At SmartNews, our Core Values — For the Common Good, Outcome Obsession, and Nothing is Someone Else’s Problem — are not just words on a wall; they are the principles that guide our daily decisions. To celebrate the people who live these values, we host the "SmartNews Igniter" recognition program.

In this spotlight, we catch up with Igniter recipient Ratnesh Kumar, Lead Product Manager for the Ads Product Insights & Solutions Division. He shares his journey of building the US 1st-party ads platform from scratch, building deep trust with clients, and what it truly means to treat every challenge as your own.

Why It Matters

• Embodying the Values: Ratnesh earned the Igniter commendation for his "Swiss Army Knife" approach, stepping into GTM (Go-To-Market) sales, account management, and support roles to ensure product success.

• 0 to 1 Impact: Moving from a highly scaled environment like Amazon, he embraced ambiguity to architect a new advertising infrastructure at SmartNews.

• Customer Obsession: Proved that exceptional support—even on a Saturday night—can turn a technical issue into a cornerstone of client trust.

— With your extensive background in product management, you undoubtedly had options. What made you choose SmartNews?

It came down to two major elements: the mission and the nature of the challenge.

First, the mission—Delivering the world’s quality information to the people who need it—is incredibly powerful. I have always firmly believed that a trusted media landscape, especially vibrant local news, serves as the essential foundation for a well-functioning society. That genuinely resonated with me.

Second, I wanted the opportunity to build something from zero to one. At Amazon, where I spent about eight years focusing on e-commerce and advertising, the systems were highly mature and scaled. The prospect of joining SmartNews to architect a brand-new 1st-party ads platform from scratch—owning everything from initial design to onboarding and eventual revenue generation—was a challenge I simply couldn’t pass up.

— Could you describe the structure of your team and how you collaborate globally?

I operate within the global Ads Product Management team. We have one Ad PM here in the US — myself — working in tandem with a talented team of six to seven PMs based in Japan.

The majority of our engineering organization is located in Japan, so I collaborate with them on a daily basis to build out our features. Conversely, our entire sales, marketing, and account management infrastructure is rooted here in the US. Because all functions requiring direct, day-to-day contact with advertisers are local, while product development is in Japan, I serve as the crucial liaison. My role is to bridge these groups to ensure our product aligns flawlessly with US market demands.

— You were recently recognized as a SmartNews Igniter for your exceptional dedication. What specific actions led to this award?

When you are steering a zero-to-one initiative in a lean environment, you cannot afford to have a rigid mindset. You can’t just say, "I’m the Lead PM, so my job ends when the feature launches." You have to take an all-in approach and become whatever the team needs at that moment—a true "Swiss Army Knife."

To build a cohesive product, I adopted a mindset where no task was outside my scope. I routinely stepped in to assist with Go-To-Market strategy, sales support, and client account management. To truly understand client pain points, I joined Slack communication channels with over 75 advertisers. I told our sales team, "I might not have immediate answers to every technical question, but I want to be in the room so I can hear their context directly."

At the end of the day, I wanted to ensure we were building a product that drives absolute success for our advertisers while maintaining the seamless, native engagement our users expect.

— That approach perfectly illustrates "Nothing is Someone Else’s Problem." How did this mental model impact your advertising partners?

In the competitive advertising space, trust is your most valuable currency. Advertisers need to know that you have their back around the clock.

I distinctly remember a Saturday night when one of our highest-spending advertisers sent an urgent message stating they had lost access to their ad manager account. I jumped in immediately and traced the glitch back to a minor deployment change we had pushed on Friday.

Instead of waiting until Monday morning, I immediately flagged my counterparts in Japan. Thanks to the global team's agility, we resolved the problem that same night. The advertiser was incredibly grateful. By treating their crisis as our own, we transformed a potential issue into a massive win for client trust. I was completely pumped about how the team came together.

— To wrap up, what advice would you give to someone considering joining the SmartNews team?

If you are someone who thrives in ambiguity, loves seeing the direct, measurable impact of your work, and wants to build rather than just manage legacy systems, SmartNews is the ultimate playground. If you are passionate about the intersection of trusted journalism, cutting-edge AI, and advertising innovation, there truly is no better place to be.