T2 has some of the brightest minds in the parking industry, and each employee owns a unique set of talents and experiences that help our customers succeed. We spoke with Zack Harmeyer, T2 SVP of Product, to learn more about his love for hockey and how he manages to keep his eyes on the prize.

 

Meet Zack Harmeyer

What inspired you to pursue a career in product, and how has your journey led you to your current role as Senior Vice President, Product?

I was lucky enough to find my way into product management here at T2!  In 2009, I was working for a private operator in downtown Indianapolis about to finish my graduate degree and looking for something new. Already being in the industry, I thought I would give it a shot, continuing on the parking path. After a long interview process with T2, I was hired on as an Associate Product Manager for Flex® and my first product release was eTicketBook – software that allowed officers to issue parking tickets directly from their in-vehicle computers via LPR while automatically uploading the citation information into Flex®!

My journey to leading the product team was a winding one, for sure — from leading a small PARCS focus team, to VP of Professional Services, then back to Product.  I am very grateful to have had such a diverse experience along the way, and I think it serves me well today.

As a leader in product and operations, how do you stay in tune with what the customers want, and how do you incorporate that into your strategic vision?

First and primary is staying close with our customers – gathering direct voice of customers to learning about their challenges, operations, priorities, and upcoming changes. Most importantly, learning how we can continue to help them improve and solve their problems.

I also have a great team that I tap into to understand their products, market fit, and competitive landscape. Coordinating with other teams like marketing and sales to hear their direct feedback and perspectives are also great opportunities to stay close to the market.

There are many ways this informs our strategic vision. Everything from customer input on what they need from T2, to win-loss analysis to influence our competitive position. Brainstorming where we can take our products is always one of the more rewarding parts of being a product manager, and it truly takes input from a lot of internal and external stakeholders.

What do you consider to be the most significant challenges facing the parking industry today, and how do you plan to address them?

There are a number of challenges facing the industry today, including vendor consolidation, staff and resources constraints, lack of standardization, and operations needing to do more with less. I think this offers a great opportunity for more forward-thinking technology companies that serve our industry. We need to address them by helping our customers make their operations more efficient, improving their staff’s daily interactions with our tech, and creating a better experience for their parkers.

Can you share a particularly challenging project you’ve overseen in your career, and how you navigated it to success?

The early days of our PARCS product were particularly challenging. T2 and the Flex® application was very new to this market and our product was still very early stage – but growing in both scale and scope. More customers, larger implementations, and never-ending product updates.

There were very hands-on days, going from customer installs one day to writing new product requirements for the engineering team the next. But ultimately, I think that was the path to our success because there was a small but mighty team – highly focused, and very driven to meet our customers’ needs. To me, that was the recipe to success.

What advice would you give aspiring leaders in the product sector whose goals are to reach executive positions like yours?

• Intimately know your customers and their problems
• Understand your product’s impact on the business as a whole
• Prioritize making your customers happy and creating long-term value for the business
• Focus on your product’s needs… the time and asks of product management are great, and you will likely not get to everything.
• Create good habits that filter out the daily distractions and keep you focused on what is most important.

Can you share a defining moment or accomplishment in your career that has shaped your leadership style and approach to problem-solving in the product space?

There are many accomplishments at T2 that I am very proud of, especially in 2022 being asked to grow and lead this product team. Before coming to T2, when I worked in the private operator space, I was asked to move to DC and take on a major clean up project for one of the largest operations in their portfolio – a grueling task, that I didn’t quite fully comprehend when I accepted the assignment. Two years later, leaving that operation healthy and thriving, with a team fully capable of managing it without me was a great win.

I learned two important things from that experience, and they still help me today:

1. Dig into the problem and own it. Know the data, know the impact, and don’t rely on assumptions or jump to easy conclusions.
2. Create an effective team, built on trust and support. A positive and inclusive team culture is very important me.

Outside of your role, what are some of your passions or hobbies that you engage in to unwind and recharge?

Most people know that I am a hockey fanatic, both my own involvement and that of my kids as well. I still enjoy playing a few times a week and the community and fellowship that this creates.

Balancing a demanding professional role and personal life can be challenging. How do you prioritize and maintain a healthy work-life balance, and do any daily rituals or practices contribute to your overall well-being? 

This is a tough one. The demands of work are always there and it can be difficult to separate oneself, especially when you enjoy what you do and who you work with. Overall, I try to stay active, enjoying skiing, hiking, biking, running, etc, and I always find myself taking on a major home improvement project that I am overwhelmingly unqualified for.

 

If you’re interested in a career with T2, check out our job postings.

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