The AI Product Manager: Real Stories from Real PMs
A WNCP AI x UMD Virtual Panel
Date: September 16, 2025 Time: 12:30 - 1pm Place: Zoom & Youtube Live
🎯 Who Should Attend
AI PM roles command 80-90% salary premiums, yet most PMs feel unprepared for these opportunities. Learn from leaders who recently shipped AI at Google and transformed Hollywood with GenAI.
Perfect for:
Current PMs seeking transition into high-impact AI product roles
Engineers & Data Scientists exploring the product side
UMD Students & Alumni leveraging technical backgrounds
Career Switchers entering the fastest-growing PM specialization
🚀 What You'll Learn
The Real Difference Between Traditional and AI Product Management
Managing model uncertainty vs. deterministic features
Iterating with AI when traditional A/B testing breaks down
Building user trust and reliability with variable and uncontrollable LLMs
Navigating the ever changing technical landscape when shipping products
Essential Skills That Actually Matter
Which technical skills are table stakes vs. nice-to-haves
Why "taste" and craft matter more than coding ability
Expectation management in AI uncertainty environments
How to leverage existing PM fundamentals in AI contexts
Real Stories of Building AI Products
Robert's journey from mechanical engineering at UMD to leading Google's Proactive AI
Luis's path from PhD research to shipping GenAI at scale in Hollywood
How to position current experience as AI PM advantages
Lessons learned from shipping AI products used by millions
👥 Meet Your Panelists
Robert Aikins
Recently Senior Product Manager at Google | Stanford MBA | Serial Founder
Robert navigated multiple career pivots - from mechanical engineering at UMD to consulting, self-taught developer to Google PM. After 5 years leading Google's App Campaigns products, he founded an ethical investing platform before returning to work on Proactive AI initiatives. His experience spans bootstrapped startups to big tech AI products.
Luis Bermudez, PhD
Recently Principal PM at Flawless AI | Ex-Roblox, Pixar, Disney, EA
Luis combines deep technical expertise (PhD Computer Science) with 10+ years of product leadership. Recently revolutionized filmmaking with GenAI (Time Magazine's Best Invention winner), shipping AI products from Hollywood blockbusters like Venom 3 to partnerships with HuggingFace and LAIKA Animation Studios.
Moderated by Damien Peters
CEO, WNCP AI | Adjunct Professor, University of Maryland
Former Facebook ML Product Manager bringing industry and academic perspectives together. Exploring the changing role of Product Management in the AI Era.
💡 Why This Panel Matters Now
AI Product Manager roles average $200K+ vs. traditional PM roles at $125K+ - an 86% premium. Our panelists have collectively shipped AI products used by millions, built GenAI tools powering Hollywood films, and successfully transitioned from engineering to leading AI products at major tech companies.
This isn't theory - it's battle-tested wisdom from practitioners who've made the transition.
📊 Event Details
Interactive Format:
Live polling on audience backgrounds and goals
Panel discussion addressing top transition concerns
Audience Q&A through interactive platform
90 minutes** of focused, high-value content
Attendee Benefits:
Recording access for registered attendees
Research participation in AI PM findings