ABOUT
Hey there! 👋 I'm Mirza (they/he), an entrepreneurial product leader based in Berlin, Germany with 11 years of experience in hypergrowth tech, including a couple of German unicorns.
In my free time, I'm the Founder of product qties, a community for LGBTQ+ folks in product. Find out more at productqties.com
Currently Group Product Manager at Zendesk, where I am building autonomous AI agents, I’ve worked in a number of different industries and companies at various growth stages.
- B2B SaaS conversational automation platform
- B2B SaaS CX / customer service platform
- B2C social network for scientists
- Emmy®️ Award-winning B2C streaming platform
- Growth stage B2B2C travel booking platform
- B2B2C insurtech marketplace
SKILLS
Product Leadership
As a product leader and people manager, I spend most of my time focusing on product vision and product strategy, organizational alignment and design, and actively coaching and training my reports.
Mentoring
I devote several hours a week of my free time at no charge to mentor jobseekers and product managers from traditionally underserved and underacknowledged groups, particularly LGBTIQA+ folks.
Product Management
As a maker I've shipped messaging, automation, ML/AI, data, and growth products, consulted on the development of platform products, and built products zero-to-one as a venture architect.
Coaching
As a people manager, my main job is to help grow and develop my reports. I develop assessment plans for each direct report and invest time weekly to help them further develop in critical areas. We work collaboratively on a personal growth plan.
Strategy
With my background in business development and consulting, I am able to weave product into broader commercial and company strategy. I'm a big believer in co-developing strategy top-down and bottom-up, across functions.
Public Speaking
As a former part-time radio host and actor, I am very comfortable in front of audiences. I have hosted and moderated panels, made guest appearances on product podcasts, and spoken at professional events.
GUEST APPEARANCES
CONFERENCES
PAKCON 2023, October 11, 2023, Kulturbrauerei Berlin
The Project A Knowledge Conference brings together founders, investors, thought leaders, digital experts, international media, and talent from across Europe to discuss the most pressing matters in the world of business and tech. I spoke on a panel about the role of AI and automation in customer service and the future of work.
ADPList BeMore Festival 2023, September 21, 2023, Online
#BeMore2023 is an annual 24-hour super conference bringing together leaders and experts from the world of product management, design, engineering, AI, and more, with 80+ speakers from more than 20 countries and companies such as Apple, IBM, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, etc. I spoke about how to grow into product leadership by product managing your career.
ProductCamp Europe, March 16, 2023, Cyprus/Online
I spoke at ProductCamp Europe 2023 in Cyprus talking about growing into product leadership and how treating your career as a product can get you there.
PODCASTS
Customer Friendship Conversations Podcast by Dixa
In this webinar-turned-podcast, I talk about the history of artificial intelligence, define Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), and talk about what you can do with ChatGPT as a worker.
Zeda.io Product Management Podcast
On the Zeda.io podcast, I talked about becoming a product leader, how leadership can mean making decisions you won't be proud of, performative DEI, and the commitment orgs need to make to ensure equity of access.
Technology Leadership Podcast with Jake Whitby
In this episode, I discuss how to grow as a product manager and move into product leadership. A free-ranging chat about dual-track product management, mentorship, leadership, and strategy.
WebJoy Podcast with Eddie Hinkle
I discuss my origin story in product management, the fact that there are no solo acts in product and product strategy, being queer in tech, and my undying love of FigJam on the most joyful tech podcast out there.
The Excelsior Podcast with Omkar Kapade
An in-depth discussion about product strategy, what questions it must answer, best practices and how to approach developing a product strategy, and how it fits with product vision, principles, positioning, and organizational design.
OTHER
Interview with Product Teacher
I spoke with Product Teacher, a Silicon Valley product management education program, about breaking into product, being nonbinary in tech, getting ghosted by hiring managers because of foreign sounding names, and overcoming frustration and feelings of isolation as a member of an underrepresented group in product.
REFERENCES
JÜRGEN VOGEL
Co-founder at Solvemate
"Mirza joined my company as our product lead ... this had a huge impact on the acquisition of the company thereafter."
John Fontein
Co-founder at Sesame
"Mirza is a one man wrecking crew. An absolute machine and the guy you want on your team if you want to win."
Divya Bokaria
Head of Data & Analytics
"I was instantly impressed by Mirza's ability to make sense of things with simple visualizations and models."
Belal Gouda
ML Product Manager
"The best mentor I could wish for at this critical moment of my career."
Irene Amo
Senior Product Manager
"Mirza's greatest skill is easily identifying the strengths of each team member and helping them to grow while giving them space for decision making."
Norma Hoeft
CPO at German Bionic
"I am impressed by his broad knowledge in different fields. Business, Tech, Product - Mirza can bring all of that together with ease."
MENTORING
NEWSLETTER
CONTACT
