Selected transformations

Telecom · Enterprise portfolio

GCI Product
Operating System

Turning an overcommitted portfolio into a ranked, capacity-aware system for enterprise decision-making.

Black-and-white portrait of Brad Houser
MandatePortfolio discipline
RoleVice President, Product Management
EnvironmentLarge, cross-functional telecom portfolio
FocusPrioritization · capacity · governance

The transformation

Make tradeoffs visible—and executable.

This work demonstrates enterprise portfolio leadership, cross-functional operating-model design, and executive influence.

Business challenge

When everything is the top priority, the system cannot make a credible promise.

More than one hundred initiatives competed for shared capacity. Functional bottlenecks created long delays, while executives lacked a reliable view of tradeoffs, constraints, and delivery risk.

Executive mandate

Rebuild the product-realization pipeline across the enterprise.

Brad led a portfolio-wide redesign spanning product, engineering, information technology, marketing, customer support, retail operations, finance, legal, compliance, and security.

Decisions and actions

Replace activity reporting with a decision system.

  • Reduced the competing portfolio to a ranked set of enterprise priorities with explicit criteria.
  • Redesigned intake, business cases, stage gates, launch readiness, and lifecycle review.
  • Introduced cross-functional capacity planning and executive escalation supported by clear options.
  • Helped teams adopt the new operating model and moved executive reviews toward decisions, risks, and tradeoffs.

Outcome

A more focused portfolio, stronger delivery flow, and clearer executive choices.

The redesigned system improved throughput and time to market without relying on added headcount. Detailed metrics are available in recruiter conversations with the appropriate organizational context.

Recruiter signal

Enterprise portfolio transformation through operating discipline—not slogans.

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