John Running

Fractional CTO/CPO | Founder, Epiphany Engine | AI-Driven Product and Technology Breakthroughs

Epiphany Engine · Greater Boston

Mar 2024 – Present(2 yrs 2 mos)

Founded Epiphany Engine to take senior product and technology roles with startups and venture studios. I embed as a fractional CPO/CTO or co-founder, taking responsibility for product clarity: defining what the product actually is, narrowing scope, and shipping prototypes and MVPs that put real users in the loop early and drive decisions. I’m often brought in early, but I also work with teams that need to reset direction, close gaps between product and execution, or move faster without adding layers. The work is product-led and hands-on. I build when building is the fastest way to collapse ambiguity, using modern tooling and AI where it meaningfully accelerates learning. This isn’t advisory work. I’m accountable for outcomes, not recommendations. Recent work under Epiphany Engine includes Umami, Windrow, RayFit, and Make Hay, where I’ve operated in senior product and technology roles across early and formative stages.

CTO

Cake (joincake.com) · Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Jun 2023 – Mar 2024(10 mos)

Part of the leadership team responsible for Cake’s successful exit (acquired by Foundation Partners Group). Led cross-functional teams to drive innovation and growth at Cake. Replatformed the product and relaunched the blog, resulting in a 300% revenue increase through ad introductions.

Senior Solution Engineer

Uniform · Greater Boston

May 2022 – May 2023(1 yr 1 mo)

In my role as Senior Solution Engineer at Uniform, I spearheaded Solution Engineering efforts in the Americas for a forward-thinking PaaS, pioneering the market for Digital Experience Composition. Through my leadership, I was honored with the Employee of the Quarter award in 2023 and achieved the most sales of any Sales Engineer, highlighting my commitment to driving results and exceeding expectations.

VP, Technology Practice Director

Amdocs Studios (formerly Stellar Elements) · Boston

2021 – 2022(1 yr)

Transformed ADK’s 60-person, Engineering team into a place where engineers love to do their best work. Spear-headed partnership program to support our primary OKR of going “up market,” establishing numerous partnerships with MACH-based products Hired numerous Software Architects and Engineers, a QA director, and 5 QA Analyst to support the team, using rigorous standards and evaluation methods Increased code quality by encouraging the adoption of the agile test pyramid, setting test coverage goals, adding test coverage to the definition of done, and implementing the consistent use of quality gates in our CI/CD pipeline Led tech component of successful RFP response for Steamship Authority, the single largest project ever won in the Boston office.

Vice President of Product and Engineering

DipJar · Greater Boston

2019 – 2021(2 yrs)

Led DipJar’s Product and Engineering team. I owned DipJar’s product strategy, and took a hands-on role implementing the product roadmap. Key Results during my tenure: - Pivoted product strategy to a subscription model, resulting in an over 200% increase in recurring monthly revenue. - Introduced Spark Virtual, DipJar’s “card not present” payment solution and mobile web-based fundraising visualization and marketing tool that creates giving moments, both in person and online.

Global Head of Product & Technology, BzzAgent

dunnhumby · Boston, Massachusetts

2017 – 2018(1 yr)

Key member of the leadership team responsible for the successful sale of BzzAgent to PowerReviews in August 2018. Led engineering and product teams responsible for BzzAgent's influencer marketing platform, used by many of the world's largest brands. Championed the development of BzzBoost, a media product that combined paid social media with traditional Bzz Media campaigns, to reduce the cost of impressions by 70%, while maintaining overall engagement.

CTO

EF Education First · Zürich Area, Switzerland

2015 – 2017(2 yrs)

Led EF Cultural Care Au Pair's international, cross functional Technology and Digital Product teams in Zurich and Boston. Worked with fellow C-Level executives to design and execute technology strategies to maintain and replace legacy systems, increase efficiency and quality, and deliver the division's business goal of increasing Net Promoter Score while achieving year over year growth for its complex, U.S. Department of State-regulated program.

Executive Vice President, Innovation and Technology

Hill Holliday · Greater Boston

2014 – 2015(1 yr)

Led Hill Holliday’s Technology, User Experience, Digital Production and QA teams. Founded Project Beacon, Hill Holliday’s innovation lab, responsible for finding new ways to work with customers, collaborating with startups, and prototyping new products and business practices. Oversaw the delivery of numerous production Web sites, Digital Out of Home Experiences, Social Media and Mobile Applications for all of Hill Holliday’s accounts.

Senior Vice President, Technology

Hill Holliday · Boston

2011 – 2014(3 yrs)

SVP Director of Technology

MRM//McCann · New York City Metropolitan Area

2010 – 2011(1 yr)

Led MRM Worldwide East’s fifty-person marketing technology team focused on the delivery of marketing technology solutions for a multitude of leading brands. Collaborated with Creative, Search and Analytics teams in the development of Production Web Sites, Social Media and Mobile Applications for all of MRM East’s accounts including The Home Depot, Diageo, Nikon, and The US Army.

Founder and CTO

1/0 Technology Corp.

2005 – 2010(5 yrs)

CTO

Aerwav Integration Services

2004 – 2005(1 yr)

Founder

MobiusWeb

2001 – 2003(2 yrs)

Development Team Leader

Yahoo! HotJobs

2001 – 2002(1 yr)

Director of QA

Zentropy Partners

1999 – 2001(2 yrs)