Agentic AI Execution

Leena Agarwal

The podcast for TPMs, product managers, and builders shipping real AI systems. No hype, no frameworks — just honest conversations about what it actually takes to move from model to production. Topics include agentic AI, AI program execution, stakeholder alignment, technical roadmaps, and building trust in AI-driven orgs. Hosted by Leena Agarwal, 18-year TPM veteran from Amazon and Meta. New episodes every week. Built for tech leaders who ship.

  1. há 3 dias

    Why AI Pilots Fail? | Ep 25

    If your team is still running Story Points and Fibonacci on AI projects, today's guest says that math is already broken.In this episode, from actionable frameworks to the hard truths about AI ROI, Shivam argues that before you implement the technology, you absolutely must fix your broken processes first. We also dive into why we need "human in the *line*" instead of just "human in the *loop*," and exactly what a 30-60-90 day AI integration plan looks like for a mid-sized company.If you are navigating the chaos of AI, this is a must-listen episode!---### ⏱️ **Chapter Timestamps*** **3:31** - The Biggest Bottlenecks: Why agents fail to reach production* **5:45** - Surviving the Chaos: How the TPM role must evolve* **10:03** - The AI Truth: Balancing cost savings, productivity, and employee experience* **12:24** - The #1 reason Agentic AI pilots die (and why you need a charter)* **14:28** - "Human in the Line": Why you need to fix your processes before deploying AI* **19:22** - The Ultimate 30-60-90 Day AI Action Plan for mid-sized companies* **24:50** - Why traditional capacity tracking and methodologies belong out the door* **25:58** - Rethinking AI Security & handing over the keys to the kingdom* **28:20** - Essential skills PMs need for the Agentic AI era* **31:15** - 18 Months Out: Preparing for your new "L3" AI Co-worker* **33:00** - Finding our "uniquely human" purpose in the age of AI* **35:04** - Outro & Final Thoughts🔗 Links:* Connect with Shivam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shivamkhullar/* Connect with Leena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/#AgenticAI #AgenticAIExecution

  2. 20 de ago.

    Real AI vs. AI Wrappers: How VCs Spot Fake Agentic Startups (Ep. 24)

    She's evaluated hundreds of AI pitch decks — and she can spot a real agentic AI company from a wrapper in two sentences. In Episode 24, I sit down with Sonia, Managing Partner at Zentara Ventures and founder of Dekode Health, to unpack what actually separates AI companies with real ROI from the ones wrapping a chatbot around a spreadsheet and calling it a platform.Sonia isn't theorizing from the sidelines. She's an engineer by training who moved through product and marketing before landing on the venture side — and she's personally built and launched her own AI healthcare product, now in private pilot. Four exits, one IPO, and more than half a billion dollars raised as a C-level executive — she's built a due-diligence lens most investors don't have. ⏱️ Chapters:0:00 Intro 0:32 Sonia's Path: Engineer to Product to Marketing to VC 2:37 What "AI-Powered" Really Buys You in a Pitch5:09 Real AI vs. Wrapper: The VC Due Diligence Test 6:12 Why She Went Deep Before Going Wide 8:23 The 91% Problem: Marketers Faking Agentic Work10:45 The Two-Sentence Test for Fake Agentic A I13:06 Legal Exposure: Where Founders Overstate AI14:04 What Should Never Get Handed to an Agent 15:36 Agentic AI in Marketing: Why Humans Still Win 17:34 The Line Healthcare AI Should Never Cross 19:42 The ROI Paradox: 84% Positive vs. "It's All Hype" 22:10 AI Layoffs: Real Capability or Convenient Cover? 25:35 The Solopreneur Era (and Why You Still Need Humans) 27:04 Redefining Execution in 2026 29:42 What Changes by 2027 32:15 Where to Find Sonia + Dekode Health "Founders who treat AI as a marketing layer instead of an infrastructure layer — wrapping a ChatGPT or Claude API around a spreadsheet and calling it a platform — that's not a company. It's a feature at best." — Sonia 🔗 Links:* Connect with Sonia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soniahunt/ * Connect with Leena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/ Subscribe for new episodes of Agentic AI Execution, where we go past the pitch deck to how AI actually gets built, funded, and used. #AgenticAI #AgenticAIExecution #VentureCapital #AIStartups #HealthcareAI

  3. 4 de ago.

    Will AI Take Your TPM Job? | LinkedIn Senior Staff TPM Ankur Gupta| Ep 19

    Could your program survive two weeks without you? If the answer is no, you’re not running an operation—you’re a single point of failure with a job title.In this episode of Agentic AI Execution, host Leena sits down with Ankur Gupta, Senior Staff TPM leading AI Infrastructure at LinkedIn (and former tech leader at Walmart). They tackle the burning question: Will AI replace technical program managers?Ankur breaks down why AI isn't taking your job, why status reporting was never the core value of a TPM, and how to build a "TPM Operating System" that runs seamlessly with AI agents while keeping human judgment at the center.---📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS & HIGHLIGHTS:• The Two-Week Test: How to structure programs that don't depend on your memory.• Status vs. Judgment: Give agents the status updates, but keep judgment to yourself.• Information Centralization & Work Decentralization: Scaling execution across 200+ teams.• The TPM Operating System: Operational, Collaboration, and Technical lenses.• Guardrails Over Memos: How to build real AI governance directly into technical systems.• Deterministic vs. Non-Deterministic Reliability: Managing AI agents that take different paths to a goal.---⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - The Two-Week Test: Are You a Single Point of Failure?01:03 - Ankur Gupta's Career Journey to LinkedIn AI Infrastructure02:20 - What Agentic AI Execution Means in Practice03:30 - The Evolving Role of a TPM in the AI Era06:05 - Information Centralization vs. Work Decentralization08:45 - Moving from Coordination to Strategic Tech Leadership11:20 - The "TPM Operating System" Framework17:12 - Live Walkthrough: Set Once, Run Forever Checklist22:50 - What Should NEVER Be Handed Off to an AI Agent?25:10 - Lowering the "Cost of Yes" & Influencing Humans28:30 - Who Holds Accountability When AI Agents Ship Code?30:50 - AI Governance & System Guardrails34:10 - Reliability in Non-Deterministic AI Systems37:40 - What TPMs Need to Do in the Next 12 Months to Stay Relevant42:15 - Practical Hands-On AI Hacks for Daily Workflows46:10 - Overcoming AI Anxiety & Final Advice49:18 - Key Takeaways & Episode Wrap Up🔗 Connect on LinkedIn: Ankur : https://www.linkedin.com/in/agupta03/Leena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/

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The podcast for TPMs, product managers, and builders shipping real AI systems. No hype, no frameworks — just honest conversations about what it actually takes to move from model to production. Topics include agentic AI, AI program execution, stakeholder alignment, technical roadmaps, and building trust in AI-driven orgs. Hosted by Leena Agarwal, 18-year TPM veteran from Amazon and Meta. New episodes every week. Built for tech leaders who ship.