In conversation with Australia’s unicorn builders

AI-First Product Leadership: Pressure, Pace, and Payoff

- Are You an AI Noob or AI Savant?

From "I have no idea what I'm doing" to "I practically wrote the code", where do you fall?

AI is everywhere, and if you’re leading a product, you’re expected to be all over it.

Boards, founders, customers, and peers all want to see AI baked into products. At the same time, there’s pressure to use it to move faster, ship smarter, and deliver more. Then come the brakes from security teams, compliance, or cautious customers.

For product leaders, it’s a messy process. Some experiments soar, others stall. Some tools speed you up, others get in your way. Yet the expectations keep climbing. And we’re past the hype - it’s time to deliver.

So what does it really take to thrive as a product leader in the AI wave?

That’s the conversation we’re bringing to Product Counsel Live in Melbourne.

WHAT IS THE PRODUCT COUNSEL?

The Rampersand Product Counsel is unlike any other product community in Australia.

It’s a high-calibre network of founders, product leaders, and operators who’ve built and scaled world-class products from early stage to unicorn.

Twice a year, we open the doors for Product Counsel Live, bringing together the most accomplished product minds in the country with the next generation of ambitious builders. They’ll share what it really took to build iconic products from the ground up, the lessons that shaped them, and how AI is transforming the way they lead and build today.

We believe that generational companies are built by incredible people who create incredible products. If you believe the same thing, you’ll fit right in!

WHAT TO EXPECT

A live panel with some of Australia’s most ambitious and experienced product builders
Unfiltered, behind-the-scenes insights shared under the Chatham House Rule
Great food, proper drinks, and even better conversation
A trusted circle of founders and product leaders shaping the next wave of iconic Australian companies

⚡ RSVP now - spots are limited to 50.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Craig Rees

Craig, head of payments at Traild, has spent over 17 years building and scaling products across media, e-commerce, telecom, and fintech. He has held leadership roles at Atlassian, Airwallex, BCG Digital Ventures, and IBM, and is now driving product and technology at TRAILD. A passionate advocate for lean product practices and organisational agility, Craig brings hard-won lessons from operating at both startup and enterprise scale.

Kirsten Mann

Kirsten is the founder & CEO of Vizory, an AI company helping board directors make sharper, faster decisions. Previously, she was Chief Product Officer at Prospection and held senior roles at Oracle and Acconex. A regular writer and speaker on product leadership, Kirsten champions the role of customer and culture insight in the boardroom.

Dr. Kendra Vant

Kendra is a product and tech exec with deep experience in AI and data product development. She led the AI product team for Xero during its scale-up phase, launching seven AI products to the global Xero user base and generating a strong defensive patent portfolio. At SEEK, she pioneered their ML-driven job/candidate matching. With a PhD in experimental quantum physics from MIT, she blends technical rigour with product vision. Today, as co-founder of Europa Labs, she advises and works fractionally with startups, investors, and government on AI strategy, robust product implementation, ethics and regulation.

Contact the host of Rampersand - Product Counsel LIVE - Melbourne

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