Hard Problem Clubs

Hard Problem Clubs run in parallel to each other and to the session talks. While the three session talks happen one after the other on the main stage, all four Hard Problem Clubs run at the same time in separate locations. Each club is capped at 25 people and requires separate sign-up. No slides, no lectures - just a facilitator who knows the space and a room full of people wrestling with the same challenge.

Tobias Freudenreich: Strong Product Orgs: Making the Transformation Last

Redesigning structures, rewriting role definitions, announcing the shift – and six months later, the same dysfunctions are back, just with new labels. You’ve probably seen some typical problems yourself: leadership that sponsors the change but won't change how it makes decisions. Organisations that try to flip everything at once instead of moving iteratively. Key roles filled by people who haven't done this before.

But what if we stopped treating the transformation as a one-off project and started treating it as a product?
This is a session for product and business leaders who own the mandate and feel the friction. Tobias Freudenreich brings his learnings from working with dozens of organisations – but the real value comes from everyone in the room sharing their experiences.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/freudenreich/

Natalia Williams: Executive Presentations: Why Good Work Doesn't Sell Itself

Many PMs assume that if the analysis is strong and the work is good, a senior management presentation will land. But executive audiences are not evaluating presentations the same way product teams do. In high-stakes moments like QBRs, OKR reviews, and strategic updates, PMs often overload on detail, answer the wrong question, miss the real decision at hand, or frame the story through the wrong lens. This session will explore the most common ways these presentations go wrong, why they go wrong, and how PMs can better communicate with executive audiences to drive clarity, confidence, and decisions.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliatwilliams/

Dorra Mlouhi: Sunsetting: The Strategic Art of Letting Go

Every product team gets better at building things. Far fewer get good at stopping. Sunsetting a feature or product feels like admitting failure — but done well, it's one of the sharpest strategic moves available: it frees resources, sharpens focus, and can actually strengthen customer trust. The hard part is knowing when, and how to do it without eroding the confidence you've built. Dorra Mlouhi, product leader at AWS, opens up the decision-making process — and the organizational dynamics that make it harder than it should be.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorramlouhi/

Heike Funk: Building from Zero: The Illusion of the Blank Page

You've validated the problem. You've tested the solution. You've done everything the playbook tells you to do - and still the thing doesn't fly. Building from scratch is one of product's most romanticized challenges, but even the best discovery work has blind spots nobody thinks to look for. You've built from zero or are about to and want to be better prepared? Bring your experience, your scars, your open questions. Heike Funk, product leader with multiple 0-to-1 builds across industries, opens up the full assumption map.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heikefunk/