CPO Rising Series: Foot Locker Head of Product on Balancing Sales-Driven Innovation and Customer-Centric Product Strategy

How do successful product leaders balance technology, customer needs, and business strategy in a rapidly changing retail environment? In this episode of the CPO Rising Series hosted by Products That Count Resident CPO Renee Niemi, Foot Locker Head of Product Avery Worthing-Jones will be speaking on balancing sales-driven innovation and customer-centric product strategy. Avery shares unique insights from leading product teams through transformative periods like the pandemic and the rise of AI, offering a candid look at building high-performing, diverse product teams that drive real business value.

Join us for new conversations with leading product executives every week. Roll through the highlights of this week’s podcast below, then head on over to our Events page to see which product leaders will be joining us next week.

Show Notes:

1. Technology-driven perspectives are now critical at the strategic leadership level
2. The pandemic accelerated product team flexibility and rapid decision-making
3. Sales-driven organizations must balance business goals with technological innovation
4. AI is an accelerator, not a replacement for human context and customer understanding
5. Product leaders must focus on solving customer problems, not just implementing technology
6. Successful innovation comes from stitching together existing technologies in unique ways
7. Building diverse product teams is crucial for comprehensive problem-solving
8. Culture is the most important factor when hiring product team members
9. Hire for potential and cultural fit over extensive experience
10. The Conway principle: Team structure directly reflects product delivery
11. Product management has evolved from a peripheral role to a strategic business function
12. Continuous learning and adaptability are key in product leadership
13. Technical investments should always connect to business value
14. Innovation requires a structured approach of incremental testing and learning
15. Gender diversity in tech teams can lead to more comprehensive product development
16. Product managers should be curious and never stop exploring new technologies
17. Customer happiness directly translates to shareholder satisfaction
18. Agile methodologies enable faster, more responsive product development
19. Cross-industry perspectives enrich product team capabilities
20. Successful product leaders are storytellers who can translate technical concepts into business language