Why CEOs Are Often the First Product Managers
In most founder-led manufacturing companies, the CEO starts out as the first product manager.
You saw the customer problem. You shaped the first product. You made the calls on development, pricing, and how to take it to market.
That hands-on focus is often what gets the business off the ground.
But as the company grows, it gets harder to stay in every detail. You can’t sit in every customer meeting, review every design, or weigh in on every roadmap decision. And yet, the product still needs someone connecting customer needs, business strategy, and the team’s work.
This is the point where many manufacturers feel the strain.
The CEO is still pulled into product conversations, but no one fully owns them. Engineering starts building products, sales pushes for new solutions, and marketing is ready to promote new offerings. Everyone is contributing, but no one is connecting the needs of customers back to the teams.
To make the next jump in growth, that gap often needs to be filled.
That is where product management comes in.
It takes what you once carried on your own and makes it a repeatable system. A product manager turns strategy into customer value, aligns the team, and helps ensure decisions are made with clarity and purpose.
The best CEOs never completely step away from the product. They shift.
They move from being the product manager to empowering others to take that role with the structure, insight, and authority to do it well.
That shift is what prepares the company for the next level of growth.
It frees you up to lead the business while making sure the product portfolio continues to grow and deliver value.
What about you?
If product decisions keep landing back on your desk, let’s talk. I’d be glad to help you think through what a product management system could look like for your business.
