About

Paul M. Baccaro

General Manager · VP Product · SaaS, AI & Business Transformation Leader
Rochester, NYpbaccaro@gmail.comlinkedin.com/in/pbaccaro

Product and business leader with 20+ years building, modernizing, and scaling software businesses. Led the transformation of Coolfront from a legacy publishing company into a SaaS business, shifting revenue from 95% publishing to 50% digital. Former VP & General Manager with full P&L responsibility across Product, Technology, Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, HR, and Finance, including acquisition integration and post-acquisition business leadership. Founder of Social Jazz, where I introduced AI agents and AI-driven content planning into a live SaaS platform. I combine product strategy, operational leadership, and hands-on knowledge of modern AI to drive growth, modernization, and business transformation.

Paul Baccaro — AI Product & Operations Leader, photographed in his Rochester, NY workspace
Skills

What I work with

Product Leadership
Product Portfolio Strategy, Portfolio Management, Product Lifecycle Management, Product Vision, Roadmap Development, Product Delivery, UX/UI, Information Architecture.
Business Leadership
General Management, P&L Ownership, Portfolio Strategy, Budgeting & Forecasting, Strategic Planning, Organizational Leadership, Business Transformation, Acquisition Integration.
Go-to-Market & Growth
Pricing Strategy, Positioning, Customer Experience, Customer Journey Design, Digital Adoption, Revenue Growth, ROI Analysis.
Technology & Operations
SaaS Platforms, Salesforce, HubSpot, Google Workspace, Conversica, QuickBooks Online, Systems Selection, Integration, Process Modernization.
AI & Innovation
AI Product Strategy, LLM Applications, Agentic Systems, AI-Assisted Development, Claude Code, Lovable, Supabase, Emerging Technology Evaluation.
Highlights

Executive leadership & AI impact

Executive leadership
  • Transformed Coolfront from a publishing business into a SaaS company, shifting revenue mix from 95% publishing to 50% digital.
  • Held full P&L accountability for a $5M business unit spanning Product, Technology, Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, HR, and Finance.
  • Delivered 20% year-over-year growth and 37% EBITDA while leading post-acquisition operations following the FieldEdge acquisition.
  • Introduced AI capabilities into production SaaS products and built AI-native applications using modern LLM technologies.
  • Designed and launched customer-facing web and mobile products that achieved a Net Promoter Score of +50.
  • Contributed to 2 U.S. patents.
AI & emerging technology
  • Built and launched AI-enabled SaaS capabilities including AI agents, content generation, and automated planning workflows.
  • Designed applications using LLMs, agentic architectures, AI orchestration frameworks, and AI-assisted development platforms.
  • Built AI-native products using Claude Code, Lovable, Supabase, and modern automation frameworks.
  • Evaluated and implemented emerging technologies to accelerate product development, improve operational efficiency, and create competitive advantage.
Experience

Work history

Founder
Social Jazz
May 2020 — Present
Rochester, NY
  • Founded and operate a SaaS company serving small businesses through automated social media planning, content creation, branding, and publishing.
  • Own company strategy, product vision, partnerships, go-to-market execution, and platform roadmap.
  • Scaled the platform to publish more than 260,000 customer posts generating over 3.3 million audience views across multiple industries.
  • Established strategic partnerships with Carrier, Big I, and Farmer Mutual Hail.
  • Introduced AI-powered planning, content generation, and agent-based workflows into the production platform.
  • Conceived and built additional AI-native products to deepen expertise in agentic systems, AI-assisted development, and modern application architecture.
Vice President & General Manager
Coolfront Technologies / FieldEdge
Feb 2019 — May 2020
Rochester, NY
  • Led a $5M business unit following acquisition by FieldEdge, with full P&L accountability across Product, Technology, Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, HR, and Finance.
  • Delivered 20% year-over-year revenue growth and 37% EBITDA while maintaining profitability through post-acquisition integration.
  • Owned portfolio strategy, product roadmap, budgeting, forecasting, and operational execution.
  • Partnered with executive leadership on acquisition integration, business planning, and growth initiatives.
Vice President of Product & Operations
Coolfront Technologies
Mar 2012 — Feb 2019
Rochester, NY
  • Led the strategic transformation of Coolfront from a publishing company into a SaaS business, shifting revenue from 95% publishing to 50% digital and creating the company's primary growth engine.
  • Directed product strategy, roadmap execution, UX, engineering collaboration, and go-to-market initiatives for the company's flagship platform.
  • Led development of the cloud and mobile platform that replaced the company's legacy printed products.
  • Rebuilt internal operations through cloud-based systems, automation, and process modernization.
  • Achieved a Net Promoter Score of +50 through customer-centric product design and service improvements.
  • Led company rebranding and modernization initiatives that strengthened market positioning and growth.
Product Manager
Coolfront Technologies
Oct 2006 — Mar 2012
Rochester, NY
  • Managed product development and UX/UI design for a customer-facing cloud application supporting HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contractors.
  • Defined product requirements and priorities while partnering closely with engineering to deliver customer-facing SaaS capabilities.
  • Designed and launched the online ordering and self-service platform supporting all company products.
  • Selected, implemented, and integrated core business systems including Salesforce, HubSpot, Google Workspace, Conversica, and QuickBooks Online across sales, marketing, support, and finance.
Manager, Product Management & Design
Element K
Sep 2000 — Oct 2006
Rochester, NY
  • Launched the company's online-learning division as a founding member and leader of R&D and UX teams.
  • Scaled the business unit to represent 50% of company revenue, generating approximately $50M annually.
  • Contributed to the early SCORM standard specification and advancement of web-based learning technologies.
Media Developer
Ziff-Davis
Dec 1995 — Sep 2000
Rochester, NY
  • Developed interactive digital learning and instructional products while evaluating emerging technologies for online content delivery.
  • Created reusable frameworks and templates that improved development efficiency and scalability.
Education & training
Open to full-time, fractional, or consulting.
Rochester, NY · remote-first.
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