Susan Ellis

Susan Ellis has over 25 years of experience in the technology industry. Susan currently works as a Lead Product and Solution Owner at Lightyear, where they are responsible for turning strategic goals into business level requirements and facilitating the delivery of software-dependent goals for Lightyear products. Susan enjoys being part of a company and teams with a fantastic product and contributes to all teams, processes, and people wherever they can.

Prior to their role at Lightyear, Susan worked at HERE Technologies as the Head of Solution Management and Solution Architecture for Connected Car. In this role, they were responsible for hiring and managing a team of Solution Managers and Solution Architects. Their team provided technical sales support, played a key role in the RFQ process, and served as the link between the Sales division, Product Management, and technical program teams. Additionally, Susan personally managed the JLR program, successfully delivering the first map data, IVI SW, and cloud service product to the automotive industry.

Before HERE Technologies, Susan held various leadership roles at NAVTEQ. Susan served as the Director of System Engineering, where they defined business and operational systems to enable the creation and delivery of NAVTEQ products. Susan managed a team of 135 system engineers across multiple locations, responsible for implementing best practice solutions and supporting technical sales, requirements definition, and product definition. Susan also served as the Director of Database Quality and Operational Processes, where they managed a team of 65 people responsible for establishing quality processes and systems for the NAVTEQ map database. Additionally, they held roles as the Manager of Global Map Operations and Team Lead for Database Creation and Release, where they built global teams and implemented structured business processes for planning, scheduling, and delivery of products.

Susan's career began as a Geographic Information Systems Technician, working on digital map prototypes for the automotive industry, car hire companies, and travel kiosks. Susan played a crucial role in building a map navigational product, utilizing technology that was revolutionary for its time.

Overall, Susan has extensive experience in product and solution management, system engineering, database quality, and operational processes. Susan has a proven track record of successfully leading teams and delivering high-quality software and products in the technology industry.

Susan Ellis has a diverse education history, starting with their time at Primet High School from 1983 to 1988, where they obtained their GCSE. Susan then attended Liverpool John Moores University from 1988 to 1990, completing 3 A-levels in Geography, Geography, and Chemistry. Following this, Susan pursued their Bachelor of Science degree in Geography at Liverpool John Moores University from 1990 to 1993, earning an honors degree (BSc Hons). Susan furthered their education by attending The University of Edinburgh from 1993 to 1994, where they achieved a Master of Science (MSc) degree in GIS (Geographical Information Systems).

In addition to their academic qualifications, Susan Ellis has also obtained several certifications. Susan completed the course "Digital Transformation Strategies" at the Cambridge Judge Business School - Cambridge University in April 2021. In June 2019, they undertook the "Linear to Circular Business Models" certification program at ESMT Berlin. Susan has also completed courses such as "Fundamentals of ISO" at the Institute of Quality Assurance (The), and "Principles of Quality" and "Quality Management Systems" at the Institute of Quality London. The obtained month and year for the latter certifications are not specified.