How are New Product Leaders Like Great Books? They’re Both Transformative
Chapter 74 of The Da Vinci Code marks a pivotal moment in the story: Robert Langdon unravels crucial information about the identity of the antagonist and uncovers a major twist in the investigation.
Chapters like these are often found in great books, altering the course of the story — much like how the introduction of a new product leader can reshape a company’s trajectory. With a fresh outlook on innovation, new product leaders revitalize a company, bringing renewed energy and a bold vision for the future.
The role of a product leader is to define the product vision, establish its mission and ensure product-market fit, evaluating a product’s value, usability and feasibility before product managers take charge.
Recently, Apptronik Director of Product Parker Conroy shared his professional background, his approach to leadership and his ambitious plans to add to Apptronik’s narrative.
Apptronik builds robots to improve human quality of life and help solve the labor shortage problem.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. What’s your professional background, and why were you brought on to lead this team?
My work in robotics began as a consultant on UAVs for Red Bull. From there, I joined one of the first industrial mobile robot companies, Adept Technologies, working as an applications engineer. While I was managing that team, Adept was acquired by OMRON, and I transitioned to leading their mobile robot product management team. Since then, my focus has been on developing product teams that can tackle every dimension of a robotics solution.
Apptronik hired me to lead their product team not just for my professional experience, but because we’re aligned on the company’s social goals. The economy has evolved dramatically since the agrarian era when most people were farmers. The industrial revolution marked a significant shift, introducing mechanization and mass production, which led to urbanization and the growth of factories. Our increasingly modern economy is only possible if humanity continues to increase its capabilities with each generation. We view human-centric robots as the pinnacle of that pursuit to enhance productivity.
How would you describe your approach to leadership, and how do you plan on building team culture?
My team-building approach is based on promoting agency and communication. Communication is the backbone of effective teamwork. Open, honest and frequent communication ensures that everyone is on the same page and facilitates the sharing of ideas and feedback.
Product management, at least in the early phases of a product, is a creative process. It’s key that everyone has a chance to be heard. Utilizing various communication channels, and documenting as you go, encourages a culture of transparency. This is particularly important in product management, where cross-functional collaboration is key to delivering successful products. Promoting agency involves empowering product managers to make decisions and take ownership of their projects. This fosters a sense of responsibility and provides learning experiences as individuals see their contributions directly impact the product’s success.
My goal is to have each member of my team create successful products through a sense of personal ownership. As Peter Drucker said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
What project are you most excited to tackle, and why? What impact will it have on the company and its customers?
You’d be hard-pressed to find a project in any company that could have a larger global impact than ours will. In Apollo, our eighth humanoid robot design, we combine cutting-edge technology with years of experience building robots. Apollo is a robot capable of learning and solving problems autonomously because it integrates advanced controls, vision and AI.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find a project in any company that could have a larger global impact than ours will.”
For customers, Apollo addresses critical labor shortages in industries like manufacturing, logistics and healthcare by handling dull, dirty and dangerous jobs. This enhances worker safety and efficiency. As we expand from industry into the home, Apollo will assist around the house, freeing up people’s valuable time.
