Product Thinking

Sean Wilson has a strong background in product thinking, strategy, development and commercialisation, spanning SaaS platforms, digital products, physical products, retail operations and complex service offerings.

He has designed, developed and delivered products and services with clear value propositions, practical operating models and scalable architecture. His experience spans online HR technology, mobile applications, digital advertising, retail building products, staffing and recruitment, healthcare and disability services, advisory services, training, events and marine retail and servicing.

Sean has led end-to-end product development and transformation, particularly in B2B SaaS and digital platforms where product quality, customer experience and scalability directly affect enterprise value. His responsibilities have included product vision and roadmaps, customer discovery, product framing, UX direction, feature prioritisation, technical architecture and close collaboration with design and engineering teams.

As Chief Technology & Product Officer at BetterHR for more than 10 years, Sean led the design and development of the core HR SaaS platform and Apple and Android employee applications. He oversaw more than 70 technology and product initiatives, including major platform rebuilds, new features, workflow automation, security improvements and new commercial offerings.

His approach combines design-led product thinking with technical understanding and commercial accountability. He focuses on solving genuine customer problems, creating coherent and usable experiences, maintaining quality as complexity increases and ensuring products support sustainable business models.

Proven Impact & Results

BetterHR: Product strategy, SaaS development and commercial value creation

As Chief Technology & Product Officer at BetterHR for more than 10 years, while also serving as COO and later CEO and Managing Director, Sean led the development and evolution of a national HR SaaS platform and mobile products.

He worked across product strategy, customer discovery, product framing, UX direction, prioritisation, information architecture, development and delivery. His responsibilities included balancing customer requirements, employment law complexity, technical constraints, commercial priorities and the need to scale the platform without compromising usability or quality.

He led more than 70 technology development projects, including a major platform redesign and rebuild to improve stability, speed, structure and scalability. His work covered more than 100 new features and a wide range of new and improved customer capabilities.

Key initiatives included:

• Platform and user experience: Complete platform rebuilds, improved navigation, updated interfaces and responsive experiences across laptops, mobile devices and tablets.

• Subscription and commercial models: New HR Lite and HR Platinum subscription tiers, optional at-cost services, and the development of the HR Shop and HR On-Demand pay-as-you-go services.

• Compliance and risk management: Compliance Register, live risk indicators, improved personnel records, compliance controls and enhanced employment law resources.

• Customer and company records: Company Files, Documents Library, personnel file improvements, employee records, HR registers and records management.

• HR advice and workflow automation: Contract Wizard, updated law guides, advice forms, dynamic HR process flowcharts, automated customer care, case management and renewal reminders.

• Employee self-service: Employee HR Portal, employee access management, self-service features and improved employee-facing dashboards.

• Payroll and workforce administration: Payroll features, payroll registers, pay runs, pay rates, timesheets, leave, rosters and administrative access controls.

• Safety and disaster preparedness: Safety processes, safety registers, document templates, the COVID-19 and later Disasters Toolkit, and employee vaccination tracking.

• Recruitment: Job Vacancies Register, job listings and job application forms and registers.

• Infrastructure and security: Server migration, data integrity improvements, security updates and two-factor authentication.

• Brand and positioning: Rebranding to BetterHR, brand refreshes, parent and child logos, and website improvements.

He also led a major content and process rebuild, moving from linear instructions to dynamic flowcharts. More than 30 step-by-step HR process flowcharts were developed and linked to relevant tools, templates and advice. This helped translate complex employment and HR requirements into more practical customer workflows.

These initiatives supported the development of a more comprehensive product ecosystem rather than a standalone software application. The platform grew to more than 60,000 users and 300+ partners. During Sean's tenure, revenue and gross profit doubled and share value increased by more than 150%.

He also earned significant equity ownership through value creation and led the buyer narrative for a successful exit in 2024.

Sharing Minds: Product commercialisation and go-to-market execution

As Commercial Director at Sharing Minds, part of Asta, Sean helped commercialise a new SaaS division, connecting the product proposition with customer needs and the practical requirements of taking the business to market.

His work included commercial positioning, customer engagement, sales and marketing capability, partnerships, pipeline development and converting product value into paid subscriptions and professional services.

Within six months, sales grew from zero to more than $1 million in banked sales, exceeding $2 million for the financial year across all channels. The business secured more than 1,000 licensed users and over 1,600 prepaid professional service hours, with 58% annual recurring revenue confirmed for the following year.

This experience demonstrates his ability to move beyond product design into market adoption, customer acquisition and commercial performance.

Housing Industry Association: Member products and service portfolio

As National General Manager Sales & Marketing at HIA, Sean led commercial operations spanning membership, retail, training, events, publications, Home Ideas Centres and other member services.

His responsibilities included understanding the needs of builders and industry members, aligning products and services with those needs, improving service delivery and strengthening the commercial performance of a diverse portfolio.

He led a national restructure across 23 offices and more than 300 employees, helping reverse declining membership and revenue. The organisation grew to more than 50,000 members and achieved double-digit revenue growth, supported by a broad portfolio of commercial and member offerings.

Sensis: Advertising products and customer propositions

At Sensis, part of Telstra, Sean worked across a large advertising and information services portfolio, including White Pages, Yellow Pages, Whereis, Trading Post, Sensis 1234 and Telstra Directory Assistance.

His sales and commercial leadership required understanding customer requirements, positioning products and services, managing major accounts and aligning customer propositions with commercial priorities and delivery capability.

This experience reinforced the importance of product-market fit, clear value propositions, customer relationships and reliable service delivery in a large enterprise environment.

ColorTile: Physical products and multi-channel customer needs

As Director of Sales & Marketing at ColorTile, Sean led commercial development across retail showrooms, trade customers, project builders and the major projects division.

He worked closely with the Managing Director to understand different customer requirements, position products and services and align the commercial offer with the needs of retail buyers, tradespeople and property developers. The business achieved double-digit revenue and profit growth.

Zonda and associated businesses: Service model design

As Group CEO, Sean led business development across healthcare staffing, disability and support services, retail dealerships and managed services.

These businesses required different customer propositions, operating models and service delivery approaches. Sean's responsibilities included improving the relationship between the service offering, customer needs, workforce capacity and commercial performance while leading the portfolio through operational and financial challenges.