Product Voices

In this insightful episode of Product Voices, JJ Rorie talks with Gopikrishnan Anilkumar, Principal Product Manager at Amazon and member of the Forbes Technology Council, about how artificial intelligence is transforming the craft of product management.Gopikrishnan shares his journey from traditional software product management to leading AI-driven teams at major companies like Amazon, Walmart, and Goldman Sachs. Together, JJ and Gopikrishnan explore what remains constant in great product management—customer empathy, communication, structured thinking, and stakeholder alignment—and what’s changing fast as AI becomes central to how products are built, learned from, and improved.Listeners will learn how AI product managers differ from traditional ones, not because they code or build models, but because they design experiences that learn and evolve. Gopikrishnan explains how metrics shift (from satisfaction and revenue to latency, model performance, and hallucination rates), how teams expand to include machine learning scientists and evaluators, and why “being AI-aware” is now an essential product skill.Topics Covered:The evolution from traditional to AI product managementWhy PM fundamentals—empathy, communication, alignment—never go out of styleHow AI changes metrics, responsibility, and stakeholder complexityDesigning for trust, safety, and explainability in AI experiencesThe mindset shift from building features to architecting experiencesThe experimental nature of AI product work (build, test, learn, repeat)Why you don’t need to be a machine learning expert to be an AI PMHow every PM will soon interact with AI in some formAdvice for PMs transitioning into AI and for new PMs entering the fieldKey Quotes:“AI product managers are not building a feature. You are building experiences — you’re an experience architect.” “Being AI-aware will soon be one of the key strengths of a product manager.”“You don’t need to be a machine learning expert. You need curiosity, learning agility, and strong PM fundamentals.”Takeaways:Trust and responsibility are the new pillars of AI-driven product management.Product management is evolving from control to influence — guiding systems that learn and adapt.Continuous experimentation and iteration are essential in AI environments.AI literacy is becoming as foundational as digital or mobile literacy once was.

In this episode of Product Voices, Vinod Thomas, a product manager at Google, discusses his non-traditional journey into product management. He emphasizes the importance of transferable skills such as communication, collaboration, and data analytics, while debunking the myth that coding is essential for the role. Vinod highlights the value of networking and building genuine professional relationships as key to career advancement. He offers advice for aspiring product managers to understand the role deeply and connect their unique backgrounds to product management. His insights provide a roadmap for successfully transitioning into this field.

On this episode, Dr. Chui Chui Tan dives into the critical importance of culturalization in product management. She explains that culturalization involves deep adaptation to local cultural nuances, behaviors, and mentalities, requiring continuous adjustment. Dr. Tan outlines three levels of culturalization and emphasizes the need for strategic research to uncover unmet needs and cultural sensitivities, rather than just tactical questions. She  also highlights the importance of immersing in local markets, avoiding stereotypes, and using a balanced approach to gather insights. She advises starting with small steps and leveraging existing data to build a foundation for successful culturalization.

On this episode, we have a great dialogue and debate about the current state of product leadership. What's good. What's bad. What's ugly. :) You'll hear from Beks Yelland and Therese Stowell, both bringing their expertise and unique perspectives to the conversation. 

In this episode of Product Voices, I speak with Cristina Crespo, VP of Product at Paytient, about the crucial role of empathy in product management. Cristina defines empathy, differentiates it from sympathy, and emphasizes its impact on creating user-centered products. We discuss how empathy correlates with business success through frameworks like the product-led growth flywheel, and she shares strategies for leveraging research to enhance user experiences. Cristina also highlights the importance of fostering an empathetic workplace culture and the need for self-empathy among product managers. The conversation illustrates that embedding empathy in product processes is key to success.