MAX HADLEY
I'm a product person specializing in consumer electronics and retail strategy. I enjoy learning the mechanics of how businesses run and leveraging that to increase revenue generation - plain and simple.
Full-Time Professional Achievements:
$112M
Product Annual Revenue
134
Products Led
10
Stakeholder Departments
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 joined Canadian Tire, Canada's #1 retail brand. As a young engineer in a behemoth corporation, product development was any learner's dream sandbox. "Wear multiple hats" doesn't begin to cover it.
As Associate Manager, I ran point on PWRPOD, one of Canadian Tire's strategic pillar brands: a 20V Li-ion battery platform. Beyond keeping the program healthy, I stepped into people management, taking on 4 engineer interns and a full-time engineer. Before I joined, on-time rates for key milestones sat at 13%. I fixed that, pushing it past 90%, and it's held there since.
Then things got messy. My manager, our senior designer, and an engineer all left within a short stretch. A team of 5 became a team of 2, right as the company was kicked off a restructuring that cut headcount by a third. I took the wheel and got promoted to Manager, hired back up to 3, and grew our portfolio from 2nd-smallest of 12 to 2nd-largest, hitting 4x corporate targets. Today I run 5 brands with 135 SKUs in development worth $80M+ in annual revenue. These products span across 10 categories, 4 of which weren't in our portfolio before I built the relationships to get us there.
Products
Leading good products requires a strong pipeline of data, command on project details, and agile course correction. Leading great products requires a continuous pursuit to understand the end user and inspiring storytelling to ensure the team can rally behind the vision. The products below highlight a portion of the $100M+ annual revenue worth of products and their development stories that brought them from 0 to 1.
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
In my first year, I was voted The Strategist by my team of 25 recognized for my ability to dissect category performance and build retail strategies that drove millions in revenue impact. Since then I've scaled that approach across a team of 100+ and it's now a cornerstone of how we build our product development pipeline. A few examples of that process in action:
Process Development
The engineer in me has never tolerated inefficiency. Even in my first job as a bakery assistant, I turned a 2-person closing routine into a solo operation in half the time. That instinct hasn't changed. Across my career I've built core processes for teams ranging from 5 to 140 people, consistently finding ways to get more done without sacrificing quality.
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.
.jpg)
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
Wins are worth celebrating, but failures are where the real learning happens. Product development is largely a process of finding dead ends knowing when to cut your losses, shift focus, and move toward what actually works. Below are a few of mine, and what they taught me.
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 6+ years of experience that has challenged me to solve complex problems across 26 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?