategy; simplified and standardised the product construct across web and APIs; co-designed roadmaps with IKEA, Officeworks and Temple & Webster.

−25%

Service enquiries

+15%

NPS vs legacy products

+20%

Sales pipeline growth QoQ

+15%

Website conversion uplift

98%

DIFOT after service migration

~$2.5m

Program budget delivered

Optus

2016–19 · Telco · ~$1bn P&L

Director of Product, Consumer

CustomerDigital, data & AIGTM

The brief

Lead Consumer broadband: strategy, roadmap, pricing, go-to-market, growth and base management.

Growing a ~$1bn P&L while cutting acquisition cost

Simplified the product construct and pricing, improved NBN digital onboarding and app journeys, launched 5G Fixed Wireless and smart-home bundles, and delivered the Vivid merger.

+25%

Record net subscriber growth QoQ

+15%

ARPU over the same period

−18%

Customer acquisition cost

−15%

Capital expenditure

3 mths

Faster go-to-market

+12%

NPS from digital NBN onboarding

Telstra

2014–15 · Telco · $2bn+ portfolio

GM Product, Consumer & SOHO

Digital, data & AIGTM

The brief

Own strategy and the operating plan for subscriber growth, NPS and EBIT.

Renewing broadband and bundles on a $2bn+ portfolio

Led a team of senior product managers to create next-generation broadband and bundle plans, build the Telstra Smart Home portfolio (IoT and entertainment) and fund a digital sales and service uplift.

+16%

Sales run-rate from new broadband and bundle plans

$2bn+

Portfolio P&L owned

$2m

Funding secured to transform digital sales and service

FY16

Net subscriber growth and financial metrics achieved

Foxtel

2012–14 · Media · OTT and IPTV

Head of Digital Products

Digital, data & AIGTM

The brief

Grow Foxtel's digital lines, with P&L for OTT, IPTV and TV Everywhere.

Launching Australia's first live-streaming TV

Owned product and marketing strategy, MVP, pricing, content, UX, platforms and vendors; launched Foxtel GO, Foxtel Play and the award-winning London 2012 Olympic Games app.

1st

Foxtel GO: Australia's first live-streaming and VOD multichannel mobile app

1st

Foxtel Play: Australia's first live-streaming premium sports and movies service

15%

Lowest CAC for Foxtel Play, with the highest net subscriber growth

Awards

AIMIA, ASTRA and Australian Mobile Awards

WooliesX

2015–16 · Retail · Innovation

Senior Consultant, Customer & Product Strategy

CustomerGTM

The brief

Lead an innovation program for a digital-only offer to disrupt the telco and OTT market.

Designing a digital-only telco challenger

Designed the MVP and product strategy, prototyped a digital-first customer experience, and evaluated virtual network operator and third-party partners.

3-in-1

Mobile, broadband and entertainment in one digital offer

3-year

Product roadmap and business plan

MVP

Product strategy and digital-first CX prototyped

VNO

Vendor evaluation for network operator and partner ecosystem

Employment Hero

2021 · HR SaaS · Scale-up

Head of Customer Lifecycle & Value

CustomerDigital, data & AI

The brief

New role to set up customer marketing and loyalty, driving cross-sell, upsell and retention.

A data-led customer value engine for HR SaaS

Designed the team, data model and CDP; built loyalty and retention programs; co-designed the lifecycle journey map and Next Best Action playbooks in Vitally.

110%

Of ARR target achieved, FY21 YTD

2-year

Customer value marketing plan and strategy

B2B+B2C

Loyalty and retention programs designed

1 view

Performance dashboard across Salesforce, Sisense and Marketo

Blisspot

2021 · Wellbeing SaaS · Start-up

Head of Product & Platform Partnerships

GTM

The brief

Scale an online wellbeing platform for individuals, small business and enterprise.

Making a wellbeing start-up investment-ready

Ran product, sales, commercial, implementation and customer success, and built a local and global partner pipeline.

2-year

Product roadmap built to secure additional investment

Series A

Forecasting model restructured for funding applications

MVP

Business-grade solution delivered with a trial technology customer

Pricing

Packaging and pricing for SMB and enterprise

Mable

2022 · Care marketplace · Scale-up

Senior Product Manager

CustomerDigital, data & AI

The brief

Own vision, delivery and lifecycle for group chat and job scheduling.

Growing engagement in an NDIS care marketplace

Launched group chat and grew it through experiments and feature nudges, co-designed strategy for scheduling and rostering, and introduced a simpler prioritisation framework.

~15%

Group chat growth through experiments and nudges

3

Product areas: group chat, scheduling and rostering

Steady

Delivery with fewer changes, blockers and estimation issues

BioScout

2025 · AgTech · Start-up

Product Manager+, first product hire

CustomerDigital, data & AIGTM

The brief

Create a customer-led roadmap and backlog, while owning marketing channels and customer success.

First product hire in an AgTech AI start-up

Introduced quarterly customer health checks and PostHog analytics, simplified epics for WhatsApp alerts, a lite mobile app and APIs, and redesigned the website.

+35%

Social channel effectiveness after moving agency work in-house

1st

Product hire, reporting to the CCO & Founder

GTM

Framework for new AI/ML data models

Gen AI

Prototyping with Claude and Gemini

Sensor

Leaf-wetness discovery for disease models

Onboard

Next-gen sensor onboarding and training

NSW Dept of Customer Service · 2020

Program Director, Digital Life Journeys

New program strategy: governance, operating model, funding and product-led design to ship faster.

Life events

Connected citizen journeys, from a first child's birth to the loss of a loved one

Webcentral · 2020

CX & Value Management Consultant

Segmentation and value management framework for a single customer view on Salesforce.

20

Opportunities identified to transform the value-build stage

AI and automation

Putting AI to work in products and teams

In production

Gen AI computer-vision proof of delivery at Team Global Express

In discovery

Rapid prototyping with Claude and Gemini; coached scientists on deep-research AI tools

To market

Go-to-market framework for new AI/ML data models at BioScout

Working together

How OptiProduct can support your portfolio

Fractional CPO

Senior product leadership for portfolio companies without a CPO

Interim leadership

Hands-on product leader through a transformation, transition or hire

Value-creation advisory

Product, customer, data and AI assessment to shape the value creation plan

chrisdwalters@gmail.com LinkedIn