TPM Manager @ Bloomreach · Slovakia
Tomáš
Tatarko
A PMO and TPM manager who started out as a developer. I bridge engineering and business because I understand both sides.
tomas@tatarko.sk · +421 902 551 161 · linkedin.com/in/tatarko · tatarko.sk/en/tomas
I can write code. I can lead people. That’s exactly why I know which questions to ask, even when I’m sitting on both sides of the table.
01 — Story
I started with code. I stayed for the problems.
I built my first website more than a decade ago out of pure curiosity. The curiosity hasn’t changed since, only the place where I apply it. Today I don’t stand behind a terminal but behind a team. And I still think in systems.
My path led from PHP developer through product manager to leading a PMO. Each step taught me something the previous one couldn’t. Code taught me precision. Product taught me empathy. Program management taught me that chaos and complexity are not the same thing, and that the latter can be tamed.
Today I lead a team of Technical Program Managers at Bloomreach, bringing engineering, product and business goals together into one coherent whole. Not on paper, but in practice, every day.
Outside work I live near Bratislava, love building things (virtual ones too, strategy games are my weakness) and believe the best decisions are made when you understand the context at every level.
The best products don’t come from big budgets. They come from understanding the problem, both the technical and the human side of it.
02 — Where I can help
Order and direction.
Six areas where I have years of hands-on experience.
-
Systems and processes
I introduce structure where there was none. From PMO frameworks to delivery standards across an entire portfolio. Usually in places where things had been done “somehow” for years and nobody knew exactly how.
-
Program and project management
I lead complex cross-functional initiatives. From requirements through risks to outcomes, without losing context at any stage. I know when to push and when to wait.
-
Technical leadership without an architect title
My engineering background lets me sit in technical discussions and not be the one who just nods along. At the same time, I can translate the same thing for leadership without unnecessary jargon.
-
Building teams
Mentoring, hiring, growth. I know how to build a team of TPM managers and create an environment where people grow instead of leaving.
-
Product thinking in programs
Years as a product manager taught me to ask why we are building something, not just how. That changes every decision about priorities and scope.
-
Organizational change
I guide companies through growth and transformation. I know where processes break and how to fix them without bringing everything to a halt for six months.
03 — Career
From code to strategy
Not a leap. A gradual evolution of every role and every problem.
-
2021 — now
Bloomreach
TPM Manager · PMO
For the first time I was responsible not just for projects, but for a team and for how the whole discipline works. I build standards, set up processes and make sure technical program management at Bloomreach means something concrete, not just a title on a business card.
-
2019 — 2021
Exponea
Product Manager · Project Manager · Product Coordinator
Three roles in two years. Not because something went wrong, but because the company was growing and each time I moved to where the need was greatest. I learned that a good PM understands the product, a good coordinator understands people, and a good program manager understands both at once.
-
2017 — 2019
Websupport
Head of Internal Tools
My first time on the product side rather than the code side. I looked after internal tools that people used every day and usually only noticed when something didn’t work. A great school of humility and prioritization.
-
2008 — 2017
Websupport and freelance
Software Engineer
PHP, MySQL, data mining, open source. The years when I learned to think in systems and solve problems before anyone had managed to define them. The foundation everything else stands on.
04 — Skills
What I work with
Leadership and delivery
People
Product and tech
Got a project that needs order and direction?
I’d love to hear what you’re building and where it’s creaking.