Jason Houseworth

About Jason Houseworth

I am a creative, driven product leader focused on creating the fastest path to the most value. My superpower is hypothesis testing to identify the most valuable changes/ enhancements to solve for customer needs. My process begins with the data - to identify the largest opportunities - but it also requires time spent directly with customers in order to hear their feedback and observe their needs. We then design then customer-facing experiments and/or usability tests in order to test and learn as part of an agile development cycle. Bringing a mix of curiosity and high-energy, I’m as passionate about the details of the products I build as I am about the culture of teams I’ve had the opportunity to serve. I currently serve as Chief Product Officer for OPENLANE, a two-sided marketplace that allows car dealers to buy and sell used vehicles. Solving for customer needs at OPENLANE has included launching three first-to-market innovations: Visual Boost AI (AI damage detection that outlines damage on vehicle condition report photos), Audio Boost AI (AI anomaly detection that identifies and highlights anomalies on engine recordings) and Code Boost IQ (a predictive model that uses OPENLANE\'s proprietary data to simplify the >40K codes returned from an OBDII scanner). Prior to this, I led product strategy and development for the do-it-yourself, assisted, and financial services products in the U.S. for H&R Block. In short, my teams designed and implemented the omni-channel client experience for the 21M H&R Block tax clients. This included P&L responsibilities for the Digital Tax business, which served 7.6 million clients and generated $228M during tax season 2015. It also included P&L ownership over the ~$300M revenue stream from the “Tax Plus” product suite within the H&R Block offices, including the H&R Block Emerald Prepaid Mastercard and Tax Identity Shield (a product we launched in 2015).I also founded H&R Block’s Client Innovation Lab in 2009, pitched the $287.5M acquisition of TaxACT to the H&R Block Board of Directors; served as Chief Technology Officer for the Digital Tax business and have held multiple technology leadership positions at General Electric and Accenture.

Experience

1. Techstars Mentor

   Techstars

   Jan 2018 — Present

Education

• University of Oxford

  Oxbridge Honors Program, History

• William Jewell College

  OxBridge History

• Stanford University Graduate School of Business

  Stanford Executive Program

Skills

• Project Management
• Call Center
• Internal Audit
• Integrated Marketing
• Customer Service
• Strategic Planning
• Business Process
• Business Process Re-Engineering
• Executive Management
• Business Intelligence
• Consulting
• Start-Ups
• Crm
• Business Process Improvement
• Tax
• Team Leadership
• Financial Analysis
• Human Resources
• Information Technology
• Integration
• Sdlc
• Policy
• Analysis
• Java Enterprise Edition
• Enterprise Architecture
• Analytics
• Leadership
• Program Management
• Accounting
• Vendor Management
• Strategy
• Public Speaking
• Change Management
• Risk Management
• Service Delivery
• Business Analysis
• Employee Benefits
• Process Improvement
• Strategic Partnerships
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership