To be effective, a product manager in the SaaS space must be a visionary with an engineering degree. It takes deep knowledge of technical processes and a desire to help customers achieve the outcome they want. Dustin Kirkland, Chief Product Officer at Apex, has been in the product space for more than 20 years.

Dustin joined Patrick and Shelli for a discussion on what it takes to develop a product manager mindset, why he wishes he would have stuck with controversial ideas early in his career, and the current landscape of product design in IT. Tune in for his story and wisdom.

• (01:48) - What is Apex Clearing?
• (02:52) - Fractional share offerings
• (06:49) - Disruptive fintech tools
• (10:51) - True to the vision
• (13:40) - Sphere of influence
• (19:04) - Project-to-product mentality
• (21:33) - Getting involved in product management
• (26:58) - Leaders are learners

Dustin Kirkland is the Chief Product Officer at Apex Clearing. As CPO, Dustin is responsible for defining the vision and evolving the strategy of Apex’s product portfolio. With 20 years of experience in the software and technology industry, Dustin has worked for some of the largest technology firms—Google and IBM, along with innovative startups—Gazzang, acquired by Cloudera, and Canonical, which is the company behind Ubuntu. His team of product managers interface with Apex customers and Apex engineers on a daily basis, ensuring quality, excellence, completeness, and timely delivery of the product release cycles.

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Podcast episode production by Dante32.