In true Pendomonium form, we’re lucky to have an impressive group of speakers with a demonstrated passion for their craft. With two full days of sessions across five stages, there’s a lot to see at this year’s product festival. While this is nowhere near an exhaustive list, here are just a few folks you definitely won’t want to miss:
(Pro tip: if you’re worried about figuring out your agenda we’ve got you covered. Filter the agenda by interest or level, or check out our curated agenda ideas).
1. Ethan Mollick — AI Expert, Wharton School Professor and Keynote Speaker
Ethan Mollick studies and teaches innovation and entrepreneurship at The Wharton School. As a New York Times bestselling author, researcher, and Substack contributor, Mollick specializes in entrepreneurship, innovation and AI. He is also the Co-Director of the Generative AI Lab at Wharton.
During Pendomonium, Mollick will deliver Tuesday’s keynote: From disruption to opportunity: Embracing the AI revolution.
His keynote will focus on the transformative realm of AI. You’ll hear him explore how AI, including chatbot technologies like ChatGPT, has disrupted our work and our entire way of life, leaving an indelible mark akin to the Covid pandemic. Mollikc aims his conversation towards a pivotal question: How can we thoughtfully and consciously embrace AI to propel innovation and shape our future?
When: Tuesday, 10/8 at 5 pm on Memorial Stage
2. Katie DeGraaf — Senior Vice President of Product and Design at General Motors and Keynote Speaker
Katie DeGraaf has spent over 20 years leveraging data, new technology and customer experiences to build better products. Prior to joining General Motors (GM), she contributed to bringing to market more than 50 telematics-based solutions—from apps to algos—on five continents across insurance, telecom, and auto manufacturing that have reduced crashes and costs for customers.
As a product and design leader at GM, her focus is on building a modern fleet that contributes to GM’s vision of 0 crashes.
In her Keynote session on Wednesday, The next frontier of product development, she’ll talk about the intersection of hardware, software, and data. In a world where personalization is already at the forefront of many experiences, DeGraaf will investigate how product teams can leverage this convergence to create better product experiences.
When: Wednesday, 10/9 at 9 am on Memorial Stage
3. Kameron Canbaz — Principal Product Manager at Yahoo!
Kameron Canbaz is an accomplished product leader based in Chicago, IL, currently serving as Principal Product Manager for Workflow & Ease of Use at Yahoo Inc. He has led the implementation of over 80 ease-of-use features that have boosted revenue and enhanced user satisfaction. Recognized for his user-focused approach, Kameron excels in crafting solutions that prioritize user needs and preferences.
In his Wednesday session, From pain points to power plays: Pendo’s impact on platform performance, Canbaz will discuss Yahoo! Ad Platform’s transformative product journey using Pendo to better identify, diagnose, and resolve user experience issues with their ad tech platform.
When: Wednesday, 10/9 at 2:15 pm on Memorial Stage
4. Ezinne and Oji Udezue — Chief Product Officers, Authors
Ezinne Udezue is a versatile business leader with a unique blend of creative, technical, and managerial expertise. Her leadership and contributions to Product Management, Innovation and Design have earned her US patents, and recognition from various institutions and communities globally. She is currently the Chief Product Officer at WP Engine.
Oji Udezue is an experienced product leader of large and innovative software organizations, with stints in marketing, sales, engineering, and design leadership. He is the Chief Product Officer @ Typeform.com, a product that strives to make the web more human. He led the Content, Creation, and Conversation team @ Twitter—leading Tweets, DMs, Spaces, the Creators Initiative, and more.
Together, Oji and Ezinne have spent the last two years building AI-centric products at WP Engine and Typeform, and on top of OpenAI technology. In their session, Building products with AI at the core, they’ll share some of the new realities of building AI-centric products that can win the market. You’ll learn what it means to build products with AI at the core vs. at the edge, how to think about and apply AI to ordinary business problems, and the new metrics required to measure AI-driven features.
When: Tuesday, 10/8 at 3 pm on A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater
5. Kyle Strickland — Senior Vice President of Product at NBC Universal
Kyle Strickland currently oversees the product portfolio that supports the lifecycle of product content at NBC Universal. Kyle has been with NBC Universal for almost 14 years in a variety of roles spanning Technology, Operations, and Engineering as well as spending a few years as a Media Consultant with Cognizant.
In his Tuesday session, People, Process, Product: How NBC Universal uses data to build a better technology ecosystem, Strickland will discuss how NBC Universal’s team uses a variety of applications to accommodate a large team with fast-moving products. He’ll also explore how embracing product analytics company wide helps drive efficiency among employees and build better products.
When: Tuesday, 10/8 at 1 pm on The Lawn
6. Kasia Chmielinski — Co-founder of The Data Nutrition Project
Kasia Chmielinski is the Co-Founder of the Data Nutrition Project, an initiative that builds tools to mitigate bias in artificial intelligence, and a Data and AI Advisor at the United Nations (UNOPS, OCHA). Previously, they held positions at the US Digital Service (EOP / OMB), MIT Media Lab, McKinsey & Company, and Google.They’re also an affiliate at Stanford University and Harvard University focused on building responsible data systems.
In their session on Wednesday, Chmielinski will talk about the importance of product’s role in algorithmic systems. It’s no secret that the performance of AI systems is intrinsically tied to how these systems were built—starting with the data they are trained on, or the ‘ingredients.’ They’ll tackle overall trends in the transparency space and how we as a community can focus on deploying ethical AI systems that benefit humanity.
When: Wednesday, 10/9 at 2:15 pm on A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater
7. Radhika Dutt — Author of Radical Product Thinking
Radhika Dutt is well known as the author of Radical Product Thinking: The New Mindset for Innovating Smarter. She is an entrepreneur and product leader who has participated in five acquisitions, two of which were companies that she founded.
“I think the most important takeaway that I wish somebody had told me when I was starting out, is having clarity of vision.”
—Radhika Dutt
She is currently Advisor on Product Thinking to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and does consulting and training for organizations ranging from high-tech startups to multinationals on building radical products that create a fundamental change.
In her session, Overcoming (and preventing) the most common product diseases, Dutt will cover exactly that. Whether you’re an executive or an individual contributor, you’ll gain practical tools to scale your thinking and help your organization become more vision-driven so each person can systematically translate your vision for change into reality.
When: Tuesday, 10/8 at 1 pm on A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater
Pendomonium is right around the corner. Make sure you register before tickets sell out. We’ll see you there!
