In this Accredian Spotlight interview, we feature Prerna Gupta, a Business Development Manager with over 4+ years of experience. She is currently associated with UTOPIIC. Her insatiable quest for knowledge and upskilling led her to enroll in the Global Certificate in Product Management at Accredian.
Question 1: Which program & batch are you part of at Accredian & tell us more about your current work profile?
Prerna: I am a part of the GCPM Program, November 2021 Batch. I am currently working as a Sustainability Consultant and Business Development Manager in an IT startup called UTOPIIC.
Question 2: Walk us through your career journey & what got you interested in Product Management?
Prerna: I was working with P&G in Muscat Oman as a Key Accounts Manager and now I am working with a startup in Delhi NCR as a sustainability consultant and Business Development Manager.
I wanted to upgrade my skill set and hence wanted to pursue the PM course, moreover, I was really delighted with the concept and the first session of the Accredian introduction to PM. I have wanted to explore this field of Management for a long time.
Question 3: What all Product Management concepts, frameworks & tools have you mastered in your program at Accredian so far?
Prerna: There are a lot of varied frameworks used in the PM program like the Product Life cycle, vision/mission, types of prioritization, different hats that a PM wears, product planning process, strategic process and many more.
Question 4: What are some of the initial challenges when you got started on your Product Management journey and how did you overcome it?
Prerna: There were no such challenges, my journey so far has been quite smooth.
Question 5: Who is your favorite faculty at Accredian and what did you learn from them the most?
Prerna: Mr. Ankur Jha is the best, he is very practical and explains everything in detail which is the best part. He takes care of the doubts session very seriously.
Question 6: In your view, what is the goal of product management & how has it evolved in the last few years?
Prerna: Until very recently Product Management was still a part of the Marketing or Engineering functions, reporting up through those hierarchies, naturally aligned more with one or the other and inevitably embroiled in conflicts of prioritisation and focus because of it.
These days Product Management is increasingly a stand alone function with a seat at the management table and reporting directly to the CEO.
This is critical because it aligns the product team directly with the business vision and goals, makes them internal as well as external evangelists of that vision, and gives them the independence necessary to make tough prioritisation calls.
Question 7: What are the current trends in Product Management that you are most excited about?
Prerna: I am excited about learning tools like AHA and learning its functionality.
Question 8: Which are some of the Product Management blogs, podcasts, communities & channels that you follow?
Prerna: Accredian community page on LinkedIn and their blog page.
Question 9: Please tell how your journey has been with Accredian so far and what are the elements that you liked.
I have been thoroughly enjoying the sessions so far, need to get to know more about jobs/recruitment process
Question 10: What is your advice to anyone wanting to start a career in Product Management?
Prerna: Everyone who wants to start must go ahead and not think twice.
Hope you enjoyed reading this interview. If you want to read more such interesting student stories, check out Accredian Spotlight.
