PolyGone Systems CEO & Co-Founder on Removing Microplastics and Improving Planetary Health with Design Thinking

Can design thinking and partnerships accelerate climate solutions at the pace the world now demands? The scale and urgency of the transformation required to fight climate change has never been more clear. Building hardware and software products, acquiring the funding and creating a diverse community to enhance talent capacity and to drive innovation, is essential to tackling this global environmental crisis. In this podcast, host Silicon Valley Bank (a division of First Citizens Bank) Climate Tech & Sustainability SVP Maggie Wong will be interviewing PolyGone Systems CEO & Co-Founder Nathaniel Banks to discuss the use of design thinking and partnerships to remove and recover microplastics across bodies of water, the balance of product iteration and customer testing, and and importance of education of a problem and relevant solutions to facilitate adoption

AI isn't breaking work, we are. So what actually needs to change? In this episode of the Product Talk podcast, host Denise Hemke sits down with product leader Sriram Iyer to explore why today's workplace crisis has less to do with AI and more to do with culture, trust, and leadership clarity. Drawing on decades of experience across platforms, AI products, and scaling organizations, Sriram unpacks how product roles are collapsing, why durable careers now require lifelong learning and generalist skills, and how a growing trust deficit is undermining teams. From the "70/70/70" career framework to practical ways leaders can rebuild trust and clarity, this episode is a must-listen for product managers and leaders navigating change without losing their humanity.

What does it really take to shift from shipping features to driving measurable outcomes at global scale? In this podcast hosted by EY Platform Operations Lead Justin Leibow, Walmart Principal Product Manager Parul Jain shares how she approaches product strategy, innovation pipelines, and AI-enabled product operations. She unpacks how outcome-based planning reshapes team behavior, how to structure innovation as a repeatable system rather than a one-off event, and where generative AI can meaningfully elevate product decision-making without replacing human judgment.

Why do 85% of AI projects fail, and how can product leaders beat the odds? In this episode of the Product Talk podcast, host Denise Hemke sits down with Greg Nudelman, product and UX leader and creator of the Snowball Sprint, to unpack why AI initiatives break down and what it really takes to build AI products that succeed. Drawing on real-world examples from cybersecurity, enterprise AI, and IoT, Greg shares practical frameworks for framing the right use cases, thin-slicing real data, escaping POC purgatory, and redefining success beyond accuracy. A must-listen for product managers and leaders navigating AI-driven product strategy.

How can product leaders turn today's climate urgency into scalable hardware and software solutions that attract capital, unlock long-term energy storage, and build the diverse teams needed to make it all work? The scale and urgency of the transformation required to fight climate change has never been more clear. Building hardware and software products, acquiring the funding and creating a diverse community to enhance talent capacity and to drive innovation, is essential to tackling this global environmental crisis. In this podcast, host Silicon Valley Bank (a division of First Citizens Bank) Climate Tech & Sustainability SVP Maggie Wong will be interviewing Terrament Co-Founder & COO Eric Chaves to discuss leveraging existing technologies to generate sustainable energy and enable a long-term storage solution, as well as the importance of diverse experiences to identify a co-founder and future hires.

How should product leaders rethink pricing in an AI-driven world where value, speed, and automation are constantly shifting? In this podcast hosted by EY Platform Operations Lead Justin Leibow, Decisionalpha CEO Etinosa Agbonlahor speaks on behavioral economics and the evolving psychology of pricing. She explores how companies can move beyond cost-plus models, design pricing as a strategic feature, and adapt monetization strategies as AI reshapes outcomes, efficiency, and customer expectations.

What really breaks when a company scales and why do proven playbooks suddenly stop working? In this podcast hosted by Boston New Technology CPO Shweta Agrawal, Apollo.io CPO Bela Stepanova speaks on what it takes to scale from $40M to $200M ARR and beyond. Drawing from her experience scaling multiple high-growth companies, Bella unpacks the mindset shifts, product strategy changes, and organizational decisions required to navigate hypergrowth without losing focus, quality, or customer trust.

How do you build an AI product that delivers real value long before AI becomes a buzzword? In this podcast hosted by Products That Count CEO Hoda Mehr, Amplitude Head of AI and former Kraftful Founder Yana Welinder speaks on building AI-native products, staying relentlessly focused on real customer problems, and navigating the journey from startup to acquisition. Drawing from her experience taking Kraftful from early experimentation with large language models to being acquired by Amplitude, Yana shares practical lessons on product focus, founder-led growth, and what it truly takes to scale AI inside a large organization.

What if the most important part of product management has nothing to do with roadmaps, features, or technology? In this podcast hosted by Rachel Owens, Meta Product Leader Rick Sanchez speaks on why clarity is the most critical responsibility of a product manager. Drawing from a career spanning media, gaming, consulting, and AI-driven products, the conversation explores how great product leaders create alignment, unlock creative execution, and navigate complex problem spaces without relying on rigid frameworks.

How do you move from shipping features to building a product vision that actually drives growth? In this podcast hosted by Huntress Director of Product Nisarg Desai, American Express Vice President of Product Management Jose Quesada shares how he approaches product vision and strategy for one of the world's most scaled B2C platforms. Jose breaks down the difference between vision and strategy, how to ground ambitious north stars in execution, and what it takes to turn product thinking into a durable growth engine.