I Translate Complexity Into Competitive Advantage.
I am a human-centered Product Management, Research & Design Strategist with over 10 years of experience translating human behavior into complex business systems.
I don’t just manage a backlog or run usability tests; I lead the high-stakes discovery and strategic phases that ensure teams build what is necessary, not just our first best guess.
—Story Safford
Services
By synthesizing behavioral signals, technical constraints, and market opportunities, I define the what and the why before you invest in the how. I help teams eliminate waste, reduce uncertainty, and architect product roadmaps backed by rigorous evidence rather than assumptions.
This is a comprehensive audit of your insight-to-product pipeline. I evaluate how your organization consumes data and provide a detailed blueprint to transform fragmented feedback into a scalable, high-confidence system for product decision-making.
Rethink how your product and design teams work by integrating AI into the discovery lifecycle. I teach teams how to use AI-native tools to accelerate synthesis, redesign workflows for speed, and master the art of data storytelling to drive executive-level decisions.
Get senior-level strategic oversight for your product direction without the full-time overhead. I provide embedded leadership for cross-functional teams, driving stakeholder alignment and mentorship during critical launches, pivots, or modernization initiatives.
High-velocity, evidence-led engagements for high-stakes product moments. Whether validating early-stage AI-driven concepts, optimizing complex conversion flows, or navigating a pivot, I deliver actionable product direction and validated prototypes in days, not months.
Targeted 1:1 coaching for leaders looking to bridge the gap between user-centricity and business ROI. We focus on navigating the AI landscape, building a customer-centric culture, and mastering the high-stakes communication required to manage executive stakeholders.
Regeneron: Strategic Trade-offs & Market Velocity
Role: Product Strategy, Research, Service Design, Product Development
Navigated the inherent friction between stringent compliance and the need for product velocity within a heavily regulated environment. I architected a lean discovery-to-delivery framework for Regeneron that prioritized rapid validation over premature scaling. By designing a system that embraced iterative learning—even at the calculated risk of future rework—I enabled the team to move at market speed without compromising on essential risk mitigation.
Key Strategic Impact:
Reduced Time-to-Market: Overcame institutional inertia by implementing lean processes that allowed for faster cycles of evidence-based learning.
Managed Technical Debt: Explicitly defined the trade-offs between immediate validation and long-term scalability to ensure stakeholders were aligned on the product's evolution.
Evidence-Led Governance: Balanced complex regulatory requirements with a user-centered approach to ensure the solution was both compliant and highly functional for the end-user.
Cigna: Telehealth Product Strategy & Digital Care Scaling
Role: Product Strategy, Research, Service Design, Product Development
Led the multi-year product discovery and strategic evolution for Cigna’s national telehealth platform . I navigated the complex transition from pre- to post-pandemic care models by architecting a digital ecosystem that optimized patient journeys and bridged the gap between at-home care and clinical providers.
Strategic Impact:
Product Roadmap Definition: Directed the digital health experience strategy, utilizing mixed-method discovery to resolve uncertainty in long-term engagement and retention initiatives.
Insight-to-Action Pipeline: Built a scalable Voice-of-Customer system that consolidated fragmented patient feedback into a unified engine for high-stakes product planning.
Experience Optimization: Translated behavioral care-navigation barriers into prioritized product improvements, redesigning digital access pathways to improve care coordination.
Case Studies
Netflix: Franchise Product Strategy & Multi-Channel Ecosystem
Role: Product Strategy, Research & Development
Architected the 360-degree productization of a flagship Netflix IP, transforming a singular television property into a scalable, cross-platform multimedia brand. As the strategic lead (VP of Research & Strategy, XR), I defined the vision and roadmap for a multi-channel ecosystem spanning digital, experiential, OOH, and broadcast touchpoints.
Strategic Impact:
Franchise Scaling: Directed the end-to-end product strategy that expanded audience reach and retention across diverse platforms, resulting in a Clio Bronze Award for excellence in brand transformation.
Cross-Platform Alignment: Synthesized complex brand requirements into a unified experience framework, ensuring product-market fit across both physical and digital fan engagements.
Evidence-Led Growth: Developed and executed the foundational strategy that moved the brand from a single-format show to a high-growth multimedia ecosystem.
Comic-Con HQ: Scaling Cultural Experience into Digital Product Strategy
Role: Product Strategy, Research & Development
Architected the MVP and long-term product roadmap to transform a seasonal, four-day live event into a 365-day digital subscription (SVOD) ecosystem. I defined the foundational strategy for Comic-Con HQ, bridging the gap between high-intensity physical experiences and a scalable digital product that maintains fan engagement year-round.
Strategic Impact:
MVP Definition & Prioritization: Directed the core product requirements and feature prioritization for the initial launch, ensuring the platform delivered immediate value while establishing a foundation for future scale.
Digital Transformation Strategy: Developed the strategic frameworks required to translate the unique, "lightning-in-a-bottle" quality of a live conference into a recurring, evergreen digital experience.
Risk Mitigation & Alignment: Utilized foundational behavioral analysis to resolve competing stakeholder assumptions and secure alignment on the platform’s core information architecture and user experience.
Evidence-Led Roadmap: Built a strategic pipeline of insights that informed investment prioritization, balancing the needs of a niche, high-expectation audience with business growth objectives.
North American Launch
Softbank Robotics
I defined the product-market fit strategy for Softbank Robotics’ Pepper, leading the high-stakes discovery phase to navigate deep-seated consumer friction and societal ambiguity. By translating complex human patterns into a clear, actionable product trajectory, I resolved critical uncertainty regarding the robot's place in the market, directly driving a landmark go-to-market launch.
Zyrtec “Parks Unleashed”
Owned the behavioral strategy and product discovery for Zyrtec’s digital ecosystem, identifying high-intent customer triggers to integrate brand value into daily user routines. Spearheaded the cross-functional execution of "Parks Unleashed," a non-linear digital experience recognized by Mashable as one of YouTube’s "Most Impactful" campaigns for its innovative approach to market awareness and engagement.
Architected the product vision and full business requirements for Zyrtec.com, designing a dynamic personalization engine and information architecture that utilized implicit and explicit inputs to scale traffic to 50,000+ unique monthly visitors. This strategy included the development of an integrated loyalty platform, bridging marketing objectives with a high-conversion user experience.
