Founder, 5Ps of Product
Onil Gunawardana is the founder of 5Ps of Product. He is a product management executive who has built enterprise software products for over 15 years. He created eight major products that generated over $2 billion in incremental revenue, leading teams ranging from 3 to 450 people across enterprise software, data platforms, marketing technology, and startups.
He created the 5Ps of Product framework in 2013 to bring structure and vision to the chaos of product management decisions. Learn more about the framework on the About 5Ps of Product page.
Onil Gunawardana’s Education & Background
He combines technical depth (MSc Electrical Engineering, Stanford; BSc, Yale) with business strategy (MBA, Harvard Business School).
His experience spans:
- Enterprise software and AI products (semantic layers, search platforms, analytics)
- Data and marketing technology platforms (data marketplaces, audience platforms, real-time bidding)
- Early-stage startups (co-founded and served as Chief Product Officer, successfully sold to strategic acquirer)
Teaching & Mentoring
Onil believes in sharing what he has learned. He helped create a peer mentoring program for product managers with over 700 participants.
The 5Ps of Product site continues this approach, offering the framework freely to help aspiring and practicing product managers develop their craft.
Community Involvement
Inspire, Inc. (2002–Present) — Co-founder, First Executive Director, Board Member
A nonprofit strategy consultancy advising education leaders. Grew from a kitchen table conversation to an organization that has positively impacted 300,000+ students through the involvement of 10,000+ volunteers.
Breakthrough SF (2020–Present) — Board Member
Supporting underserved youth on the path to college. Directed 5-year strategic planning.