MAX HADLEY
A PROBLEM SOLVER AT HEART. I am motivated to expand my toolbox to tackle the challenges of today's corporate world. Curiosity drives me to explore diverse responsibilities and processes both at work and in my personal life.
Full-Time Professional Achievements:
$32M
Product Lead Annual Revenue
54
Products Led
7
Product Brands
Keep scrolling to continue my story. In a rush?
My Journey starts as a student studying at Canada's #1 ranked Mechanical Engineering program. Here I learned the fundamental building blocks to engineering, specializing in Energy and Solids Design, but most importantly
I learned how to learn.
Marrying Engineering with Business
While honing my technical skills in school, I prioritized building business acumen through work experience.
Construction Procurement
(4 months)
Relocated to Hong Kong and worked with Asian suppliers for $100M+ construction projects.
Digital Consulting
(4 months)
Worked with 5 high-profile clients building pixel perfect digital strategies and product development services.
Product Development
(14 months)
Led the full product development lifecycle for all products across 3 brands launched between 2020-2022.
Graduating to Canadian Tire
With my diploma in hand, I continued directing my
attention down the product path by joining Canadian Tire,
Canada's #6 largest retail conglomerate. As a young team in
a behemoth corporation, the product development team is any
learner's dream sandbox — the need to wear multiple hats is an
understatement in this role. My strong ability to swap between functions
was rewarded with a promotion from lead product engineer on the
automotive team to associate manager; I was the youngest staff to ever be promoted to the associate manager level on the product development team.
As associate manager, I am the program manager for one of Canadian Tire's
strategic pillar brands: PWRPOD, a 20V Li-ion battery platform. Beyond prioritizing
PWRPOD's health, I also entered another arena: people management. I have had 4
engineer interns under my wing, and I have a full-time engineer reporting to me to support the
PWRPOD program.
Professional Experience
When I was younger, "What's your dream job?" was quite an intimidating question to answer. I've since come to realize that if I peel back the layers of my answer back to the core, simply put, it's this: I find joy in building solutions for large complex problems with a talented and driven team. At work, I have been entrusted as the go-to person to build a solution, regardless of the ask's ambiguity. Often this comes in the form of products I design, retail strategies for category growth, and the processes that elevate the quality & efficiency of the team. Continue scrolling to browse through my professional highlights, or jump straight to a section of the portfolio through the buttons below.
Products
Leading good products requires a command on project details, agile course correction, and confident direction. Leading great products requires a continuous pursuit to understand the end user and inspiring storytelling to ensure the team can rally behind the vision. Each product on the retail shelf has a compelling story behind it. Click through the images and videos below to learn more about the
22 launched products I led valued at $12M annual revenue.
Li-ion Power Stations
Category Retail Strategy Build
Li-ion & PCB Design
Trident Pro Sweep
Water Pressure SolidWorks Design
IP Review & Patenting Design
Detail Air Blower
Aerodynamics SolidWorks Design
3D Printed Design Optimization
20V Li-ion Power Washer
Freedom to Operate Patent Review
20V Li-ion Water Pressure Design
20V Li-ion Cooler
Compressor Cooler Design
UX/UI Design
20V Li-ion Spot Cleaner
Vacuum Design and Testing
Root Cause Analysis
20V Li-ion Wet Dry Vac
Vacuum Design and Testing
3D Printed SolidWorks Design
Interconnected Bungees
3D Printed SolidWorks Design
Freedom to Operate IP Review
Collapsible Cargo Net
Iterative Design
3D Printed SolidWorks Design
Garbage Lock
Iterative Design
3D Printed SolidWorks Design
Trunk Bungee
Rapid Prototype Development
Iterative Design
Bungee Storage Kit
Iterative Design
3D Printed SolidWorks Design
Tarps & Cords Quick Wins
Category Retail Strategy Build
Li-ion & PCB Design
Retail Strategy
My curious mind finds a lot of joy in the rapid learning required to build strategies where one graduates from amateur to domain expert. Over the years, I have grown to become the resident category retail strategy expert responsible for identifying future trends, outlining the market landscape, and developing actionable roadmaps. I have developed roadmaps for categories valued at a total of $69M in annual revenue and have led $18M worth of New Product Introduction (NPI) projects that resulted from these builds. My success in these initiatives has led me to share best practices with the broader team, enabling them to create effective strategies for their own categories.
Process Development
I strive to embody the principle of work smarter, not harder. I achieve this by building processes and tools that enhance efficiency & quality while sharing my learnings with the entire team. Click on the cards below to learn more about the processes I have developed for teams ranging from 5 to 140 people.
Business Trips
These trips are always fast-paced to maximize the value of limited time, providing incredible educational experiences and valuable insights for my team. Hover over the cards below to learn more.
To support 2025 product launches, I traveled to Shanghai with a Quality Assurance team member to audit factories and ensure their assembly and testing processes met our standards. Over 14 days, I visited 12 factories across 6 cities, reviewing the development of 25 products value at $7M annual revenue. Despite long days and occasional language barriers, the hands-on experience was invaluable. I returned with a detailed review of my findings to share with the team.
14-Day China Factory Audit - Shanghai Area, 2024
14-Day China Factory Audit
Shanghai Area - 2024
6 cities, 12 factories, 25 production lines valued at $7M of product.
Summer
Outdoor Retailer
Salt Lake City - 2024
To further expand Canadian Tire’s 20V Li-ion battery platform, PWRPOD, in the outdoor space, I traveled solo to the Summer Outdoor Retailer expo in Salt Lake City. There, I met with vendors, tested new products, and identified market trends. Upon returning, I summarized my findings in a report and highlighted actionable next steps, which I shared with relevant buyers and AVPs. This led to the initiation of three new projects that I am currently developing valued just under $2M annual revenue.
Summer Outdoor Retailer - Salt Lake City, 2024
Identified and led $2M opportunities inspired from the expo.
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National
Hardware Show
Vegas - 2023
Representing the Product Development Automotive team, I attended the National Hardware Show to explore products in the tarps & cords and Li-ion power station categories. I met with vendors, tested new products, and identified market trends. Upon returning, I summarized my findings in a report and outlined actionable next steps, which I shared with relevant buyers and AVPs. This report significantly supported the development of 19 ongoing and launched products valued at $19M annual revenue.
National Hardware Show - Vegas, 2023
Expo insights applied to $19M of products in my portfolio.
Learnings from Product
As the leader of a product, it's natural to instinctively want to push your creation to the finish line, no matter the cost. I've come to learn that although dedication is crucial for product success, it's just as valuable to know when to cut your losses in the interest of the business, and apply the learnings to new opportunities. As the cliché goes, the goal is to fail fast. Click through the cards below to read about my learnings.
Personal Projects that Itch my Passion for Product
My passion for materializing ideas in my head into reality spills into my daily life. Below is my curated list of the products I'm most proud of building in my free time. Click on the items below to get some more details.
SolidWorks & 3D Printing
Arduino & Python
Web Dev & Design
Life Outside of Work
When I'm not out socializing, you will often find me practicing a hobby. My thirst to learn comes from the desire to be able to experience as much of life has to offer and to connect with different communities.
Max Hadley's Story: To be Continued
I am proud of the work and growth over my 5+ years of experience that has challenged me to solve complex problems across 18 brands.
As important as it is to stop and reflect with gratitude, I am equally excited to continue my growth. Interested in continuing to learn more about me?