Professional Summary
Versatile leader with 20+ years of proven success across a broad range of disciplines:
marketing & brand strategy, product management, Agile team leadership, digital publishing, broadcast
media, training, and sales — a breadth that is increasingly rare in an era of narrow specialization.
Founder of Mindspan, a consultancy delivering product management, go-to-market strategy, marketing
strategy and execution, and delivery to clients from venture-backed startups to large public-sector
organizations across SaaS, AI/data science, agtech, and media. Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
who moves fluidly between technical and business domains, leads cross-functional teams, and translates
complex capabilities — including AI-driven predictive analytics — into clear value for non-technical
stakeholders and customers.
Professional Experience
Founder & Principal Consultant — Mindspan
1998 – Present
Founder of an independent consultancy delivering product management, marketing,
Agile delivery, training, and technical strategy. Selected engagements below.
Chief Marketing Officer — Fermata (Contract)NOV 2021 – APR 2025
- Led end-to-end marketing strategy and execution for a global horticultural data-science company applying AI to the agriculture sector.
- Directed a complete corporate rebrand — new logo, website, marketing collateral, trade-show presence, and business identity.
- Built foundational marketing infrastructure and automation, then launched brand-awareness and lead-generation campaigns to drive sales across global markets.
- Achieved an over 400% increase in inbound leads.
Marketing & Product Consultant — Priva BV (Contract)NOV 2020 – JUN 2021
- Engaged by Priva, the world's largest supplier of environmental control systems for high-tech greenhouses, to launch the Priva Horticulture Innovation Lab (PHIL) to a global audience.
- Owned key messaging and built automated digital workflows supporting inbound and outbound marketing across multiple platforms.
- Led the team defining the vision and technology roadmap for a complete redesign of Priva's legacy labour-management ERP solution, FS Performance.
Product Director — Motorleaf (1-Year Contract)2018 – 2019
- Led product development and the Agile development team for a complex product suite of 6 hardware sensors/controllers and 2 software applications powering Motorleaf's AI solutions for indoor agriculture.
- Directed a team of data scientists, engineers, and software developers to build and ship AI-based predictive analytics — crop yield, disease-location forecasting, and quality/waste insights.
- Owned the product roadmap and priorities, ensuring predictive analytics were delivered to non-technical clients in an easily understandable format.
- Interfaced with marketing and delivered presentations to key stakeholders and prospective customers in the competitive indoor-agriculture market.
Product Manager — Island Buyers (1-Year Contract)2016 – 2017
- Stood up operations for a hybrid digital/print media company, product-managing bilingual (English/Mandarin) B2C products from inception through release.
- Delivered two print publications and corresponding web apps with back-ends supporting B2B e-commerce and B2C advertising.
Product Manager & Digital Marketing Consultant — Fundstream (7-Year Rolling Contract)2009 – 2016
- Over a 7-year rolling engagement, product-managed e-fundraising services delivered through three web applications (administrator portal, supporter site, and marketing site) for public and private-sector clients.
- Drove qualified traffic via SEO, SEM, and social media advocacy, helping Canada's largest gift-card fundraising company achieve substantial traffic and revenue growth.
Product Manager — OneBigPlanet (1-Year Contract)2008 – 2009
- Defined product vision and roadmap for an extensible white-label loyalty platform; authored PRDs and use cases, defined KPIs, and prioritized initiatives across iterations.
- Served as central point of contact across working groups; led brainstorming, usability testing, focus groups, SWOT analysis, and investor presentations.
Producer / Analyst — Reunion.com (now MyLife.com)2004 – 2007
- Retained through Reunion.com's acquisition of GoodContacts (below), transitioning directly into this role with no break in employment.
- Headed the company's marketing email product endeavours from concept through delivery of 20M+ emails per week, working with copywriters, design, and front-end teams.
- Managed deliverability with Return Path and internal IT; built analytic reports for investors and C-level leadership and developed revenue-positive strategies from the metrics.
- Participated in remote Scrums and led major iteration kick-offs on-site in Los Angeles.
- Team was responsible for generating over 80% of the company's revenue.
- Major contribution: was responsible for the design and delivery of the “Who's looking for you?” product, which created over 30% in additional revenues for the company.
Product Manager — GoodContacts Research2003 – 2004
- Drove new features for the flagship auto-updating contact-management product; authored PRDs, defined KPIs, and tuned features based on metrics through the company's acquisition by Reunion.com (which retained Ray).
Writing, Media & Publishing
17+ years as a featured technology columnist and editor across seven national publications, plus broadcast and digital-publishing experience.
Founder & Editor — Wilderness Experts (wildernessexperts.com)MAY 2025 – PRESENT
- Founded and publish a wilderness safety and preparedness resource for everyday hikers, campers, and paddlers at any skill level, pairing field-tested skills guidance — water, fire, shelter, first aid, navigation, survival, and trip planning — with honest, tiered gear reviews.
- Built out destination coverage for every U.S. and Canadian national park, with state and provincial parks in progress.
- Designed and shipped three purpose-built reader tools: Trip Planner, which generates a packing list from destination, terrain, and season; Leave Word, which sends an itinerary to a trusted contact with a calendar alert if the traveller has not returned; and Skill Builder, which tests backcountry knowledge, identifies gaps, and tracks progress.
- Own the full stack of the venture end to end: editorial standards, product and theme development, SEO, and a reader-supported affiliate revenue model.
Editor & Publisher — DarkroomPro Magazine2010 – 2015
- iOS digital photography magazine distributed by Apple in 155 countries; reached the “What's Hot” list in 146 and #1 in Arts & Photography in two markets.
Host — The Computer Radio Show, CHUM Group / CFRA2003 – 2005
- Wrote, produced, and hosted a weekly two-hour tech show on Ottawa's largest talk-radio station.
Columnist / Contributing Editor — TechKnow · HUB: The Computer Paper · HUB Digital Living · Ottawa Computes · Government Computer · Monitor1996 – 2010
- Featured technology columns and editing across seven national publications over fourteen years.
Earlier Career — Business Development & Sales
Director, Business Solutions — FreeBalance Inc. (public-sector ERP), 1998–1999 (one-year contract) ·
Account Executive — Lanvista Corporation (IT solutions to Canadian federal departments), 1995–1998 ·
Sales Manager — Majestic Electronics (acquired by Adventure Electronics; promoted to Sales Manager post-acquisition), 1992–1995.
Consistent top-performer and multiple sales-award recipient.
Training & Instruction
Instructor for Statistics Canada (via Mindspan, 2002–2004): delivered courses in Project Management
Fundamentals (PRINCE2-based), Web Design (HTML/CSS, W3C and federal accessibility standards), and
Presentation Skills to groups of up to 35. Designed and delivered web-design training and deployment
for the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC).