5 product leaders you need to follow

In any great brand, product leaders work with top-level executives and CEOs, listen carefully to customer needs and understand the needs of the market to bring the company's vision to life. A vital part of their job is to transform insight and research into a product that profoundly understands the customer needs. Even though it is a challenging role, there is no doubt a tenacious product leader is an important part of any great product. 

What makes a great product leader, anyway? Undoubtedly, all great product leaders are very empathetic. They have a great understanding of new technologies how to apply them to different scenarios. Also, they are naturally curious and are always willing to look for the most effective solution. And, most importantly, they are willing to share their knowledge with others.

If you're interested in learning more about product management and how to improve your impact in your current projects, we've created a list of five product leaders you should follow. 

Jackie Bavaro 

This experienced product manager has had an impressive career. Her books "Cracking the PM Interview" and "Cracking the PM Career" are among the most popular references on product management. Also, her eight-year tenure at Asana helped the company reach $100 million in annual revenue and launch Asana's Associate Product Manager (APM). Currently, she's product manager at Google and Microsoft. 

You can't miss: Her Twitter account.

Gibson Biddle

You've probably watched a talk from Gibson Biddle. This former Vice President of Product at Netflix now focuses his career on talking about entrepreneurship, product management, product strategy, branding, culture and so much more. His writings and talks provide great insight on what makes a create product, how to create a clear product strategy and how to build enduring value on your brand. 

You can't miss: Ask Gib, his newsletter.

April Underwood

Until 2019, April Underwood, had an enviable career path as the Chief Product Officer at Slack Technologies and, previously, Director of Product at Twitter. At both companies, her insight was instrumental in creating category-defining products, recognized by their loyal userbase and rapid growth. Currently, she is a founding partner of the angel investing group #Angels.

You can't miss: Her Twitter account.

Lenny Rachitsky

"Engineers code. Designers design. Product managers writer, talk, email and present. Product management equals communication." Former Growth Product Management Lead at Airbnb Lenny Rachitsky understands very well than good product management requires knowledge, understand and information. And that's exactly what he does through his weekly newsletter, where he talks about career acceleration, product building and more. Definitely, an exciting mind to follow.

You can't miss: Lenny's Newsletter.

Julie Zhuo 

Julie Zhuo defines herself as a design and data person at heart. She began her career as Facebook's first intern and left the company as their Vice President of Design. Her experience at Facebook led her to publish "The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You", which provides great insight on how great management fosters great products. 

You can't miss: The Looking Glass, her newsletter.

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Authored by: Ben Steinbach