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Building · AI · Healthcare

What makes AI useful in the real world?

Field notes on building AI that fits the way people work. Real workflows, useful experiments, and lessons from healthcare and beyond.

Oscar Ibars

Product leadership across

Product Leader Academy
Symplast
Optum
Kaiser Permanente
Truckstop
PwC
ADP
Mastercard

About Me

A Head of Product who sets strategy and ships production code, with a bias toward AI that earns its place in the product.

Fifteen-plus years building AI, mobile, and platform products across healthcare, fintech, and SaaS, at Optum, Truckstop, PwC, ADP, and Symplast. Today, my own products give me a place to test ideas directly: healthcare workflows in HaloPT and an AI concierge in Stay in Lakeland.

I care about the parts of the job AI can't do: finding the problem worth solving and the judgment to ship the right thing. The field notes document the observations and experiments behind that work.

MBA
MS Artificial Intelligence (in progress)
PMP
CSPO
NN/g UX Management
Enterprise Experience

Product work across healthcare, benefits, marketplaces, payments and education. Experience with both established teams and new ventures.

Ships Production AI

Built the AI concierge in Stay in Lakeland and the therapist-reviewed workflows in HaloPT. The work includes both product decisions and implementation details.

Platform & P&L

Owns strategy end to end (APIs and marketplaces, payments, SSO, and accessibility) and reports the tradeoffs to the board in revenue, retention, and cost.

Built in 2026

A sample of what I've shipped this year.

Product leadership isn't only strategy decks. These are products I designed and built myself in 2026.

PlatformLive

Product Leader Academy

Execution-first training and community for product leaders. 1,000+ members, real projects, mentorship, a jobs board.

AILive

Stay in Lakeland

A production AI concierge that answers guests across voice, SMS, and web from one brain, grounded in live local data. A business I founded and run.

AILive

swiftrecap

Autonomous AI newsletter for engineers and PMs; aggregates RSS, Reddit, GitHub and HN into a weekly digest.

PlatformLive

HaloPT

Software for independent in-home PT: signed SOAP notes, home programs, and physician updates.

ProductEarly access

Medikarta

Independent EHR research and clinic-side ombuds for aesthetics, plastics, and medspa. Clinic pays.

AIBeta

imperfit

Chat-first AI nutrition coach for people who won't log meals. Three-second voice or photo logging on edge AI.

Product leadership for change

I help healthcare and SaaS companies turn stalled product initiatives into measurable growth. Start with a focused engagement, then expand the leadership mandate as the business needs.

Discuss an engagement

Product strategy & roadmap

A clear product direction, prioritized roadmap and measures of success to guide investment and delivery.

AI opportunity & pilot plan

An assessment of where AI fits, a scoped pilot and acceptance criteria for deciding whether to take it further.

Product & UX assessment

A review of the customer journey, prioritized recommendations and an implementation brief your team can act on.

What colleagues say

Recommendations from the leaders and engineers I've built with.

“I had the pleasure of working with Oscar at Symplast, where he managed our engineering team. Oscar is the kind of manager every engineer hopes to have: approachable, supportive, and an exceptional problem solver. No matter how complex the challenge, he was always willing to help, provide guidance, and remove obstacles so the team could succeed. He creates an environment where engineers feel trusted, encouraged to grow, and empowered to take ownership.”

Vinícius Paldês
Vinícius Paldês

Senior Mobile Engineer · React Native & Expo Specialist

“Working with Oscar has been an absolute privilege. He is a truly exceptional leader: visionary, highly strategic, and capable of seeing not only where the world is heading, but the exact steps required to turn those big ideas into reality. What constantly amazes me is his ability to keep pace with multiple complex projects at once without ever losing sight of the big picture. Above all, Oscar is a deeply kind person who puts the human being first.”

Lina Maria Perez Botero
Lina Maria Perez Botero

UX Designer · Product Designer

“Oscar is a thoughtful, strategic, and execution-driven product leader who played a key role in transforming Truckstop's mobile experience into a high-value e-commerce platform. His ability to align product strategy with business growth and drive cross-functional success makes him an invaluable asset to any team.”

S. Kyle Johnson
S. Kyle Johnson

SaaS Product Leader, Platform Specialist

“Oscar is an incredible product leader and an equally great team leader. He led a number of efforts for Spirit within the mobile app space, including localization, accessibility, and personalization. His ability to break down problems into actionable steps empowers his team with confidence. Oscar might have the most impressive executive communication skills I have seen.”

Jeff Barrett
Jeff Barrett

User-Centric. Mobile First.

“Working with Oscar as a Product Manager was a standout experience. Unlike many PMs, Oscar has a strong grasp of technical concepts and strikes a rare balance between engineering, architecture, and user experience. His leadership created an environment where both product and engineering thrived.”

Fady Daoud
Fady Daoud

Software Engineering Manager

“I worked closely with Oscar on a number of initiatives, and relied on him to bring energy, passion and vision to a range of the challenges and opportunities created by our growth. He is a relentlessly entrepreneurial thinker who brings intensive focus resulting in great outcomes.”

Puja Lakhlani
Puja Lakhlani

Product @ Deluxe | AI & Fintech Leader

“Oscar was able to establish deep trust and relationship with the team and key stakeholders in a very short time. He is highly organized with a sharp focus towards customer experience, highlighted in all aspects of his work whether wire-framing with UX, architectural approach with engineering, or shaping product vision with business leaders.”

Apoorv Aggarwal
Apoorv Aggarwal

Cloud Transformation | AI/ML Solutions

“Working with Oscar Ibars was an inspiring experience. His mobile-first innovation strategy and seamless platform coordination accelerated value delivery for carriers. His creativity in Spanish localization ensured high-quality experiences on time, despite backend constraints. He's a visionary product leader who turns ideas into impact.”

Erika Cortez
Erika Cortez

Principal Product Manager @ Truckstop

“I rarely come across real talents who stand out like Oscar. His ability to handle multiple projects while managing multiple senior team members was unlike any I've seen before, and made a dramatic increase in the productivity level of our company. As a team member or a leader, Oscar earns my highest recommendation.”

Dwain Wall
Dwain Wall

CEO @ CruisingStores

Work with me

Start with a problem worth solving.

Start with the decision or delivery problem in front of you. Each engagement has its own scope and outcomes, from a focused diagnostic to ownership of the team and results.

Product Diagnostic

Find what's blocking growth or delivery.

Fixed scope

Best for: Leaders who need a clear decision before committing to change.

  • Customer and workflow research grounded in observed behavior
  • An assessment of product priorities and delivery constraints
  • A focused plan with measurable outcomes
  • A recommendation on the leadership needed to execute

Fractional Head of Product

Own the change and prove the results.

Scoped leadership mandate

Best for: Companies ready to act on a product or AI transformation.

  • Product strategy, roadmap, and operating cadence
  • Org and hiring design, plus coaching for your PMs
  • Ownership of delivery and measurable business outcomes
  • Executive reporting on revenue, retention and cost

Executive Product Leadership

Lead the team and results for the long term.

Permanent executive role

Best for: Companies that need sustained ownership of product strategy and execution.

  • Product strategy tied to company growth
  • Team leadership, hiring and organizational change
  • Accountability for the roadmap and business results
  • A direct hire or transition from a successful engagement

AI Product Advisory

For product leaders who want a second opinion on an AI investment or roadmap decision. Bring a specific question, get a practical recommendation, and keep execution with your team.

Focused sessions or monthly retainer

Think there might be a fit?

An engagement can grow into a permanent executive role when the scope calls for sustained ownership and there's mutual fit. Looking for a full-time product executive? We can discuss that mandate directly.