Product

Aysu Seckin

Hometown: Istanbul, Turkey

Alma mater: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Major: Industrial and Operations Engineering; Entrepreneurship Minor

Current Role: Associate Product Manager, ESG Strategy    

When did you start the MDP program and what was your role?

I started in June 2019 as a Client Support Representative on the Commodities & Energy team. I then cross trained for the Advisor Workstation product.

What led you to this current role?

I’ve always had an interest in sustainability and social impact space, even prior to joining Morningstar. I was lucky to see Morningstar prioritizing their sustainability & ESG efforts throughout 2020, which also gave an opportunity to work with this growing team over stretch projects and get exposure to their team dynamics. Additionally, I have been leading the event planning and communication efforts for the ERG, Morningstar Sustainability Network (SUN), which helped me expand my connections within the group (especially with colleagues on the Sustainalytics side).

What is a typical day in your current role?

It varies day by day as my team works cross functionally among various groups within Morningstar. I typically attend multiple meetings throughout the day focusing on different projects and initiatives. I then work on the actionable items from those meetings. I spend the majority of my time these days on our internal and external ESG education efforts, as well as our partnership with the Indexes group.

Did you participate in any stretch projects?

Yes! I did three formal stretch projects, and a few informal ones. For the project that validated my interest in the ESG space, I worked on creating a Master ESG Data file with all the ESG datapoint name and definitions that appear across different Morningstar software products. We also worked with multiple product managers on updating the definitions to ensure consistency across different platforms. This file is still being used as a source of truth by our internal teams.

What advice would you give your first-year self?

Stay open-minded. Use your free time wisely as you’ll never get that much free time again to explore different areas and figure out your passion.

How was it like starting your MDP role in a virtual setting?

It didn’t affect me as much since I had the opportunity to work with these team members virtually before joining the team.

How has Morningstar helped you in this pandemic?

Computer equipment was helpful.

One piece of WFH advice?

Take breaks, go for a walk, call your friends, read etc. so that each day doesn’t feel the same.

Hannah Doyle

Hometown: Fair Haven, NJ

Alma Mater: University of Michigan

Major: International Studies and Political Science; History Minor

Current Role: Associate Product Manager (Chicago)

When did you start the MDP program and what was your role?

I started in July 2016 as a Client Support Representative on the Global Support Team. We covered retail products (Morningstar.com, the newsletters, etc.), Retirement Manager, and Advisor Workstation.

What was your next position? What led you to this role?

For my next role I was the Client Support Team Lead for Enterprise. I became interested in the role after talking to the then Global and Enterprise Team Leads and my manager, Holly. I thought it would be a good way to learn more about our products and gain some leadership experience.

What is a typical day in your current role?

I am now an Associate Product Manager on the Reporting Software team. We are re-platforming one of our products, Morningstar Publishing System (MPS), trying to improve the workflow and have it be more in line with other Morningstar products like Direct and Office cloud. My typical day is working with developers, designers, and subject matter expects to determine how we want the new version of MPS to function. I then work to prioritize and plan out those needs.

Did you participate in any stretch projects or ERGs?

I did a stretch project with an internal team in an Associate Project Manager type role. It was helpful to see another part of the business and learn more about what project management is vs. product management.

What advice would you give your first-year self?

Have a good attitude and keep working hard.

What is your favorite Netflix binge?

I don’t know if I have a favorite but my most recent binge was You. Super creepy but I wanted to see how it ended.