Our “Get To Know” series features young professionals in Ohio who have started in or pivoted to UX and adjacent fields in the last five years.
Derek Tholt, Digital Product Manager at Huntington Bank
Tell us a little about yourself! What do you enjoy outside of work?
Professionally, I am a (brand-new) Digital Product Manager for Huntington Bank. After going to work for a small, San Francisco-based FinTech in 2021, I am back at Huntington in the digital space as of November 2023. I held various roles at Huntington from 2013 to 2021 – anything from branch banking to sales support for our large team of Mortgage Loan Officers to running a large team during an acquisition. I truly consider the last ten years of work as a paid internship having learned so much about banking, home lending, and the FinTech space.
Outside of work, you can find me in one of three places: an airplane, a car, or the left side of my couch. I love to travel domestically and try to get on a plane every eight weeks or so to visit family and friends. I joke that I keep Frontier Airlines in business. I am also a car fanatic. I am a member of a few local car clubs one of which I have a fabulous group of friends that get together often. Each April, a national club, famously known as The Car Gays, meets at the famous Tail of the Dragon at Fontana Dam in North Carolina. We rent cabins and spend all day out on the roads and all night by the bonfire.
At home, we have a few rules: have a healthy salad for dinner every Monday, never show up to a special event in a dirty car, always lead with kindness and an open mind, and never miss Jeopardy. I have been with my husband, Tristan, since 2007.
Tell us about your path to become a Product Manager. How did you end up in this role?
This new role fell into my lap after being notified of a layoff at my last gig. When I left Huntington in 2021, I went to work for Blend Labs, which provides point-of-sale lending solutions for hundreds of banks (including Huntington.) At Blend, I worked with the banks and credit unions on understanding their product roadmaps for large deployments and ongoing projects. I also managed numerous sales tools. My experience at Blend was invaluable to bring back with me to manage digital lending products at Huntington which includes mortgage, home equity, automotive, and unsecured loans.
I am taking this new opportunity to try to poke some holes in the way the teams at Huntington do things. My manager told me to be a fly on the wall for a while and try to ask Why as much as possible. I’ hope to add a passion project to my book of work and encourage teams to use the modern tools provided to make navigating our workload easier, faster, and more transparent. Gone are the days of saving a file to your computer and attaching it to an email!
What’s something you wish more people understood about your role or trends you’re seeing in the industry?
Industry-wide, traditional banks are now competing with the Venmo and Chimes of the world. Large banks are often held to different regulatory standards than small, digital companies, so they need to be very deliberate in how new features are launched to customers. Think about how you do your banking today and ask yourself, “Would I consider using a bank that doesn’t have a great app, the ability to send money immediately, and provide real-time alerts for privacy and security?” Most would say no, so banks must always stay abreast of the latest digital banking trends and evaluate and prioritize ongoing enhancements. I’m excited to be a part of the life cycle of these initiatives and ultimately see them go live for customers and colleagues.
What is something you’re most known for at work, and how do you use that as part of your professional identity?
I have always been known for asking a ton of questions. It’s hard for me to understand my expectations if I’m not fully immersed in the product or tool I manage. I love to find a beta environment and try to break things. I also try to understand one basic concept: how are end-users consuming our product, and are we working to make it better? Once I understand this concept better, I love to be a helpful resource to anyone working alongside our team.
If my colleagues remember one thing about me, it’s that I never claim to know everything. One of the most under-utilized phrases in life is “I don’t know” – as long as it’s followed by “but I will find out for you,” makes for the most transparent, honest, and trust-building experience one can have at work.
If you could give yourself 10 years ago advice from yourself today, what would it be?
Listen to learn. Don’t listen to speak next.
Do you know a stellar UX, UI, Product, or Software Designer or Researcher who has joined the field in the last five years that we should feature? Let us know!
