What does it take to scale a startup from 7M to 120M users? In this episode of the CPO Rising Series hosted by Products That Count Resident CPO Renee Niemi, Opus 2 CPTO Tiama Hanson-Drury will be speaking on transforming product leadership in the AI era, sharing her journey from sales to becoming a top CPO and her insights on building high-performing product teams. Discover how she navigates changing priorities, drives innovation, and creates mission-driven product strategies that deliver exceptional business results.
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Show Notes:
- Scale from 7M to 120M users by focusing on product-market fit and customer value
- Embrace AI as a tool to enhance productivity, not replace critical thinking
- Build a company culture that challenges the status quo and drives innovation
- Develop a clear vision and strategy that inspires team members to see themselves in the mission
- Understand your business model’s core equation: how you fundamentally make money
- Transition from sales-led to product-led approaches as your company matures
- Prioritize customer obsession by deeply understanding user needs and experiences
- Create a leadership approach that communicates consistently and repeatedly
- Use metrics that truly reflect business value, not just surface-level engagement
- Develop product managers who think like commercial leaders
- Navigate changing priorities by maintaining transparency and team alignment
- Leverage data literacy and critical thinking in product development
- Build teams with diverse skills who can “take your job”
- Understand the importance of trust and respect in organizational culture
- Recognize product leadership as a business-driving role, not just a technical function
- Develop the ability to spot patterns and anticipate potential problems
- Create a vision that extends at least three years into the future
- Embrace hybrid work environments that require strong relationship-building skills
- Continuously communicate the “why” behind strategic decisions
- Remain mission-driven, focusing on creating meaningful impact beyond financial success
About the speaker
Award-winning exec with a track record of scaling businesses and increasing enterprise value through product, tech, GTM and AI innovation. Currently leading global product & tech at Opus 2, shaping strategy and development via our client and product advisory boards. Previously Tiama was CPO at Minna Technologies, where she where she led a strategic growth plan resulting in an acquisition by Mastercard. Before that she held Product Executive roles at Zappi and Dynata. Specialisation in dual-sided marketplaces, API-first products, embedded product innovation, monetization, and the ability to apply technology to legacy industries such as market research, advertising, marketing, and banking. She thrives in fast-paced, high-impact environments where cross-functional leadership, innovation, and commercial execution drive tangible results. Known for low-ego leadership and cross-functional execution across product, engineering, marketing, ops, and more. She takes just as much pride in building and scaling businesses as she does in ensuring her teams shine along the way. Passionate about building high-performing teams, creating revenue growth engines, and championing DEI in tech.