From baking extravagant cakes with his daughter to representing Great Britain in international powerlifting, Daniel Shearly brings equal parts passion, precision, and practicality to everything he does. As Syncron’s Chief Product Officer, he leads with a hands-on mindset and a belief that innovation only matters when it delivers real value. In this edition of our leadership series, we sat down with Daniel to talk about what drives him, what excites him about the Syncron opportunity, and why he believes collaboration is the secret ingredient to success.
1. What inspired you to pursue a career in product and what’s kept you hooked?
I actually started out in pre-sales and solutions consulting, which gave me a front-row seat to customer problems. I got to see what worked, what didn’t, and what customers actually needed in real time. That experience made it clear to me that I wanted to be involved earlier in the process, shaping the solution rather than just selling it.
I’ve always had a passion for technology and innovation, and product gave me a way to channel that in a hands-on, creative way. You’re constantly solving puzzles—understanding market shifts, customer pain points, and how to turn those into something valuable. What’s kept me hooked is the impact. When you get it right, you’re not just building software; you’re making someone’s day-to-day job easier, faster, better. That never gets old.
2. Now that you’re leading the product team at Syncron, what’s your vision for the road ahead?
We’re in a really exciting place. Over the past year, we’ve laid the groundwork to make our products more extensible, more integrated, and more intelligent. That opens the door to a whole new level of value creation for our customers.
My vision is to build on that foundation with a clear, focused strategy—one that helps our customers sell more parts, products and services whilst reducing their costs, and become more resilient in the face of constant change. We’re investing heavily in product innovation, but always with a clear line of sight to customer outcomes. For me, it’s all about aligning what we build with the real-world challenges our customers face.
3. How do you balance innovation with practicality in product development?
Innovation is essential but it has to be aligned to our customers’ real-world pain points. I’ve worked in industries where speculative bets would run unchecked for months or even years. Ultimately, those projects went nowhere, and the money was just written off.
At Syncron, innovation means solving real problems. It means asking how we can help our customers sell more parts, reduce operating costs, and become more resilient. We have to be the experts—not just providing software, but guiding our customers toward the right strategy for them and drive improved outcomes. Innovation in product doesn’t mean over-the-top features; it means doing something customers will actually notice and benefit from.
4. What kind of culture are you working to build within the product team, and what does great leadership look like to you?
For me, great product leadership is about three things: understanding the customer, uniting the organisation, and leading with clarity and purpose.
The culture I’m building is one of collaboration, transparency, and accountability. No team can succeed in isolation. It’s product’s job to bring people together across design, engineering, sales, marketing, our expert services teams and customer success, and make sure we’re all pulling in the same direction.
We don’t always have to agree, but we do need to understand each other’s perspectives. That’s why I put so much emphasis on communication and context. If people know why something’s being prioritized and how it links to customer value, they’re far more invested in making it a success.
Ultimately, I want the team to feel empowered to lead, trusted to experiment, and focused on delivering real-world impact. That’s how we win—together.
5. What excites you most about Syncron’s opportunity right now?
We’re at a pivotal point. Our products are evolving rapidly, and we’re starting to unlock value in ways we couldn’t before by connecting data, integrating workflows, and using AI in smarter ways. That creates huge opportunities to drive efficiency and transformation in the aftermarket space, especially at a time when many of our customers are under pressure.
What excites me most is that we have the right products and the right people to help our customers navigate those challenges. We’re not just reacting to change; we’re helping to lead it.
6. When you’re not thinking about product strategy, where does your mind go?
I’ve got two main hobbies—baking and powerlifting. I’ve been baking with my daughter since she was about three, and now at nine she’s making YouTube videos about her cakes! I handle the editing; she does the baking.
And yes, I’m also a competitive powerlifter. I’ve won three world titles and I’m heading to the World Championships in Durban in a few weeks. It’s a great counterbalance to the day job. Product is all about collaboration and nuance—lifting is about focus, discipline, and testing your limits. They actually complement each other more than you’d think!
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