Yodle Spotlight: Huanlei

Coming up on his 3 year Yodle-versary, Huanlei, Director of Product Management, sat down to tell us his Yodle story.“We are all putting our best forward, to do what we can to put the company forward… to make Yodle a better place.” Because of his determination and strong work ethic, Huanlei has had the chance to do just that.

When he first joined in October of 2008, he was a team lead for our Optimization group, making the natural transition from an algorithm-finance world to an algorithm-media world. Within a year, he worked his way up to manager and together with his team, was able to bring our media optimization to a level that was significantly better than before.  Transferring his skills across teams, he moved on to also manage our product performance and marketing operations team before making the transition to product management. 

“The opportunity to become a manager at my tenure and seniority level gave me the opportunity to mentor and develop an already talented group of people. It has made me a better media optimizer, better product manager, better manager, better person in general. I’ve improved my own skill set and experience in order to become a better professional. I learn something new every day from both my peers and my direct reports. Sometimes [I learn] too much.”

Huanlei has been fortunate enough to work within several different environments from financial services & investment banks to non-profit organizations. There were positives to each of those experiences, but having an impact at a large organization can feel difficult to make and the type of work is not necessarily tangible from a personal satisfaction level. Yet at Yodle, Huanlei feels he has found the best of both worlds. 

“We’re not your typical start-up. We are building something unique and innovative and becoming an industry leader, but still remaining what feels like a small and flat enough organization, where on a day to day basis, you can feel the impact you have on your team, the company, and the thousands of local businesses that are our customers. To hear about the success stories from these business owners and see them experience the impact of change from a new product release is very fulfilling and makes me happy.”

Helping local business ‘Yodle’ is just one of the reasons Huanlei enjoys working here. “There are exceptionally talented, intelligent people, working towards one goal to make this a successful organization. Not to say everyone is always in agreement, [but it’s the] intense, challenging, and difficult conversations that get us in the right direction. At the end of the day, if you see something you’re not happy with, or something you don’t think is the right thing to do, if you’re willing to make a difference, there is absolutely that opportunity here.”

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Huanlei joined the Yodle family in October of 2008. On his spare time, he is a fan of freestyle hip-hop and enjoys both watching artists, as well as participating in freestyle battles.  Yodle Recruiting wants to wish him a Happy 3-year Yodle-versary!

The goal of Yodle Spotlight is to share personal development & professional success of Yodle employees.