James Gunaca
Product Management Career Coach
My mission is to help people achieve their product management career goals, so we can all build better products for customers, and make the world a better place.
Whether you’re looking to land your first PM job, get promoted to Senior PM, move out of a feature factory and into a company that follows the principles of the product operating model, or successfully transition into a Product Leadership role, I’m here to help you.
Book a free discovery call with me today to explore how I can help you reach your Product career goals.
Be among the best
Here are some of the companies where my former coachees, mentees, and direct reports have worked…
My Services
Coaching
Achieve your career goals with the support of a coach who has done it all. I’ve switched careers into my first product role, been promoted to Senior PM, as well as built and led teams of PMs, Senior PMs, and even Managers of other PMs. Wherever you are in your product journey, I can help you set and achieve your goals!
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Get private, direct, and ongoing 1-to-1 support to reach your goal of landing your first Product Manager role. Meet with me every other week for 3 months as we dive deep into your career background, identify what kind of PM role you’re interested in, and build an actionable, results-driven plan for making the switch to PM.
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Get private, direct, and ongoing 1-to-1 support to reach your goal of growing as a Product Manager. Whether it is promotion to Product Manager, Senior Product Manager, or Principal Product Manager from another Product role, or building a new skillset, I will help you grow into a great PM. Meet with me every other week for 3 months as we identify your PM super powers, set goals you can achieve as you grow, and build an actionable, results-driven plan for attaining the outcome you want.
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Get private, direct, and ongoing 1-to-1 support to reach your goal of becoming a Leader of Product Managers. Whether it is becoming a Group Product Manager or Head of Product leading a team of PMs, or eventually managing managers of PMs, I will help you make the transition into an effective Product Management Leader. Meet with me every other week for 3 months as we uncover your motivations for becoming a Manager of PMs, determine how to navigate within your current role (or find a new one) to start hiring or leading PMs, and build an actionable, results-driven plan for this monumental achievement in your career.
Consultations
Just getting started? Or perhaps you just need some specialised help on your journey? These a la carte consultations are designed to provide focused support with personalised, actionable feedback. Let me know how I can help!
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Get personalised, actionable feedback on your resume so you can improve the conversion rate from application to interview for your resume! I’ve reviewed thousands of resumes and CVs as a Hiring Manager for PM roles at various levels of seniority.
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Behavioural interviews, trial projects, case studies, execution or product sense interviews…I’ve done them all and know what Hiring Managers are looking for whether you are applying for a Product Manager, Senior Product Manager, or even Head of Product role! You’ve made it this far, spend just 1-hour with me as I help you prepare to succeed in your next PM interview so you can move one step closer to landing your next role.
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I’ve conducted hundreds of Amazon interviews as a Hiring Manager and Amazon Bar Raiser for nearly a decade. I know the process in and out. If you’ve landed an interview loop with Amazon, this is the session for you.
Testimonials
Hear what my former coachees, mentees, and direct reports have to say…
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![Photo of June C]()
"James was one of the most exceptional managers I have worked with in my career. His support and guidance propelled me towards achieving significant career milestones while also maintaining a healthy work-life balance. His constructive feedback not only bolstered my professional growth but also instilled confidence, enabling me to lead discussions and drive strategic alignment with senior VPs at Amazon."
June C - Product @ Meta
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![Photo of William W]()
"James has been an incredible mentor and supporter to sense check high-level product decisions from the very early days of my startup—between identifying who and when to hire, how to present what we’re building and for who to our investors, and how to concisely communicate updates to stakeholders, James has been transformative and has helped to accelerate my business."
William W - CTO @ Metris Energy
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![Photo of Brandi K]()
"James mentored and supported me throughout my transition from Sr. Product Manager to Product Leader, managing a growing team of PMs and Sr. PMs at Amazon. Thanks to his guidance, I’ve continued to grow and build high performing teams. I would recommend him to anyone looking for support in their career!"
Head of Product Marketing @ Amazon
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![Photo of Nikhil G]()
"When I was transitioning to a PM role, James was a valuable mentor. He has a wealth of knowledge and insight on being a bar raising PM that helped me hit the ground running."
Nikhil G - Sr. Principal PM @ Amazon
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![Photo of Ziyue G]()
"I’ve had the opportunity to benefit greatly from James’ invaluable advice and support. His structured approach allowed me to walk away from our 1:1 sessions with clear action points and has been extremely instrumental in helping me navigate challenging stakeholder interactions with confidence and tact. At the same time, he is also candid and empathetic, constantly providing a safe space for me to share and learn from him. I am thankful for his mentorship and expertise which has contributed significantly to my professional development."
Ziyue G - Product @ ExpressVPN
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![Photo of David Y]()
"James is someone that is highly knowledgeable in the space of Product and is a great mentor to have in your corner for planning out the next steps in your career. His wealth of knowledge and unwavering support make him an invaluable asset for anyone charting their career course. I am immensely grateful for his mentorship and highly recommend him to anyone seeking guidance in shaping their professional future."
David Y - Product Lead @ Xero
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![Photo of Victor M]()
"James played a critical role in helping me navigate Amazon culture and expectations early in my tenure at the company. He consistently provided constructive feedback and unlocked new opportunities for me to advance my career. Because of this, I sought his mentorship after switching teams."
Victor M - Sr. Marketing Manager @ AWS
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![Photo of Andrew B]()
"James played a pivotal role in my career growth by investing in my skills and providing the necessary guidance and support, which ultimately led to my promotion to Sr Product Manager. His mentorship and belief in my potential propelled me to the next level of success in my professional journey."
Andrew B - Sr. Product Manager (Tech) @ AWS
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![Photo of Burton C]()
"James is the most people-focused leader I've worked for during my 9 years at Amazon. James helped me establish my career growth plan, which included a successful transition into Product Management at Amazon. His guidance has helped me surpass growth expectations I had for my product career, even years after I worked for him. I've been promoted 2x since working with James, and his coaching and guidance have left a lasting impression on me."
Burton C - Principal PM @ Amazon
About me
My career spans over 20 years where I’ve held multiple product roles in the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom—working with people and delivering value for customers around the world. During that time, I have been in various roles where I’ve been responsible for screening, interviewing, hiring, managing, and coaching numerous Product Managers, Senior Product Managers, People Managers, and more.
I’ve also coached and mentored countless professionals around the world and have made it my mission to help people achieve their career goals by becoming effective, top-tier Product Managers!
10+
Years in multiple, global product roles
2500+
Product candidates screened
300+
Interviews as a Hiring Manager
50+
Hires for PM, Senior PM, Manager and more
My work
Throughout my career I’ve delivered world-class hardware and software products at scale. In addition to some of the most notable products listed below—Amazon Echo, Alexa, AppleCare+ Subscriptions, and Xbox All Access—I’ve also worked on products like ExpressVPN’s password manager “Keys”, launched V1 and V2 of 24 Hour Fitness’ mobile app “My24”, rebuilt an internal search engine for Amazon’s 1.6MM employees, led product experimentation strategy and implementation for Kape Technologies, and more.
Launched the first three generations of Amazon Echo products with the Alexa AI voice assistant
Launched Alexa features like Drop-in, Apple Music integration, and Made for Humans smart home devices
Launched AppleCare+ as a subscription
Launched Xbox All Access console + Game Pass subscription
FAQs
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Mentors provide valuable expertise and personal experiences, answering questions from mentees that provide insight to help them navigate their own situations to reach their goals. Coaches can also do this, but are primarily trained to help coachees create a plan, set goals, and achieve them—with or without applicable expertise in achieving what’s important to you.
A great analogy is to think of a Coach like that of a sports team—maybe they used to play professionally and can help you learn from their own skills, or maybe they’ve never stepped onto the field. Regardless, a great coach will lead players to the championship!
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I focus on building a solid understanding of what your motivations are, where you’ve seen success in the past, and how those experiences can be combined with new methods to set goals we will work on achieving together. I found my passion for helping people in their careers after becoming a People Manager many years ago and then becoming a Certified Career Coach in 2019.
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Yes! Send me an email and we can discuss payment arrangements that work for you.
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You can see testimonials from various professionals I’ve worked with here.
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If your employer supports learning & development (which they should!) expenses you may be able to expense coaching costs. I can provide documentation for your employer upon request (e.g., invoices).
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I want you to have a great experience and get value from the investment you’re making in you! But, I get it, sometimes things don’t work out and this can be for any number of reasons. If you feel like our partnership isn’t right, or you encounter a situation where you need to cancel, refunds for any unused sessions can be arranged after a discussion. Just send me an email.