Three Top Executive Recruiters on Where Product Management Is Going

What do the hottest companies look for when they hire a CPO or head of product? I put the question to three people who sit in these searches every week: Lindsay Keith of Daversa, Andrew Abramson of Fusion Talent, and Caroline Horn of a16z. We had a similar conversation in January 2026, and the market has moved a lot since. A year ago, founders wanted a narrow profile: a former founder, hands-on, willing to work 9-9-6 hours. That profile hasn't gone away fully, but as companies mature past their first head of product, founders increasingly know what they want. The winning profile is the executive builder: someone senior enough to run the function and still close enough to the work to build.–Key topics:• Why founders want senior leaders who never stopped building• Why "go be an IC" stopped applying to executive searches about six months ago• Staying "close to the metal": how companies test whether an executive is really hands-on• Why working sessions with the team have replaced the take-home presentation• The attributes that matter more than the title• Why technical depth is now a must-have for product leaders• In-office expectations, and why 9-9-6 went quiet but didn't disappear• Comp as a pressure cooker• Why AI fluency will be table stakes by next summer, and what will differentiate candidates instead–Timestamps00:00 Introduction02:28 Meet our guests from Daversa, Fusion Talent, and a16z04:58 How much has demand for product leaders grown this year?06:14 The two types of companies hiring a CPO right now09:34 Why founders under-hired and are now up-leveling the role12:15 How companies assess whether an executive is really hands-on14:25 Working sessions have shifted from presenting to building together18:00 The profile of candidates closing searches in the last 90 days20:50 Why later-stage companies want builders who can attract AI-pilled PMs23:30 Should executives found a company to boost their careers?25:00 The attributes that matter27:10 Do AI companies need leaders with AI experience?31:04 Building AI reps outside your day job33:08 In-office expectations and whether 9-9-6 has cooled35:15 Can executives with families keep up with the pace?39:12 How to assess a company's culture before you join44:25 How to evaluate a paper-rich offer at a high valuation49:05 Competing with Meta, Google, and the labs on comp51:58 Predictions for next summer: researchers, physical AI, and technical depth56:18 Why AI fluency will stop differentiating candidates57:24 Domain depth as the next differentiator–Referenced:• a16z• Abridge• Airbnb• Airtable• Anthropic• Atoms• Autodesk• Bending Spoons• ChatGPT• Claude• Cursor• Datadog• Daversa• Decagon• DoorDash• Figma• Fusion Talent• Google• Gusto• Harvey• Meta• Miro• Nash• OpenAI• Sharp Performance• Sierra• Square• Substack• Travis Kalanick• Uber• Vercel• <a target="_blank" href="https: