Being a Product Manager in different cultures: where soft-skills beat AI - With Alexandra Vera (Carfax)

In this episode, I had the chance to discuss with Alexandra Vera about being a Product Manager in different countries and cultures. 

Alexandra Vera is Head of Product at Carfax, and was previously VP of Product at Autotrader Canada.  She has been living and working in Product functions in 4 different countries and 3 different continents. Also, she's been working in product and with remote and international teams for the past 20 years. As such, she has first-hand experience with what it takes to work through different cultures, and what are the common traits of great product managers.

Alexandra believes that there are still a lot of opportunities for product managers, even in the current job market. There will be plenty of opportunities for those who are adaptable. 

We covered in detail a number of topics, including

• The current tech and product job market, and what is changing for product  people
• Why some tech companies overinvested during COVID, and what will stay after the pandemic-driven digital boom
• How AI will make Product managers' life easier... 
• Why soft skills are the number 1 trait of great product managers, and why it is going to be even more the case in the future
• How "non traditionally tech" companies will over time become larger product manager employers
• The differences (and commonalities) between product management practices in Barcelona and Canada, 
• And how the future of work will involve product managers and product leaders being more skilled at managing teams through different cultures
• Some practical tips to be successful in a product management interview

You can contact Alexandra through Linkedin, at https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexaveragurdiel/

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