The Product Manager

The Tin Man’s silk heart in The Wizard of Oz is a perfect metaphor for AI right now—it can convincingly mimic empathy, but it’s not the real thing. In this episode, Hannah Clark sits down with Megan O’Rourke, Executive Director of Product at Metalab, to explore the delicate balance between AI-powered productivity and human-driven resonance. They dive into why empathy and storytelling are irreplaceable in both product development and leadership, and the risks we run if we trade them away for efficiency.

Megan shares stories from the field, frameworks for deciding when AI belongs in the workflow, and practical ways leaders can embed human connection into their teams’ processes. From reading the silence in a meeting to designing for emotional moments, this conversation is all about building products—and cultures—that people can truly connect with.

Resources from this episode:

• Subscribe to The Product Manager newsletter
• Connect with Megan on LinkedIn
• Check out Metalab

Product management isn’t just evolving—it’s getting completely rewritten. In this episode, Hannah sits down with Dr. Maryam Ashoori, VP of Product and Engineering at IBM Watsonx, to talk about how AI is reshaping not only the tools product managers use, but the very nature of the role itself.

Maryam brings two decades of experience in AI across design, research, and engineering, and shares what she's seeing from the front lines of one of the most powerful Gen AI platforms on the planet. They explore how AI is shifting expectations, blurring team roles, and opening new paths for productivity and creativity. If you’ve ever felt like the PM playbook just got tossed out the window, you’re not alone—and this conversation is a thoughtful look at how to navigate what comes next.

Resources from this episode:

• Subscribe to The Product Manager newsletter
• Connect with Maryam on LinkedIn
• Check out IBM Watsonx

When AI was just a sci-fi footnote and “product transformation” sounded like a buzzword, Michael Luchen was already in the trenches. In this episode, Hannah sits down with the original host of The Product Manager Podcast to unpack three years of change—from his early missteps to building scalable systems and navigating the AI tidal wave with nuance and strategy.

Michael, now a self-described "Product Transformation Architect," brings candor and depth as he reflects on what it really takes to shift product culture, orchestrate cross-org alignment, and keep your teams (and kids) curious. Whether you’re wrangling a roadmap or sketching ideas on construction paper, this one’s for you.

Resources from this episode:

• Subscribe to The Product Manager newsletter
• Connect with Michael on LinkedIn
• Check out Michael’s website

If you’ve heard the buzz about Vibe Coding but aren’t quite sure what’s real and what’s hype, this episode is your shortcut to clarity. Recorded live at our hands-on Vibe Coding Workshop, this 30-minute seminar with Drew Falkman (Principal at Moves The Needle) unpacks what Vibe Coding actually is, where it fits in the product lifecycle, and how non-technical folks are already using it to ship tools and prototypes—without writing a line of code.

Joined by co-host Katie Sanders, Hannah leads a myth-busting session that tackles common misconceptions (spoiler: engineers aren’t going anywhere), showcases real-world use cases from Reddit and their own team, and offers tactical advice for PMs who want to explore this fast-evolving space responsibly.

Resources from this episode:

• Subscribe to The Product Manager newsletter
• Connect with Drew on LinkedIn
• Check out Moves The Needle

ADHD might be the product trait nobody’s putting on their resume—but maybe they should. In this episode, Hannah sits down with executive coach Frankie Berkoben to unpack the complex intersection of ADHD, executive function, and product leadership. Together, they explore how ADHD traits like systems thinking, emotional intelligence, and comfort with ambiguity make product people exceptional—and why those same strengths often lead to burnout, inconsistency, or shame in traditional work environments.

This conversation doesn’t offer productivity hacks or time-boxed silver bullets. Instead, it’s a candid, deeply validating discussion about how to build careers, teams, and work cultures that actually work for neurodivergent brains. Whether you have a diagnosis, suspect you might, or simply want to lead with more nuance and empathy, this one’s worth a listen.

Resources from this episode:

• Subscribe to The Product Manager newsletter
• Connect with Frankie on LinkedIn
• Check out Frankie’s website

Product-market fit isn’t enough anymore. In an age where AI is making it easier for anyone to ship a half-decent product, the real battleground is distribution. Margaret-Ann Seger (Head of Product at Statsig) joins Hannah Clark to talk about how AI is reshaping go-to-market strategy, why speed and feedback loops are becoming product differentiators, and how her team at Statsig is baking collaboration and empathy into every part of their product dev cycle.

From lo-fi GTM experiments to the power of doing support as a PM, this episode is packed with practical ways to ship smarter—and more human—products, faster.

Resources from this episode:

• Subscribe to The Product Manager newsletter
• Connect with Margaret on LinkedIn
• Check out Statsig

What if instead of racing to solve problems, you paused to map the entire system first? In this episode, Hannah sits down with Sheryl Cababa—author of Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers and founder of Optimistic Design—to talk about what it really means to design for complexity. From AI adoption to organizational policy changes, Sheryl brings a systems lens to the decisions leaders make (often too hastily) in fast-moving environments.

They explore how design leaders can avoid short-sighted thinking, better understand stakeholder dynamics, and use accessible tools to facilitate organizational change that actually sticks. Whether you're planning your back-to-office strategy or rethinking your product's impact, this conversation will leave you re-evaluating how your decisions ripple through the system.

Resources from this episode:

• Subscribe to The Product Manager newsletter
• Connect with Sheryl on LinkedIn
• Sheryl’s book — Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers
• Check out Optimistic Design 

The “AI is coming for your job” headlines have been exhausting—especially if you're a software engineer. But as Cortex.io founder Anish Dhar explains, engineering isn’t dying; it's evolving. In this episode, Hannah sits down with Anish to unpack what engineering excellence actually means in 2025, why measuring developer productivity is still wildly misunderstood, and where AI coding tools fit into the real world of production-scale systems. Spoiler: you can’t vibe-code your way to a million users.

Anish draws from his time at Uber and Cortex to break down how engineering leaders can better align technical initiatives to business outcomes, adopt AI without sacrificing code quality, and avoid getting swept up in hype cycles that don’t serve the organization.

Resources from this episode:

• Subscribe to The Product Manager newsletter
• Connect with Anish on LinkedIn and X
• Check out Cortex.io
• IDPCON — in-person event dedicated to Internal Developer Portals

What does passion really look like on a product team? In this episode, Hannah sits down with Norma Løvhaugen, VP Strategy at Neat, to unpack how passion fuels team collaboration, customer empathy, and a culture of innovation. They explore the difference between building products with passion versus simply shipping features—and why that distinction matters more than ever in an age of generative AI.

Norma shares how Neat channels passion into a uniquely cohesive product experience, from obsessing over fabric swatches to translating human nuance into video conferencing. It’s a conversation about ownership, trust, and the magic that happens when design and engineering speak the same language (and respect each other's craft).

Resources from this episode:

• Subscribe to The Product Manager newsletter
• Connect with Norma on LinkedIn
• Check out Neat

Expanding internationally is more complex than ever, with economic uncertainty, shifting regulations, and unpredictable tariffs creating constant challenges. While overseas opportunities can be tempting, businesses must navigate a landscape full of blind spots and evolving risks that demand careful planning and adaptability.

Simone Tamussin, SVP of Product Management at Mastercard Gateway, shares valuable insights from his experience working with companies facing these hurdles. He discusses common pitfalls growth-focused leaders encounter, proactive strategies for entering new markets safely, and practical tips for managing the overwhelming paperwork that comes with global expansion.

Resources from this episode:

• Subscribe to The Product Manager newsletter
• Connect with Simone on LinkedIn
• Check out Mastercard