For more on building AI products and careers, along with early course announcement and special pricing, subscribe to the AI Career Boost mailing list at https://aicareerboost.com/interested

THE GUEST

Arun Biligiri has more than two decades of experience turning emerging technology into business outcomes. He has founded startups and held leadership roles across product management, sales engineering, services, and development at companies including IBM and Hitachi, managing large P&Ls and driving significant new revenue. He is now the founder of Mitova.ai, an AI-native innovation platform focused on helping organizations manage and scale AI innovation.

THE SUMMARY

In this episode of AI Product Leader, Arun shares practical lessons on building successful AI products and managing innovation at scale. He explains why product-market fit and market timing matter more than the technology itself, and how AI is lowering the cost of prototyping while enabling people across an organization—not just engineers—to become builders.

Arun also discusses how leaders can manage an influx of AI-generated ideas, the balance between being a strategic leader and getting hands-on, and his experience building a production AI product after decades away from programming. He explains how he uses AI for planning, cost modeling, design, testing, and iterative development—and why AI's greatest value may be helping teams make better product decisions before they build.

THE SHOW

Weekly conversations with the AI’s top product leaders. Join Polly Allen as she discovers the paths to success in the world of AI.

THE LINKS

Have a question you want us to answer? Send it through to support@aicareerboost.com

Arun Biligiri
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/biligiri/

My links
LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/pollymallen/⁠
AI Career Boost: ⁠https://www.aicareerboost.com/⁠

August 26th Free Masterclass: https://www.aicareerboost.com/master-ai-leadership

For more on building AI products and careers, along with early course announcement and special pricing, subscribe to the AI Career Boost mailing list at https://aicareerboost.com/interested

THE GUEST

Jeff Williams is a senior product leader with more than 25 years of experience in software and technology, including over a decade in product management. With a degree in computer science, he has led zero-to-one product launches, large-scale digital transformation programs, and enterprise platform initiatives across healthcare, SaaS, e-commerce, and patient engagement.

His recent work has focused on healthcare technology, including interoperability, digital engagement, and products that support complex patient and provider workflows. He has held roles at Deloitte Digital, Loyal Healthcare, and WEX, and now works at OpenLoop, an AI-first healthcare company.

Jeff brings a valuable perspective for product leaders because he made the shift into an AI-focused role after building practical AI experience himself. His story shows how experienced product professionals can develop hands-on AI skills, speak credibly about their work, and apply those skills inside a fast-moving company.

THE SUMMARY

In this episode, Jeff shares what it takes to move from traditional product management into an AI-first environment, including the skills, habits, and hands-on experience that helped him make the shift. He explains how OpenLoop uses tools such as Claude across product, engineering, sales, customer success, and operations to reduce manual work, improve communication, update product documentation, manage Jira workflows, and help teams move faster.

The conversation also covers how Jeff built practical AI experience before landing the role, why product leaders need to become more hands-on, and how building a real AI project helped him speak credibly in interviews. Viewers will come away with concrete ideas for using AI in daily product work and preparing for leadership roles at AI-focused companies.

THE SHOW

Weekly conversations with the AI’s top product leaders. Join Polly Allen as she discovers the paths to success in the world of AI.

THE LINKS

Have a question you want us to answer? Send it through to support@aicareerboost.com

Jeff Williams
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffawilliams/

My links
LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/pollymallen/⁠
AI Career Boost: ⁠https://www.aicareerboost.com/⁠

August 12th Free Masterclass: https://www.aicareerboost.com/master-ai-leadership-2

For more on building AI products and careers, along with early course announcement and special pricing, subscribe to the AI Career Boost mailing list at https://aicareerboost.com/interested

THE GUEST

Viktoria Otstavnaya is a Principal Product Manager specializing in modernizing complex systems and leading large-scale product transformations across telecom, fintech, healthcare, and utilities. Throughout her career, she's helped organizations dramatically reduce product launch times, accelerate customer onboarding, and deliver operational improvements through strong product leadership and cross-functional collaboration.

With a background in software engineering and early experience applying AI to automate complex business processes, Viktoria brings a practical perspective on how product managers can successfully adopt AI, work effectively with AI vendors, and build confidence through hands-on experimentation.

THE SUMMARY

In this episode, Viktoria shares how her career evolved from Android development to product management, why understanding technology at a deeper level makes product leaders more effective, and how she began working with AI years before generative AI became mainstream. She discusses real-world lessons from integrating AI into enterprise products, including how product managers can get better results from third-party AI solutions by understanding vendor configurations, APIs, and implementation best practices.

The conversation also explores the human side of AI adoption. Viktoria reflects on the fear many professionals feel about falling behind, explains how practical projects helped her build confidence, and offers advice for anyone looking to develop AI skills. Whether you're leading AI products today or preparing for your first AI initiative, this episode offers actionable guidance on learning, experimenting, and staying effective in a rapidly changing field.

THE SHOW

Weekly conversations with the AI’s top product leaders. Join Polly Allen as she discovers the paths to success in the world of AI.

THE LINKS

Have a question you want us to answer? Send it through to support@aicareerboost.com

Viktoria Otstavnaya
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/viktoria-otstavnaya/

My links
LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/pollymallen/⁠
AI Career Boost: ⁠https://www.aicareerboost.com/⁠