How does hands-on technical experience shape the journey to becoming a CPO? In this podcast hosted by Boston New Technology CPO Shweta Agrawal, Appfire Fmr CPO Andy Boyd will be speaking on strategic vision and team building in product management. Andy shares his unconventional journey, insights on developing long-term product strategies, and the critical skills needed to lead product teams across different organizational stages.
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Show Notes
- Product management often has an unconventional career path, not a traditional linear progression
- Impact and intellectual challenge are key motivators for product leaders
- Understanding market, customer needs, and competitive positioning is foundational for product managers
- Product leaders should think in 3-5 year strategic horizons, not just quarterly metrics
- Leadership skills evolve from technical expertise to strategic vision as you progress in your career
- Effective communication and storytelling are critical for rallying cross-functional teams
- Domain expertise is less important than leadership and strategic thinking at the C-suite level
- Financial acumen is crucial for product leaders aspiring to executive roles
- Learning can come from mentorship, online courses, books, and practical experience
- Promote from within when possible to maintain team motivation and demonstrate career growth opportunities
- AI knowledge is becoming increasingly important across product management roles
- Leading through influence requires understanding both business and personal motivations
- The first 90 days as a new CPO should focus on learning, creating a working thesis, and getting team input
- Product jargon should be minimized when communicating with executives and board members
- Emotional intelligence and understanding team members’ goals are key to effective leadership
- Set clear goals and maintain regular business review cadences to drive strategy execution
- Confidence and presence are as important as technical skills in executive roles
- Product leaders should practice skills of the next career level before being promoted
- External hiring might be necessary for fresh perspectives or specific domain expertise
- Continuous learning and adaptability are essential for product leadership success
About the speaker
Andy Boyd is Chief Product Officer of Appfire, a leading global provider of next-generation software that enhances, augments, extends, and connects the world’s leading platforms such as Atlassian, Microsoft, monday.com and Salesforce. Andy brings deep expertise in product-led growth (PLG), Cloud and AI, and leads the product organization for Appfire. Since taking on the role of CPO, Andy has scaled the product team from three product managers to a full product organization including Product Management, Growth, Design, Customer Research, and Product Ops. Prior to Appfire, Andy was part of the founding team that brought the IBM Watson (AI) platform to market, serving as the product leader for the natural language processing portfolio. He then expanded into broader leadership roles at IBM, establishing the first Growth team for IBM Watson. Based on his successes, he launched and led growth teams internationally and across multiple business areas, including within the Cloud and Quantum Computing divisions. Andy authored the Enterprise Growth Playbook, which focuses on how to build a high-performing growth team within a large enterprise.
About the host
Shweta Agrawal, is one of the Top 40 Under 40. Shweta is the Chief Product Officer (CPO) at Boston New Technology (BNT), where she has helped shape one of Boston’s most vibrant platforms for founders, technologists, and investors. Shweta has worked at Fortune 500 companies where she launched multi-million-dollar products and she has also defined and scaled product strategies in small to mid startup companies. She serves as a Product Expert, Startup Advisor, and Ecosystem Builder. She is dedicated to empowering underrepresented founders, women in STEM, and the next generation of innovators