Hispanic Heritage Month 2023 - Highlight Reel
Updated date
Oct 27, 2023Hispanic heritage month recap
Our very own Emerging Leader in Tech: Rowdy Vass
For the 8th consecutive year, the Nashville Technology Council (NTC) hosted their three-month, application only ELITE program. The Emerging Leaders in Tech (ELITE) Program focuses on the most underserved area within technology: developing Nashville's technology talent into the leaders needed to support our thriving technology community. Asurion was lucky enough for have one of our own, Rowdy Vass attend the program. We caught with him shortly after the program wrapped, and this is what he had to say:
Ok, Rowdy. Tell us a little bit about yourself:
My name is Rowdy Vass and I am a Senior Product Manager at Asurion.
Before my current role, I was a Marketing Manager at Blue Chair Bay Rum, helping it become the fastest-growing rum brand in the country. My love for innovation and interest in product management brought me back to Vanderbilt for my MBA, and eventually, to Asurion.
In my free time, I have spent three weeks in a cave with James Franco, cameoed in a Black Keys music video and a Disneyland commercial, and was one half of a pretty great Taylor Swift selfie.
…that’s going to be hard to beat, but can you tell us a little more about your role as a Product Manager?
In my role as a Senior Product Manager at Asurion, I lead a cross-functional team that develops a new claim status tracking experience (think of your FedEx shipment tracker). We also focus on improving our claims’ communications.
The status tracker tool will become core to our claims experience, providing a single source of truth that customers can consistently return to for updates on their claims.
What does an average day as a PM at Asurion look like?
In my role, no two days are the same and that’s part of what I enjoy the most about it.
Depending on the day, I am ruthlessly prioritizing our most important initiatives, collaborating, and ideating with my team, planning, and executing launches, and continuously working towards reducing our program costs.
Additionally, I focus on developing new talent and ensuring the retention of our team members through fostering an open, collaborative atmosphere.
Ruthlessly prioritizing initiatives, launching products, and developing new talent?! I don’t know if we can top that, but if you could: what’s most unique about working at Asurion?
The most unique aspect of working at Asurion stems from its culture of innovation. Asurion has a forward-thinking approach to work-life balance and is filled with great problem solvers, making it an exciting place to be.
Everyone I work with is top-notch. My teammates and collaborators push me to think in new ways and approach problems from different angles. I constantly feel like I’m learning and evolving as a leader.
I totally agree – everyone one we work with is TOP NOTCH. But, on to the juicy stuff. How did you get involved with the ELITE program?
I found out about the Nashville Tech Council’s ELITE program through my manager Peter Thackston who introduced me to Casey Santos who’s heavily involved in the program.
After speaking with Casey and David Franklin, who was Asurion’s representative in the program last year, I decided it was just the kind of training I was looking for.
The ELITE program provided a great opportunity for me to meet tech leaders in the Nashville community and learn from the challenges they were facing. The programming and hands-on learning opportunities were amazing. My biggest takeaway from the program was that we have a kind, collaborative, and brilliant tech community here in Nashville.
How have you grown while you’ve been at Asurion, and how do you plan to implement what you learned in the ELITE program into your day-to-day:
During my tenure at Asurion, I've had the opportunity to lead multiple teams and product launches, develop an intern into a full-time product manager, and see mentees grow into leaders in their own right.
It's been an enriching experience, enabling me to grow as a product manager and leader.
After every session, I focused on bringing the tools and approaches I learned in ELITE into daily practice. I think directly applying what I learned has made me a better leader and teammate.
Based on everything you learned in the program combined with your real-world expereince, what advice would you give to your younger, professional self?
You can’t do everything.
But if you are methodical in how you approach your day, you can make a huge impact if you’re focusing on what matters most. It took me a long time to start saying no to work I knew wasn’t impactful and even longer still to be fully intentional with my time each day.
Focusing on how you work just as much as what you work on made a profound impact on my productivity.
Lastly, is there anything else you want to share?
If you’re interested in getting involved in the local tech community, I highly recommend Nashville Tech Council’s programming and would be happy to coffee with anyone interested in learning more.
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