From Google to Healthcare: Lina Scroggins on Product Leadership, Scale, and Building for Trust

In this episode of First Builders, hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Lina Scroggins, SVP and Chief Product Officer at Mercy, to explore what it means to build and lead product orgåanizations inside some of the most complex, high-stakes environments.Lina shares her journey spending nearly two decades at Google, where she helped build systems and teams during the company’s formative growth years, before transitioning into healthcare. She reflects on what changes when products are no longer abstract software experiences but tools that directly affect patients, providers, and underserved communities.Now at Mercy, one of the 15 largest health systems in the United States, Lina is focused on unifying consumer-facing and clinical technology to deliver a more seamless patient experience, particularly across rural America. The conversation dives into product leadership at scale, operating within regulated environments, aligning data and infrastructure, and building trust-driven technology where failure is not an option.Topics covered include:What early Google taught Lina about scaling systems and organizationsTransitioning from consumer tech to healthcare and what fundamentally changesBuilding product strategy in regulated, mission-critical environmentsDesigning technology that earns trust from both patients and providersLeading through ambiguity and aligning teams around long-term impactWhy healthcare product leaders must think beyond speed and featuresServing rural and underserved populations through thoughtful technologyThis episode is a deep dive into product leadership with real-world consequences, and what it takes to build durable systems that truly serve people.FOLLOW LINA SCROGGINSLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lina-scroggins/·       Mercy Leadership Team·       Mercy.net·       MyMercy app·       Mercy Quick FactsScroggins, now part of the Mercy leadership team, will be leading efforts to strengthen the health system’s digital experience, including Mercy.net and MyMercy app. Mercy is one of the15 largest U.S. health systems and serves millions across multiple states, operating one of the nation’s largest, highest‑performing Accountable Care Organizations.FOLLOW THE COUNCIL & FIRST BUILDERSNewsletterYouTube: @firstbuilderspodInstagram: @thecouncilcapitalTwitter/X: @first_builders_TikTok: @firstbuilderspodLinkedIn: The Council