IoT, SaaS, AI, and smart buildingsMontreal, Quebec, Canada

hi, i'm Younes.
i build smart building products.

Senior product manager and portfolio leader with 11+ years across IoT, SaaS, AI, and hardware. Currently owning a $97M ECY controller platform at Distech Controls and leading cross-functional squads across engineering, sales, and marketing.

currentlyleading platform, controls, and AI initiatives at Distech Controls-last updated Apr 29, 2026
02 - about

a short, honest biography

I am a product leader, engineer, and MBA graduate focused on the places where physical infrastructure meets software: buildings, energy, controls, cloud platforms, and AI-enabled operations.

At Distech Controls, I own the $97M ECY controller platform across hardware, firmware, and cloud. My work spans roadmap strategy, investment cases, SKU rationalization, AI pilots, and the quarterly operating cadence that keeps portfolio decisions grounded.

Before Distech, I led global SaaS product strategy for Schneider Electric's Building IoT platform, grew regional smart building partnerships across North and West Africa, and managed smart city and IoT programs from design through delivery.

// stack & strengths
Product StrategyP&L OwnershipIoT PlatformsSaaSAI/ML ProductsSmart BuildingsGTMBusiness CasesOKRsRoadmapsPartner EcosystemsCustomer Discovery
0+
years experience
0M
product line
0
SaaS features shipped
// where
Montreal, Quebec
Smart buildings, controls, cloud, and AI
// current focus
Current focus
Energy optimization, FDD, GenAI workflows, and 10BASE-T1L retrofit strategy
// also into
- gaming- hiking- nature- vibecoding- smart home tinkering- AI tools and prototypes- building small side projects
03 - work

things i've made

6 selected cases
2025$97M line
E
ECY Controller Platform
+
Smart building controls - Senior Product Manager

Owns the ECY controller platform across hardware, firmware, and cloud, connecting roadmap priorities to portfolio KPIs, gross margin, attach-rate, activation, and retrofit economics.

$97M
Portfolio
12+
Squad
$2M+
Funding
20253 pilots
B
Building AI Pilots
+
AI for building operations - Platform & AI PM

Launched pilot programs for energy optimization, Fault Detection & Diagnostics, and GenAI-assisted workflows to improve building operator efficiency.

3
AI bets
FDD
Focus
Operators
Users
2022 - 2025+20% revenue
B
Building IoT Platform
+
SaaS and IoT platform - Global Offer Manager

Defined, prioritized, and launched global SaaS roadmap enhancements for Schneider Electric's Building IoT platform across North America, EMEA, and APAC.

15
Features
+20%
Revenue
3 regions
Reach
2022 - 2025SaaS shift
S
Subscription Transformation
+
Recurring revenue model - Global Offer Manager

Drove transformation of legacy perpetual-license products into subscription offers, improving customer lifetime value and aligning cloud strategy with product adoption.

SaaS
Model
-15%
Cost
Cloud
Layer
2019 - 2022$5M pipeline
R
Regional Smart Buildings
+
North and West Africa - Business Development Manager

Built regional strategy for BMS and smart building solutions, growing the partner ecosystem, implementing value-based pricing, and building strategic client task forces.

4->12
Partners
$5M+
Pipeline
NA/WA
Markets
2018 - 2019$200M campus
S
Smart Campus & Districts
+
Smart city and IoT design - Project Manager

Managed smart-district and smart-campus design scopes covering transport, security, utilities, energy management, and localized IoT platform requirements.

$200M
Campus
IoT
Scope
5+
Systems
04 - writing

the journal

get the next letter
Notes on product leadership, smart buildings, AI, and the occasional side-project dispatch. No inbox yet; the journal is the source of truth.
05 - resume

the resume

// experience
2025 - now
Distech Controls
- Senior Product Manager - Platform & AI
Owns the $97M ECY controller platform across hardware, firmware, and cloud, with revenue growth tracking ahead of plan.
  • $97M P&L ownership across hardware, firmware, and cloud
  • Leads a 12+ person cross-functional squad across engineering, sales, and marketing
  • Mentors 2 associate product managers on roadmaps, business cases, and customer discovery
  • Authored and defended 3 investment business cases through stage-gate review
  • Secured $2M+ in development funding
  • Launched AI pilots for energy optimization, FDD, and GenAI-assisted workflows
  • Defined 10BASE-T1L technology introduction strategy for retrofit economics
  • Runs KPI cadence across attach-rate, activation, portfolio mix, and gross margin
2022 - 2025
Schneider Electric
- Global Offer Manager - Building IoT & Sensors
Owned global SaaS product strategy and roadmap for Schneider Electric's Building IoT platform, reporting to the VP of Digital Offers.
  • Developed SaaS product strategy and portfolio roadmap for Schneider Electric's Building IoT platform
  • Launched 15 SaaS features and platform enhancements
  • Delivered 20% year-over-year revenue growth
  • Led GTM strategy and global marketing campaigns across North America, EMEA, and APAC
  • Achieved 30% market penetration increase
  • Drove subscription transformation from perpetual-license products to recurring revenue
  • Reduced operational costs by 15% through vendor consolidation and backlog optimization
  • Integrated GenAI capabilities into the analytics layer for customer-facing insights
  • Managed financial business plans, forecasts, budgets, market research, and competitive analysis
2019 - 2022
Schneider Electric
- Regional Business Development Manager - Smart Buildings
Built and executed smart building strategy across North and West Africa, including partner growth, pricing, training, and pipeline development.
  • Built regional smart building strategy for Morocco and Tunisia
  • Prepared Schneider Electric's BMS strategic development plan for 2020-2023
  • Grew the channel partner network from 4 to 12 partners
  • Defined targets, delivered technical trainings, and implemented value-based pricing
  • Generated a qualified pipeline exceeding $5M through strategic partnerships
  • Set up internal task forces for strategic clients to increase hit rate and cross-segment sales
  • Led market intelligence and position analysis for the North African BMS market
  • Overhauled BMS sales kits for hotels, retail, and office segments
2018 - 2019
ATRAIT Consulting
- Project Manager - Smart Cities & Buildings
Managed smart city and smart building design work across transportation, security, utilities, energy systems, and IoT platforms.
  • Co-authored the smart-district master plan for Casablanca Finance City
  • Covered transportation, network, utilities, security, environmental systems, and platforms
  • Managed IoT design scope for a $200M Smart Campus from concept through tender
  • Developed technical tender specifications for smart city and smart building projects
  • Designed automation and security systems for smart building scopes
  • Researched smart city technologies and best practices
  • Coordinated on-site progress and compliance against tender specifications
  • Assessed competing technical offers
2017 - 2018
PCOM Technologies
- Business Development Engineer
Built smart city business development motions while supporting presales, partner selection, and technical requirements for IoT solutions.
  • Segmented smart city market opportunities and identified government and business customers
  • Built business intelligence and competition analysis for new opportunities
  • Developed channel partner network and prepared sales tools, proposals, and presentations
  • Identified and selected smart city and IoT technology partners
  • Supported presales design, BOQ preparation, and technical requirement definition
  • Developed after-sales team processes and SOPs
2014 - 2017
PCOM Pacific
- System Engineer
Delivered integrated smart building and telecom infrastructure projects while leading early new-solution and product development work.
  • Led new-solution concepts for smart home, voice assistant integration, IoT smart lighting, and smart community platforms
  • Prepared white papers on IoT verticals, smart city systems, 5G, M2M, and spectrum opportunities
  • Delivered KV MRT Line 1 telecom infrastructure work including TER, MDF, cable pulling, and fiber testing
  • Managed integrated smart building projects across security, CCTV, air conditioning, lighting, entry, and conferencing
  • Worked with Crestron, KNX, Lutron, and Modbus-based systems
  • Coordinated maintenance teams across integrated systems
2012 - 2013
Orange
- Testing & Implementation Engineer, Trainee
Supported client operations through site surveys, wireless deployment supervision, remote network analysis, and SOP improvements.
  • Led on-premise site surveys for WiMAX and FH/PMP deployments
  • Supported installation and supervision of NERA and Huawei wireless pods
  • Analyzed 2G and 3G equipment data across BTS and NodeB sites
  • Reviewed and improved SOPs for client operations workflows
// education
London School of Commerce, Cardiff Metropolitan University
MBA, Finance and International Business2015 - 2017
Asia Pacific University
BSc (Hons), Telecommunication Engineering2009 - 2014
// certifications & languages
Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
INSEAD Subscription Strategy Bootcamp
Bain Leadership Academy
Niagara 4 Technical Certification
Languages: Arabic / French / English
06 - contact

let's connect around products.

A personal home base for selected work, writing, notes, and the product systems I am thinking through.

// personal home base
Younes Bensouda
This site is the editable map of what I have made, where I have been, and what I am thinking through.
(c) 2026 Younes Bensouda - built with carev.1.0.0