About

About Us

12PointShift is a fractional Chief Product Officer practice built for early-stage companies making important product and offering decisions.

Led by Ethan Snyder, the practice helps visionary, highly technical teams bring sharper thinking to customer definition, product strategy, positioning, pricing, packaging, and execution.

Ethan brings nearly 20 years of experience across product planning, market research, corporate strategy, and business planning. He has spent much of his career helping teams turn strong product ideas into clearer, more coherent, and more commercially effective offerings.

At Rivian, as the company's first Director of Product Planning, Ethan helped shape a complex product offering into something more customer-centered and commercially effective while working directly with a visionary, deeply technical founder.

12PointShift is designed for companies that need senior product leadership before they are ready for a full-time executive hire.

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Ethan Snyder

Career

Built in high-stakes environments

Ethan Snyder's background was built in settings where product and service decisions could materially shape growth, demand, and long-term competitiveness.

Rivian, 2018-2024

First Director of Product Planning

"Joined in 2018 while the company was still in stealth mode — before its first product reveal, Amazon's major investment, and the record-breaking IPO. I built the Product Planning function from the ground up and directly helped the Founder/CEO and leadership team shape strategy during a critical phase of growth. My work, including in-depth proposals on product complexity management/configuration, helped finalize the go-to-market offering for the R1T and R1S. I also established the Product Research Analytics (Market Research) function from scratch. The team I led conducted hundreds of actionable consumer studies on EV charging behavior, pricing, storage, accessories, international market expansion, option packages, color/materials, sales volume, and more. We partnered closely with engineering and studio teams to drive critical product decisions. I am one of a handful of Rivian employees who served as part of strategy, engineering, and sales & marketing organizations. I absolutely loved my time at Rivian, and in many ways that experience inspired me to again work with founders and form 12PointShift."

Demonstrating the Rivian R1T at the New York Auto Show (2019)

Demonstrating the Rivian R1T at the New York Auto Show (2019)

Hyundai Motor America, 2024-2026

Cross-Functional Strategy Leader

"I led complex, cross-functional strategic work focused on driving sales demand, new vehicle launches, pricing, and governance. The team I managed ran program offices to launch new vehicle programs and manage major strategic initiatives. I worked closely with internal stakeholders and retailers for both Hyundai and Genesis brands. I also partnered closely with global teams to develop strategies to improve high performance vehicle sales."

Nissan North America, 2007-2018

Progressively Senior Roles

"I held various senior positions at Nissan North America across Product Planning, Marketing, and Corporate Strategy. I worked on virtually all models in the Infiniti Portfolio and was known for advanced vehicle concept development and competitive analysis."

Evaluating a Nissan GT-R Prototype (2008)

Evaluating a Nissan GT-R Prototype (2008)

Across those roles, the common thread has been the same: bringing discipline to the decisions that shape whether an offering will resonate with customers, hold up commercially, and remain competitive as the market evolves.

12PointShift is built around a simple idea: ambitious companies make better decisions when strong vision is paired with disciplined product leadership.

If you are building something important and want sharper thinking around the offering, the market, and the path forward, we'd be glad to talk.

Schedule a Discovery Call