Barron Ernst Product Director, Zenly
Previously
Director of Product Management, Booking.com,CPO, Naspers
Company
Zenly is a free smartphone app which allows friends & families to follow each other on a private map. It is a simple way to see what those closest to you are up to. They were backed by Peter Fenton/Benchmark prior to being acquired by Snap Inc.
Search Background
As Zenly started to scale at an ever-increasing pace, it became vital to hire a Product Director who would take ownership of the product vision from the CEO and Founder, Antoine Martin. Erevena was retained to find this product leader with the ultimate aim of building Zenly’s first ever Product team and provide executive leadership within the business.
Requirements
The successful candidate needed to have an exceptional consumer product background whilst also being a proven team builder and leader. This person would upskill the wider business through their excellent process and strategic leadership whilst being a strong example of what “great” looks like in product. They needed to be able to operate successfully in a Founder-led environment and bring high levels of emotional intelligence and values to everything they do in the business.
Result
Erevena successfully introduced Barron Ernst, a former Product leader from Intuit, Naspers and Booking.com. Barron was based in Amsterdam and relocated to Paris for the role with Zenly.
Antoine Martin
CEO, Zenly
Erevena really understood the brief of hiring a true leader who could lead and rapidly scale the product function at Zenly. It was a challenging global search with the final four candidates being based in four different countries. The advice and communication from Jonathan and the team was outstanding and we are delighted with the final candidate. Barron Ernst has an exceptional consumer background as well as being a proven team lead and a great cultural fit. We wouldn’t hesitate to work with Erevena again.
