Michael Boeke. Part passionate designer, part savvy marketer, and part enthusiastic coder. This diverse skill set culminates into the role he has today at Imagineer as our VP of Product. 

In this role, he spends his days in our Chicago Office guiding the product road map for our research management software, Synap, as well as influencing the overall design and UX strategy for our entire portfolio of fintech products. The effort he puts forth in maintaining open communication lines across Imagineer's teams and global offices foster collaboration and encourage inclusion. His teammates believe he embodies our value of Openness the most as demonstrated by his ability to be always receptive of new ideas and share honest feedback when necessary.

Read my interview  with Michael to learn more about one of the impactful individuals behind our innovated products: 

1. Tell me about your journey to your current role as VP of Product at Imagineer: 

"Many may not know this about me, but I actually have a Fine Arts degree (in Visual Communications Design). I originally studied computer animation, but I soon became fascinated with web design - another discipline at the intersection of technology and design. Early in my career, I began working at a B2B fintech start-up as a product designer and front-end developer. A few years in, I took on a marketing role, helping the sales team to communicate our product's value to users in the strongest way possible. It quickly became apparent I should fuse my marketing, design, and development experience into a product role, and I started to build-out the company's first product team. I then got the chance to do the same at Braintree as an early product manager. We were acquired by PayPal, and after working for a large company for a few years, I had the urge to get back to the frenetic and focused environment of a start-up. I reconnected with Jeremie and Matt, and we saw an opportunity to start something new - Synap. Synap launched as a ventured-back firm in 2015, and we merged with Imagineer in 2018 after determining the complementary strengths of our products and teams."

2. What is an interesting fact about yourself? 

"I have wildly varied interests, which I think is common for product folks. I love trying new things and recently began studying karate. I enjoy how it forces you to focus completely on what you're doing and get both your body and mind away from devices and other daily distractions."

3. What is your favorite thing about working at Imagineer? 
"This sounds cliche, but it truly is the people that work here. When you work with a team who cares deeply about their craft, and cares about how they serve our clients, and most importantly, cares about supporting each other - it really makes for an awesome place to work."

4. What are you looking forward to the most in 2019?
"I'm most excited about the projects we are beginning to work on this year. We are making a strong push to more tightly integrate our three products (Clienteer, Synap, and WebVision) with each other as well as with other fintech products in the asset management and allocator ecosystems. It's going to open up some new possibilities for our products and our clients, and I can't wait to see it all come together."