PDMA St. Louis Leadership

Nishant Parikh

PDMA Function:

Nishant is currently serving as President. Previously served as Co-Chair of the Program Committee.

Nishant Parikh is the Director of Product Development at Mastercard Foundry, where he drives breakthrough innovation at the intersection of technology and business. Mastercard Foundry serves as the company’s global innovation engine, where new ideas, emerging technologies, and strategic experimentation shape the future of commerce. In this role, Nishant leads transformative initiatives that explore next-generation digital solutions, fostering collaboration across disciplines to bring visionary concepts to market.

A pioneering voice in technology, innovation, and product development, Nishant is currently pursuing a PhD in Product Management at Capitol Technology University. His research focuses on how emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, are redefining the discipline and reshaping the product manager’s role in the digital era. His scholarly work has been globally cited, positioning him as a recognized thought leader in the AI evolution of product management. Combining technical depth, strategic insight, and academic rigor, Nishant’s career reflects a commitment to advancing innovation and enabling digital transformation.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Gujarat University and an MBA from Webster University, is a Fellow of the International Software Product Management Association (ISPMA), and is a member of Forbes Technology Council.

Drew Rappalen

Jerry Fix

PDMA Function:

Currently serving as Past President. Previously served as Chapter President (2022) Sponsorship/Outreach and Nominations Chair (2021).

Jerry currently sits on the Certification Committee for PDMA Global. He is a Product Leader with 25+ years of both classical and digital product management experience in varied industries -both B2B and B2C -in global markets. Focused on capturing customer needs and insights to develop winning product strategies, and then guiding the execution of those strategies to deliver both product and financial success to organizations. Jerry has a B.S. EE and MBA; He is a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) and NPDP certified by PDMA.

Stacy Heuer

PDMA Function:

Currently serving as Secretary/Treasurer. Previously served as Co-President and At Large Board Member.

Stacy recently retired after a 35+ year career, leading new product development efforts in the consumer packaged goods space from discovery through post launch support. Stacy has a BS in Food Science from Purdue University and is both PMP and NPDP certified. She also has an Advanced Masters in Project Management and a Masters Certificate in Program Management from George Washington University.

Rahul Chawda

PDMA Function:

Currently serving as Program Committee Co-Chair

Rahul Chawda is a seasoned product management leader with more than 20 years of experience building and scaling global digital payment platforms. At Mastercard, he focuses on product strategy, platform modernization, tokenization, and large-scale payment transaction systems. In his current role, Rahul leads complex, high-impact payment initiatives, working closely with engineering, design, and business teams to deliver secure, customer-centric solutions used by millions around the world. He is deeply passionate about advancing product excellence, mentoring the next generation of product leaders, and turning innovation into meaningful, real-world impact. Rahul holds a Master’s degree in Computer Applications and a Bachelor’s degree in Physics, which underpin his strong analytical mindset and systems-thinking approach to product leadership, governance, and long-term platform evolution.

Sasi Ravichandar

PDMA Function:

Currently serving as Program Committee Co-Chair. Previously served as Sponsorship Committee - At Large.

Sasi Ravichandar is an agile, collaborative product leader and currently a Manager, Product Management (Analytics & Insights) at Mastercard, where she leads cross‑functional initiatives focused on product excellence, data quality, and scalable integrations. Prior to Mastercard, she worked extensively in U.S. Healthcare, delivering data‑driven products across EHR and population health platforms. Known for her strong eye for quality and clarity, Sasi brings deep expertise in agile product delivery, analytics, and enterprise transformation. She is a Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) with SAFe Product Management and Agilist training, and recently completed AI in Product Management.

Drew Rappalen

PDMA Function:

Currently serving as Sponsorship Committee Co-Chair. Previously served as PDMA St. Louis Marketing Chair.

Drew is a Lead Technical Product Manager at CareCentrix with 10 years' experience leading Agile Product teams. Focused on connecting technical and business teams from Product Ideation and requirement definition to Product Release. Drew’s certifications include: ICP-APM, ICP-APO, PMI-ACP, ICP-ATF, CSP.

Michael Buck

PDMA Function:

Currently serving as Sponsorship Committee Co-Chair.

Michael’s expertise includes growth strategy and bringing new products to market in software services, manufacturing, and integrated system of systems technology. Career highlights include mentoring small business partners and successfully implementing assessment frameworks for Fortune 500 C suite leaders.

Michael’s growth-focused skills are tempered by operational experience in manufacturing, warehousing, and entertainment. He is eager to draw on this breadth and depth to help colleagues in the PDMA community while learning from them.

Michael holds an Executive MBA from the Olin School at Washington University in St Louis, an MS in Defense and Strategic Studies from Missouri State University, and a BA in History from Yale University. Michael has also earned SAFe Agilist certification and a certificate in Applied Data Science from MIT Professional Education.