In our Inside Nooga series, we sit down with team members to share their stories, passions, and what it's really like to work at Nooga.
This time, we spoke with Fabien Guillaume, our Chief Product Officer (CPO), about building teams, reducing bureaucracy, and why sleep might just be the best productivity hack.
From Early Days to Product Leadership
When Fabien joined Nooga, there wasn't a formal product team.
As CPO, he's responsible for guiding our product vision and working closely with engineering, product managers, and leadership to decide what to build next and how to build it.
One of his proudest achievements so far? Building the product team from scratch.
"It's been exciting to figure out which skills we needed first, in what order, and how to bring together different mindsets. Diversity of thought is just as important as technical expertise. It brings more ideas, more perspectives, and ultimately, better products."
What Makes Nooga Different
For Fabien, the best part of working at Nooga is the freedom and trust given to teams.
"The autonomy every employee has to tackle problems is one of the best parts. People come up with a lot of different solutions when they are given the opportunity to be creative. It's fascinating to see different approaches lead to great results."
He describes Nooga's culture as fast-moving, pragmatic, and autonomous.
"We're still young, so it's about moving quickly, finding good-enough solutions, and not waiting for the ‘perfect’ answer. We trust people to make decisions and take action without waiting for constant direction."
A Career Built on Curiosity and Highlights
Fabien's journey into tech started young, at 12, he was taking apart computers just to see how they worked. Over the years, he's worn many hats: data scientist, system engineer, AI researcher, and product leader.
Two career highlights stand out to him:
- Being part of Spire Global’s journey from its early days to the moment it went public on the New York Stock Exchange.
- Leading the initial phase of GitHub Copilot as the sole product manager, guiding it from research into a real product, before teaming up with others to scale it to global success.
These experiences shaped his approach to product development by balancing ambition with pragmatism, and always keeping the end user in mind.
Lessons in Sustainability and Boundaries
One of the most important lessons Fabien has learned is the value of sustainable work habits.
"I've burned out before. Taking a step back taught me that you can achieve as much, sometimes more, when you work with balance. Health comes first, and I tell my team the same: take care of yourself and your family. Work will still be here tomorrow."
He has also learned the importance of setting boundaries when working across time zones.
"You can't let others dictate your schedule entirely. Setting limits is crucial if you want to do your best work long term."
Outside of Work
If Fabien could instantly master a new skill, he'd choose woodworking or stone carving, crafts that are far from the digital world he works in every day.
His go-to productivity hack? Sleep. Consistent rest keeps him sharp and focused.
If he weren't in tech, you might find him running a bakery in France or renovating old houses. Both are hands-on, creative paths that shares one thing with product building: creating something from the ground up.
Why Nooga, Why Now
For Fabien, Nooga is the place for people who thrive in early-stage, foundation-setting work.
"Here, you might be the most experienced person in your area. There's no playbook. You have to be comfortable figuring things out and confident in your ability to learn quickly."
What excites him most about Nooga's products is the impact:
"We help reduce bureaucracy in companies that are on the journey to becoming leaner. We make it easier for them to work efficiently, stay agile, and be resilient in the face of challenges. That's not just good for them, it's good for society."
At Nooga, we're building more than software. We're building a culture where people can do their best work, and where companies can work smarter, not slower. Fabien's journey is proof of how curiosity, trust, and agility can create something truly impactful.
The same principles Fabien shared: trust, autonomy, and agility, are built into our products:
- Nooga Scale – a plug-in extension that helps estimate, plan, and visualize work across multiple teams and projects. Extends platforms like Azure DevOps and soon Jira with program boards, dependencies, roadmaps, risk management, objectives, and more. See how teams scale smarter →
- Nooga Risk – a plug-in extension that integrates risk management and compliance directly into Azure DevOps and existing development workflows. Discover how we simplify risk →
About Inside Nooga
Inside Nooga is our new series sharing stories, lessons, and mindsets from the people shaping Nooga’s products, culture, and growth. We’ll bring you more insights from colleagues across the company, giving you a closer look at who we are and how we work. Stay tuned for more stories from the team building the future of Nooga. 🚀
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