Earlier in the year, I had the privilege of attending the Women In Product Conference in Santa Clara. It was a full day of insights on the future of AI, leadership, and what it means to build with courage. The speakers came from across industries startups, big tech, consumer brands yet their lessons echoed a common theme: the era of building is here, and we rise together through community, clarity, and craft.
The conference opened with Tekedra Mawakana, Co-CEO of Waymo, in conversation with Cassie Campbell. Tekedra spoke about leading with vision, integrity, and boldness while standing at the edge of transformative technology. Her reminder: leadership is not just about managing change, but about embodying courage when the path forward isn't obvious.
Cassie Campbell and Tekedra MawakanaClaire Vo, previous CPO of LaunchDarkly, delivered one of the most urgent calls to action of the day. She described AI as a generational economic opportunity - one that women can't afford to sit out. Her words stuck with me: "This is the era of hard skills. The era of building." It was a powerful reminder that as product managers, we can't just observe the AI wave; we have to learn, adapt, and build with it.
