Murdo Connochie

Senior Strategy & Product Leader Working with Fortune 100 Companies

Results-oriented creative strategist and product manager with 9 years of experience at KPMG, driving business growth and leading high-performing teams. Expertise in strategy development, business analysis, and service design. Led cross-functional teams of 10-30 professionals, resulting in four app and three web launches across areas such as digital payment solutions, mobile trading app development, and core banking system implementation. Proven ability to align teams, develop go-to-market strategies, and deliver exceptional user experiences.

Learn more at murdo.xyz.

Experience

Example Client Work:

Digital Wallet and Prepaid Money Account Build

• Interim Head of Payments at a Fortune 10 North American retailer, serving 22M customers; oversaw strategy and product management for digital wallet and app-based prepaid account with 30+ team members involved.

• Led comprehensive user research, synthesizing 500+ user surveys to inform product strategy and accelerate backlog prioritization.

• Facilitated the design of 200+ Figma screens, aligning executive support and enabling a clear development path to MVP for global engineering teams.

• Assisted in the cross-platform integration of a Buy Now Pay Later product, orchestrating collaboration among design, store operations, and marketing teams (15+ team members).

• Pioneered a cohesive go-to-market strategy for all new payment products, ensuring a seamless customer experience and market penetration.

• Conducted weekly payments technology training sessions, enhancing the skill set of 8 junior team members.

Trading App and Web Build

• Directed the development of a distinctive trading platform, focusing on mobile UX and the integration of innovative features like customized notifications and automated trading tools.

• Prototyped

• Produced detailed user flows and requirements, effectively reducing estimated design sprints by 50% and accelerating time to market.

• Advocated for the deployment of a native app, leading to a cross-platform solution on web, iOS, and Android, ensuring broad market accessibility.

• Launched an intuitive, customizable platform that received strong customer approval, reflected in a 4.1/5 App Store rating, demonstrating user-centric design approach.

Core Banking System Replacement

• Led the specification and design of a new core banking platform, enhancing online and in-person customer experiences, particularly for savings operations.

• Conducted 3 focus groups and 15 user interviews to shape product design and solution requirements.

• Pioneered a digital savings card for Apple Wallet - a first in the UK market, fostering a culture of innovation within the organization.

• The new banking platform, currently in testing phase, is projected to manage £3bn in customer assets, putting it in the top 10 of community banks in the UK.

Internal Wiki Tool Prototype

• Led 5 user researchers and 3 UX designers to develop a new internal wiki tool, streamlining knowledge distribution across various departments.

• Navigated budget constraints to deliver a robust prototype within a tight three-week deadline, utilizing Axure and Bootstrap.

• Successfully showcased potential for enhanced knowledge sharing and software reusability across government departments, fostering a stronger sense of inter-departmental collaboration.

Other Notable Achievements

• Collaborated with CEO of a fintech to refresh five year corporate plan and communicate strategy leading to a successful $10m+ raise.

• Launched a digital mobility tool for healthcare works, including digitizing questionnaires and data, resulting in a 25% improvement in worker efficiency, earlier issue detection, and the facilitation of data-driven social interventions.

• Devised a US-based software firm’s UK market entry planning and sales approach for major UK banks, identifying their top ten prospects and key win themes.

• Developed over 50 future propositions for the mortgages and savings markets and refined these to 20 future business model options to support a bank's strategic refresh.

Digital ID Card Prototype

• Conceptualized and prototyped a digital insurance ID card for Apple Wallet, later integrated into the core iOS and Android apps, now utilized by over 2M customers.

• Assisted in the development of a disaster preparation app, successfully pivoted into an accessible online guide, showcasing adaptability to project constraints while delivering customer value.

NFT Release

I sketched, minted, and launched an NFT on the Ethereum blockchain to commemorate the Farcaster protocol - it can be found here.

Wall Street's Best iOS Stickers App Launch

I launched Wall Street’s Best - an iOS / iMessage sticker app based on r/wallstreetbets culture in only one weekend. Launching weeks before the initial GameStop saga, it ultimately reached Top 50 in the iMessage App Store.

Neobanked Newsletter Series

I ran a newsletter focused on digital-only banks that was published every second Sunday throughout 2020. The archive of issues lives here.

Murdo.xyz Website

I embarked on a mission to build my blog using open web standards, while simultaneously refining my CSS, Markdown, and HTML skills. As part of this ongoing journey, I discovered Jekyll, a straightforward, blog-aware, static site generator. I host this site on GitHub Pages and have integrated Google Analytics for a lightweight and non-intrusive means of visitor tracking. The site underwent a redesign in 2023 focused on simplicity and readability.

Education