Marissa Herold, MS '19

Product Line Manager, Mountain at Black Diamond Equipment

You have previous experience in product management in cycling and now at BD in mountain sports. Can you share some significant learnings that have been consistent throughout each phase of your journey?
The following are some quotes that I’ve collected over the years from colleagues, which are entirely ubiquitous to every role I’ve had in product, regardless of the sport:
Your ego is not your amigo.
The rider/user is the boss.
Don’t complain about what’s not working, fix it. Celebrate what’s working and work to amplify it.
There is a fine line between opportunity and distraction.
It never gets easy, but I’m always getting better.
Good storytelling comes easy when you believe in the product you’re making.

How much of your role required setting up processes for managing products in your current position?
At Black Diamond the product creation process is defined, and we have tools in place to manage product line plans – it’s more about fine-tuning specific parts of processes to accommodate various degrees of complexity, such as innovating around an entirely new idea or user activity versus refreshing an existing product.

Facilitating conversations early amongst internal stakeholders to create alignment, buy-in and stoke has been a critical part of my role at Black Diamond, and something I wish I had figured out how to do more effectively sooner in my career.

Also, given the unique circumstances that almost every industry has faced because of the impacts of COVID-19, most processes are being forced to change as production lead-times increase, freight and labor costs go up and our inability to travel to factories and vendors continues. At BD we understand that “normal” isn’t going to return anytime soon, so we remain flexible with every project and allow ourselves to adjust processes where necessary – part of this is considering new ways of doing things and digging into planning and strategy more than ever before.

Tell us something about where you are now in your career that has surprised you.
Something that continues to surprise me is just how much of a role my prior experience working retail has impacted my career in product. I worked for my local bike shop when I was an undergraduate and that’s where my fascination with product began. I worked as a mechanic, a sales associate, then eventually as a general manager. Each one of those roles influenced my understanding of how product is purchased, merchandised, and serviced at retail, and how different brands engage with retailers and their end-users. There’s rarely a working day that goes by that I don’t recall insights from my retail experience.

My time spent in bicycle retail made me realize how much I value product that makes a good day doing the things I enjoy that much better, and ultimately why I decided I wanted to be a part of the product creation process. I’ve always been a fan of cycling and in general just spending time outdoors, but I never would have known where to begin with pursuing a career in the outdoor industry if it weren’t for that first bike shop job. It’s nearly impossible to imagine myself doing anything different than working with product – I get to work with people that share common interests, and hopefully at the end of the day I’m making someone else’s experience, doing the thing they love, that much more enjoyable.

Share an instance from your current our past experience when your team delivered a great product. What was the driving force behind successful execution?
To name an individual force behind a successful product launch seems impossible, but I do know that if it wasn’t for clear and concise communication and everyone’s willingness to set personal differences aside to collaborate, none of the projects I’ve worked on would have made it to market. Making great product is a team effort.

What’s next on the horizon in the Outdoor industry that’s exciting?
I find it exciting to see some progress being made within the outdoor industry regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion, but there’s still such a long way to go until everyone feels welcome and secure.

What were you excited about in the Winter Olympics this year?
I’m always excited to watch hockey in the winter Olympics, so that was high on my list, along with watching Shaun White’s last go at the halfpipe.