Deb Liu
Deb Liu is the CEO of Ancestry and former longtime VP of Product at Facebook. At Facebook, Deb led the creation of Facebook Marketplace, developed the first mobile ad product for apps, built the company’s games business, and launched Facebook Pay. She’s also held leadership roles at PayPal and eBay, serves on the board of Intuit, and is the author of Take Back Your Power.
Career (separate track) Skills
Demonstrating a genuine obsession with solving a user's problem is more effective than relying on formal credentials when breaking into product management.
"I think when you have passion around a product or passion around a company or around a business model or around something, it shows. And so it's not necessarily faking the enthusiasm or faking the ide..."
Applying product management disciplines—like success metrics and strategic roadmaps—to your own career prevents aimless drifting and ensures intentional growth.
"Some of the best PMs I have ever worked with are terrible PMs for their career. They just drift from job to job. 'Hey, should I take this role or this role? How do I think about this?' But if I said y..."
Operating Cadence & Communication Skills
Overcome the discomfort of self-promotion by reframing it as a responsibility to educate others about your team's value and resource needs.
"It looks like self-promotion. I wouldn't want to do that because it's self-promotion. But instead, what if I called it educating about all the great work your team has been doing? Helping people see w..."