S1 Ep#33 Bridging Business and Data: The Art of Data Product Management The Data Product Management In Action podcast, brought to you by executive producer Scott Hirleman, is a platform for data product management practitioners to share insights and experiences. 

In Season 01, Episode 33, Amritha, our newest host, chats with Sagar Nikam, Head of Product at CK Delta. Sagar shares his journey from finance to data product management, highlighting the art of translating complex AI/ML models into actionable business strategies. He discusses the challenges of defining data products, the importance of clear communication, and why adoption often outweighs accuracy. Sagar also offers insights on handling uncertainty, setting success metrics, and the cross-industry applicability of data product management skills. Tune in for a deep dive into making data-driven decisions that drive real business impact.

About our host Amritha Arun Babu: Amritha is an accomplished Product Leader with over a decade of experience building and scaling products across AI platforms, supply chain systems, and enterprise workflows in industries such as e-commerce, AI/ML, and marketing automation. At Amazon, she led machine learning platform products powering recommendation and personalization engines, building tools for model experimentation, deployment, and monitoring that improved efficiency for 1,500+ ML scientists. At Wayfair, she managed international supply chain systems, overseeing contracts, billing, product catalogs, and vendor operations, delivering cost savings and optimizing large-scale workflows. At Klaviyo, she drives both AI infrastructure and customer-facing AI tools, including recommendation engines, content generation assistants, and workflow automation agents, enabling scalable and personalized marketing workflows. Earlier, she worked on enterprise systems and revenue operations workflows, focusing on cost optimization and process improvements in complex technical environments. Amritha excels at bridging technical depth with strategic clarity, leading cross-functional teams, and delivering measurable business outcomes across diverse domains. Connect with Amritha on LinkedIn.
About our guest Sagar Nikam: Sagar is the Head of Products at CKDelta, leading the development of AI-driven solutions, AI Agents, and intelligent applications that enhance decision-making and automation across industries. With experience in banking, utilities, and SaaS, he has successfully launched and scaled AI-powered products that drive real business impact. Sagar helps product teams seamlessly integrate AI, navigate challenges, and build solutions that are user-centric, explainable, and trusted. Connect with Sagar on LinkedIn.  

All views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect their employers or anyone else. 

Join the conversation on LinkedIn. 

Apply to be a guest or nominate someone that you know. 

Do you love what you're listening to? Please rate and review the podcast, and share it with fellow practitioners you know. Your support helps us reach more listeners and continue providing valuable insights! 

The Data Product Management In Action podcast, brought to you by executive producer Scott Hirleman, is a platform for data product management practitioners to share insights and experiences. In this episode of Data Product Management in Action, we introduce our new host, Amritha Arun Babu! With over eight years of experience, Amritha shares her transition from engineering to product management and her impressive journey. She discusses scaling Amazon Today’s same-day delivery program, building code-to-cash products, and her current role at Klaviyo, where she’s shaping AI-driven features and refining ML platforms. Amritha emphasizes the value of understanding user needs, designing secure, scalable systems, and overcoming cross-functional challenges. Her advice to fellow product managers: network, share your experiences, and enjoy the ride! About our Host Amritha Arun Babu: Amritha is an accomplished Product Leader with over a decade of experience building and scaling products across AI platforms, supply chain systems, and enterprise workflows in industries such as e-commerce, AI/ML, and marketing automation. At Amazon, she led machine learning platform products powering recommendation and personalization engines, building tools for model experimentation, deployment, and monitoring that improved efficiency for 1,500+ ML scientists. At Wayfair, she managed international supply chain systems, overseeing contracts, billing, product catalogs, and vendor operations, delivering cost savings and optimizing large-scale workflows. At Klaviyo, she drives both AI infrastructure and customer-facing AI tools, including recommendation engines, content generation assistants, and workflow automation agents, enabling scalable and personalized marketing workflows. Earlier, she worked on enterprise systems and revenue operations workflows, focusing on cost optimization and process improvements in complex technical environments. Amritha excels at bridging technical depth with strategic clarity, leading cross-functional teams, and delivering measurable business outcomes across diverse domains. Connect with Amritha on LinkedIn. All views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect their employers or anyone else.  Join the conversation on LinkedIn.  Apply to be a guest or nominate someone that you know.  Do you love what you're listening to? Please rate and review the podcast, and share it with fellow practitioners you know. Your support helps us reach more listeners and continue providing valuable insights! 

The Data Product Management In Action podcast, brought to you by Soda and executive producer Scott Hirleman, is a platform for data product management practitioners to share insights and experiences. In this special minisode celebrating the podcast's 25th episode milestone, hosts Michael Toland and Amritha Arun Babu reflect on their journey so far. They share the key lessons they've learned, moments they've enjoyed, and their excitement for the future of data product management. From insights into AI and ML to the importance of building strong data communities and infrastructure, this episode highlights the most impactful themes and sets the stage for what’s to come in 2025. About our Host Michael Toland: Michael is a Product Management Coach and Consultant with Pathfinder Product, a Test Double Operation. He has worked in product officially since 2016, where he worked at Verizon on large scale system modernizations and migration initiatives for reference data and decision platforms. Outside of his professional career, Michael serves as the Treasurer for the New Leaders Council, mentors fellows with Venture for America, sings in the Columbus Symphony, writing satire posts for his blog Dignified Product or Test Double, depending on the topic, and is excited to be chatting with folks on Data Product Management. Connect with Michael on LinkedIn. About our Host Amritha Arun Babu Mysore: Amritha is an accomplished Product Leader with over a decade of experience building and scaling products across AI platforms, supply chain systems, and enterprise workflows in industries such as e-commerce, AI/ML, and marketing automation. At Amazon, she led machine learning platform products powering recommendation and personalization engines, building tools for model experimentation, deployment, and monitoring that improved efficiency for 1,500+ ML scientists. At Wayfair, she managed international supply chain systems, overseeing contracts, billing, product catalogs, and vendor operations, delivering cost savings and optimizing large-scale workflows. At Klaviyo, she drives both AI infrastructure and customer-facing AI tools, including recommendation engines, content generation assistants, and workflow automation agents, enabling scalable and personalized marketing workflows. Earlier, she worked on enterprise systems and revenue operations workflows, focusing on cost optimization and process improvements in complex technical environments. Amritha excels at bridging technical depth with strategic clarity, leading cross-functional teams, and delivering measurable business outcomes across diverse domains. Connect with Amritha on LinkedIn. All views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect their employers or anyone else.  Join the conversation on LinkedIn.  Apply to be a guest or nominate someone that you know.  Do you love what you're listening to? Please rate and review the podcast, and share it with fellow practitioners you know. Your support helps us reach more listeners and continue providing valuable insights!  .

The Data Product Management In Action podcast, brought to you by Soda and executive producer Scott Hirleman, is a platform for data product management practitioners to share insights and experiences.  In Season 01, Episode 20, Nick is back and this time he is chatting with Ganesh Prasad. They dive into Ganesh's background as a data product manager and his journey from data science to product management. The discussion leads into the differences between internal and external products, the importance of user interviews and discovery, and the challenges and advantages of working in big tech and financial industries. Follow along as Ganesh shares some valuable tips and explains the importance of having a product mindset. About our host Nick Zervoudis: Nick is Head of Product at CKDelta, an AI software business within the CK Hutchison Holdings group. Nick oversees a portfolio of data products and works with sister companies to uncover new opportunities to innovate using data, analytics, and machine learning. Nick's career has revolved around data and advanced analytics from day one, having worked as an analyst, consultant, product manager, and instructor for startups, SMEs, and enterprises including PepsiCo, Sainsbury's, Lloyds Banking Group, IKEA, Capgemini Invent, BrainStation, QuantSpark, and Hg Capital. Nick is also the co-host of London's Data Product Management meetup, and speaks and writes regularly about data and AI product management. Connect with Nick on LinkedIn.   About our guest Ganesh Prasad: Ganesh is a Senior Product Lead in the Data Analytics division at Salesforce, bringing over 5 years of experience in data product management from both Salesforce and Mastercard. He has a proven track record of successfully launching and scaling products that meet customer needs. Ganesh has successfully managed and developed analytics, ML, and AI products across various domains, including marketing analytics, fraud detection, revenue forecasting, and platform optimization. Transitioning from a data scientist to a product manager, Ganesh is passionate about the intersection of data and product development. He leads the PM Community of Practice for the Data Analytics division at Salesforce and dedicates his spare time to mentoring others in the field. Connect with Ganesh on LinkedIn.  All views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect their employers or anyone else.  Join the conversation on LinkedIn.  Apply to be a guest or nominate someone that you know.  Do you love what you're listening to? Please rate and review the podcast, and share it with fellow practitioners you know. Your support helps us reach more listeners and continue providing valuable insights!   

The Data Product Management In Action podcast, brought to you by Soda and executive producer Scott Hirleman, is a platform for data product management practitioners to share insights and experiences. 

In Season 01, Episode 17, host Nick Zervoudis ( Head of Product at CKDelta) talks to Grace Halim (Product Manager with Power Digital Marketing). In this episode Grace shares her career journey and highlights the importance of diverse experiences in shaping a successful product manager. She discusses the value of empathy, strong relationships with engineering and data teams, and the role of curiosity in asking the right questions. Listen to Grace as she shares her plans for a career break to explore new projects! 

About our host Nick Zervoudis: Nick is Head of Product at CKDelta, an AI software business within the CK Hutchison Holdings group. Nick oversees a portfolio of data products and works with sister companies to uncover new opportunities to innovate using data, analytics, and machine learning. Nick's career has revolved around data and advanced analytics from day one, having worked as an analyst, consultant, product manager, and instructor for startups, SMEs, and enterprises including PepsiCo, Sainsbury's, Lloyds Banking Group, IKEA, Capgemini Invent, BrainStation, QuantSpark, and Hg Capital. Nick is also the co-host of London's Data Product Management meetup, and speaks & writes regularly about data & AI product management. Connect with Nick on LinkedIn.  
About our guest Grace Halim: Grace is a seasoned product leader with a passion for building innovative products. With over 12 years of product management experience, Grace has honed her skills in leading high-performing product teams and delivering exceptional customer experiences. From crafting engaging data products to optimizing complex enterprise systems, Grace has a proven track record of success in the product management field. Grace is currently on a career break traveling around Australia in a caravan with her young family. Having been a product leader in the last two roles she held, Grace excelled in building and scaling product teams, fostering a culture of innovation, and driving business growth. Her teams' focus on customer focus and strategic thinking have been instrumental in delivering successful products that resonate with customers and drive bottom-line results. Beyond her corporate experience, Grace is an entrepreneur at heart. As co-founder of a data platform, she demonstrated her ability to turn a vision into a paying customer. Stay up to date with Grace’s adventure on LinkedIn. 

All views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect their employers or anyone else. 

Join the conversation on LinkedIn. 

Apply to be a guest or nominate someone that you know. 

Do you love what you're listening to? Please rate and review the podcast, and share it with fellow practitioners you know. Your support helps us reach more listeners and continue providing valuable insights! 

The Data Product Management In Action podcast, brought to you by Soda and executive producer Scott Hirleman, is a platform for data product management practitioners to share insights and experiences. In Season 01, Episode 10, host Michael Toland (Product Management Coach and Consultant with Pathfinder Product) talks to Tarek Elqoulaq (Product Manager with Power Digital Marketing). Tarek shares his unconventional journey into data product management, despite not having a background in data or engineering. With experience in product growth and SEO consulting for companies like Audible, Spotify, and Dropbox, Tarek offers a unique perspective on shifting into data platform product management. He and Michael delve into the resources that helped him bridge the knowledge gap, emphasizing the value of hands-on learning. Tarek also discusses the importance of building cross-functional relationships and understanding the architecture and design of the systems you work with. This mindset shift enables tailoring solutions that add value across the organization, highlighting the significance of prioritization and alignment with broader business goals. About our host Michael Toland: Michael is a Product Management Coach and Consultant with Pathfinder Product, a Test Double Operation. Since 2016, Michael has worked on large-scale system modernizations and migration initiatives at Verizon. Outside his professional career, Michael serves as the Treasurer for the New Leaders Council, mentors with Venture for America, sings with the Columbus Symphony, and writes satire for his blog Dignified Product. He is excited to discuss data product management with the podcast audience. Connect with Michael on LinkedIn. About our guest Tarek Elqoulaq: Tarek is a product manager specializing in data platforms, with a passion for building systems that drive high-revenue data products. He previously worked in product growth and consulting, collaborating closely with SEO and product teams at companies like Audible, Spotify, and Dropbox, among others. Connect with Tarek on LinkedIn. All views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect their employers or anyone else. Join the conversation on LinkedIn. Apply to be a guest or nominate someone that you know. Do you love what you're listening to? Please rate and review the podcast, and share it with fellow practitioners you know. Your support helps us reach more listeners and continue providing valuable insights!

The Data Product Management In Action podcast, brought to you by Soda and executive producer Scott Hirleman, is a platform for data product management practitioners to share insights and experiences. In Season 01, Episode 09, host Frannie Helforoush (Senior Digital Product Manager at RBC Global Asset Management) talks to guest Jill Maffeo (Principal Product Manager at Vista). Jill is a data and product management practitioner who joins Frannie in conversation to talk about building and leading effective data and product teams. There's a lot for listeners to takeaway including challenges faced by Jill and how to foster collaboration and drive success. A few of the big questions tackled in this episode are: What are the key elements in building a cohesive and productive team? How can you optimize team structures for efficiency and innovation? What is the 'Product Trio', and why is it crucial for creating successful digital products? How do you integrate data-driven insights into the product development lifecycle? What team metrics or process metrics to follow to align a team? Should a data product manager report to a CPO or a data leader?   About our host Frannie Helforoush: Frannie's journey began as a software engineer and evolved into a strategic product manager. Now, as a data product manager, she leverages her expertise in both fields to create impactful solutions. Frannie thrives on making data accessible and actionable, driving product innovation, and ensuring product thinking is integral to data management. Connect with Frannie on LinkedIn. About our guest Jill Maffeo: Jill has a background in analytics and product management, with experience spanning teams focused on channels and marketing, customer retention, customer service, and ecommerce site platforms. Currently, she leads the strategy for Site Search at Vistaprint, overseeing a dynamic team of software engineers, data engineers, a data product analyst, and data scientists dedicated to enhancing customer and partner experiences. Jill's professional passion lies in metadata development and management, providing solid foundational data to build models and orchestrate customer journeys. Outside of work, she enjoys good books, tasty food, and going on walks. Connect with Jill on LinkedIn. All views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect their employers or anyone else. Join the conversation on LinkedIn. Apply to be a guest or nominate someone that you know. Do you love what you're listening to? Please rate and review the podcast, and share it with fellow practitioners you know. Your support helps us reach more listeners and continue providing valuable insights!

The Data Product Management In Action podcast, brought to you by Soda and executive producer Scott Hirleman, is a platform for data product management practitioners to share insights and experiences. In Season 01, Episode 07, host Michael Toland (Product Management Coach and Consultant with Pathfinder Product) engages in a deep discussion with Andrew Warner (Senior Product Manager at Genome Medical) about the intriciacies of monetizing and marketing healthcare data products. They cover the full gamut from product development, market research, and product validation, to privacy and ethical considerations, as well as financing and funding models. Both Andrew and Michael share their experiences, insights on common pitfalls, and valuable lessons learned.  About our host Michael Toland: Michael is a Product Management Coach and Consultant with Pathfinder Product, a Test Double Operation. Since 2016, Michael has worked on large-scale system modernizations and migration initiatives at Verizon. Outside his professional career, Michael serves as the Treasurer for the New Leaders Council, mentors with Venture for America, sings with the Columbus Symphony, and writes satire for his blog Dignified Product. He is excited to discuss data product management with the podcast audience. Connect with Michael on LinkedIn. About our guest Andrew Warner: Andrew is a Senior Product Manager with eight years of experience in healthcare platforms, data, and integration. He has worked on a diverse range of projects, from mobile apps that reach millions of users to internal data systems that drive business growth. Andrew is passionate about challenging the status quo and fostering business innovation by introducing products that resonate with consumers. Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn.   All views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect their employers or anyone else. Join the conversation on LinkedIn. Apply to be a guest or nominate someone that you know.