Product Confidential London: How Product Leaders Are Navigating Disruption in the AI Era

AI isn’t coming for product leaders. But it is forcing a reset. The teams that will thrive in this new era won’t just ship faster, they’ll think more clearly, operate more nimbly, and build with sharper customer focus. That’s what Product Confidential London was all about: a closed-door gathering of product executives from across industries exploring how to evolve their organizations in the age of AI.

From pragmatic frameworks to philosophical shifts, the day uncovered many insights. Here’s a high-level look at what we learned.

Rewriting the Rules of Product with AI

Speakers: Jonathan Evens (Google DeepMind), Aman Khan (Arize AI), Nick Marcelli (Robin AI)

If there was one takeaway from the panel, it was this: AI won’t replace product leaders, but it will demand new instincts.

The speakers each brought a unique vantage point—from legaltech to LLM evaluations to mass-market deployment of Gemini in Google Search—but aligned on this core insight: deploying AI responsibly isn’t about perfection. It’s about precision, feedback loops, and a deep understanding of context.

Here’s how to start thinking differently:

• Build intuition through prototyping. Product leaders should be writing prompts, testing outputs, and treating agents like real user-facing features.
• Design rollouts like experiments. Start small. Validate against human-in-the-loop workflows. Scale gradually as confidence grows.
• Be clear about what "quality" means. Each panelist described their own form of AI evaluation—often requiring new roles, like legal-AI subject matter experts or eval PMs.
• Don’t build just to build. Align AI features with clear user value and real constraints. As one speaker said, "just because it’s novel doesn’t mean it’s useful."

Building Strategic Resilience in a Volatile World

Speaker: Jo Wightman, VP of Portfolio Strategy & Product Operations, EcoVadis

When the rules change overnight, strategic clarity is your lifeline. Jo Wightman shared how EcoVadis adapted its product and planning processes in response to major ESG regulatory shifts across the EU and US.

Her team embraced scenario planning and the concept of "no regrets moves"—investments that pay off across possible futures. When chaos struck, these moves became anchors.

What product leaders can do:

• Use scenario planning to stress-test your roadmap. Don’t assume a single future. Create strategic options.
• Align on no-regrets moves. These are bets that are valuable regardless of how things play out.
• Communicate clearly and often. Jo emphasized the importance of transparency, especially after multiple pivots. Her team regained a sense of ownership once they understood the "why."

Driving the Hive: Operating Models for Organizational Adaptability

Speaker: Asif Ibrahim, Head of Strategy & Planning, BT Group

How do you coordinate 70,000 employees and a product portfolio that spans from broadcasting to broadband? According to Asif Ibrahim, the answer lies in cross-functional rhythm, shared strategic context, and empowered squads.

BT Group is evolving its ways of working to unify vision and execution—and to shift ownership closer to the teams doing the work.

What product leaders can do:

• Map your connective tissue. Asif highlighted the need to eliminate strategy-to-roadmap disconnects by using shared systems and clearer roles.
• Invest in product operations. Strong product ops supports visibility, accountability, and alignment at scale.
• Balance governance with autonomy. BT is creating flexible frameworks that hold teams accountable to outcomes, not just activities.

When Your Backlog Stops Thinking

Speaker: Amodiovalerio Verde, VP of Product, SAP Signavio

In fast-scaling orgs, it’s easy to become a feature factory. Amodiovalerio Verde challenged product leaders to treat their backlog not as a to-do list, but as a living decision system.

Why? Because output without context is risk. And discovery work that never impacts delivery is waste.

What product leaders can do:

• Make reasoning visible. Each backlog item should reflect the "why," not just the "what."
• Run two loops, not one. Discovery and delivery must stay in sync—informed by strategy, connected by feedback.
• Protect the learning layer. Discovery shouldn't live in decks. It should shape your roadmap in real time.

Evolving How We Work, Not Just What We Build

Across every session, one message rang loud and clear: AI is a catalyst. But what matters most is how your organization responds.

That means:

• Rethinking how you evaluate value.
• Scaling practices that match pace with precision.
• Building cultures that can adapt as fast as the tech itself.

At Productboard, we’re investing deeply in helping product organizations meet this moment—with the systems, insights, and workflows to deliver the right products, faster.

Book a Productboard demo to see how you can build smarter, faster, and more strategically in the age of AI.