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Mike Capsambelis, Product Management Lead, Google
Mike leads the product team at Google responsible for collecting, understanding, and enriching data for billions of products sold around the world. Prior to Google, he spent over 15 years leading product development for several software companies that specialized in driving insight from data. Most recently, he was the Director of Product Management at M*Modal (acquired by 3M) and MAYA Viz (acquired by General Dynamics. A passionate advocate for inclusive entrepreneurship and social enterprise, Mike also leads Google's community outreach efforts in Pittsburgh, advising startups and organizing programs and events to connect Black and women-owned businesses with resources and knowledge to excel in Pittsburgh’s thriving economy. Outside of Google, Mike is the founder of Awesome Pittsburgh, an organization that has awarded over 120 no-strings-attached grants to people and organizations that bring more awesomeness to the region. He also serves on the boards of PACE (Program to Aid Citizen Enterprise) and the newly formed Mon Metro Chamber of Commerce, an organization committed to equitable enterprise in Braddock and surrounding communities.
Keynote: Bring Data...and Opinions There is a saying that good product managers bring data, not opinions. We are encouraged to leave our opinions and instincts behind and let the data do the talking. Mike believes that great PMs build up expertise over time so that they can develop strong opinions and make timely decisions, informed - but not constrained - by data. He will share how to make product decisions based on both your intuition and data, and what to do when one or both of them turn out to be wrong. |
Athena Meyers, Chief Operating Officer, Niche
Athena is the Chief Operating Officer at Niche, a product that helps students and parents choose the right school. She's on a mission to modernize the school search and enrollment process. Athena initially joined Niche as Chief Product Officer with over 15 years of experience leading digital product strategies and has a strong passion for growing two-sided marketplaces. Prior to Niche, she led The Knot's global wedding marketplace and was recognized in 2019 as one of DC's "50 on Fire" in tech innovation. She's also had impactful roles in New York at Time Magazine/TIME.com and asmallworld.com (a social network start-up when she joined). She is especially motivated to build products that make it easy for people to navigate hard & important life moments, like planning and wedding and finding a school! Keynote : Multi-Horizon Product Planning - How to balance short-term wins and long-term growth. Can you have a long-term roadmap and still be agile? Absolutely. In fact, without planning further out toward a future horizon, Product Managers can get stuck doing a lot of one-off requests and optimizations that may not move the business forward in a meaningful way. Athena will talk about how to balance the near-term needs of the product and company while moving towards a long-term vision. |