Here's how you can distinguish between being a Product Manager and an executive Product Manager.

Product Managers (PMs) focus on the execution and delivery of products, working closely with engineering, design, and other teams to meet user needs and business goals. They handle defining product requirements, creating roadmaps, prioritizing features, and making trade-offs. PMs often interact with customers for feedback and work towards short to mid-term goals. Executive Product Managers (EPMs), on the other hand, have a broader, strategic role, overseeing multiple products or an entire portfolio. They set long-term vision and strategy, lead and mentor PMs, and ensure alignment across teams. EPMs collaborate with senior leaders to align product and business strategy, focusing on long-term objectives and market trends.

Top distinction between a Product Manager and Exec Product Manager is purely around the expanded vision, cross product/department view and articulation of the vision tied to the organizational strategy. A product manager focuses on driving vision and end goal for a handful or products that is communicated down by product leadership. However, executive Product Manager focuses on being part of strategy drive and create themes, capabilities and the long term roadmap that aligns and impacts a broader segment of organization functions and capabilities. At the end both roles focus on delivering the value for the organization within the Product Lifecycles for the organization with little different flavor of expanded roles & responsibilities.

As a Product Manager, you focus on guiding the development and success of a specific product, coordinating between teams and managing the product lifecycle. An Executive Product Manager, on the other hand, operates at a higher strategic level, overseeing multiple product lines or portfolios, setting long-term visions, and making decisions that align with the broader business objectives. They also often mentor other product managers and have a significant influence on company-wide strategy.

Product management offers an exciting career path, but the titles can sometimes be confusing. Understanding the key differences between a Product Manager (PM) and an Executive Product Manager (EPM) can help you navigate your own ambitions and recognize the distinct value each role brings. The Product Manager: In the Trenches of Innovation PMs are the champions of a specific product or feature. They are the glue that holds the cross-functional team together, collaborating with engineers, designers, marketers, and sales to bring a product to life. Their focus is on: Understanding user needs: PMs conduct user research, analyze data, and gather feedback to ensure the product solves real problems.

PM: Tracks product-level KPIs like adoption rates, churn, and feature utilization. EPM: Monitors portfolio-level metrics such as revenue growth, market share, and long-term ROI, while balancing resource allocation across multiple product lines.

It depends on each company. There are companies that hires product owner that is focused on backlog maintenance. Other companies have the group product manager for managing product teams. Between that there is the (executive) product manager taking care of product strategy in middle and long perspective. If the company is a early stage one, it’s common that the product manager is responsible for backlog and strategy as well.

- Executive PMs focus on long-term vision. They make strategic calls on product roadmaps, aligning them with market trends and business goals. - Data analysis is key. They leverage user data and market research to identify opportunities and steer product development towards user needs and market fit. - Communication and collaboration are crucial. They bridge the gap between technical teams, business stakeholders, and executives, ensuring everyone is aligned with product decisions.

- Executive PMs build strong cross-functional partnerships. They foster collaboration between departments to ensure a seamless product development lifecycle. - Mentorship becomes a priority. They guide and develop junior PMs, shaping the next generation of product leaders. - They champion a culture of innovation. Executive PMs create an environment where new ideas are encouraged and product teams can thrive.

It shows in the way PMs articulate. To draw from my personal experience as a new PM I wasn't aware of the autonomy other teams hold, but an Exec PM is aware and will navigate accordingly. It's a factor of experience and what to say, when to say and who to say it to.

Some things I'd add: 1. A PM is mostly an IC role. An executive PM has a management one. 2. Executive PM requires people management, a PM does not. Hence leadership and mentorship are critical in the former. 3. PMs own the product OKRs and goals. Executive PMs are generally responsible for part of the P&L. 4. Learning curves can differ as well. PMs would take at least 6 to 12 months to get a full grasp of all the aspects of the product, with the curve flattening at around 18 months. Executive PMs are always learning due to changing dynamics.