Welcoming Ships, our new Head of Product

We are excited to welcome a new team member to lead our product development at Creatively Squared. Hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, Shipra Mahindra is an experienced product lead having worked at creative tech unicorn Canva and most recently accounting software Xero.

We had a chat to Ships to find out what inspires her, how she enjoys time off and what she is looking forward to most about working at Creatively Squared:

Tell us about your background?

I am from New Zealand and consider myself half Indian and half Kiwi. Auckland is home for me and is where I grew up mostly. Before that I was in Dubai which is where I was born and bought up. Although I have visited India many times I have never actually lived there!

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?‍

In the past I used to love going for hikes and doing Salsa dancing. But more recently, you'll find me cooking or spending time with family and friends. If its a sunny day, I'll be at the beach - taking a walk in the sand and building castles with my son.

What’s a fun fact about you many people may not know?

I am a Harry Potter fan - most of my friends know this about me. I also love to try new foods as long as they are vegetarian.

What would you name the autobiography of your life?

Thinking Through

If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?

I'd definitely love to learn more dance forms.

What is your past experience working in Product?

I started as a Software Engineer and moved into Product in 2016 with Canva. At Canva I had the opportunity to learn how to build high quality product and also build a product culture. More recently I was working at Xero and that gave me a different perspective on how large scale product companies work.

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I define success as living a fulfilling life with lots of different experiences and exploration. Also leaving something better than I found it!

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What are you most looking forward to doing at Creatively Squared?‍

At Creatively Squared I get the opportunity to figure out things from scratch when it comes to building a product to solve problems. I am looking forward to building something where a solid product doesn't exist. I am also looking forward to working closely with a smaller team and being able to spend a lot of time with customers.

What is your favourite thing about working in Product?‍

The fact that you get to drive & ship something valuable for the users and the business. Also in general, its a vague/broad area that encompasses a lot of things - and so I am always learning.

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