Drew McManus

Current

• Founder and Principal at Road 3
• President and Co-Founder at Bring Light, Inc.

Past

• Director, Corporate Product Management at Adobe Systems Incorporated
• Director, Worldwide Anti-Piracy at Adobe Systems Incorporated
• Macromedia Acquisition: Marketing Integration Lead at Adobe Systems Incorporated

• Director, Strategic Alliances at Adobe Systems Incorporated
• Group Product Manager at Adobe Systems Incorporated
• Product Manager at Adobe Systems Incorporated
• Account Manager at CLARIS Corporation
• Senior Sales Engineer at CLARIS Corporation
• Various Roles at Apple Computer, Incorporated

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Education

• University of California, San Diego

Recommended

1 person has recommended Drew

Connections

398 connections

Industry

Internet

Drew McManus’s Summary

Drew McManus is the principal and founder of Road 3, a consultancy dedicated to helping turn ideas into successful products. Road 3 works with startups, nonprofits, and established companies to help define, plan, design, and build successful products and businesses. Drew has helped bring numerous products to life on PC, Mac, web, and mobile platforms, including the iPhone and the Palm Pre.

Drew is also President and Co-founder of Bring Light, a website for social change that connects donors and charities for more informed and effective online fundraising. Drew conceptualized the design, invented the business model, and directed the development of the site. Drew and his business partner developed the Bring Light business plan and raised an initial round of angel funding.

As Director of Corporate Product Management at Adobe Systems, Drew managed the company’s core technologies, ensuring Adobe customers had consistent and intuitive user experiences across the product line. Drew also led several cross-functional company initiatives, including championing an effort to ensure Adobe’s products are accessible to people with disabilities.

Drew's extensive business and technology product management experience includes both PC and web-based products. During his two-decade career, he has managed numerous products from concept to completion, including the launch of Adobe's first consumer digital imaging product, which became the number one selling product in its category and earned Drew the Software Publishers Association Codie Award.

Drew has successfully worked in both corporate and start up environments. What he enjoys most is developing and delivering innovative solutions to real customer problems.

As a representative of many men and women who help make a difference in the world, Drew is featured in the book We Are the New Radicals: A Manifesto for Reinventing Yourself and Saving the World by Julia Moulden.

Drew McManus’s Experience

• Founder and Principal

  Road 3

  (Internet industry)

  December 2006 — Present (3 years )

  Formed this consultancy providing product management, product marketing, product strategy, business planning, engineering strategy, site development and startup consulting. Consulted for numerous early-stage startups, nonprofits, and various software projects in trouble. Provided coaching, agile product management, and strategic help for a wide variety of clients. Recruited and managed subcontractors, ran the company's day-to-day operations, and established a development partnership with Pivotal Labs.

• President and Co-Founder

  Bring Light, Inc.

  (Internet industry)

  November 2006 — Present (3 years 1 month)

  Conceptualized the design, invented the business model, and directed the development of Bring Light, a website for social change that connects donors and charities for more informed and effective online fundraising. With business partner, developed the Bring Light business plan and raised an initial round of angel funding. Brought the product from concept to completion using both internal and outsourced engineering resources. Handled financial management of the corporation. The site continues to do business today.

• Director, Corporate Product Management

  Adobe Systems Incorporated

  (Public Company; ADBE; Computer Software industry)

  December 2005 — December 2006 (1 year 1 month)

  Managed the team responsible for Adobe's core technologies, ensuring Adobe customers had consistent and intuitive user experiences across the product line. Championed efficiency and leverage of technology in areas including Accessibility, Application Management, Installation, Registration, Activation and many others. Led several cross-functional company initiatives, including championing an effort to ensure Adobe's products are accessible to people with disabilities.

• Director, Worldwide Anti-Piracy

  Adobe Systems Incorporated

  (Public Company; ADBE; Computer Software industry)

  September 2002 — December 2006 (4 years 4 months)

  Conceived and authored a comprehensive and cross-functional strategy to combat the illegal use of Adobe software products. Worked across the industry with other technology companies, trade associations and international law enforcement agencies. Delivered positive ROI through the use of technology measures, legal action and customer education efforts.

• Macromedia Acquisition: Marketing Integration Lead

  Adobe Systems Incorporated

  (Public Company; ADBE; Computer Software industry)

  April 2005 — December 2005 (9 months)

  Was selected by the executive team to lead the Marketing Integration Team for the largest acquisition in Adobe history. Engaged in an intensive nine-month effort focused on integration of the marketing organizations, synchronization of marketing efforts, coordination of customer communications related to the acquisition and alignment of two disparate corporate cultures.

• Director, Strategic Alliances

  Adobe Systems Incorporated

  (Public Company; ADBE; Computer Software industry)

  April 2000 — September 2002 (2 years 6 months)

  Led a group responsible for over a dozen strategic relationships with key industry leaders including Apple Computer, AOL Time Warner, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Microsoft, Nokia, SONY and many others. Developed overall strategies for Adobe's partner portfolio, supporting Adobe's corporate objectives. Drove relationships that resulted in the licensing and adoption of Adobe PDF technologies in partner products, significant co-marketing activities to address joint customers and markets, and the bundling and re-sale of Adobe products.

• Group Product Manager

  Adobe Systems Incorporated

  (Public Company; ADBE; Computer Software industry)

  November 1997 — April 2000 (2 years 6 months)

  Managed a team responsible for worldwide product management of Adobe's consumer imaging applications, including Adobe PhotoDeluxe Home Edition, PhotoDeluxe Business Edition, ActiveShare, ActiveShare.com and Kodak Picture CD, as well as a number of other confidential products under development. Managed the consumer digital imaging business, including meeting revenue, market share and proliferation goals. Negotiated Adobe's role in a strategic partnership with Kodak and Intel to deliver the software for Kodak Picture CD. Also drove a multiple-partner strategy to address the prints-from-digital market, resulting in partnerships with Shutterfly.com and Kodak.

• Product Manager

  Adobe Systems Incorporated

  (Public Company; ADBE; Computer Software industry)

  February 1995 — November 1997 (2 years 10 months)

  Responsible for worldwide product management of Adobe PhotoDeluxe. Managed Adobe's entrance into an entirely new category--consumer photo editing. Grew PhotoDeluxe revenue from zero to $35+ million. Established leadership position with 39% market share. Forged multiple strategic relationships with other software providers, photo industry companies and marketing partners. Also responsible for a number of other Adobe products, including SuperPaint, HomePublisher, TypeTwister, TouchBase and DateBook. Developed end-of-life strategies for older offerings.

• Account Manager

  CLARIS Corporation

  (Computer Software industry)

  April 1993 — February 1995 (1 year 11 months)

  Managed the Northern California sales territory, including revenue responsibility for corporate, government, OEM, and reseller accounts. Sold product via direct sales, reseller partnerships, distribution, and volume licenses. Partnered with third parties and CSA consultants for solution selling. Closed the first and largest Claris volume licenses with the State of California and the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Consistently met or exceeded revenue goals.

• Senior Sales Engineer

  CLARIS Corporation

  (Computer Software industry)

  June 1991 — April 1993 (1 year 11 months)

  Responsible for providing pre- and post-sales support of a highly technical nature to all corporate, government, education, and reseller accounts within a nine-state territory. Partnered with consultants and VARs to develop custom database solutions for customers in order to achieve corporate standards and grow revenue.

• Various Roles

  Apple Computer, Incorporated

  (Computer Hardware industry)

  June 1987 — June 1991 (4 years 1 month)

  * Training: Responsible for the coordination, management, and delivery of all Apple-provided training delivered in the San Diego area.
  * Sales Support: Under contract with Apple Computer, acted as an Apple representative for the Businessland sales team on-site at Hughes Aircraft Company.
  * Apple University Representative: On-campus student representative for Apple Computer at the University of California, San Diego.

Drew McManus’s Education

• University of California, San Diego

  1985 — 1990