# Cosmo Rahn > GM, Head of SmugMug | Leadership Development | AI in Leadership | Strategy | Keynote Speaker Location: San Jose, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/cosmorahn I unlock the full potential of teams and organizations through evidence-based, values-driven leadership. What I Deliver Proven ability to transform underperforming businesses into profitable, high-growth organizations. At SmugMug, I drove 12% year-over-year revenue growth for two consecutive years while leading the company to positive EBITDA, followed by nine consecutive quarters of growth. I transformed operations by implementing a 100% remote, 4-day workweek that dramatically increased productivity while maintaining revenue with a leaner team. Track Record I've scaled and repositioned products serving billions of users at Google (AdWords, Workspace), built enterprise platforms processing $50+ billion in transactions (Ten-X), and founded and funded a startup, securing Fortune 500 customers. My transformational initiatives include implementing OKR frameworks, building executive teams, and converting intuition-based cultures into data-driven organizations that define new industry standards. AI & Future Leadership Recognized thought leader on AI in executive decision-making, presenting to CEO peer groups, Fortune 500 leadership teams, and international conferences. I help executives multiply their capabilities through emerging technologies while maintaining human-centered leadership principles. Key Competencies - P&L Turnaround & Profitable Growth - Operational Excellence & Team Optimization - AI-Driven Business Transformation - Executive Team Building & Talent Development - Strategic Vision & Industry-Defining Leadership ## Work Experience ### GM, Head of SmugMug @ SmugMug Jan 2022 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area Transforming SmugMug's business model and operational efficiency as GM with full P&L responsibility. Drove 12% year-over-year revenue growth for two consecutive years while leading the company to nine consecutive quarters of EBITDA growth. Revolutionized operational model by transitioning to 100% remote, 4-day workweek while dramatically increasing productivity and maintaining revenue and customer base with a significantly leaner team structure. ### Vice President Of Product @ SmugMug Jan 2020 – Jan 2022 | Mountain View, California, United States Established data-driven product management framework and OKR implementation across global product and CX organization. Directed product strategy alignment with business objectives, contributing to foundation for profitable growth trajectory. ### Director of Product, Design, & Research @ SmugMug Jan 2018 – Jan 2020 | Mountain View, California, United States Expanded leadership scope from design to full product suite across Apple, Google, and Windows ecosystems. Led comprehensive market and product research initiatives, establishing customer insights capabilities that informed multi-year strategic planning. ### Executive Council Member @ Collaborative Gain Jan 2022 – Present Executive peer group comprised of CEOs and VPs from various-stage companies. Keynote presenter on "AI for Executive Leadership" at bi-annual leadership conference, with subsequent invitations to deliver the presentation to online executive audiences and Fortune 500 marketing leadership teams. Active participant in strategic executive forums focused on business growth and leadership development. ### Filmmaker / Actor @ SAG-AFTRA(e), Opera San Jose Jan 2008 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area Owned social media marketing for a film resulting in 6500+ followers and $50k raised through crowdfunding campaigns; toured conventions to market and screen feature film. Played leading and supporting roles in 15+ films and supporting roles in four operas with 1500-person audience. ### Board Member @ Showbird, LLC Jan 2018 – Jan 2024 | San Francisco Bay Area Provided strategic guidance on business strategy, market positioning, and capital raising initiatives. Led board-level discussions on growth strategies and operational optimization throughout multiple business cycles. ### Director of Design @ Mavenlink Jan 2018 – Jan 2018 | San Francisco Bay Area Led product and engineering ROI analysis for board presentations, enabling $48M Series-E funding round. Implemented design organization scaling strategy and managed hands-on design execution for enterprise clients. Established customer insights team and directed market segmentation analysis, informing multi-year company strategy and coordinating product roadmap alignment with senior leadership. ### Acting Head of Design @ Ten-X Commercial Jan 2017 – Jan 2018 | San Mateo, California, United States ACQUIRED BY THL SEPT 2017 Promoted to lead 12 designers across three business lines (Ten-X Commercial, Auction.com, & Xoey) through THL acquisition integration. Established vision and strategy for 28-person product and design organization, designing product development lifecycle for all business lines within the $50+ billion platform. Directed last-mile design execution for Auction.com re-brand and Ten-X Homes' first mobile consumer app, Xoey, ensuring seamless user experience across the integrated platform. ### Product Design Manager, CRE @ Ten-X Commercial Jan 2017 – Jan 2017 | San Mateo, California Led product design team for commercial real estate division within $20+ billion transaction platform. Directed comprehensive design strategy for engineering and auction dashboard experience, mentoring project leads in running design sprints for high-stakes commercial property transactions. ### Board Member @ Levanto Financial Jan 2015 – Jan 2017 | San Francisco Bay Area Provided strategic counsel to executive team on product strategy, market positioning, and customer-driven growth initiatives. Led customer needs assessment and strategic roadmap planning, guiding product-market fit optimization and business development priorities. ### Senior Researcher & Manager @ Coursera Jan 2014 – Jan 2016 | San Francisco Bay Area Established cross-functional research processes driving 46% improvement in key retention metrics. Mentored marketing team through data-driven segmentation strategies and delivered executive presentations fostering organization-wide strategic alignment. ### Product Research Lead, Merchant Experiences @ Groupon Jan 2013 – Jan 2014 | San Francisco Bay Area Led international research initiatives for global merchant platform, driving conceptualization and development of Groupon's first merchant self-serve product through customer discovery and market analysis. ### Senior Product Researcher @ Groupon Jan 2012 – Jan 2013 | Palo Alto, California Established foundational research practices and customer insights capabilities to drive product strategy and business decisions. Introduced systematic approach to understanding customer needs through task analysis, personas, journey mapping, and mental models, enabling data-driven product development. Led cross-functional collaboration to translate customer research into actionable business strategies and product roadmaps. ### CEO @ ParticipantFinder, Inc. Jan 2010 – Jan 2013 | San Francisco Bay Area Founded B2B SaaS platform, raised capital, and built engineering and design team from ground up. Secured 5 Fortune 500 companies for beta testing, validating product-market fit in enterprise research technology market. Led strategic decision to wind down operations after identifying fundamental market-infrastructure mismatch: enterprise demand required on-premises deployment while product architecture was optimized for cloud-first delivery, necessitating complete technical rebuild. ### Usability Research Manager @ Electronic Arts (EA) Jan 2009 – Jan 2010 | San Francisco Bay Area Developed market segmentation strategy for casual games division, establishing "First Five" customer acquisition approach that drove substantial improvements in first-time user engagement and division goal achievement. ### User Experience Researcher @ Google Jan 2007 – Jan 2009 | San Francisco Bay Area Contributed to Google's first-ever comprehensive AdWords platform redesign, supporting the $23+ billion advertising business that would become the foundation of Google's revenue model. Led repositioning of Google TV Ads for SMB market, driving $5 million quarterly revenue increase and 36% conversion improvement. Directed customer research initiatives that informed product strategy for Google's core advertising platform during its critical growth phase. Led foundational customer research for Google Docs and Presentations, serving the platform that now supports over 1 billion monthly active users. ### Petty Officer 2nd Class @ US Navy Jan 1994 – Jan 1999 Selected to establish and deploy electronic surveillance and countermeasures squadron VAQ-128; promoted from E1 to E5 in 3.5 years; supervised five direct reports. ## Education ### Master of Business Administration - MBA in Leadership and Entrepreneurship Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business ### Master of Science - MS in Human Computer Interaction Indiana University Bloomington ### Bachelor of Science - BS in Psychology w/Departmental Honors, Minor Philosophy Seattle University ### Associate of Arts and Sciences - AAS in Transfer Degree Whatcom Community College ### Advanced Meisner Acting Technique Bay Area Acting Studio ### Improvisation Alan Arkin Forum in Improvisation ### Advanced Acting for Stage and Film Billie Shepard & Associates ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/cosmorahn - Portfolio: https://www.nathanrahn.com/ - Portfolio: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4253167/ --- Source: https://flows.cv/cosmorahn JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/cosmorahn/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13