Meet our new VP of Product: Introducing Esty Yehuda

By now, we all know AI isn’t an overhyped trend or a fad that will fade out fast. Instead, its rise indicates a crucial turning point that promises to change how work gets done indelibly. 

While 86% of leaders expect advancements in AI and information processing to transform their businesses by 2030, not all AI-powered innovations are created equally. The most game-changing systems can only come to fruition when Product Leaders have both immense subject matter expertise and a well-honed track record for bringing innovative visions to life.

Luckily for us, our new VP of Product Esty Yehuda embodies both of these qualities. After owning product strategy at visionary organizations like SAP, WalkMe, and AppsFlyer, we’re thrilled to count this expert product innovator as a Gloater. We recently sat down with Esty to learn more about her career journey and what’s exciting her about our agile workforce OS. She also previewed some incredible top-secret product innovations her team already has in the works!

Can you tell us a little about your career journey and what led you to Gloat?

Throughout my career, I’ve been focused on building enterprise software that really helps organizations work better. I started at SAP with the HANA Cloud Portal platform, then at WalkMe I led their Web Platform and Growth Edition products, and most recently at AppsFlyer, I was VP of Product Management overseeing Privacy Cloud products, including our Data Clean Room marketplace that connected advertisers with publishers and tech partners.

What really excites me about Gloat is the chance to shape how work evolves through skills-based workforce agility. You know how quickly business landscapes change these days—companies need to adapt fast and make the most of their people’s talents. I love that Gloat is moving away from rigid organizational structures toward something more dynamic and skills-focused. It’s exactly the kind of meaningful impact I’m passionate about creating through product development.

What excites you most about joining Gloat right now?

Gloat’s vision of an Agile Workforce Operating System is perfectly positioned to help companies navigate the transformative impact of Generative AI on jobs and skills. The market is ready for this shift. Companies recognize they need to embrace fluid, skills-based models. With Gloat’s foundation in AI-powered skills technology and our deep understanding of enterprise needs, we have a unique opportunity to lead this transformation and help organizations succeed in this new era of work.

What’s your approach to building and scaling innovative products in a rapidly changing market?

I focus on three principles. First, maintaining rapid innovation while ensuring enterprise-grade reliability, so having a strong foundational architecture that can scale while enabling quick iterations. Second, staying deeply connected to customer needs through continuous feedback and data-driven decision-making. Third, taking an outcome-driven approach by clearly defining success metrics and using them to guide our development priorities. 

How do you balance innovation with customer needs and business impact?

The key is prioritizing both innovation and practical value delivery. We need to be smart about our investments, combining future-focused capabilities like our Workforce Graph and AI with features that solve real customer problems today. I’m a big believer in using data to guide these decisions, which is why we’ve created a Product Value Score that measures user impact, adoption, and satisfaction. This helps us make sure we’re innovating in ways that actually help customers adapt to change, boost productivity, and reduce risks—that’s what really matters.

What challenges do you anticipate in scaling Gloat’s product offerings? How will you address them?

The main challenge is maintaining our innovation velocity while ensuring enterprise-grade reliability and security. As we expand into work orchestration (stay tuned for a VERY exciting announcement coming soon), we must ensure seamless integration with existing enterprise systems and workflows. We’re addressing this through a modular architecture approach so we can scale different components independently.

What’s one piece of advice you give to product teams trying to build solutions that truly move the needle?

Stay deeply connected to your customers while having the courage to move fast and learn faster. I’m a strong advocate for working closely with design partners to validate solutions early, making data-driven decisions, and not being afraid to fail as long as we’re learning and iterating quickly. The key is to maintain a relentless focus on customer value while being bold enough to push boundaries.

Have any books or thought leaders influenced your perspective on product leadership?
Yes! Marty Cagan’s “EMPOWERED” has significantly shaped my approach to product leadership. His philosophy about truly empowered product teams—giving them problems to solve rather than just features to build—deeply resonates with my experience and what I believe drives successful product organizations. His emphasis on the critical difference between feature teams and empowered product teams has consistently led to more innovative solutions and better outcomes in my experience. 

If you could describe your vision for Gloat in three words, what would they be?

Empower, Innovate, Impact!

‘Empower’ because we’re giving organizations and their people the ability to reach their full potential.

‘Innovate’ as we’re constantly pushing boundaries in how work gets done in the AI era. ‘Impact’ because we’re focused on creating real, measurable value for our customers. These three words really capture the excitement of where we’re headed!

Want to learn more about how our customers use our products to launch game-changing transformations? Check out Josh Bersin’s Dynamic Organization research to find out how HSBC, Mastercard, and Schneider Electric are embracing new ways of working.