Zippia, a website to help people discover new jobs and career paths, analyzed their database and found that only 34.8% of product managers are female in the United States, and only 4.2% of product managers are Black or African American.
Zippia, a website to help people discover new jobs and career paths, analyzed their database and found that only 34.8% of product managers are female in the United States, and only 4.2% of product managers are Black or African American.
Ronke Majekodunmi isn’t just a leader in the product marketing industry. She’s a trailblazing, efficacious Black female entrepreneur, and she should be on your list of businesswomen to watch in 2023. Ronke has extensive experience in product management and leadership as well as bringing diversity to the table when it comes to the industry.
Majekodunmi currently acts as Director of Product at Promevo, where she has the privilege of leading all product initiatives, managing the product life cycle, and working with operational leaders to remove roadblocks. Simultaneously Majekodunmi is the founder and CEO of Ronke. Product Management, her own company she founded in 2021 which she consults, speaks and empowers in product management.
Through her years of experience and several job changes, Majekodunmi learned a couple of hard lessons about success in business. First, she discovered that the grass is not always greener on the other side–or where there’s more money. She also learned that job titles aren’t everything, and it’s worth checking your ego to do a job you love with people you respect even if the title isn’t perfect. Now, Majekodunmi gravitates toward roles that feel like a good fit for her skill set and personal values.
Another hard lesson is not having soft skills while developing a product. Soft skills are essential for Product Managers to motivate partners and teams to exceed expectations. These skills have not only helped her become a recognized mentor but also effectively lead herteams to develop innovative products for enterprises looking to manage and scale their business.
A final hard lesson is that feelings of imposter syndrome can be traversed into success. In her many years of experience in product management, regardless of the leadership roles that she has held and no matter what accolades she have garnered, feelings of being an imposter, excessive second-guessing, and insecurities sometimes interrupt her thoughts. She has learned to trust here instincts and recognize her value as a leader, colleague, and mentor. Most of all, she understands the importance of stepping into her purpose, as generations of women have laid the foundations for her. She encourages embracing the shortcomings and turn fears into excitement.
Majekodunmi is excited to go to work every day because, as she says, “I get to envision and build solutions that will help my customers manage and grow their businesses.” Majekodunmi also oversees Promevo’s brand identity and works to ensure all verticals of the organization are aligned on their mission, vision, and priorities. It’s fulfilling work like this that fuels Majekodunmi.
When asked about her greatest strengths, Majekodunmi does not beat around the bush. She cites her passion and exceptional communication skills as the main reasons she’s experienced so much success in her career. Like a true leader, she also values and invests in her collaboration skills, which allow her to work seamlessly with a wide range of teams at Promevo. She works hard each day to amplify the voices of her colleagues, communicate directives clearly to cross-functional teams, and instill excitement in Promevo employees and customers.
Over the years, Majekodunmi has fallen in love with mentorship initiatives for beginning product managers, and she always says “yes” to teaching opportunities, no matter how small. She has always been passionate about sharing her wisdom and experience with beginner product managers. Partnering with Product School, she has the unique opportunity to contribute to a community of over one million product professionals, sharing her industry insights to help shape their effectiveness and leadership.
At Product School, she host webinars teaching the importance of leading with empathy, and gratitude and utilizing soft skills, interpersonal characteristics, and building coalitions. She also hosts Product Management Certification courses, where she guides product managers joining the space. In addition to her various teaching opportunities, she regularly volunteer her time at the University of Washington’s Product Management Center. There, she engage with and offer insights and guidance to empower product management students from historically marginalized communities
In addition, she actively use her platform to engage with fellow product managers and provide valuable content that helps expand their careers and create clarity from ambiguity. Majekodunmi has spoken publicly about product management at dozens of events, writes ardently about her career journey on her blog, and records “Product Magic,” a podcast dedicated to showcasing the people behind product management.
Whether she’s inspiring young professionals, writing about product management, or exhibiting the qualities of a genuine and empathetic leader, Majekodunmi is a stand-out in her field. Watch as she achieves greatness in the years to come.
