Kate Spears

Kate Spears has been a product manager for over six years, with most recent experience at Drivetime. As a product manager, they are responsible for the development of strategic product roadmaps and the coordination of teams of designers, engineers, and marketers. Kate has also set up and executed weekly usability studies and written design specs for over 10 features.

In their previous role at Drivetime, they conceived, designed, and launched a minimum viable product (MVP) version of Tunetime, a popular music recognition mobile game. Kate also released an enhanced version of Tunetime that doubled engagement and increased five-day retention rates by 119%.

Kate has also planned and driven feature enhancements for the launch of a hands-free, voice activated version of Jeopardy!, working closely with teams at Sony throughout the project. In addition, they have analyzed user data for a World Capitals and State Capitals game, identifying and driving targeted feature enhancements and technical troubleshooting – increasing engagement by over 20%.

Most recently, Kate has partnered with the Head of Product and Chief Technology Officer to create a detailed product roadmap and Gannt chart prioritizing and resourcing projects. This has resulted in the company shipping 40% more projects each quarter. Kate has also developed and run creative promotional campaigns to increase engagement during the COVID-19 crisis, increasing five-day engagement rates from 11% to 17% despite significant decreases in driving time.

Kate Spears has a Bachelor's degree from Claremont McKenna College and a Certificate in Economics from UCLA Extension. Kate also has certification from HRCI as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and from the Project Management Institute as a Project Management Professional (PMP).

Kate Spears works with Jon Slavin - Game Director, Grant Reid - Game Director, and Kris Horowitz - Senior Game Designer. Kate Spears reports to Nir Efrat, CEO.