SVPG team

An experienced set of partners

We are industry veterans who have each held executive level positions at major Silicon Valley firms where we have been instrumental in the development of leading products. We know how great products are built. And we can help you build them, too.

Our Team

Marty Cagan

Founder, Partner - Product

Marty Cagan founded the Silicon Valley Product Group in 2001 to pursue his interests in helping others create successful products through his writing, speaking, advising and coaching. Prior to that, Marty served as an executive responsible for defining and building products for some of the most successful companies in the world, including Hewlett-Packard, Netscape Communications, and eBay.

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Lea Hickman

Partner - Product

For over 25 years, Lea has been leading product teams to deliver world class products used by millions of people. Starting her career at IBM where she was building applications for Fortune 500 companies, she went on to lead product teams at Netscape, Macromedia, Adobe and InVision.

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Christian Idiodi

Partner - Product

Christian has been a product leader for over 15 years, building teams and developing enterprise and consumer products that have shaped companies such as CareerBuilder and Merrill Corporation as well as clients such as Microsoft, Starbucks, and Squarespace. Christian is passionate about helping companies implement the discipline of product management to build world-class products and new technologies.

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Chris Jones

Partner - Product

Chris Jones has spent over 30 years building and leading product teams that defined new product categories at startups to F500 software companies including Lookout, Symantec, and Vontu. A holder of multiple patents, he has discovered and developed new products in consumer and enterprise mobile, web, data, and platform services. Since joining SVPG in 2015, he has advised over 200 leading companies across a range of industries that includes retail, healthcare, social media, security, manufacturing, AI, entertainment, supply chain and logistics, SaaS, EdTech, transportation, and many others.

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Martina Lauchengco

Partner - Product Marketing

Martina Lauchengco advises companies on how to use marketing and products to meet their goals. Her multi-disciplinary approach pulls from over 20 years of experience in executive positions in product marketing and product management, corporate marketing, and as a chief-of-staff to the CEO at companies including Microsoft, Netscape, AOL and Loudcloud/Opsware.

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Jon Moore

Partner - Product

Jon has scaled Product across numerous verticals (Communications, Media, Marketplaces) and has worked within a variety of tier-one PE and VC-backed portfolios including KKR, USV, Wellington, Accel & Atomico.

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Jackie Spanswick

Director of Operations

Before joining SVPG, Jackie worked as a Certified Public Accountant in the financial audit and compliance division of Price Waterhouse, and later in a variety of customer-facing roles in implementation, sales engineering, and sales for enterprise business platform providers. Over her career, Jackie’s clients ranged from early stage start-ups to Fortune 100 companies in a variety of industries including finance, entertainment, retail, and technology.

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Our Principles

  1. There’s a large difference between the best and the rest. 01

    We believe there’s a big difference between how the best companies create products and how most companies create them, and we are dedicated to evangelizing the practices of the best.

  2. Been there, done that. 02

    We are not theoretical consultants or academics; we are all proven Silicon Valley senior executives, recognized leaders and practitioners in our roles with leading companies in our industries. We openly share lessons from both our successes and failures.

  3. We know how great products are built. 03

    We know how to create innovative, industry-defining products, and we are committed to helping you create innovative products your customers love.

  4. We measure our success by yours. 04

    Our goal is to have every company we work with come away feeling inspired, empowered, energized and well-equipped to meet the challenges of product development. We also want you to feel like you have found a trusted friend and advisor that truly cares about your success.

  5. Tech companies are different. 05

    We believe high-tech companies are fundamentally different from others. We’re deeply immersed in the best practices and techniques of leading Silicon Valley companies and evangelize them to tech companies all over the world, and focus exclusively on the product organizations of those companies.

  6. We pay it forward. 06

    We have each enjoyed the success that comes from being a part of very successful companies, and it’s important to us that we give back to our community and industry by sharing openly and generously through our writing, teaching, coaching and personal relationships.

  7. We teach you to fish. 07

    When we engage with your company, we are not trying to convince you to let us do the work for you, and we don’t pass you off to someone less experienced. Instead, we work directly and personally with you and your team to teach, advise and coach you to current and future success.

  8. The whole is greater than the parts. 08

    We have a holistic, unified view of product creation. Our perspective spans product strategy, product management, product design, product development process, product architecture and engineering, and product marketing. Each one of us understands the value and role of the others’ areas, and we all work to ensure that all parts of your product organization are working together effectively. Furthermore, access to any one of us gives access to all of us, as we consult with each other regularly to provide the benefits of a one-stop shop for product development.

  9. From the boardroom to the break room. 09

    We engage with all levels of your company, from the CEO to your people on the front lines. What’s more, we believe this multi-level alignment is essential to both understanding the dynamics of your company, and helping to drive the necessary changes.

  10. We keep it real. 10

    We are all about substance. Our advice is relevant, actionable and effective; never generic or superficial. In all cases, we expect immediate results, and we work to make a real and positive impact on your company and your products.