From Retail Floors to Product Strategy: Building a Career Around Customers

From Best Buy to Oldcastle: How Jennifer Sabetti Built a Career on Customer-Centric Leadership Early in her career, Jennifer Sabetti learned a simple truth at Best Buy: “Have fun while being the best.” Today, as VP of Product Strategy at Oldcastle Infrastructure, that mindset shapes how she leads teams, hires talent, and mentors the next generation of PMs. In this episode of Trailblazing Women in Product Management, Jennifer joins host Nicole Tieche to share how retail taught her to love the customer, embrace change, and build teams that thrive on curiosity and culture. Key Topics Discussed in This Episode Core values that never expire How “learning from challenge and change” became Jennifer’s lifelong leadership principle.Key topic #2 Transitioning across industries Why focusing on customer value makes any career pivot possible. Mentorship and team growth The overlooked art of spotting (and becoming) a great mentor at work.  Why Listen to This Episode? In this refreshing and candid conversation, you’ll learn: Why your first job might teach you your most important leadership lessons. How to build resilient, high-performing teams in complex product environments. What hiring for passion (not just skills) really looks like. How to find mentorship moments in everyday interactions. Jennifer’s story is proof that customer-centric leadership transcends industries — and that positivity is a powerful career strategy. Related Resources Check out these additional tools and resources to add to your PM belt: Productside Resource Library More Productside Stories Podcast Episodes Explore Productside Courses