Day in the Life: Sr Product Manager at CentralSquare, Robert Holt

It’s easy to view large organizations like CentralSquare as a faceless entity, especially before you’ve had the pleasure of interacting with one of our employees. But unseen by customers and prospects, our people work hard to develop and curate solutions for the public sector.

Each staff member has a different background. Every employee has a unique reason for the passion that fuels their work. For some, it stems from past careers in public safety or administration. Others simply understand how their work positively impacts communities.

This is the second article in our “Day in the Life” blog series, where you get a glimpse behind the scenes. In each of these articles, we’ll highlight a single employee so you can learn more about the people and the passion that keep CentralSquare running.

Today, we’re excited to spotlight Robert Holt, a Senior Product Manager for Public Administration. Keep reading to see our interview with Robert, and to learn about his dedication to product management and development.

Q: What brought you to CentralSquare?

“Ultimately, the opportunity to make a difference is what brought me to CentralSquare. Growing up, my next-door neighbor was a Fire Chief. Speaking with him, and other family members in the Public Sector, spiked my interest in a job that could directly affect my community.

“I started at CentralSquare in 2018 as a Customer Success Manager working with our NaviLine PA customers. Over time, I began working with Finance Enterprise, Community Development, and some of our Public Safety & Justice customers as well. In 2021, I joined our Product Management team. I’ve enjoyed using the knowledge and experience I gained working with customers to build out the strategy for our Public Administration solutions.”

Q: What does your typical day look like?

“No day is ever the same, which is one of the things I enjoy most about being a Product Manager. I normally start my day by making sure I’m prepared for any presentations or reports. After that, it’s a mix of the following:

• Triaging items with our Support and Development teams,
• Speaking with our Account Managers and Sales team to assist with product questions,
• Attending customer calls,
• Working with cross-functional teams to make sure we are aligned on strategy, goals, and day-to-day operations.”

Q: What are the top 3 challenges Finance Directors face in 2025?

“The top challenges I hear from our customers apply to not only Finance Directors but most of our public administration leaders:

Tighter Budgets and Doing More With Less

“This is a universal problem, of course, but I hear so many requests from our customers asking if they’re fully utilizing CentralSquare solutions. Many processes in the public sector are the process because ‘we have always done it this way.’ Finance Directors and other leaders are digging into the ‘why’ and focused on improving efficiency with solutions they already have in place today.”

Employee Turnover and Staffing Shortages

“Finance Directors, especially, are hit with this challenge in the public sector as we see a shrinking pool of accountants. Finding staff and then keeping them is more important than ever. I see leaders more focused on making our municipalities enjoyable places to work – typically by improving the employee experiences through self-service portals and other solutions.”

Increasing Citizen Expectations and Transparency

“Citizens today have high expectations for service and transparency. There was a shift during the pandemic as we saw a need for virtual City Hall, and things have not slowed. We see the desire in communities for more information and functionality in citizen portals – more ways and places to find that information or make payments. To meet this expectation, Finance Directors are looking for solutions that can foster transparency and also help with budgeting.”

Q: How will AI technology shape finance departments?

“I see AI being a very useful tool in our industry going forward. There are efficiencies to be made in many public administration processes that require multiple steps, approvals, inspections, etc. There is also the necessity of analysing data to make more informed, data-driven decisions. AI can help expedite these processes and analyses.”

“Most importantly, we need to use AI in ways accepted by our customers and communities. This will be an ongoing discussion for everyone, and I look forward to working with our customers to hear their ideas and thoughts, especially with our acquisition of BlueLine (now Centerline AI).”

Q: What are you most excited to work on this year?

“This year, I’m most excited to work on NaviLine’s return to market. Bringing Utility Billing back to market in 2023, followed by the rest of the suite in 2024, has been nothing short of invigorating! Working through our first implementations and continuing to grow the product is something I’m excited to deliver for our customers – both current and new.”

Q: What is your favorite part about ENGAGE?

“My favorite part of ENGAGE is having that annual touchpoint with our customers. Every year it’s an opportunity to see where we are, what we’ve accomplished, and what work we still have to do. Meeting in person at the conference truly makes a difference. The interactions we have in sessions, in the hallway, or at the events bring so much insight and value.”

“I’m especially looking forward to the NaviLine – Ideas Live Voting Session. At this session, Marcus Jones (NaviLine Product Owner) and I will present some of our customer-submitted Ideas for group feedback and hopefully drive more customers to our Ideas portal to submit and vote.”

Get Started Today

Stay tuned for more employee spotlights in our Day in the Life series. Until then, discover for yourself why employees like Robert have dedicated themselves to developing a suite of Public Administration products.

From NaviLine to Finance Enterprise and beyond, CentralSquare has a variety of one-stop product suites built for the specific needs of Finance Directors and public administration. Schedule a discovery call today to learn how CentralSquare can help your department accomplish more with less resources and money.