From Silicon Valley to London: Diana Stepner’s Journey Through Technology and Product
I want to share with you a wonderful conversation I had with Diana Stepner, an incredible professional in the tech industry. Passionate about product management and user experience research, Diana has an impressive career portfolio, ranging from Monster to Salesforce. Punctuated with many skill-sets that make her a key player in the tech and product domain.
Start in Sunny San Diego
Originally I am from silicon valley and loved growing up there. I had some friends that went to University in San Diego and they liked it so I figured I might as well go to University down there too. I spent 4 great years studying at University of California, San Diego where I majored in Communications. I did communications because I wanted to be a producer on a tv show, of course behind the camera.
”I realized with a communications degree I could do everything and nothing”
I didn’t know what to do after I graduated but I knew I wanted to bring together people and technology. This allowed me to find passion to develop my skills in technology and interpersonal relationships. Being from Silicon valley I knew I also wanted to combine technology with business so I went directly into business school.
Business School in Boston
As someone that is always in motion whether it is reading, learning, walking or cooking, I wanted something that was the opposite of laid back San Diego. So I went to Boston for my MBA at Boston University. I loved Boston because of the four seasons and not having to drive. It was great being able to walk everyone and get engrained in the community. I also loved business school because people those around me wanted to be there.
“Everyone wanted to be there because they wanted to be, it was their choice. It was very collaborative… a very great opportunity for me to really build my skills.”
In San Diego, it was fun with amazing weather, however, I really wasn’t able to fully develop and hone my skills. Business school gave me that opportunity. It made me more aware of what the potential could be when I entered the work force.
How I got my first Career Job
While taking a class in business school, one of the professors asked me- “What do I want to do when you graduate?”I told the professor I wanted to do something that combined marketing and business with facets of technology. Someone sitting directly behind me told me I work for a company that does exactly that. A few hops later, this lead me to my first “real” job at Epsilon. At Epsilon they do customer relationship management CRM. This was a perfect opportunity for me to bring in technology to analyze customer data and identify general customer segmentation to bring that insight for marketing campaigns.
“Our client at that time was Apple, so I got to do a lot of work with Apple.”
After a few years working at Epsilon, I found my way to a company called Macromedia. At Macromedia we were seeking a new customer relationship management tool. A company that pitched us was E.piphany. I believed in their mission and vision and subsequently joined E.piphany. The product resonated with me due to my background in CRM.
Early Days at E.piphany
I've always fused my love for tech and communication throughout my career. This unique blend started when I joined E.piphany, a cloud-based startup, working in professional services across our clients in the US and then EMEA. At E.piphany my primary role involved working with different teams like engineering and product. This exposure to various digital product aspects, along with my customer relationship experiences, highlighted challenges in making the product part of customers' daily lives - it was just too technical.
“They don't exist anymore, but E.piphany was a customer relationship management tool and the difference being is that it was all in the cloud. Where as prior tools were more on premise and heavy from a desktop… I also loved the founder’s vision”
I really lucked out because at the time when I joined they were only in the United States, but later they opened European Offices in London. This gave me the opportunity to live overseas and bridge the gap between Silicon Valley and London. I ended up staying in London for a long period of time.
Living and Loving London
My journey next took me to London. My deep love for the city and passion for my work helped me quickly integrate into the tech scene there. Adjusting to London was fast for me:
"I had friends who were in London, so they helped me navigate around .... I did spend a lot of time in different cultures. And so what I learned is just to listen and just to be able to get a sense, get a read of the client, of the customer, of the culture. And that has served me throughout my career..."
The cultural unity and open dialogue in London crucially shaped my successful career. I also enjoyed the experience of having a city break in Vienna,Prague,Florence or wherever it may be in Europe. Over time, E.piphany customers were getting stuck because the engineering terminology was bleeding into the interface and they just didn’t get it as the customers were marketers. The product workflows were designed for engineers, not for the customer.
“I wanted to understand the mental models, what was causing our users who love the idea of the product, not be able to comprehend it? Why were they getting stuck?”
This struggle sparked my interest in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Believing the product should reflect customers' goals, I pursued another degree in HCI from Berkeley.
Berkley:Learning Importance of UX
At UC Berkeley's School of Information with a concentration in Human Computer Interaction (HCI). I learned about user experience research and ensuring the interface reflects the customer, not technical backend details. I gained skills in preventing technical complexities from complicating the user interface. My education focused on crafting intuitive interfaces that embrace user mental models and help customers accomplish their objectives. The HCI degree helped me unravel the complex communication between product and customer. I learned UX research, guiding product workflows to keep technical details out of the interface.
This was also around the time that Salesforce was growing and scaling as well. A lot of people from E.piphany had gone over to Salesforce, so I had connections at the company. I was at Salesforce in its early days as their first UX researcher. While at Salesforce, I worked in the product management team, helping to design and launch new features for the company. The exposure to Product Management opened my eyes to opportunities to bring together the business, UXR, and technology facets of my background.
Full Circle:Adopting New Tech and the Future
I always wanted to return to London so I started applying to Jobs based there. That is when I joined Monster, starting as product lead for the UK and Ireland, later becoming VP Western Europe. I eventually joined an agency to explore the latest industry tech, wanting more exposure. My extensive product management experience also led to a higher role at Pearson where I started the Future Technologies Group, shifting Pearson publishing into a fully digital platform.
As tech advances, I see how it will transform teaching and learning. Teachers can apply AI to reduce manual tasks while identifying opportunities to introduce critical thinking, challenging students to go beyond the answers AI presents.
"It(AI) helps students think more creatively and helps them just think more broadly than just the answer. And so I think it's going to open up a lot of opportunities for students really to grow..."
I believe the future of learning platforms involves immersive experiences. It could be augmented reality and virtual reality or something new. Just being able to enable someone to explore an experience which they may not have ready access in the real world. It's clear my work in tech and product management is driven by my commitment to find the best product-user fit. I continue using my knowledge and spirit to create valuable tech change, especially in digital learning.
In conclusion, I share this career advice: Sometimes if you just stop and acknowledge where you are and the amazing things around you, that can be even more powerful than just trying to get to the next level.
My exciting product management and UX research journey weaves a vibrant tapestry of perseverance, passion, and constant learning. I look forward to what the future of product and education brings.
Listen to the full episode here.
Learn more about Diana here.
Diana’s Newsletter.
Diana’s course.
