Products That Count Podcast

What do product leaders need to consider when transitioning from corporate to startup? In this episode of the Product Leaders to Watch series hosted by Cognizant Product Director Chenny Solaiyappan, Caribou CPO Christine Dupuis shares her experience transitioning to PM roles at Google and Montreal startups, emphasizing the value of internal experience. Christine also provides insights into fundraising for startups and what makes a great product and product manager. The discussion highlights the importance of critical thinking, moving fast, and diversity in building products that serve all users.

How can digital products fight the climate crisis? The scale and urgency of the transformation required to fight climate change has never been more clear. In this episode of Product Talk hosted by Silicon Valley Bank ( a Division of First Citizens Bank) Climate Tech SVP Maggie Wong, Climate Product Leaders Co-Founder François Burra speaks on fighting climate change through digital product development and decarbonization education. François shares his experience teaching courses on reducing the digital industry's emissions and emphasizes product managers' important role in sustainability. He discusses their climate product management playbook, which provides 33 best practices to help PMs address climate change in their work. The conversation covers opportunities for more sustainable product development, the benefits of climate-conscious practices, and becoming better equipped to tackle the climate crisis through education and action.

How can product leaders balance customer identity and security in technical products? In this episode hosted by Products That Count CEO Hoda Mehr, Okta CPO Cassio Sampaio speaks on the challenges of balancing customer identity, security, and privacy in technical products. The discussion covers topics such as building complex B2B SaaS products, technical considerations for cloud computing, and the future of product management. Tune in for valuable perspectives on navigating an evolving technical landscape.

How can product leaders in the banking industry scale their products? In this episode of Product Talk hosted by Sid Shaik,  U.S. Bank SVP & Product Leader Sean Scott discusses his career journey in product management and how it differs working in the banking industry compared to tech companies. He shares insights into how product managers at banks approach scaling products by focusing on customer needs and feedback through various phases of maturity. Sean highlights key factors that have impacted the banking industry including digital transformation, agile methodologies, and growing customer demand for digital banking experiences. He also provides lessons learned around the importance of testing ideas with customers and the challenges of introducing changes to established banking processes. Tune in to discover product management best practices for scaling in regulated industries such as banking.

How can product leaders build a product culture within their organization?In this episode of the Product Leaders to Watch series hosted by Cognizant Product Director Chenny Solaiyappan, Life Cycle Engineering Product Leader Tara Holwegner speaks on building a product culture. Tara discusses investing in people and developing future leaders. She expresses interest in learning about new industries and how products apply human-centered design and AI. Tara also highlights examples of using digital technologies for remote coaching and predictive maintenance in industrial operations. Tune in to the 400th episode of Product Talk to learn what makes great products, product managers, and a strong product culture within an organization!

How can PMs build scalable product businesses? In this episode of Product Talk hosted by Sid Shaik, Hazelcast Fmr. CPO Manish Devgan shares lessons on scaling product businesses, including the importance of establishing a clear product vision and worldview. He discusses growth engines like technology advantages and insights into customer workloads. Manish also describes tactics such as establishing a product strategy board to gather customer feedback. Tune in for valuable perspectives on building scalable product businesses.

What does it take to lead product in the startup ecosystem? In this episode of the Product Leaders to Watch series hosted by Cognizant Product Director Chenny Solaiyappan, Stay 22 Head of Product Laura Di Costanzo shares insights from her experiences in Montreal's startup ecosystem. She speaks on her journey in product management, from marketing to leading a team of 10 across product and design. She discusses her work optimizing operations with workflow management platforms and enhancing collaboration. Laura is also passionate about giving back to the Montreal product community through organizing events and launching a training program for aspiring product managers. The interview explores topics including product management skills, AI trends, and how to best support senior citizens through technology.

What do product leaders need to consider when building products for the SMB space? In this episode of Product Talk hosted by Kaboo Founder Neha Shah, Altice USA Product & Tech SVP Rachel Owens shares insights from her diverse career journey in product management, from engineering school to roles at startups and Fortune 500 companies. She discusses how she applies lessons from different industries and experiences to build great products. Rachel emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and having an interdisciplinary skillset, and shares advice on how to create a culture of open feedback and iteration on teams.

How can product leaders balance focus and innovation to sustain high-growth trajectories as their businesses scale to new heights? In this episode of Product Talk hosted by Sid Shaik, Vonage Product VP Amitha Pulijala speaks on her experience scaling B2B product businesses. She shares how Vonage's suite of products help businesses personalize customer conversations across touchpoints. Amitha discusses inheriting a business with 5,200 customers and prioritizing success metrics and experimentation. She led growth efforts post-acquisition that increased revenue 10x through disciplined focus. Amitha emphasizes the importance of product-led growth driving sales leads. She also stresses sustaining growth through alignment with vision and adapting strategies to growth stages.

How can product leaders drive business reinvention? In this episode of Capgemini's Leaders in Innovation series with Capgemini Americas Portfolio Lead Lisa Mitnick, Altria CPO & CIO Olivier Houpert shares insights from his 31 years of experience at Procter & Gamble and his decision to take on a new challenge at Altria. He speaks on Altria's transformation journey to launch reduced-risk smoke-free products through a focus on consumer needs, partnerships, and a test-and-learn approach to innovation. Olivier emphasizes the importance of remaining consumer-centric and optimistic about driving change in the tobacco industry to transition consumers to safer alternatives.

How can product leaders build trust and psychological safety within their teams to foster innovation and excellence? In this episode of the Product Divergence series with Ubiety Technologies Fmr. CPO Nacho Andrade, LinkSquares SVP of Product & Engineering Andrew Leverone discusses strategies for team building and leadership through vulnerability, empathy, and collaboration. Andrew shares insights on balancing product and engineering perspectives, understanding customer needs, and scaling teams through transparency and a bottoms-up approach. He also emphasizes the importance of embracing an agile mindset, frequent communication, and empowering team members to drive the business forward together through open dialogue.

How can product leaders pioneer innovation in the automotive industry? In this episode of Capgemini's Leaders in Innovation series hosted by Capgemini Americas Portfolio Lead Lisa Mitnick, Ford Director of Digital Experience Platforms Zafar Razzacki discusses his career journey from biotech and medical devices to Google and now Ford. He provides an overview of Ford's focus on digital experiences, electric vehicles, connectivity, and new business models. He also speaks on how Ford is working with partners in the ecosystem to create seamless experiences and considers the challenges of organizational change as the automotive industry transforms.

What are the key considerations for AI platform development? In this episode of the Product Leaders to Watch series with Cognizant Product Director Chenny Solaiyappan, Bank of America VP of AI/ML and Automation Platform Hira Dangol shares strategies for AI product development, highlighting the importance of diversity and leveraging AI, ML, and data insights to solve business challenges. The conversation also explores frameworks for building solutions that deliver total experience value and the pathways for community involvement, continuous learning, and responsible growth in AI.

What do product leaders need to consider when building a differentiated decarbonization platform? The scale and urgency of the transformation required to fight climate change has never been more clear. Building hardware and software products, acquiring the funding and creating a diverse community to enhance talent capacity and to drive innovation, is essential to tackling this global environmental crisis. In this podcast, host and Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank, Climate Tech & Sustainability SVP Maggie Wong will be interviewing Gravity Climate Founder & CEO Saleh ElHattab to discuss combining software and physical solution in decarbonization, positioning their product to provide sustainable value and how diversity impacts understanding customer needs and product go-to-market.

How can product leaders tackle the challenge of producing sustainable and impactful products? In this episode of the Capgemini Leaders in Innovation series with Synapse - Capgemini Invent VP Dylan Garrett, Shellworks CEO and Founder Insiya Jafferjee speaks on the role Shellworks plays in reimagining sustainable alternatives to plastic use cases. They delve into unique and environmentally beneficial product concepts and designs used by Shellworks to address the issue of plastic waste holistically and contextually. The beauty industry is likely one of the leading offenders of plastic pollution. Tune in to learn how Shellworks aims to provide sustainable packaging solutions that are petroleum-free, truly compostable, and "perform like plastic."

How can product managers navigate technology and marketplace changes? In this episode of the Product Leaders to Watch series with Cognizant Product Director Chenny Solaiyappan, Google Cloud Product Marketing Lead Varun Krovvidi shares his perspective on navigating changes in technology and the marketplace. As a professional with experience spanning engineering, data, product, and marketing roles, Varun provides unique insights into adapting to new disruptors and unlocking new growth opportunities for products. He discusses the importance of understanding user needs and context, as well as the role of storytelling and community, for both product marketing and management in an era of rapid technological change.

How can product leaders successfully grow product businesses? In this episode of Product Talk with Sid Shaik, CrowdStrike CPO Raj Rajamani shares lessons from his experience growing startups and large companies, emphasizing the importance of having the right people in place and aligning goals through a clear strategy and OKR framework. He also stresses the need for continuous innovation, experimentation, and disrupting oneself before others can. Overall, the discussion provides insights into scaling a tech company through a focus on people, strategy, execution, and relentless innovation.

What does it take to build a startup? In this episode of Capgemini's 2024 Leaders in Innovation miniseries hosted by Capgemini VP, Intelligent Industry & Connected Consumer Offer Lead Eric Cohen, Adrich Founder & CEO Adhithi Aji speaks on her experience bringing a startup to life from seeing an opportunity, creating an MVP as told in her Tic Tac box story, and finding early adopters. Tune in to gain insights on the marketing, fundraising, and scaling aspect bringing startups to life as a Co-founder and CEO.

What does it take to successfully lead and scale product teams? In this episode of the Product Leaders to Watch series hosted by Cognizant Product Director Chenny Solaiyappan, Wavo.me Fmr. Product VP Jean-Sébastien Chouinard speaks on how understanding customer needs, developing sustainable revenue streams, and collaborating across teams are key to building successful products. He shares lessons from leading digital transformations and emphasizes the importance of real-world impact, viable pricing, and cross-functional alignment. The discussion also covers what qualities the Product Awards AAB looks for in nominations, along with promising tech trends in IoT and AI.

How can product managers stay on the cutting edge of innovation while ensuring user needs remain the top priority? In this episode with Jonathan Ozeran, Meta Director of Product Mike Arcuri shares lessons from over 15 years of experience launching groundbreaking platforms, building the metaverse, and leading technical product teams. From optimizing the mobile app development process to shaping the future of social VR, Mike discusses best practices for bridging engineering and product while keeping customers at the heart of every decision. Tune in for insights on navigating new technologies like AI and emerging form factors, as well as advice on cultivating passion and fun throughout the challenges of building great products.