Product Thinking

Fabrice des Mazery, Chief Product Officer at productROI joins Melissa Perri on this episode of the Product Thinking podcast, discussing shifting product managers' mindsets from builders to investors. Drawing from his extensive experience, including leading product at TripAdvisor's TheFork, Fabrice shares insights on evaluating product decisions through an investment lens, building stakeholder relationships, and creating a balanced product portfolio. He emphasizes the importance of understanding business metrics, ROI, and risk assessment in product management, while offering practical advice on how to communicate with stakeholders, using their language rather than product jargon.

Mark Rosenberg and Vivian Phinney from Workday join Melissa Perri on this episode of the Product Thinking podcast to dive into product operations. Mark, an experienced leader at Workday, shares his journey in implementing modern product operations within a large-scale organization to meet the financial product needs of over 2,000 customers. Vivian expands on how they accomplish it and her mission to reduce the cognitive load on product teams through selective standardization and streamlined data solutions—ensuring PMs can prioritize effectively and communicate clearly with leadership. Tune in to learn how Mark and Vivian tackle the challenges of growth and complexity in enterprise product development.

Gusto's Tomer London joins Melissa Perri in this episode of the Product Thinking podcast. As the co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Tomer shares his insights on building a lovable product experience in the fast-paced world of payroll and HR solutions. He discusses how Gusto stays committed to exceptional user experience amidst a growing and complex product portfolio. Tomer delves into the three key pillars of creating great user experiences – functionality, intuitiveness, and delight – and shares an engaging example of how celebrating payday can enhance emotional connections with customers. Tune in to learn how a focus on user-centric design and strategic thinking can drive meaningful innovation in product management.

Just Eat Takeaway’s Jessica Hall joins Melissa Perri in this episode of the Product Thinking podcast. Chief Product Officer at the food delivery giant, Jessica links up with Melissa to discuss the intricacies of managing a diverse product portfolio across global markets, sharing insights from her journey in navigating the challenges of integrating multiple brands, post-merger and establishing a unified customer experience. She’s not all positive about AI adoption though, and is honest about both the potential and the pitfalls, including the often-overlooked costs and the importance of building a sustainable ecosystem around new technologies. Tune in to discover how strategic thinking and a customer-first approach can lead to innovative, responsible AI implementations that truly resonate with users.

This time on the Product Thinking Podcast, Melissa Perri is joined by P.J. Linarducci, Chief Product Officer at Thumbtack, to explore the complexities of product leadership in both large and small-scale organizations. P.J. shares insights from his journey, starting with his formative years at Meta and his transition to Thumbtack, where he embraced the role of leading the entire product organization. He delves into the significant mindset shift from being one of many leaders at a large company, to owning full responsibility at a smaller, more agile company. P.J. also highlights the challenges of evolving Thumbtack from a marketplace model to a holistic home management platform, requiring new approaches to both product strategy and company culture. Tune in to learn how product managers can influence without authority.

This time on the Product Thinking Podcast, Melissa Perri is joined by BJ Boyle, Chief Product Officer at PointClickCare, to discuss the critical intersection of healthcare technology and product management. With over two decades of experience in the health tech space, BJ shares insights from his journey, including lessons learned during his transition to the C-suite. He delves into the unique challenges of managing product strategy in a rapidly evolving industry, emphasizing the importance of aligning product development with market needs and regulatory changes. He also makes clear the importance of balancing domain expertise with product management acumen and engineering understanding, and the value of cross-functional collaboration in building effective product teams. Tune in to explore how PointClickCare is innovating within the healthcare sector.

In this episode of the Product Thinking Podcast, Vishal Kapoor, Senior Vice President of Product at Affirm, joins Melissa Perri to dive into the intricacies of building and scaling products in the fintech space. Vishal shares his journey through 15+ years of product management. The episode offers deep insight into not just what Affirm is up to, but into the very bones of the culture that drives their product development. For instance, Vishal lets us in on how the company balances customer-centric innovation with the complex regulations of the financial sector. Tune in to learn how Affirm is shaping the future of fintech and get practical advice for building adaptable product strategies in complex industries.

Robin Daniels is on the Product Thinking Podcast to discuss how it’s possible to transform working cultures through the careful construction of a supportive community atmosphere. Robin, Chief Business and Product Officer at Zensai, explains to Melissa Perri how his remarkable journey through product management and marketing across leading tech companies like Salesforce and LinkedIn has led him to where he is today. The pair ponder the question of what sparks joy in a corporate setting, and they discuss how a weekly check-in system that promotes self-reflection among employees is a far more functional system than the outmoded annual performance review method of performance management.

Tune in to discover Robin’s insights on driving growth through product-led strategies and the evolving landscape of product management.

Mercedes Chatfield-Taylor, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Artico Search, Inc. and a top recruiter specializing in leadership roles for scale-up companies, returns to chat with Melissa Perri on this episode of Product Thinking. Together, they discuss the evolving CEO landscape, particularly the increasing importance of collaboration across functions in lean organizations and the growing demand for leaders focused on profitability and sustainability. Mercedes shares insights into the typical paths to becoming a CEO, including from product leadership roles, and the skills needed to transition successfully. What is the path to CEO from CPO? Tune in to find out.

In this episode of the Product Thinking Podcast, Melissa Perri speaks with Sean Solme Kim, former head of product at TikTok and previously at Amazon Prime. They discuss key insights from his time at both companies, including how Amazon's metrics-driven approach influenced his work at TikTok and the development of the Stitch feature. Sean shares his perspective on empowering product teams, fostering ownership among product managers, and navigating the challenges of hypergrowth environments like TikTok. They also explore the importance of creating frictionless user experiences and scaling product features to drive engagement and retention.