01 SYS/CTX
Deep context systems
Turn scattered research, decisions, and product knowledge into durable context that teams and agents can retrieve, connect, and act on.
[ Senior Product Manager — AI Product · Wealth Technology · Toronto ]
James Finnie
I turn complex product problems into clear decisions and working software — using AI-native workflows to move from discovery to production faster.
Product experience05+ YRS
Orgs shipped04
BaseTOR 43.65°N
ModePROTOTYPE-FIRST ▲
[ 01 ] — About
I work where product judgement, AI, and complex systems meet — turning ambiguity into something a team can test and ship.
I’m a Senior Product Manager in Toronto. I turn ambiguous opportunities into products teams can test, trust, and ship — especially across investing, AI, and connected systems.
At CIBC Investor’s Edge, I lead product for self-directed investing. I use working prototypes to make strategy tangible, bring agents into discovery, and connect design systems to delivery — so teams learn sooner and commit with confidence.
AI makes building faster. The advantage is choosing the right problem, setting a clear quality bar, and knowing why the product should exist.
That conviction shapes my work in wealth. Personalisation should make investing more relevant and timely without weakening trust, agency, or control.
I.
Taste at speed
Speed creates more choices, not better ones. Set a clear quality bar and spend time on the few decisions users will actually feel.
II.
Ask why, relentlessly
Start with the user, the constraint, and the change that matters. A crisp problem beats a polished backlog.
III.
Prototype-first
Use working software to test the riskiest assumptions. Let teams react to something real before locking in the roadmap.
[ 02 ] — Focus areas
Where I do my best work.
02 SYS/AGENT
Agentic engineering
Design human-directed agent workflows that expand a team’s range while keeping goals, judgement, and accountability clear.
03 SYS/PM
Prototype-led product
Turn research and strategy into working artefacts early, so teams can test the riskiest assumptions before locking in a roadmap.
04 SYS/TASTE
Product judgement at AI speed
Use faster building to explore more possibilities, while raising the bar for what earns attention and what ships.
05 SYS/PRSNL
Trusted personalisation
Make investing experiences more timely and relevant without crossing the line into noise, pressure, or overreach.
06 SYS/SHIP
Prototype → production
Connect design systems, engineering constraints, and delivery pipelines so validated ideas survive the journey into production.
[ 03 ] — Experience
A track record across complex products.
2025 — NowCurrent
Toronto
CIBC Investor’s Edge
Senior Product Manager / Product Owner
Leading product for self-directed investing, with a focus on AI-enabled experiences, personalisation, and faster discovery-to-delivery. Introducing prototype-led ways of working to align teams and test direction earlier.
2023 — 2025
London, ON
Trudell Medical International
Manager · IoT & Intelligent Systems
Led product direction for a connected-device platform spanning device data, companion apps, and internal capabilities — aligning hardware, software, and commercial priorities.
2022 — 2023
London
StoneX
Product Analyst / Associate Product Manager
Worked across trading and brokerage products, including mobile trading, share dealing, and a reliability programme that materially reduced crashes on a mobile-first platform.
2021 — 2022
London
Equals Money
Product Analyst
Improved onboarding and operations across payments and FX, including identity verification, internal tools, and the end-to-end customer journey.
SOAS, University of London
MA International Studies & Diplomacy — Merit
University of Glasgow
MA (SocSci) Business & Management — 2:1
[ 04 ] — Capabilities
How I help teams move.
Product Leadership
- AI-native product strategy
- Discovery & validation
- Roadmapping & prioritisation
- PR-FAQs & narrative specs
- Executive alignment
AI-Enabled Delivery
- Prototype-first delivery
- Agent workflows & skills files
- Design-system prototypes
- Evaluation & feedback loops
- Production handoff
AI & Context
- Deep context systems
- Knowledge architecture
- RAG & retrieval
- Evals & prompt design
- LLM tooling & agents
WealthTech & Commercial
- Self-directed investing
- Personalisation & nudges
- Financial modelling & sizing
- Build-versus-buy analysis
- Vendor evaluation
[ 05 ] — Personal projects
Proof, not promises.
P-01 SIDE/BUILD
The Six Cut
A discovery tool for Toronto’s independent butcher shops. It combines Google ratings with a transparent Six Cut Score, then lets people search by specialty, filter by score, and preview each shop. I built it end to end — from scoring method to map experience.
six-cut.vercel.app
Visit →
P-02 SIDE/BUILD
FinanceHermes
A research agent for market moves, earnings, analyst sentiment, and central bank activity. It searches current sources, synthesises the findings, and streams its research progress so the trail stays visible. An experiment in useful, inspectable agent workflows.
finance-hermes.vercel.app
Visit →
[ 06 ] — Get in touch
Let’s make it real.
Have an ambitious product problem? I’m always glad to compare notes on AI-enabled product, investing experiences, and turning an early idea into something testable.