< Speaker / Facilitator >
Jana Waldschmidt
Booking.com, DeliveryHero, Pipedrive, GetYourGuide
Connect in LinkedIn
Jana Waldschmidt is Director of Product at GetYourGuide, leading supply-side product teams that help experience creators grow on our marketplace. She leads teams building capabilities that turn "great inventory" into "easy decision-making" for travelers, making those unforgettable experiences possible.
She has spent the past 8+ years in product management and her passion for the craft hasn't faded - switching careers into this field remains one of the best decisions she's ever made. These days, what she values most is the opportunity to lead teams who bring that craft to life. For her, the most rewarding part is seeing teams succeed turning curiosity, chaos and countless iterations into products that delight customers and truly move the business forward.
< About >
AI is accelerating product development in ways we couldn't imagine two years ago. Companies are responding with training programs, reskilling initiatives, and innovation sprints. But something's not working.
Teams are anxious. People who spent years mastering their craft watch it get automated. "Good enough" is becoming the default when AI makes fast easy and cheap. And the question nobody's asking out loud: "What happens to me?"
This talk explores the gap between opportunity and anxiety in AI transformation. Jana shares frameworks she's testing, honest failures and observations about what actually helps teams navigate this transition—because it's an identity shift, not just a skill shift.
< Key learnings >
A practical conversation framework - How to uncover the real gap between AI opportunity and team anxiety (and why it's different for everyone)
Leading through identity shift - Why acknowledging grief, irrelevance fears, and craft devaluation isn't "soft" - it's strategic
Work in progress: Jana is testing these approaches with her teams and learning as she goes. Expect practical experiments, not theoretical solutions.
< Tickets >
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