VizoryVizory
— Writing & talks

A collection of conversations, pieces, and talks.

Some published elsewhere, some original to this site. Across product, customer experience, AI, and the work of leading at the strategic level. Updated as new material lands.

— Podcasts

Long-form conversations.

— Mind the Product · The Product Experience

Moving from service-led to product-led.

With Lily Smith and Randy Silver

The shift required when a services-led business needs to become product-led — what tends to go wrong, and the discipline that makes it work. Drawing on the Prospection journey from services-only to a global product platform.

— Mind the Product · The Product Experience

How to influence at board level.

With Lily Smith and Randy Silver

Second appearance on The Product Experience. What product leaders need to understand about how boards think, decide, and listen — and the most common mistakes when communicating up to that level.

— Mind the Product · The Product Experience · Coming soon

Building When You're the Buyer.

With Lily Smith and Randy Silver

A rare third appearance on The Product Experience — a distinction only one other guest holds on the industry's leading product podcast. The commercial post-mortem most build stories skip: building Vizory as a director building for directors — who sets your price before you do, why a product behaves differently used quarterly instead of daily, and why distribution is a product problem you can't defer. The provocation — you are not the TAM. We've gone from the Mom Test to the Me Test.

— Video series

Conversations on AI in the boardroom.

— Three-episode video series

AI in the Boardroom — with Tim Boyle.

Co-founder, Blackhall & Pearl

Three video conversations on what's actually happening with AI in board governance — not what's being marketed, what's being used. Tim's been advising ASX boards for years; I built a product for them. Two practitioners, no hype, just what's working and what isn't. Hosted on the Thinking in Action page alongside the Vizory case study.

AI in the Boardroom — a series with Kirsten Mann and Tim Boyle
— Writing

Articles and provocations.

— Contributor · Global manifesto

The Makers Manifesto.

One of 45 product, design, engineering and AI leaders worldwide who authored the Makers Manifesto — principles for great product-making in the age of AI, built on four values: purpose over possibility, value realised over effort spent, learning loops over launch plans, and human accountability over full automation. The one I keep coming back to: "learning loops over launch plans" — in an AI world the advantage is learning faster, not just building faster.

— LinkedIn · Board Evolution series

From the backroom to the boardroom: why product leaders belong at the table.

Drawing on conversations with more than a dozen industry leaders — including Rod Hamilton, Leigh Jasper, Craig Winkler, and Kobi Leins — on the product gap at board level, why boards default to risk over opportunity, and how product leaders can shift the conversation.

— LinkedIn · Long-form essay

A checklist for better matchmaking.

A personal, mentor-style checklist for evaluating potential employers. Founder-led businesses, CEOs with EQ to match the drive, products hard to replicate, boards that understand product, and a culture that nurtures growth — drawn from twenty-plus years in product roles.

— Building Vizory series

What I learned building AI for the boardroom.

Six-part written series — what I built, what I tested, what I learned, and what I'd do differently. The problem I lived. Testing the hypothesis. What it actually takes. The $20 problem. The channel problem. What comes next. Around 12,000 words across the series.

— Speaking

Keynotes and masterclasses.

— Conference keynote

Three-time Leading the Product speaker.

Leading the Product · and other industry stages

A three-time keynote speaker at Leading the Product and other leading industry conferences — on product leadership in an AI-first world: what changes when AI handles the synthesis, and what stays the same when judgement is the differentiator. Known for provoking different thinking, not for a polished talk everyone agrees with on the way out. My most recent talk, at Agile Manchester, earned the event's highest speaker rating. If you need a powerful, impactful presenter — let's talk.

Kirsten on stage delivering a keynote
— International panel

Japanese Embassy panel.

Sydney, Australia

Representing Main Sequence and Prospection at a panel hosted by the Japan Embassy in Australia, on creating products for Japanese markets — what shifts in product strategy and customer experience when you're building for an audience whose expectations are calibrated differently.

Kirsten on a panel at the Japanese Embassy in Australia, with Australian and Japanese flags visible
— Industry panel

AI-first product leadership.

Rampersand Product Council LIVE · Melbourne · MC'd by Rod Hamilton

Part of Rampersand's Product Council LIVE — "Pressure, Pace and Payoff" — in conversation with Australia's unicorn builders. Alongside Kendra Vant and Craig Bezz, hosted by Rod Hamilton (co-founder, Culture Amp): what AI actually changes for organisations beyond the hype — where it creates real leverage, where leadership teams should stay sceptical, and what it means for how product gets built.

Kirsten Mann on the Rampersand Product Council panel on AI's impact on organisations
— Masterclass

Product, GTM, AI & CX for VC and PE portfolios.

Tailored sessions for investor portfolio companies on product leadership, customer experience, AI, and governance. Each one is built specifically for the audience — researching the portfolio context, crafting a narrative that lands with that specific room, and building content that shifts behaviour rather than just fills a slot.

— Conferences

Leading the Product, Product Conference, Product Aotearoa.

Regular keynote speaker at major industry conferences. Recent: "How do I prove the value of product management to executives?" — speaking from experience operating as Chief Product Officer at scale and translating product investment into commercial outcomes.

— Available for

Keynotes, conference workshops, and offsites.

Across product leadership, customer experience, AI in the boardroom, governance, and the practical work of building product capability in organisations that need it. Known for provoking different thinking — including disagreement.

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