Connector Spotlight: Jonathan Savage

Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

From Coltrane to samurai movies, our thoughtful, straightforward and ever so curious EVP of Product Development, Jonathan Savage, is much more than just a digital product leader and strategist. But who’s keeping theScore?

So can you guess what his favourite product is? Hint: It’s German.

Tell us a bit about the projects you’re working on.

As part of leadership, I am responsible for a number of strategic initiatives that will help realize our long-term mission and vision. One of the initiatives I’m helping drive is “Operationalizing our Methods” with a specific focus on taking all the techniques contained in our Connected Playbook, creating a shared repository on both the described and procedural knowledge of each technique, and building a curriculum and training program for all Connectors, and ultimately our client partners. I’m working with a fantastic team, and I have a personal interest in instructional design, making it an even better fit. 

What’s the most interesting challenge about the project?

The number of techniques we cover! We have over 120 techniques that we use across our practice, from discovery to delivery and everything in between. We have a lot of ground to cover, and figuring out how to operationalize this from a monolithic wiki to an actual curriculum is challenging and complex. Knowing the impact this will have on product development as a whole is what keeps me motivated and excited. 

Where did you work before Connected?

I spent 16 years(!) at theScore, a global mobile sports app and web platform, leading the fantastic product, design and engineering teams there. I started as a software developer and eventually led the engineering, design and product practice teams, a similar role that I now hold at Connected. theScore is a special company with a lot of amazing and talented people.

What achievement are you most proud of in your career to date?

This is tough as I have had a pretty long career in tech. There are numerous examples at theScore, given how popular the brand and app has become globally, the whole origin story on how we achieved product-market fit early and amplified it and the success and influence the product has had overall. (theScore app is in Apple’s AppStore “Hall of Fame”). But I would say helping build Connected ‘as a product,’ taking some of the best practitioners in the business and building a service offering and value proposition that really resonates with our clients and partners. Connected has taken “build better” and applied it to everything we do, so much that you really need a growth mindset to really thrive here. I have always been impressed by the calibre of our work and our practitioners. I’m really excited to see how we grow over the next few years.

Do you have a mantra you live by?

“Trust and believe in people or life becomes impossible.” – Anton Chekhov

What do you love to do outside of work?

You can find me playing records, playing soccer or reading – in that order. However, I have picked up a bit of a TV show habit during the pandemic! Add Yellowjackets to your “to-watch list” and thank me later.

If you were stuck on a deserted island, what album, movie, and book would you take with you?

Album: John Coltrane – A Love Supreme

Movie: Seven Samurai

Book: The Meditations – Marcus Aurelius

Describe yourself in three words. 

Straightforward. Thoughtful. Curious.

And finally, what’s your favourite product and why? 

I have to say my Clearaudio Concept turntable. Precision German engineering, quiet operation, not to mention phenomenal balance and tone. It also looks amazing, taking a page (like Apple) out of the Dieter Rams playbook.