"The New Leadership Stack: AI, Transformation, and Product Thinking" - with Amy Patel

SEASON FIVE: In this week’s episode I chat to Amy Patel, VP of Product Innovation at McKesson about AI transformation, tools, and leading effectively amidst change. We delve into her career experiences, and her involvement with the Girls Empowerment Network. Amy shares her insights on leadership in times of disruption, emphasizing the need for a learning stack mindset, upskilling, and adopting new interview techniques like scenario-based questions to assess adaptability and learning velocity over years of experience. She also offers advice for companies undergoing AI transformation, such as starting with problem definition, building governance and education early on, and investing in data readiness. Amy stresses the importance of the "human in the loop" when it comes to AI, especially in high-risk environments like healthcare.About Our Guest: Amy Patel is a product innovation leader with deep experience building and scaling technology across healthcare and life sciences. With a foundation in Biomedical Engineering, she has led international teams and driven digital and AI transformations at IBM, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Cencora, and now McKesson.A former entrepreneur who founded and sold her own event‑planning company, Amy has also guided multiple early‑stage startups as Head of Product, launching AI‑powered features, marketplaces, and new product lines.A mom of three and proud Austin resident, she’s passionate about people‑first leadership, simplifying complex problems, and helping teams turn big, ambiguous ideas into products that make meaningful impact.