The Intentional Product Manager Podcast Venti-Sized Career Moves: Lessons from Starbucks, Amazon, and McKinsey with VP Sekhar Putcha
In this episode of the Intentional Product Manager Podcast, Shobhit Chugh reconnects with longtime friend and product leader Sekhar Putcha. Sekhar opens up about a bold, non-linear career path that’s taken him from supply chain roles at Amazon to consulting at McKinsey, and now to leading global supply chain product at Starbucks.
But this conversation is more than just a resume walk. Sekhar shares:
- How optimizing for learning, not titles, shaped his career
- What most PMs misunderstand about operations and supply chain roles
- Why optionality can help early in your career, but clarity wins later
- How to bring product thinking into legacy organizations
- The real (and not-so-real) impact of generative AI in supply chain
- What McKinsey taught him about sharpening product sense
You'll also hear about Sekhar's homemade gelato hobby, how he uses AI for deep writing, and his advice for managing marriage like a product (yes, really).
If you're a product leader navigating career choices, struggling with context switching, or curious how AI is really changing the game, this episode is packed with insights and laughs.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Welcome and podcast intro
00:27 – Meet Sekhar Putcha + Seattle vs Boston, gelato, and marriage as a product
03:41 – Sekhar's bold, non-linear path: Amazon → McKinsey → Starbucks
10:09 – The PM’s dilemma: Optionality vs specialization
15:41 – The truth about operations PMs and why they matter more than you think
21:10 – Bringing product mindset to legacy orgs (and project cultures)
27:53 – Generative AI in supply chain: real-world use cases (and hype)
35:42 – How Sekhar uses AI to accelerate writing and thinking
38:50 – The McKinsey effect: Day One Hypotheses and product sense
44:20 – Rapid fire: TikTok, The Goal, Starbucks scale, and what AI should take off his plate
Connect with Shobhit Chugh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shobhitchugh/
Connect with Sekhar Putcha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sekharputcha/
www.intentionalproductmanager.com