West is a product and technology executive with a 20-year track record of leading teams that launched category-creating products at Amazon, PayPal, Target, Visa, and multiple startups.
Blackhawk Network | VP Product | Present
→ Leading digital transformation of $35B payments network
→ Building new D2C platforms and co-developing innovations with partners
→ Driving AI transformation and adoption from pilot to scale with proven ROI
HowDo | Founder & CEO | 2017-2024
→ Founded AI-powered business mentor 5 years before ChatGPT (NLP, NLG, reinforcement learning)
→ Trained 400,000+ innovators globally through open-source curriculum on HowDo.com
Target | VP Innovation & Entrepreneur in Residence | 2015-2017
→ Joined as 1st Entrepreneur in Residence post-acquisition, promoted to VP Innovation
→ Created Target Accelerators team, now permanent business function at Target
→ Launched and led Target + Techstars Startup Accelerator (raised $15M)
→ Cut $100M in low-performing projects, reallocated $30M to high-growth initiatives
→ Awarded 2 patents
→ Selected by CEO as top 1% executive
Every.com | Founder & CEO | 2014-2017
→ Founded social commerce platform 4 years before shopping on Instagram
→ Acquired by Target
Rosetta Stone | Chief Product Officer | 2012-2013
→ Transformed business model from packaged software to digital subscription (80% COGS reduction)
→ Launched iTunes #1 kids app, won iKids "Best Learning App"
→ Stabilized P&L through strategic M&A
PayPal | Senior Director, Product Innovation | 2010-2012
→ Built first omnichannel wallet and payments platform (12x TAM expansion)
→ Won PYMNTS.com "Most Innovative" and "Most Disruptive" awards
→ Led 1,000+ person global team across 9 locations
→ Awarded 1 patent
→ Selected by CEO as top 1% executive
Visa | VP Innovation & eCommerce | 2007-2009
→ Built first B2C payment platform to compete with PayPal
→ Awarded 2 patents
→ Selected by CEO as top 1% executive
Amazon | Senior Product Manager | 2004-2007
→ Launched Prime Video (then Amazon Unbox)
→ Championed concept for AWS's first billable web service
→ Built first fraud prevention office in Bangalore (now Amazon's largest globally)
→ Led European merchant risk: reduced fraud loss 98%
→ Promoted twice
RECOGNITION
• 2025 Products That Count Product Leader award
• Minnesota "Real Power 50"
• Edmund Hillary Fellow
• Featured: Fast Company, Fortune, SF Chronicle (front page), Wired, WSJ
• Lived and worked across 9 U.S. states
• 8 years in Europe, Australia, and India
West Stringfellow has been a guest on 1 episode.
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Make the C-Suite Think Like a Startup (Without Getting Fired) | West Stringfellow, VP Product (ex-Target, Blackhawk)
December 9th, 2025 | Season 1 | 32 mins 25 secs
business, digital experience, product management, technology
Today, we’re joined by West Stringfellow, currently VP of Product at Blackhawk Network and former VP of Innovation at Target.
In this episode, West shares:
- How he went from stealth startups to leading innovation at a company with over $77 billion in annual sales
- The methods he uses to manage up and influence leadership in order to achieve the outcomes necessary to create successful organizations time and time again
- The bold move that accelerated his Target career, which included hand-delivering over 300 copies of his innovation proposal to every executive at their Minneapolis HQ, even catching the attention of Target’s CEO
- An inside look at how Blackhawk is thinking about AI and digital transformation by cultivating “culture carriers” to champion AI