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Global product manager vs product director

The differences between global product managers and product directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a global product manager and a product director. Additionally, a product director has an average salary of $148,910, which is higher than the $116,060 average annual salary of a global product manager.

The top three skills for a global product manager include product management, global product and market research. The most important skills for a product director are product management, product strategy, and project management.

Global product manager vs product director overview

Global Product ManagerProduct Director
Yearly salary$116,060$148,910
Hourly rate$55.80$71.59
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs123,229125,200
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age3939
Years of experience1010

What does a global product manager do?

A global product manager is responsible for advertising the company's goods and services globally, ensuring that the products meet the global market requirements, and monitor its long-term availability. Global product managers address all inquiries and concerns regarding the product, as well as supervising the manufacturing procedures and analyzing the sales delivery. They also identify business opportunities by evaluating market trends to drive more revenues and increase the company's profitability. A global product manager usually works closely with the sales and marketing team to develop strategic marketing techniques to boost global brand awareness.

What does a product director do?

The duties of a product director depend on one's place or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around overseeing the product development operations to ensure smooth flow and efficiency, devise strategies to improve processes, gather relevant data such as sales and customer feedback, and coordinate with different departments in developing new products and services. Furthermore, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage departments to meet goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations, including its mission and vision.

Global product manager vs product director salary

Global product managers and product directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Global Product ManagerProduct Director
Average salary$116,060$148,910
Salary rangeBetween $85,000 And $156,000Between $104,000 And $212,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateConnecticutCalifornia
Best paying companyThe CitadelMeta
Best paying industryAutomotiveInternet

Differences between global product manager and product director education

There are a few differences between a global product manager and a product director in terms of educational background:

Global Product ManagerProduct Director
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of GeorgiaUniversity of Georgia

Global product manager vs product director demographics

Here are the differences between global product managers' and product directors' demographics:

Global Product ManagerProduct Director
Average age3939
Gender ratioMale, 69.1% Female, 30.9%Male, 72.4% Female, 27.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between global product manager and product director duties and responsibilities

Global product manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead roll out of SaaS document management solution.
  • Create detailed specs for and manage development of brand-specific website and CRM.
  • Initiate and deploy job process optimization program (s) to ensure talent acquisition organizations are achieving the highest possible ROI.
  • Launch hybrid cloud strategy for managing e-mail security.
  • Lead cross-functional team in pioneering the application/game download ecosystem with the implementation of Java games and generating significant new revenue stream.
  • Utilize SQL to support data-driven analysis and decision processes to inform project prioritization, assess feature effectiveness, and troubleshoot issues.
  • Show more

Product director example responsibilities.

  • Lead the overall site ISO implementation.
  • Manage Salesforce integration to SaaS platform and client systems.
  • Lead SaaS application visibility and performance monitoring in hybrid enterprise to accelerate adoption of cloud.
  • Utilize SQL to support data-driven analysis and decision processes to inform project prioritization, assess feature effectiveness, and troubleshoot issues.
  • Interact with FDA, CDC, and other external agencies as required to introduce novel molecular products into the market.
  • Spearhead transformation of the organization to modern best practices, ISO & lean manufacturing.
  • Show more

Global product manager vs product director skills

Common global product manager skills
  • Product Management, 8%
  • Global Product, 7%
  • Market Research, 6%
  • Lifecycle Management, 6%
  • Cycle Management, 6%
  • Product Line, 5%
Common product director skills
  • Product Management, 10%
  • Product Strategy, 6%
  • Project Management, 6%
  • Product Roadmap, 5%
  • Product Design, 4%
  • Software Development, 4%

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