Products That Count Podcast

How can products become essential in a crowded and evolving marketplace?  In this episode of Capgemini's 2024 Leaders in Innovation miniseries, Capgemini Americas Portfolio Lead Lisa Mitnick meets with NY Times VP of Product Management Ken Houseman to discuss how the 174-year-old New York Times is reinventing itself to become an essential subscription in today's crowded media landscape. He shares the NY Times' journey of transitioning to digital and building a subscription business model. Ken also talks about his non-traditional career path to product leadership and his role in modernizing the NY Times' commercial systems. Tune in for insights on how the NY Times innovates through experimentation while maintaining its core mission of truthful journalism.

How can product leaders leverage technology for customer centric problem solving? In this episode of the Product Leaders to Watch series with Cognizant Product Director Chenny Solaiyappan, Smarter Travel AI ML Product Lead Priyanka Pande speaks on combining technical and business skills to solve customer problems through innovative AI/ML solutions. She discusses her experiences in product management, AI, and growth strategies. The conversation also explores trends in industries such as AI, supply chain, transportation, and what traits make a great product manager.

How can product leaders adapt strategies from startup to scaleup? In this episode of the Product Divergence series with Ubiety Technologies Fmr. CPO Nacho Andrade, Groundswell CPO Tammy Hahn shares insights from her journey leading a large product team at Cornerstone OnDemand to taking on the challenge of a zero-to-one startup. She discusses the importance of adapting strategies to different stages of growth and embracing risk, failure, and flexibility in an environment of constant change and learning. Tammy also offers insights on building mission-aligned teams through culture and hiring. Listeners will gain perspectives on career growth, embracing diverse opportunities, and how experiences can strengthen leadership skills through both successes and failures.

How do industrial operations impact product development? In the first episode of Capgemini's 2024 Leaders in Innovation miniseries, Capgemini Engineering VP and CTO for Manufacturing and Industrial Operations Ramon Antelo speaks with Alantra Operating Partner Juan de Navascués Benlloch about Juan's career in product industrialization, including his biggest failure due to missing quality and time targets. The conversation emphasizes the importance of in-house expertise, a resilient and convinced team, and separating innovation cells from daily operations. Learn best practices for ensuring the right team is assembled and motivated throughout new product development, and considerations for introducing industrial innovations.

How can product leaders cultivate impactful products? In this episode of the Product Leaders to Watch series with Cognizant Product Director Chenny Solaiyappan, MEDFAR Clinical Solutions Product VP Patrick Charbonneau shares insights from 20 years of experience across industries including healthcare, security, and retail. The conversation covers key tech trends such as AI and how it can be applied in healthcare to improve patient and physician experiences. They also explore what makes a great product manager through listening skills and understanding customer needs, as well as what qualities define a great product, such as creative problem-solving and customer adoption.

How can product leaders transform chronic disease management with digital products? In this episode of the Product Divergence Series with Ubiety Technologies Fmr. CPO Nacho Andrade, Carna Health Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer Salvatore Viscomi speaks on building a digital health platform for remote patient monitoring. Salvatore discusses how Carna Health uses connected devices and biomarkers to detect and manage chronic kidney disease, one of the leading causes of death worldwide. He explains how their platform improves patient outcomes by catching the disease early through national screening programs. Salvatore also shares insights on developing patient-centric digital health products, including balancing data collection with usability and providing feedback to engage users.  

How can product leaders guide teams to success? In this episode of the Product Leaders to Watch Series with Cognizant Product Director Chenny Solaiyappan, Unity Product Leader Marc-Andre Ferguson speaks on his diverse career path from filmmaking to product management roles at companies such as Autodesk and Unity. He emphasizes the importance of clear communication, teamwork, and understanding different perspectives to build trust within cross-functional teams. He discusses the potential of generative AI and the importance of user experience, security, and lifelong learning for product managers.

How can AI help to automate PM tasks? In this episode of the Product Divergence series with Ubiety Technologies CPO Nacho Andrade, PM Exercises and Product Monkey AI Founder and CEO Bijan Shahrokhi speaks on how AI can help automate manual tasks for product managers and improve the clarity of product requirements. He explains how his company uses a combination of logic and AI to extract design files and automatically generate engineering tickets and requirements documents. By automating PM tasks, AI will enhance rather than replace product management work by helping PMs produce higher quality documents and focus on strategic decision making.

What does it take to lead high-performing product teams? In this episode of the Product Leaders to Watch Series with Cognizant Product Director Chenny Solaiyappan, Flare Senior PM Charlie Whicher speaks on her background transitioning from academia to product management. They discuss what makes Charlie a great product leader to watch, including her data-driven approach and ability to lead high-performing teams. Charlie also shares her views on what makes a great product and a great product manager.

How can product leaders drive digital transformations? In this episode of Product Talk with Kaboo Founder Neha Shah, Travelers Product Director of Enterprise Payments Nicole Adair speaks on her experience being a part of the team leading payments transformation at Travelers. Nicole shares her non-traditional path to product management, from forecasting and pricing in hotels to consulting and a career pivot into tech. She discusses the challenges of managing stakeholders across a large legacy company. Nicole also offers insights on succeeding as a product leader across industries and her passion for promoting diversity in tech through her work with Women in Technology organizations in Dallas. This conversation provides valuable perspectives on driving digital transformations at a long-standing business and tips for navigating varied product roles over time.

How can product leaders create value through strategic shifts? In this episode of the Product Leaders to Watch Series with Cognizant Product Director Chenny Solaiyappan, A10 Networks Fmr. VP of Product Yasir Liaqatullah shares his perspective on what makes a great product, highlighting the importance of understanding customer needs and delivering value. He also discusses his experience transitioning on-premise solutions to the cloud at Anthropic, which significantly grew revenue and margins. Additionally, Yasser speaks on the potential of generative AI technologies, balancing priorities as a product manager, and evaluating products for the Product Awards.

How can global product leaders approach diversity, equality, and inclusion? In this episode of Product Talk with Bose Senior Product Director Melissa Pickering, Trackunit Senior Product Lead Zeina Moawad speaks on DEI in global product management. Zeina discusses her global career experience and how it has shaped her views on DEI. The conversation explores examples of initiatives that companies have taken toward DEI that have been effective as well as areas for improvement. Zeina provides recommendations on how product managers can approach their work with more awareness of inclusivity.

How can product leaders cultivate user centric product strategies? In this episode of the Product Leaders to Watch Series with Cognizant Product Director Chenny Solaiyappan, Twitch Product VP Stephanie J. Neill speaks on her career journey and insights into building great products. Stephanie discusses the importance of identifying meaningful problems to solve and her impactful work reducing immigration wait times. She shares tips for product managers, emphasizing the need for grit, humility, and the ability to navigate ambiguity and conflict. The conversation provides valuable perspectives on user-centric product strategies and what makes an exceptional product leader.

How can PMs build personalized products? In this episode of the Product Divergence Series with Ubiety Technologies CPO Nacho Andrade, bswift VP of Portfolio Strategy, End UX Paul Micheli speaks on building personalized product experiences. Paul shares his non-linear journey from biomedical engineering to UX to product management. He discusses the challenges of appealing to diverse personas and balancing competing priorities. Paul also offers advice on getting into product and handling pushback from stakeholders. Listeners will learn strategies for navigating complex product landscapes and advocating for their vision.

How can product leaders design human-centered products? In this episode of the Product Leaders to Watch Series with Cognizant Product Director Chenny Solaiyappan, NASA Fmr Chief of Human Systems Engineering and Integration Division Dr. Jennifer Rochlis discusses her unique path from NASA to private sector roles, emphasizing her focus on human-centered design. She stresses the importance of considering the human as part of the system across the entire product lifecycle. This episode provides insights into Dr. Rochlis' experience in designing systems for stressful human environments and her perspective on integrating stakeholders from different disciplines.

How has product management evolved? In this episode of Product Talk with Kaboo Founder Neha Shah, The Trade Desk Product SVP Gruia Pitigoi-Aron speaks on how product management has evolved throughout his career. He shares his career journey from studying computer science to breaking into product management at Microsoft. He discusses lessons learned from early mistakes in job interviews and the importance of treating the job search process seriously. Gruia also provides insights into building a strong product culture of honesty and integrity. He emphasizes the value of giving timely feedback and constantly improving.

How can a PM transition from innovation to investing? In this episode of the Product to Venture series with Mighty Capital Managing Partner SC Moatti, Morgan Creek Digital General Partner and Co-Founder Xavier Segura speaks on his career journey from product manager to venture capitalist. He shares stories from his early career in startups working on mobile technology and big data. He also discusses his views on the continued "cloud revolution" and trends around vertical integration of AI models and data. The discussion provides insights into successfully transitioning careers and investing with a focus on diversity and inclusion.

What are the top tech trends & industries today? In this episode of the Product Leaders to Watch series with Cognizant Product Director Chenny Solaiyappan, Amazon Head of Product Rekha Venkatakrishnan speaks on her background in product management and engineering, emphasizing the importance of customer centricity and simplicity. She shares her views on exciting industries and tech trends, including fintech, healthcare, sustainability and more. Rekha provides a framework for evaluating great products based on functionality, psychological impact and economic factors.

How can products help optimize time? In this episode of the Product Divergence Series with Ubiety Technologies CPO Nacho Andrade, Clockwise Product VP Vicky Thomas speaks on building products that optimize time. She shares how Clockwise uses AI to optimize calendars and schedules, freeing up more focus time for individuals and teams. They discuss the challenges of calendar management that inspired Clockwise's creation, and how the product measures its impact on areas like reduced meetings and increased focus time. Vicky also shares her non-traditional career path into product management and what she has learned about building great products over the years.

What can an unconventional career path in tech leadership look like? In the Product to Venture series with Mighty Capital Managing Partner SC Moatti, the path from product leadership to venture capitalism is discussed. In this episode, IVP Partner Tamar Yehoshua speaks on her journey in tech leadership and her current career in venture capitalism. Tamar holds a wealth of product knowledge from her experience in product management to leadership roles at companies like Google, Amazon, and Slack. She talks about her transition to venture capital investing, her views on trends in AI, and where opportunities lie for entrepreneurs.