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The path to becoming a successful Product Manager can be as varied and unique as the products a PM creates. In the tech industry, product management involves a blend of strategic thinking, user empathy, and cross-functional collaboration.
For aspiring PMs, understanding the diverse experiences and insights of seasoned professionals can be incredibly valuable in charting a successful path.
In this interview, we delve into the journey, challenges, and advice of Gina Theivendra. Gina Theivendra currently leads product management for the platform that powers the PC Health app and Healthcare Technology portfolio at Loblaw Technology & Analytics. She is also a Co-Founder of Next Up Network; a digital membership & media platform that brings together multi-passionate professionals looking to level up personally and professionally.
Describe your journey into Product Management.
Gina’s entry into product management was untraditional but deeply intentional. Before she transitioned to the tech industry, she worked in the non-profit sector on Kids Help Phone's Crisis Texting Team. There, she witnessed the significant impact that technology and well-designed products could have on issues she cared deeply about, such as providing mental health support for youth. Even though the role itself wasn’t technical, she was given opportunities to lead impactful projects and had the opportunity to develop essential product management skills, such as cross-functional leadership, prioritization, and user-centred approaches to technology decisions. A pivotal coffee chat with a Product Manager at Crisis Text Line inspired Gina to pursue a career in technology and explore product management.
“Although I learned about Product Management by accident, my journey to pursue it was very intentional. I wanted to build products that solve problems I cared about, which ultimately led me to health tech product management.” Gina shares
To ensure this path aligned with her interests, Gina took on a generalist role in tech, using it as an opportunity to connect with professionals across functions—product, sales, and operations—through coffee chats. These conversations confirmed that product management was indeed the right fit. She joined a health tech company as a Product Specialist, quickly growing into a Product Manager role where she could channel her passion for impactful problem-solving.
What are you working on right now and what does product management look like in your organization?
As a Platform Product Manager at Loblaw Technology & Analytics, Gina supports the Patient Orchestrator platform, which powers connected digital health experiences across Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart’s Pharmacy Technology products. This role involves balancing a mix of business alignment, technical collaboration, and strategic decision-making to build a robust digital health ecosystem.
On a day-to-day basis, Gina’s responsibilities include:
How Success is Measured:
Gina shared that metrics play a critical role in evaluating platform performance and guiding her team’s strategies. Here are some key performance indicators (KPIs) she uses:
What has surprised you about being a PM?
While Gina was initially drawn to product management for its focus on user research and product launches, she discovered that a crucial part of her role involved cross-functional stakeholder alignment and maintaining clear documentation. “Successfully rallying teams around a problem is very important - in this role, I’ve learnt to come to conversations with a strong opinion, loosely held. Especially in a large organization, there are so many problems to solve and so many ways to solve them - as a product manager, it’s your job to guide your team through the most important problem and explore the solutions that make sense for that problem. That and creating clear, thorough documentation (that any stakeholder can understand) can take you very far,” she notes.
Gina also realized that an engineering background isn’t strictly necessary for PMs, even for platform products. “This was something that initially challenged me, but through my current role, I learned that you can acquire technical knowledge on the job. The real magic comes from asking the right questions to the right stakeholders and collaborating effectively with your engineering team,” she says.
As a Technical Product Manager, understanding how your team's decisions affect the end-user experience and platform stability is essential. You will need to work with business stakeholders to understand the front-end experience and collaborate closely with your engineering team to optimize for a solution that is scalable and performant.
Gina’s journey taught her the importance of effective communication with stakeholders—a skill she initially found challenging. “I used to be afraid to say 'no' or question why something was a 'must-have' versus a 'nice-to-have.' It felt uncomfortable to push back,” Gina reflects. Her manager helped reframe this as “curiosity rather than confrontation”, emphasizing the PM’s role in making the right decisions for the business and product. “Now, I make a point to ask why something is needed and how it impacts the broader tech or business problem we’re solving. It’s still challenging at times — as my manager often tells me, it’s more of an art than a science.”
Gina emphasizes the importance of leveraging your unique experiences and transferable skills, stressing that personal branding and storytelling are key. “Don’t underestimate the value of your past experiences. If you have domain expertise or lived experiences in the problem space, that’s a significant advantage. Diverse perspectives are so important in product development”
What advice do you have for others who are on a journey to becoming a PM?
Recommended Resources and Communities:
Gina highlights the importance of joining communities to build connections and deepen expertise. She suggests TPMA, Next Up Network, Toast, Product TO, and Women in Product as excellent resources for networking and learning in the industry.
Personal Branding Tips:
Gina’s approach to personal branding involves assessing your unique skills and values. “Think about your expertise and the industries that value these skills. A coach once told me to approach the job search by finding an organization or team with a ‘Gina-sized gap,’ meaning a role where my unique experiences and skills solve specific problems for the organization,” she explains. This approach has guided her career decisions, helping her find roles that align with her values and expertise.
Gina's journey from the non-profit sector to leading product management highlights the power of intentional career moves, continuous learning, and the value of diverse experiences. Her commitment to building impactful products and empowering others through platforms like Next Up Network is a testament to her dedication to both personal and professional growth.
For aspiring PMs, Gina’s journey is a reminder that diverse experiences—whether from different sectors or various roles—can fuel success in product management. Embrace the unique skills you bring, remain open to learning, and seek out opportunities to build products that create positive change. We thank Gina for her wonderful words of wisdom.
How can you leverage your unique experiences to create products that not only meet business goals but also drive meaningful impact for users and the community?
Connect with Gina Theivendra
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The path to becoming a successful Product Manager can be as varied and unique as the products a PM creates. In the tech industry, product management involves a blend of strategic thinking, user empathy, and cross-functional collaboration.
For aspiring PMs, understanding the diverse experiences and insights of seasoned professionals can be incredibly valuable in charting a successful path.
In this interview, we delve into the journey, challenges, and advice of Gina Theivendra. Gina Theivendra currently leads product management for the platform that powers the PC Health app and Healthcare Technology portfolio at Loblaw Technology & Analytics. She is also a Co-Founder of Next Up Network; a digital membership & media platform that brings together multi-passionate professionals looking to level up personally and professionally.
Describe your journey into Product Management.
Gina’s entry into product management was untraditional but deeply intentional. Before she transitioned to the tech industry, she worked in the non-profit sector on Kids Help Phone's Crisis Texting Team. There, she witnessed the significant impact that technology and well-designed products could have on issues she cared deeply about, such as providing mental health support for youth. Even though the role itself wasn’t technical, she was given opportunities to lead impactful projects and had the opportunity to develop essential product management skills, such as cross-functional leadership, prioritization, and user-centred approaches to technology decisions. A pivotal coffee chat with a Product Manager at Crisis Text Line inspired Gina to pursue a career in technology and explore product management.
“Although I learned about Product Management by accident, my journey to pursue it was very intentional. I wanted to build products that solve problems I cared about, which ultimately led me to health tech product management.” Gina shares
To ensure this path aligned with her interests, Gina took on a generalist role in tech, using it as an opportunity to connect with professionals across functions—product, sales, and operations—through coffee chats. These conversations confirmed that product management was indeed the right fit. She joined a health tech company as a Product Specialist, quickly growing into a Product Manager role where she could channel her passion for impactful problem-solving.
What are you working on right now and what does product management look like in your organization?
As a Platform Product Manager at Loblaw Technology & Analytics, Gina supports the Patient Orchestrator platform, which powers connected digital health experiences across Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart’s Pharmacy Technology products. This role involves balancing a mix of business alignment, technical collaboration, and strategic decision-making to build a robust digital health ecosystem.
On a day-to-day basis, Gina’s responsibilities include:
How Success is Measured:
Gina shared that metrics play a critical role in evaluating platform performance and guiding her team’s strategies. Here are some key performance indicators (KPIs) she uses:
What has surprised you about being a PM?
While Gina was initially drawn to product management for its focus on user research and product launches, she discovered that a crucial part of her role involved cross-functional stakeholder alignment and maintaining clear documentation. “Successfully rallying teams around a problem is very important - in this role, I’ve learnt to come to conversations with a strong opinion, loosely held. Especially in a large organization, there are so many problems to solve and so many ways to solve them - as a product manager, it’s your job to guide your team through the most important problem and explore the solutions that make sense for that problem. That and creating clear, thorough documentation (that any stakeholder can understand) can take you very far,” she notes.
Gina also realized that an engineering background isn’t strictly necessary for PMs, even for platform products. “This was something that initially challenged me, but through my current role, I learned that you can acquire technical knowledge on the job. The real magic comes from asking the right questions to the right stakeholders and collaborating effectively with your engineering team,” she says.
As a Technical Product Manager, understanding how your team's decisions affect the end-user experience and platform stability is essential. You will need to work with business stakeholders to understand the front-end experience and collaborate closely with your engineering team to optimize for a solution that is scalable and performant.
Gina’s journey taught her the importance of effective communication with stakeholders—a skill she initially found challenging. “I used to be afraid to say 'no' or question why something was a 'must-have' versus a 'nice-to-have.' It felt uncomfortable to push back,” Gina reflects. Her manager helped reframe this as “curiosity rather than confrontation”, emphasizing the PM’s role in making the right decisions for the business and product. “Now, I make a point to ask why something is needed and how it impacts the broader tech or business problem we’re solving. It’s still challenging at times — as my manager often tells me, it’s more of an art than a science.”
Gina emphasizes the importance of leveraging your unique experiences and transferable skills, stressing that personal branding and storytelling are key. “Don’t underestimate the value of your past experiences. If you have domain expertise or lived experiences in the problem space, that’s a significant advantage. Diverse perspectives are so important in product development”
What advice do you have for others who are on a journey to becoming a PM?
Recommended Resources and Communities:
Gina highlights the importance of joining communities to build connections and deepen expertise. She suggests TPMA, Next Up Network, Toast, Product TO, and Women in Product as excellent resources for networking and learning in the industry.
Personal Branding Tips:
Gina’s approach to personal branding involves assessing your unique skills and values. “Think about your expertise and the industries that value these skills. A coach once told me to approach the job search by finding an organization or team with a ‘Gina-sized gap,’ meaning a role where my unique experiences and skills solve specific problems for the organization,” she explains. This approach has guided her career decisions, helping her find roles that align with her values and expertise.
Gina's journey from the non-profit sector to leading product management highlights the power of intentional career moves, continuous learning, and the value of diverse experiences. Her commitment to building impactful products and empowering others through platforms like Next Up Network is a testament to her dedication to both personal and professional growth.
For aspiring PMs, Gina’s journey is a reminder that diverse experiences—whether from different sectors or various roles—can fuel success in product management. Embrace the unique skills you bring, remain open to learning, and seek out opportunities to build products that create positive change. We thank Gina for her wonderful words of wisdom.
How can you leverage your unique experiences to create products that not only meet business goals but also drive meaningful impact for users and the community?
Connect with Gina Theivendra
Toronto Product Management Association (TPMA) is a community focused on development, growth and networking of Product professionals in the Greater Toronto Area.
