Lightning Lessons

From C-Suite to Builder: Leadership in the Age of AI

Hosted by Dr. Marily Nika and Deb Liu

Tue, Nov 4, 2025

5:00 PM UTC (30 minutes)

Virtual (Zoom)

Free to join

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Go deeper with a course

AI Builder Bootcamp & Certification
Dr. Marily Nika, Justin Fineberg, Dr. Tatyana Mamut, and Jacob Bank
View syllabus

What you'll learn

How executives are returning to hands-on building

Why former C-suite leaders are learning to prototype and ship with AI tools.

Re-skilling for the AI era

How to adapt strategic leadership skills into practical product creation.

Decision-making in lean AI teams

How smaller, tool-driven orgs make faster and better product calls.

Why this topic matters

AI is flattening org structures. Leaders who once managed builders are now building themselves. Deb shares how she transitioned from managing teams to personally creating AI-powered products — shifting from delegation to direct execution. Participants will learn what it means to lead through creation, not oversight, and how to stay relevant as AI reduces managerial layers.

You'll learn from

Dr. Marily Nika

Gen AI PM Lead @ Google | ex-Meta, Fellow @ Harvard | TED AI Speaker | 40u40

AI PM Newsletter (30k+)

🔗 LinkedIn (90k+)

❌ Twitter

🎥 YouTube channel

🤝 Coaching


Based in Silicon Valley, Dr. Marily Nika is an award-winning AI Product Management leader & one of the world's best AI educators, with 12+ years of experience at Google & Meta, with a PhD in Machine Learning. Featured in TechCrunch, executive Fellow at Harvard, TED AI Presenter.


Marily created the first (and best) AI Product Management Certification on Maven. Marily is also a keynote speaker (TED AI / 3 x TEDx) and has been recognized for her contributions in AI & tech several times: Amplitude most influencial product leader, medal of Outstanding Achievement, WISE Influence Award, 2020's Top 100 Women in tech, Emerging Leader Award, 2021's 40 under 40 list.


Marily is also an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School where she teaches AI Product Management.


She has taught over 8k students on Maven and offers these courses:


✉️ maven@aiproduct.com

Reach out for corporate trainings and group/student discounts.

Deb Liu

Board Member and Advisor, Former CEO @ Ancestry.com, Former VP @ Meta

Deborah Liu is a renowned tech executive, advisor, and board member with over two decades of leadership in consumer and fintech innovation. She is the former CEO of Ancestry and currently serves on the Board at Intuit, helping guide product, payments, and AI-driven growth strategy.


Previously, Deb spent 11 years at Facebook, where she served as VP of Facebook App Commerce and Marketplace, and earlier held leadership roles at PayPal and eBay.


A Stanford MBA and Duke-trained engineer, she’s the author of Take Back Your Power and the creator of the “Perspectives” newsletter, where she shares insights on product management, leadership, and navigating tech with empathy and conviction.

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