Hieu Nguyen

Hieu is a Product Manager at Onclusive, where he develops PR and media monitoring products aimed at becoming the world’s most trusted source of media intelligence. 

With experience spanning business analysis, AI-driven solutions, and machine learning applications, he has led projects that generated significant revenue and reduced operational costs.  

Tell us about your career path since graduation.

After I graduated in 2014, I went straight to University of East Anglia to pursue a Master degree in Economics of International Finance and Trade. I went back to Vietnam right after to start my career as an analyst intern at Nielsen (Now NielsenIQ). Six months later, I was recruited to work in Business Development for Vietnam’s biggest and most popular messaging app, Zalo, where I helped build multiple products. That was also where I found my calling in the tech industry, to build a career as a Product Builder. For the next 6+ years, I transitioned from Business Analyst to full on Product Manager positions within multiple companies in Vietnam. In 2022, I moved back to the UK, with my small family, and started working as a Product Manager at LexisNexis UK. I played a role in developing one of their first machine learning applications, that was used for making legal content recommendations, amongst other important projects. After working at LexisNexis for a while, I left again and have recently joined Onclusive, where I work on building PR and media monitoring products, with the vision to become the world most trusted source of media intelligence.

What does a typical work day look like for you?

Lots and lots of talking. Be it talking to my manager, development team or with customers, communication is a big part of my job. Talking to people helps me gather information about my users, the progress of my projects, the direction and vision for my products, amongst many other things. My work day always starts with planning out what I will do for the day, as there are so much information I need to plan the next big things to develop. Then lots of time dedicated to analysing information, as well as coordinating with engineers to achieve development goals. The world of tech moves fast, so one day I was working on building simple features, the next, AI! I have to keep up with lots of knowledge and information, and sometimes it can get overwhelming. Any day could easily spin out of control with the amount of requests from my users and internal teams.

Can you share a professional highlight from your career so far?

I developed a range of small products that contributed to more than 30% of my company's annual revenue, and are still serving thousands of businesses and millions of job seekers in Vietnam. I also lead the development of a machine learning model that helped the same company cut down thousands of dollars in third-party service cost per year.

How did your time at Kent help you achieve your current career?

The skills and knowledge I acquired from my time at Kent helped me through my entire career. I work with a lot of complex problems every day, and without an analytical mind, I would never be able to be where I am. The courses I took gave me a strong foundation to step into the real world with confidence working with data. Many technical skills I'm still using to this day, I learnt during my second and third year. I can connect business and technology knowledge and insights to make important decision, thanks to the lessons at Kent.

What advice would you give to our current/prospective students who are looking to get into the same line of work?

The world of tech is very competitive, and even more so for Product Manager position, as there are only a few of us amongst many engineers in a typical product development team. Start investing your time into learning everything about this career as early as possible. This role comes with expectations of experiences, a degree of maturity and lots of industry knowledge. However, this role is also one of the most versatile ever. Many companies nowadays hire product managers from a very wide range of background, not just IT and computer science. Business, social science or even humanity students can still apply for this role, as long as you can show initiatives. Connect with people on LinkedIn, learn from free courses, and more importantly, build your own product that serves a clear group of users, will make you a very strong candidate once you graduate.

Did you get involved in any extracurricular activities as a student?

I was one of the founding members of Kent Vietnamese Society (VietSoc Kent), and spent lots of time with Economics and Business societies.
I came in second in a Stock trading challenges organised by Business society in my third year.

Do you have a favourite memory from your time at Kent?

The time I spent with my friends at Kent, walking up and down the hallways in Eliot college, having brunch at Rutherford, lectures in Keynes, and meetups in the old streets of Canterbury, will always be my favourite memories.

Is there anything you would do differently if you could repeat your time at Kent?

I've always wanted to spend more time at the sport centre.

Are you still in touch with other Kent alumni or academics?

Of course, I am still in touch with a lot of my friends from my days in Eliot college and my course. And many members of the Vietnamese society too.

What are your future ambitions?

I want to become a leader in tech and digital product development. I want to continue building products that touch the heart of millions and provide values to everyday life and work.