Secret CPO Briefing 🕵️‍♂️

FROM THE CPO'S DESK

This week, I’ve been thinking about how product leadership is being redefined in real time. From AI’s rapid integration to new regulatory pressures and global supply chain shocks, the role of the CPO has never been more complex-or more critical. Our challenge is to balance innovation with resilience, ensuring our teams are empowered to experiment while staying laser-focused on outcomes. In this climate, cross-functional thinking and the ability to anticipate change are the hallmarks of the most effective product leaders.

What’s striking in the past week is how quickly the external environment can shift the priorities for our teams. The latest wave of AI announcements isn’t just hype-it’s already changing how we build, test, and launch products. It’s not enough to simply adopt new technologies; we need to rethink our operating models and how we measure success. Are we setting the right incentives for experimentation? Are we building the right skills for an AI-augmented world?

Meanwhile, the regulatory landscape is tightening. New rules around AI and product safety in the UK and EU mean that compliance can’t be an afterthought. The best teams I’ve seen are treating this as an opportunity to differentiate-by building trust, transparency, and robustness into their products from day one.

My advice this week: double down on communication. Make sure your teams understand not just what’s changing, but why. Encourage them to bring forward risks and ideas early, and create space for learning-especially when things don’t go as planned. The CPOs who thrive in 2025 will be those who don’t just react to change, but actively shape it.

CPO TL;DR – WHAT TO KNOW THIS WEEK

• Product Management Trends 2025: 10 Predictions for the Future The rise of the full-stack PM and the critical importance of digital product agility-why empowering teams and building for rapid change is now a baseline, not a differentiator.
• Major UK & EU Regulatory Changes Set to Transform 2025 A wave of new product safety and AI regulations is coming-CPOs must get ahead of compliance to turn risk into opportunity and maintain a competitive edge.
• How Industry Leaders Are Adapting to Global Disruption With geopolitical tensions and supply chain shocks on the rise, leaders are rethinking resilience, regionalization, and risk management-key lessons for product strategy in volatile times.

MORE STORIES WORTH A LOOK

• Product Leadership: Latest Insights
• What is Product Leadership? Top 5 Skills to Master the Role
• Product Management Trends 2025: BrainStation Insights
• UK Tech Talent Shortage: What CPOs Need to Know
• Best Practices for Leading Remote Product Teams in 2025

UPCOMING EVENTS

• ProductCon New York – May 21, 2025
  New York, NY, USA. Flagship event for product leaders with top speakers, AI and growth sessions, and networking.
• Dublin Tech Summit – May 28–29, 2025
  Dublin, Ireland. Two days of tech innovation, leadership, and networking with global product and engineering leaders.