Meet Justin Jander, Senior Director for Product Management Travel, and crafty camper! 🪵🏕️
Justin is responsible for shaping the strategy of our travel products by listening to customer needs, defining product requirements, and working with our engineering team to bring those features to life. He collaborates closely with Sales, Professional Services and customers to ensure new capabilities are understood, adopted and continuously improved.
Let’s get to know Justin!
Tell us about your journey to PROS.
I first applied to PROS for a role in Science while finishing grad school in 2009. In April 2010, I got an email from a recruiter at PROS who said there was an open position in Product Management. She found my resume and thought I’d be a good fit. I didn’t know anything about Product Management at the time, but PROS sounded like an interesting company, so I enthusiastically said yes to the interview. I got to meet with some amazing PMs, including one of PROS’ first two employees. I was sold and luckily, PROS was too.
That kicked off my career in an entry-level PM role focused on Analytics and Forecasting for the O&D product. Over time, I grew into my current position overseeing all of the travel products. Product Management has been a great fit for me because it combines my passion for technology and the airline industry. I love working with airlines to solve complex commercial challenges, and PM gives me the tools to do just that.
What do you enjoy most about working at PROS?
What I enjoy most about PROS is the people and the culture they create. That includes both our internal teams and our customer base. I love getting to meet people from so many different backgrounds and seeing it all come together.
In my current role, my favorite part is leading such a great team of Product Managers. They make my job easy with all the hard work they do. I get the opportunity to share the amazing things they’re building with airline executives and with our internal teams. It’s inspiring to watch how creatively they solve problems.
Tell us about a cool project you are working on.
I get excited about everything we work on at PROS. We get to be a software company, an AI company, and an airline technology company all in one. The problems we solve are complex, and there’s always something both challenging yet rewarding to work on.
Right now, my main focus is on establishing the vision for how PROS will tackle the journey to Modern Airline Retailing. This involves working with airlines, consultants, and internal groups to define what we will offer in this area and how it will address our customers’ objectives and align with their strategic goals. This also ties into the launch of AI Agents that will complement workflows across all parts of the MAR strategy. I really enjoy working with our customers and industry experts to share our strategy and discuss how it will come to life over the next few years.
What are you a PRO at?
Most people come to me for anything related to the airline industry—how RM systems work, general industry trends, or interesting aviation news. I also write a weekly internal newsletter called the Friday Flyer, where I share aviation news, fun facts, and a cool airplane photo. If that sounds interesting, let me know and I’ll add you to the distribution list!
Right now, I’m a dad to two girls, four-year-old Eleanor and almost-two-year-old Corinne, so they take up most of my time. When I’m not having a blast watching them grow and learn, I enjoy woodworking, camping, and hiking, but I’d say I’m an expert at woodworking. Back in 2018, I combined these interests by building a small teardrop camper, (which tends to surprise people) and it’s something my family and I still use to this day!
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Be a good listener. Don’t try to solve the problem before you’ve actually heard it. You might think you already know the answer, but it’s important to really hear what someone is saying. Don’t just listen for what you want to hear, listen for what they’re actually telling you. That advice has served me well in all kinds of settings, and it’s something I try to live by every day.
Want to join our growing team?
Explore our Life at PROS blog to learn more about our inclusive culture and check out open roles on our careers page.
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