Welcome! I’m glad you’re here. This site gives you a glimpse into my ever-evolving journey as I explore, create, and grow every day.
I’m a passionate leader, advocate for people, product innovator, AI enthusiast, entrepreneur, mentor, coach, educator, lifelong learner, electronic music creator, chocolate lover, and human at heart.
What’s inspiring you to make a difference today? Drop a line, share your ideas, or just say hi—I’d love to connect!
In early 2024, I joined the phenomenal ROLI team as the Chief Product Officer. The company is dedicated to creating the future of music technology, innovating creative expression, and democratizing music learning. Together, we are redefining creativity and empowering musicians worldwide to experience the joy of music learning and making in new ways.
In October 2024, we announced ROLI Airwave, a breakthrough in musical interaction for both music learners and creators. Airwave turns any ROLI keyboard into an “intelligent piano,” with magical vision and voice capabilities. For music learners, this results in the world’s first intelligent practice assistant that can see your hands, hear your voice, and give you precise feedback as you progress. For music creators, this opens up a whole new dimension of musical play and expression.
In 2022, I joined the Slingshot Aerospace team as the Chief Product Officer. My team and I reimagined how advanced analytics, machine learning, computer vision, and collaborative tools can unlock insights from earth and space data, helping customers navigate complex challenges with greater clarity.
Slingshot Beacon is the world’s first collision avoidance coordination and communications platform for space.
Slingshot Laboratory is an easy-to-use, immersive, next-generation space simulation and training environment to learn the fundamentals of astrodynamics and space domain awareness.
The Slingshot Global Sensor Network is the World’s Only LEO to GEO Day/Night Optical Satellite Tracking Service.
Seradata SpaceTrak is the industry’s leading space research tool.
I joined the Astra Product Management team in August 2021 as the Vice President and Head of Product to build products and services that improve life on Earth from space by creating a healthier and more connected planet.
As one of six officers in Mission Control, I helped the company write history by reaching space and successfully deploying a satellite into a low-earth orbit (live tracker).
I built a team of 15+ senior product leaders that shape the company's product portfolio.
ߚࠏur LV0007 rocket lights up iconic Times Square in New York on the @Nasdaq tower! #AdAstra pic.twitter.com/0Hu2OxzPfM
— Astra (@Astra) December 10, 2021
In May 2020, I joined the Johnson & Johnson Digital Health Technology team as the Global Head of Product. My team and I redefined how healthcare is accessed, delivered, and experienced at scale, transforming cutting-edge technology into impactful products. I built a 12-person team and led efforts like the 'Heartline' app with Apple, and launched J&J’s first Digital Therapeutic, ‘Scout for Back Pain.’ We also developed apps for Alzheimer’s, MS, and more, working closely with clinical research, medical, and consumer teams.
I joined FACEBOOK in January 2018 to lead the International Product team and strategic "Women in Emerging Markets" initiative. I built and led a product growth team of 7 PMs and orchestrated a team of 50+ engineers, user researchers, designers, data scientists, growth marketers, data engineers, content strategists, and marketers. My team drove a global growth effort to bring the next billion users on the platform, especially from key markets India, Germany, Japan, Russia, South Korea. We created rapid product experiments and launched a series of growth-driving features like “locked profiles”, “anonymity”, “smart notifications”.
I then took over leadership of Facebook's AI Applied Research product team: I started and grew a product team to turn advances in AI research into production-ready prototypes of future services: AI-powered AR Glasses (project “Orion”, consumer launch expected in 2025, applied AI computer vision), wrist-based smart wearables (voice navigation), “Portal" AI-powered video hardware (launched 2019, computer vision), and multi-lingual AI voice commands for Oculus VR (launched 2020).
In 2014, I founded Savvy, global education platform that connects experts with learners for one-on-one sessions via live video chat. Savvy democratizes education by allowing teachers and learners to connect from anywhere. The platform fosters strong relationships between learners and teachers, empowering learners to set their goals while managing all logistics—scheduling, payments, cancellations, and communication—so both parties can focus on the learning experience. Savvy successfully exited through acquisition at the end of 2018.
I led Airbnb’s global product and market strategy to expand the two-sided marketplace across 192 countries. As International Product Lead, I conducted strategic experiments and directed growth initiatives, including the Airbnb localization platform. I implemented significant user interface changes in markets outside the U.S., like Japan, to create a more 'local' experience, achieving great success.
At Twitter, I led the International Product Team, driving growth experiments and expanding usage in key international markets. I launched Twitter in bi-directional languages, developed unique features for Japanese users, onboarded major German public media and Bundesliga soccer clubs, relaunched the 'verified' accounts program, and introduced the first hashtag on German Primetime News. Additionally, I created special event pages for Oktoberfest, rolled out live soccer scores, and established Twitter as the primary partner for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 cricket tournament, connecting millions worldwide.
As Product Lead at Mozilla, I launched Firefox for Android, the first browser designed with a focus on user privacy and data safety, introducing the 'do not track' feature for mobile users. This innovative browser set new benchmarks for HTML5 and CSS3, incorporated add-ons, offered 'personas' for customization, and enabled seamless synchronization of bookmarks and passwords across web and mobile Firefox. Fun fact: a real firefox is not a fox but a red panda!
I joined Google in early 2006 and moved from Germany to San Francisco (via Zurich, Switzerland) to lead localization efforts across all product lines. I implemented significant enhancements for users in Asia and established standards for global success. While managing iGoogle, I introduced a customization feature that significantly boosted search volume as users tailored their own Google pages for their browsers. The feature became so popular that it caused Twitter to 'fail whale' for several hours!
I started at SAP in 1995 as a software engineer, but my empathy for users and passion for building great products soon led me to Product Management. Back when mobile phones were rare and only tech enthusiasts had PDAs, I recognized the potential of mobile technology and initiated SAP CRM for Tablet PC, establishing SAP as a leader in innovation. After driving SAP's corporate strategy in the CEO’s office for three years, I relocated to the U.S. in 2006 to continue my journey.
During college, I worked for IBM in Berlin and Heidelberg, Germany. At their Scientific Research Center, I applied my AI skills with the PROTOS-L knowledge base programming language, contributing to speech technology advancements like Viavoice. Back then, machines understanding human speech felt futuristic, but today, even simple wearables come with voice-enabled assistants. It was an exciting time to be pushing the boundaries of tech."
Dr. Tom FordLeadership is the service I offer my team, empowering them to do the best work of their lives and grow into the next chapter of their careers.”
Dr. Tom FordMotivation is mainly driven by purpose, autonomy, and mastery. You can't really motivate someone, but you can set up the right environment.
Dr. Tom FordEmpathy is my greatest strength—it allows me to truly understand, support, and uplift those around me."
Leading Global Innovation: Facilitating Multicultural Collaboration and International Market Success
Responding to the need for organizations to improve global strategic planning and execution, this book presents a framework for effectively conceiving and executing new concepts for international markets. Filling an important gap in knowledge and research on global innovation, the author demonstrates how leaders can facilitate multicultural collaboration in service of organizational performance. Cases and findings are shared from international studies of over 200 leaders and 45 multinational firms with headquarters based in Asia, Europe, and North America. Leading Global Innovation provides a practice perspective with specific models and solutions for facilitating multicultural team collaboration, from concept to market. This book offers crucial guidance for executives, managers, consultants, and educators who would like to understand how to lead and orchestrate innovation in a culturally diverse and networked business environment.
Cracking the PM Interview: How to Land a Product Manager Job in Technology
How many pizzas are delivered in Manhattan? How do you design an alarm clock for the blind? What is your favorite piece of software and why? How would you launch a video rental service in India? This book will teach you how to answer these questions and more. Cracking the PM Interview is a comprehensive book about landing a product management role in a startup or bigger tech company. Learn how the ambiguously-named "PM" (product manager / program manager) role varies across companies, what experience you need, how to make your existing experience translate, what a great PM resume and cover letter look like, and finally, how to master the interview: estimation questions, behavioral questions, case questions, product questions, technical questions, and the super important "pitch."
Entrepreneur Magazine: One-to-One Teaching Platform Savvy Launches, Tapping a $105 Billion Market
A new startup launching today, Savvy, allows students and teachers to schedule appointments and join live video chats through an online platform.
The San Francisco-based startup aims to tap into a smart education-technology market that was worth $105 billion in 2015 and is expected to balloon to $447 billion by 2020, according to a report from market research firm Markets and Markets.
Savvy gives teachers in all manner of disciplines -- ranging from voice training for individuals who have recently undergone transgender surgery, managing your career as a dancer, somatic body movement to becoming a private investigator -- a way to advertise their skillset, book appointments either via live video chat or in person and accept payment.
The Startup Mixtape – The Guide to Building and Launching a High-Growth Tech Startup
The Startup Mixtape is a book dedicated to unravelling the complexities of building a technology startup that's poised for scale. Based on over 100 interviews with VCs, startup founders, and executives, it combines their knowledge and experience with the best practices of startup ecosystems in Silicon Valley and beyond.
PhD Thesis: Expert Machines – Machine Experts. Commercial Knowledge-based Systems (German)
Dr. Ford's interdisciplinary scientific research examines current and historical expert systems in various fields of commercial application. The dissertation provides foundations and in-depth details on the subject of AI and knowledge-based systems. It combines essential aspects of technology, engineering, philosophy, and sociology. With the "SAP Automated Diagnostic System", the author presents a practical example and discusses its structure and impact in detail. Finally, Dr. Ford's research examines the limits and visions of knowledge-based systems as well as their local and global economic and socio-cultural relevance, opportunities, and risks of AI systems. AI has seen spectacular successes and dramatic failures over the past decades. The book teaches classic concepts and new ideas in applied AI and is a valuable read for system architects and users of computer systems and software solutions based on AI, Machine Learning, and Knowledge-based systems.
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