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Agentic AI Execution

Leena Agarwal

The podcast for TPMs, product managers, and builders shipping real AI systems. No hype, no frameworks — just honest conversations about what it actually takes to move from model to production.
Topics include agentic AI, AI program execution, stakeholder alignment, technical roadmaps, and building trust in AI-driven orgs. Hosted by Leena Agarwal, 18-year TPM veteran from Amazon and Meta.
New episodes every week. Built for tech leaders who ship.

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  • 23 episodes
  • Avg 27 min
  • English

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  • S1 · E25
    Monday · 35 min

    Why AI Pilots Fail? | Ep 25

    If your team is still running Story Points and Fibonacci on AI projects, today's guest says that math is already broken.In this episode, from actionable frameworks to the hard truths about AI ROI, Shivam argues that before you implement the technology, you absolutely must fix your broken processes first. We also dive into why we need "human in the *line*" instead of just "human in the *loop*," and exactly what a 30-60-90 day AI integration plan looks like for a mid-sized company.If you are navigating the chaos of AI, this is a must-listen episode!---### ⏱️ **Chapter Timestamps*** **3:31** - The Biggest Bottlenecks: Why agents fail to reach production* **5:45** - Surviving the Chaos: How the TPM role must evolve* **10:03** - The AI Truth: Balancing cost savings, productivity, and employee experience* **12:24** - The #1 reason Agentic AI pilots die (and why you need a charter)* **14:28** - "Human in the Line": Why you need to fix your processes before deploying AI* **19:22** - The Ultimate 30-60-90 Day AI Action Plan for mid-sized companies* **24:50** - Why traditional capacity tracking and methodologies belong out the door* **25:58** - Rethinking AI Security & handing over the keys to the kingdom* **28:20** - Essential skills PMs need for the Agentic AI era* **31:15** - 18 Months Out: Preparing for your new "L3" AI Co-worker* **33:00** - Finding our "uniquely human" purpose in the age of AI* **35:04** - Outro & Final Thoughts🔗 Links:* Connect with Shivam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shivamkhullar/* Connect with Leena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/#AgenticAI #AgenticAIExecution

  • S1 · E24
    August 20 · 31 min

    Real AI vs. AI Wrappers: How VCs Spot Fake Agentic Startups (Ep. 24)

    She's evaluated hundreds of AI pitch decks — and she can spot a real agentic AI company from a wrapper in two sentences. In Episode 24, I sit down with Sonia, Managing Partner at Zentara Ventures and founder of Dekode Health, to unpack what actually separates AI companies with real ROI from the ones wrapping a chatbot around a spreadsheet and calling it a platform.Sonia isn't theorizing from the sidelines. She's an engineer by training who moved through product and marketing before landing on the venture side — and she's personally built and launched her own AI healthcare product, now in private pilot. Four exits, one IPO, and more than half a billion dollars raised as a C-level executive — she's built a due-diligence lens most investors don't have. ⏱️ Chapters:0:00 Intro 0:32 Sonia's Path: Engineer to Product to Marketing to VC 2:37 What "AI-Powered" Really Buys You in a Pitch5:09 Real AI vs. Wrapper: The VC Due Diligence Test 6:12 Why She Went Deep Before Going Wide 8:23 The 91% Problem: Marketers Faking Agentic Work10:45 The Two-Sentence Test for Fake Agentic A I13:06 Legal Exposure: Where Founders Overstate AI14:04 What Should Never Get Handed to an Agent 15:36 Agentic AI in Marketing: Why Humans Still Win 17:34 The Line Healthcare AI Should Never Cross 19:42 The ROI Paradox: 84% Positive vs. "It's All Hype" 22:10 AI Layoffs: Real Capability or Convenient Cover? 25:35 The Solopreneur Era (and Why You Still Need Humans) 27:04 Redefining Execution in 2026 29:42 What Changes by 2027 32:15 Where to Find Sonia + Dekode Health "Founders who treat AI as a marketing layer instead of an infrastructure layer — wrapping a ChatGPT or Claude API around a spreadsheet and calling it a platform — that's not a company. It's a feature at best." — Sonia 🔗 Links:* Connect with Sonia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soniahunt/ * Connect with Leena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/ Subscribe for new episodes of Agentic AI Execution, where we go past the pitch deck to how AI actually gets built, funded, and used. #AgenticAI #AgenticAIExecution #VentureCapital #AIStartups #HealthcareAI

  • S1 · E23
    August 17 · 22 min

    Agentic AI is Changing Marketing, Ads & Customer Acquisition | Episode 23

    Are you throwing money into a black hole with paid ads? Deepti, founder of Uplaud and former product lead for Meta's monetization engine, explains why the future of growth isn't more ad spend—it's customer trust.In this episode of Agentic AI Execution with Leena Agarwal, we dive into why customer referrals convert 5x better than paid media, how agentic AI is transforming the way businesses acquire users, and why the tech stack of the future relies on authentic voices, not just algorithms. ⏱️ Chapters: 0:00 - Intro: Customer Trust is the New Gold 1:13 - Deepti's Journey: From Meta to Startup Founder 4:50 - The Problem with Modern Ad Platforms 8:15 - Why 5-6% is Still a "Good" Conversion Rate 11:30 - How Uplaud Amplifies Authentic Customer Voices 16:45 - Uplaud's AI Stack: Claude, OpenAI, and Gemini 18:20 - Career Advice for PMs & Engineers in the AI Era 🔗 Links: Check out Uplaud: https://www.uplaud.ai/ Connect with Deepthi: / deepthirao05 Connect with Leena: / leenaagarwal

  • S1 · E23
    August 16 · 22 min

    Agentic AI is Changing Marketing, Ads & Customer Acquisition | Episode 23

    Are you throwing money into a black hole with paid ads? Deepti, founder of Uplaud and former product lead for Meta's monetization engine, explains why the future of growth isn't more ad spend—it's customer trust.In this episode of Agentic AI Execution with Leena Agarwal, we dive into why customer referrals convert 5x better than paid media, how agentic AI is transforming the way businesses acquire users, and why the tech stack of the future relies on authentic voices, not just algorithms.⏱️ Chapters:0:00 - Intro: Customer Trust is the New Gold1:13 - Deepti's Journey: From Meta to Startup Founder4:50 - The Problem with Modern Ad Platforms8:15 - Why 5-6% is Still a "Good" Conversion Rate11:30 - How Uplaud Amplifies Authentic Customer Voices16:45 - Uplaud's AI Stack: Claude, OpenAI, and Gemini18:20 - Career Advice for PMs & Engineers in the AI Era🔗 Links:* Check out Uplaud: https://www.uplaud.ai/* Connect with Deepthi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepthirao05/* Connect with Leena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/

  • S1 · E22
    August 16 · 33 min

    Good Judgment Beats Good Context | Episode 22

    Aadil has spent 16 years as a TPM across Apple, Google, Nike, and Humane — and he's convinced the biggest risk in the AI era isn't using these tools too little. It's reaching for them before asking whether you even need to. 🕒 Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro & The Airtable Epiphany 00:53 - Why Good Judgment Beats Good Prompts 03:15 - Catching Dilemmas Early & Avoiding Agent Maintenance Overhead 05:10 - What to Delegate vs. What to Keep Control On 08:30 - TPMs Are Synthesizers, Not Producers 11:00 - How TPMs Stand Out in the AI Era 15:30 - What Hiring Managers Look For in Senior TPMs 19:00 - Startup Thinking vs. Big Tech Process Bloat 23:15 - Driving Velocity with Repeatable Systems 25:40 - Feedback Loops & Leadership Lessons from Apple 27:36 - When AI Agents Fail & Avoiding "Judgment Debt" 30:15 - Final Career Advice: Never Stop Learning 32:50 - Key Takeaways & Wrap-Up 🔗 Resources & Links:* * Aadil writes a newsletter on TPM leadership — https://artoftpm.substack.com/ * Connect with Aadil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aadilmaan/ * Connect with Leena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/

  • S1 · E21
    August 10 · 22 min

    Builders vs. Marketers with AI | Episode 21

    As Preethy highlights in the podcast, technical founders frequently fall into the trap of thinking "if I build a great product, it will sell itself". But as engineering and AI code generation become commoditized, building is no longer the bottleneck—customer validation and distribution are. Timestamps / Chapters 00:00 - Introduction: Why Advanced AI Isn't Everything 00:19 - Preeti’s Journey: 25 Years in Silicon Valley 00:45 - Evaluating AI Claims: Privacy, Hallucinations, & Security 01:15 - Questions Founders Must Answer Before Shipping AI01:30 - Agentic AI Capabilities & B2B vs. B2C Dynamics 02:00 - 2026: Moving from AI Adoption to Enterprise Production 02:30 - Solve Unsolvable Problems: Guardrails & Build vs. Buy 03:00 - Blitzscaling Speed vs. Cost & Safety Trade-offs 03:30 - 10x Growth Strategies & Agentic AI in Marketing 04:00 - What Technical Founders Get Wrong About Marketing 04:30 - Human Connection & The 3S Formula for Success

  • S1 · E20
    August 5 · 34 min

    The Perception Gap: Why Great Work Gets Overlooked | Episode 20

    Are you doing the best work of your career, yet someone else keeps getting the credit? In this episode of Agentic AI Execution, host Leena sits down with Uma, a leadership coach and the author of Sought After Leader. After spending more than two decades at Microsoft, Uma realized a hard truth: simply being great at your job and executing flawlessly is no longer enough to get you noticed—especially as AI takes over the execution layer. Tune in to learn how to make your value undeniable and ensure your name is spoken in the rooms where decisions are made. 🕒 Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction: Why great work isn't enough 00:52 - Uma's journey from Microsoft to writing Sought After Leader 04:22 - The SOAR Framework explained 07:54 - The H.U.M.A.N. Edge: 5 skills to stand out in the AI era 13:05 - Real-world case study: Closing the perception gap 20:48 - Strategic visibility vs. bragging 23:42 - Finding "Level 10" opportunities in the white space 31:40 - Final thoughts and where to find Uma 33:57 - Episode recap and takeaways 🔗 Resources & Links:* Read the Book: https://www.amazon.com/Sought-After-Leader-Great-Enough-Above-ebook/dp/B0H7L5W4VM/* Connect with Uma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uma-subramanian-limitless/* Connect with Leena:

  • S1 · E19
    August 4 · 50 min

    Will AI Take Your TPM Job? | LinkedIn Senior Staff TPM Ankur Gupta| Ep 19

    Could your program survive two weeks without you? If the answer is no, you’re not running an operation—you’re a single point of failure with a job title.In this episode of Agentic AI Execution, host Leena sits down with Ankur Gupta, Senior Staff TPM leading AI Infrastructure at LinkedIn (and former tech leader at Walmart). They tackle the burning question: Will AI replace technical program managers?Ankur breaks down why AI isn't taking your job, why status reporting was never the core value of a TPM, and how to build a "TPM Operating System" that runs seamlessly with AI agents while keeping human judgment at the center.---📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS & HIGHLIGHTS:• The Two-Week Test: How to structure programs that don't depend on your memory.• Status vs. Judgment: Give agents the status updates, but keep judgment to yourself.• Information Centralization & Work Decentralization: Scaling execution across 200+ teams.• The TPM Operating System: Operational, Collaboration, and Technical lenses.• Guardrails Over Memos: How to build real AI governance directly into technical systems.• Deterministic vs. Non-Deterministic Reliability: Managing AI agents that take different paths to a goal.---⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - The Two-Week Test: Are You a Single Point of Failure?01:03 - Ankur Gupta's Career Journey to LinkedIn AI Infrastructure02:20 - What Agentic AI Execution Means in Practice03:30 - The Evolving Role of a TPM in the AI Era06:05 - Information Centralization vs. Work Decentralization08:45 - Moving from Coordination to Strategic Tech Leadership11:20 - The "TPM Operating System" Framework17:12 - Live Walkthrough: Set Once, Run Forever Checklist22:50 - What Should NEVER Be Handed Off to an AI Agent?25:10 - Lowering the "Cost of Yes" & Influencing Humans28:30 - Who Holds Accountability When AI Agents Ship Code?30:50 - AI Governance & System Guardrails34:10 - Reliability in Non-Deterministic AI Systems37:40 - What TPMs Need to Do in the Next 12 Months to Stay Relevant42:15 - Practical Hands-On AI Hacks for Daily Workflows46:10 - Overcoming AI Anxiety & Final Advice49:18 - Key Takeaways & Episode Wrap Up🔗 Connect on LinkedIn: Ankur : https://www.linkedin.com/in/agupta03/Leena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/

  • S1 · E18
    July 30 · 23 min

    Build Structure - Don't Chase Tools | Ep. 18

    In this episode, I sit down with Michael—a technical product management leader who has spent the last ten years building TPM teams from scratch. Together, we explore what agentic architecture looks like inside an engineering org and the mentorship that separates teams winning with AI from those who are just experimenting. Michael shares his mental models for AI adoption, explaining why we need to move past the "experimentation phase" and focus on building durable systems. Whether you are a product manager, TPM, or engineer, this conversation provides practical advice on shifting your perspective from using AI as a tool to leading AI as a teammate. ——————————————————————⏱ CHAPTERS——————————————————————00:00 - Introduction to Agentic AI Execution 00:31 - Michael's Journey & Building a TPM Team 06:07 - Why 95% of AI Agents Fail to Reach Production 15:51 - How Engineering Teams Can Close the AI Adoption Gap 12:54 - Leading AI as a Teammate, Not a Tool 23:19 - Outro & TPM Breakdowns Substack Links & ResourcesMichael's substack: https://michigoetz.substack.com/aboutConnect with Us! Michael: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michi-goetz Leena:https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal

  • S1 · E17
    July 28 · 40 min

    Is Agentic AI FOMO Real? How to Lead When Half Your Team is AI Agents | Ep. 17

    In Episode #17 of the Agentic AI Execution Podcast, host Leena sits down with Myra Deshmukh—a 10-year Amazon veteran and founder of Leadership Lab—to break down what leadership actually looks like when half your team consists of AI agents. If you've been feeling "Agentic AI FOMO" or overwhelmed by how fast tech is moving, this episode is a must-watch. Myra shares her golden rule for AI, how to avoid outsourcing critical thinking, and why human judgment is your greatest asset in an automated world ---------------------------------------------------⏱️ TIMESTAMPS---------------------------------------------------00:00 - Intro: Leading when half your team is AI agents 00:32 - Welcome Myra Deshmukh (Leadership Lab & Ex-Amazon) 01:15 - Dealing with uncertainty & Agentic AI FOMO03:40 - Delegate work, keep judgment: Avoiding over-validation09:30 - How leadership style is changing in top tech companies 14:10 - Simple ways to build authentic relationships & trust at work 21:15 - The Manager's Insurance Policy: Verifying agent output29:50 - What to do if you feel overwhelmed or behind with AI 38:10 - Final advice for leaders & wrapping up ---------------------------------------------------🔗 RESOURCES & LINKS---------------------------------------------------• Check out Leadership Lab: https://www.leadership-lab.co/• Connect with Myra Deshmukh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/myra-deshmukh/• Leena | Agentic AI Execution Podcast https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/ #AgenticAI #Leadership #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfWork #ProductManagement #LeadershipLab #TechLeadership

  • S1 · E16
    July 22 · 24 min

    What actually separates teams that ship AI from teams that are just demoing it?

    With AI accelerating data flow, human alignment and judgment have become the ultimate bottlenecks in product development. If you are still relying on traditional, slow decision hierarchies, you are falling behind in the age of agentic intelligence.In this episode of *Agentic AI Execution*, Anjali—who leads AI programs on Google Maps and mentors over 100 startup founders—breaks down how to deliver AI products at a scale of billions. We explore why human-in-the-loop is still non-negotiable despite rising automation, how the Technical Program Manager (TPM) role is morphing into a multi-hyphenate AI builder, and the practical agentic workflows she uses every day to reclaim her time .*⏳ Timestamps:* *0:00* - Introduction: Leading AI at Google Maps and mentoring 100+ AI founders *0:27* - Product thinking for 1 user vs. 1 billion users *1:10* - How LLMs changed data analysis and product architecture *2:23* - Human alignment is the new bottleneck in tech *3:30* - The shift from 5 decisions a week to 20 decisions a day *3:37* - Why Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are taking over leadership decisions *4:00* - Automation vs. Human-in-the-Loop: An AI reporting case study *5:55* - Why AI is a database, not a thinker *6:23* - Will TPM, PM, and Engineering roles merge into one? *7:45* - How AI makes product leaders proactive instead of reactive *9:33* - How to stay relevant and "add value + 1" in an AI-driven market *11:00* - Transitioning careers: From Admin or UX Designer to PM using AI *12:00* - Anjali's AI stack: Gemini, NotebookLM, Claude, and Anti-Gravity *13:50* - Predictions: Agents will own everything on Google Maps in 2 years *15:00* - How Anjali uses daily AI agents to filter emails, pings, and tasks *16:23* - Final thoughts: "No one can take your job but you" *Anjali:* [ / anjalikakkadp ]( / anjalikakkadp ) *Leena:* [ / leenaagarwal ]( / leenaagarwal ) *🔗 Connections:*

  • S1 · E15
    July 7 · 26 min

    60% of Web Traffic is AI: Why You Must Stop Building for Humans

    **The internet has fundamentally changed.** Over 60% of web traffic is now driven by AI agents, not humans. If you are still building landing pages and products exclusively for people, you are missing the biggest shift since the dot-com boom.In this episode of *Agentic AI Execution*, Mariane—Head of DevRel at You.com and founder of the Founders Bay community—breaks down why we are entering an AI renaissance rather than a bubble. We discuss why developers must evolve into "full-stack AI engineers" who manage 10-20 agents simultaneously to stay competitive. We also dive deep into the reality of building a massive community from scratch, the failure patterns of early-stage founders building in isolation, and the very real balancing act of scaling a career while managing mom guilt.**⏳ Timestamps:**0:00 - Over 60% of web traffic is now AI agents0:37 - Mariane's journey: Engineering leadership to You.com DevRel2:21 - The #1 reason AI founders fail: Building in isolation4:47 - Why you need to build websites for agents, not humans6:13 - AI Bubble vs. The AI Renaissance7:45 - Vibe Coding: Managing 10-20 agents at once9:11 - Handling bugs and CI/CD with AI-generated code11:21 - The rise of the Forward Deployed & Full Stack AI Engineer14:50 - Growing Founders Bay and building community from scratch18:30 - How to build an audience from zero today22:15 - The future of DevRel in an Agentic AI world23:30 - Managing burnout, parenting, and the reality of "mom guilt"26:06 - Closing thoughts: Keep building and showing up🔗 Connections:* Mariane: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianebekker/ * Leena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/* Founders Bay Community: https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundersbaynetwork

  • S1 · E14
    June 30 · 20 min

    Why AI Agents Still Make Wrong Calls — Even With Perfect Memory | Adelina, Founder of Rory Plans

    What if the hardest problem in AI agents isn't memory — it's judgment?In this episode of Agentic AI Execution, I sit down with Adelina — former colleague at Cruise, later at Vercel, and now founder of Rory Plans, building AI agents for organizational decision-making.We get into why agents with perfect memory still make the wrong recommendation, why bad decisions compound faster than you'd think, and what she wishes she'd known before quitting her job to start her company.In this conversation:→ Why memory tells an agent what happened — but not what matters→ What Cruise taught her about decisions under uncertainty, and how it applies to AI agents today→ Why Rory Brain exists to capture judgment, not just information→ Running "Lunch and Hack" events and what builders are getting wrong with AI agent memory→ Why she believes organizational intelligence — not bigger models — will define the winners in AI→ Her advice to founders: spend 80% of your time with customers, 20% building🔗 Connections:* Adelina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelinamartiniuc/* Leena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/* Rory Plans: https://roryplans.aiTimestamps:00:00 Intro00:26 Adelina's journey: Cruise → Vercel → founding Rory Plans02:30 Why judgment is harder than memory for AI agents05:00 What Cruise taught her about decisions at scale07:30 Building Rory Brain to capture organizational judgment10:30 Lunch and Hack: what builders get wrong about agent memory13:30 Why organizational intelligence will define AI's winners17:00 Advice for founders: customers over building20:05 Closing takeaways + where to find Adelina#AgenticAI , #AIAgents , #TPM , #AI

  • S1 · E11
    June 24 · 30 min

    Why Your AI Agent is One API Key Away From a $20,000 Disaster 💸

    *Are you vibe coding your way into a massive cloud billing nightmare?*AI agents are already writing code, reviewing ads, and making autonomous decisions. But who is actually watching them? In this episode, Leena sits down with Lulu, a data infrastructure expert who has scaled systems at Capital One, Block, and Reddit.They break down the "real talk" of scaling AI safely, why AI-generated code is breaking in production, and how a single unmonitored API key can cause a $20,000 disaster in less than 48 hours. If you are building with LLMs, this breakdown of infrastructure, guardrails, and cost-optimization will save your budget and your production systems.👇 *SUBSCRIBE* for more deep dives into the reality of engineering the AI boom.⏱️ Timestamps & Highlights *00:38* — Lulu’s journey: Inside data teams at Capital One, Block, & Reddit. *01:10* — Why your data infrastructure won't work at AI scale. *02:30* — How Reddit automates 90% of ad reviews using Gen AI enrichment. *04:30* — The hidden cost trap: Snowflake & Databricks vs. LLM scaling. *06:20* — Why running massive frontier models in production will "burn your car". *07:05* — Stop using frontier models for simple tasks (The Small Model Strategy). *09:20* — Why Stanford & Berkeley benchmarks are lying to you about real enterprise costs. *11:15* — What is "Contract-First Development" and why does AI code break? *15:00* — Building "seatbelts" for AI: Secure Kubernetes pods and real-time execution auditing. *18:15* — Startups vs. Enterprises: Compliance, SOC2, and the future of agent security. *21:30* — The Nightmare Scenario: Leaking API keys to your local coding agent. *23:00* — Lightning Round: The one hot take on AI code that engineers HATE. 🔗 🔗 Connections: Connect with Lulu: / luluchengengineeratheart Connect with Leena: / leenaagarwal

  • S1 · E12
    June 16 · 32 min

    Why AI Products Fail: Faster Execution Isn't Enough | Ex-Meta & Microsoft PM Revital

    Engineering velocity just skyrocketed. Code is being written, tested, and shipped 10x faster than ever before thanks to generative and agentic AI.And yet — product failure rates are rising.Why? Because speeding up execution doesn't automatically mean progress. The bottleneck was never engineering. It was always judgment.In this episode, host Leena sits down with Revital — executive coach, startup advisor, and former product leader at Meta and Microsoft. With a career spanning BCG management consulting, finance, and chief of staff roles, Revital brings a deeply strategic lens to the AI transition every PM is navigating right now.We get into why Andrew Ng says PM is the new bottleneck in tech, how leaders use data to hide from hard decisions, and why human judgment under uncertainty is the ultimate competitive moat in the age of AI agents.If you're a PM, TPM, or tech leader navigating layoffs, AI anxiety, and shrinking team ratios — this is your blueprint.🔗 Work with Revital: invergency.com⏱️ Timestamps00:00 – Introduction: From BCG to Meta & Microsoft Product Leader01:25 – Navigating a Non-Linear Career (Letting Go of the Grand Plan)04:10 – What Shipping to Billions Teaches You About Psychological Safety07:35 – Safe Experimentation: B2B vs. B2C Startup Strategy11:05 – Is PM the New Bottleneck? The PM-to-Engineer Ratio Shift14:20 – Execution vs. Judgment: What AI Cannot Automate17:15 – The Decision Problem in Disguise (Are You Polishing Decks?)20:00 – The Human Edge: Why "The Glue" Matters More Than Ever22:50 – Imposter Syndrome, Perfectionism & Internal Narratives26:25 – Layoffs & AI Anxiety: The Truth About Losing Your Job to AI29:40 – Rebranding Networking: Connect Without Feeling Salesy31:10 – Rapid Fire: Self-Awareness & What a Great PM Looks Like in 5 Years 🔗 Connections:Connect with * Revital: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revitalpadovitz/* Connect with Leena : https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/

  • S1 · E11
    June 15 · 20 min

    Is The TPM Role Dying?

    In this episode of Agentic AI Execution, Priyanka Shinde—founder of Solomate AI and former TPM leader at Meta and Cruise—joins the show. Following the massive wave of tech layoffs, Priyanka shares raw insights on why your job title might change, but your core execution and leadership skills are evergreen. We dive deep into how "English is the hottest new programming language", the reality of solo entrepreneurship, and how autonomous AI tools can buy your time back. ⏱️ Timestamps *00:00* – Intro: Is English the new programming language? *00:36* – From engineering back to building with cloud code *02:15* – Navigating the Big Tech layoff environment *04:10* – Why the TPM title is evolving into "AI Builders" *06:30* – Moving past chat prompts to autonomous AI *08:45* – Building Solomate AI for solo entrepreneurs *10:15* – Integration challenges: Context, judgment, and data privacy *13:20* – Can a one-person company hit a $1 Billion valuation? *15:45* – Strategic execution vs. leading with the solution *19:22* – Outro & 3 critical episode takeaways 🔗 Mentioned Links TPM Academy: https://www.tpmacademyai.com/ Solomate AI: https://www.solomate.ai/ 🔗 Connections: Connect with Priyanka Shinde: https://www.linkedin.com/in/priyankash/ Connect with Leena Agarwal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/

  • S1 · E10
    May 26 · 28 min

    Why Your AI Will Go Rogue (And How to Stop It)?

    Most companies fall in love with their AI on day one. Nobody asks what happens on day two.In this episode of Agentic AI Execution, I sit down with Noelle Russell — Employee #10 at Amazon Alexa, founder of the AI Leadership Institute, and closing in on 1 million views on her TED Talk.We cover:→ Why most AI systems go rogue (and who's really responsible)→ The principle of least privilege — and why leaders get it wrong→ What a "symphony of talent" actually means when building AI→ The baby tiger analogy that will change how you think about AI→ Why human-in-the-loop isn't a compromise — it's the design🔗 Find Noelle at the AI Leadership Institute: https://noelle.ai/🔗 Connections:Connect with Noelle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noelleai/ Connect with Leena Agarwal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/#AgenticAI #AILeadership #ResponsibleAI #AIStrategy #NoelleRussell #LeenaAgarwal #ArtificialIntelligence #AIExecution #TechLeadership #MachineLearning

  • S1 · E9
    May 21 · 15 min

    Your Time Is the New Currency | Energy, Innovation & Agentic AI

    Anya Eydman advises startups, utilities, and government agencies on deploying real innovation in energy and critical infrastructure — some of the most regulated environments in the world.She's a 2x founder who has built partnerships across 400+ organizations and generated $15M+ in strategic value.She knows exactly what it takes to move from idea to real-world deployment.In this episode we cover:→ Why the biggest barrier to your future isn't a skill gap — it's fear→ How agentic AI is breaking traditional workflows across every industry→ What regulated markets teach us about responsible AI deployment→ Why your time — not your degree or title — is now your most valuable currency→ Why AI has quietly made us all beginners again — whether we like it or notWhether you're a founder, operator, or curious professional —this one's for you. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⏱️ CHAPTERS ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 – Introduction 00:20 – How Anya uses AI for lead generation and networking02:00 – Energy infrastructure and why innovation is invisible from the outside 03:30 – What regulated markets teach us about agentic AI deployment 05:30 – How Anya advises founders, utilities, and government stakeholders 08:30 – Governance, regulation, and the shrinking MVP timeline 11:00 – Bridging the gap between AI speed and human capacity 12:30 – Why AI makes us all beginners — and what to do about it 14:30 – Time as the new currency ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🔗 CONNECT ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Anya Eydman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anyaeydman/ Leena Agarwal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ #AgenticAI #EnergyInnovation #AILeadership #FutureOfWork #StartupAdvisory #AIAdoption #CriticalInfrastructure #AIStrategy #DigitalTransformation #AIForBusiness

  • S1 · E8
    May 21 · 14 min

    What separates a real builder from someone just chasing the shiny thing?

    Brendan Beh has run hundreds of hackathons across APAC and built AI.SEA — a grassroots network of 10,000+ builders across 8 APAC countries. He knows exactly who holds up under pressure and why.In this episode we cover:→ How to move fast in hackathons without blowing things up→ Why AI is best treated like a really smart intern→ What separates serious builders from surface-level hackers→ How APAC is being hit hardest by agentic AI disruption→ The one thing that kills every community: inconsistencyWhether you're a builder, founder, or community leader — this one's for you.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━⏱️ CHAPTERS━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━00:00 - Intro00:16 - Building Fast Without Blowing Things Up01:30 - AI as a Smart Intern: Where to Draw the Line02:00 - APAC & The AI Disruption Threat02:45 - How to Keep Pace With the AI Hype Cycle03:30 - Does Governance Help or Hurt Builders?04:10 - How to Know When to Trust Your Agent05:20 - What Separates Serious Builders from Hackers06:30 - Brendan's Aha Moment With AI07:45 - His Exact Tech Stack for Hackathons08:30 - How to Win (or Learn) at Hackathons09:45 - How to Build a Community From Scratch11:00 - Consistency: The #1 Rule of Community Building13:00 - Closing Thoughts━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🔗 CONNECT━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Brendan Beh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-beh/Leena Agarwal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━#AgenticAI #Hackathons #AIBuilders #APAC #ArtificialIntelligence

  • S1 · E7
    May 19 · 21 min

    Your Job Roles Aren’t Dissolving, They’re Evolving. Here’s How to Survive.

    The Ultimate Tech Survival Guide: Rebuilding After Tech Layoffs & Thriving as an AI TPM 🚀What do you do when a "Reduction in Force" hits you at one of the biggest tech companies in the world?In this episode, we sit down with Kopal, a tech program leader with 15+ years of experience across Intel, Google, and Amazon. In April 2025, Kopal was caught in a massive Google layoff wave—driven by an industry reality where human capital is actively funding AI capital.Instead of panicking, updating LinkedIn, and pretending everything was fine, she paused, journaled, and completely reinvented her trajectory. Today, she’s at Amazon leading a team building Agentic Search.If you're feeling lost in the noise of AI changes, experiencing severe imposter syndrome, or hearing rumors that the TPM and Engineering roles are "dissolving," this masterclass is your reality check. The roles aren't dying—they are rapidly evolving.📌 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:The Layoff Mindset Shift: How to handle burnout, manage a career pause with your family, and separate your identity from your corporate job.System Design Prep That Actually Works: Why 30-second influencer clips are ruining your interview prep, and how to use deep-dive frameworks (like Hello Interview) to pass complex loops.The 14 Amazon Principles Hack: How to condense 100+ projects down to 7 core, high-impact examples that map to what FAANG interviewers are looking for.Traditional TPM vs. AI TPM: Why the modern AI Program Manager must understand resource economics (GPUs/CPUs, context windows, instance constraints) and know how to use AI to build custom automated tools.The Future of "Smartness": Why coding speed doesn't matter anymore. Smartness is now defined by how much time you can buy back for yourself using AI agents.⏱️ Timestamps:0:00 - Are tech roles actually dissolving?1:15 - Kopal’s transition from Google Ads to Amazon Agentic Search2:45 - The reality of the 2025/2026 Tech Layoffs (AI vs. Human Capital)4:20 - Overcoming imposter syndrome and having hard financial chats with family6:50 - Stop prepping with influencers: How to master System Design architecture9:15 - The Interview Hack: Filtering 100 projects into 7 core framework anchors11:30 - What makes an AI TPM different from a traditional TPM?13:15 - Navigating GPU, CPU, and cloud infrastructure economics in AI product stacks15:40 - How to build your own "AI Copilot Agent" to automate manual tracking18:00 - The final word: Your job needs you more than you need it.🔗 Resources Mentioned: Hello Interview: / @hello_interview Connect with Kopal: / copalnema Connect with Leena: / leenaagarwal 💬 Join the Conversation:Are you noticing your day-to-day tech responsibilities shifting because of AI? Do you think tech program management is becoming too hyper-technical, or is the human element more important than ever? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!

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