Meet the Team: Amplitude SVP of Product David Ragones

As Senior Vice President of Product, David Ragones' goal is to play a pivotal role in driving Amplitude’s product growth. He leads our growing product portfolio, including Web Experimentation, Feature Experimentation, Session Replay, and more! Prior to joining Amplitude, David was SVP & General Manager at Salesforce and SVP & Head of Product at SAP SuccessFactors.

We had the opportunity to chat with David, who shared his journey and insights into being a product leader. He explored what inspired his career in product management and his passion for driving innovation. From embracing a growth mindset to prioritizing customer needs and fostering experimentation, he shares advice, strategies, and aspirations.

What inspired you to pursue a career in product?

I remember the wonder my college professor shared when he arrived late to a lecture after downloading a beta version of the Netscape browser and experiencing the early web. I have always been fascinated with building software products. This goes back to building early ecommerce websites and mobile apps, to enterprise cloud software for some of the largest organizations in the world, and now, to AI and LLM-based products. The intersection of creativity and design, building based on customer needs and doing it at scale across thousands of companies and millions of users, is really unmatched.

What’s your favorite Amplitude value, and how do you see your colleagues living that value out?

My favorite Amplitude value is Growth Mindset. I consider myself a lifelong learner and enjoy stepping into a new domain and ramping up the learning curve. As a manager, one of my key focus areas is career development. I work closely with my team to understand where they want to go in their careers and how I can help them get there. Our Feature Experimentation and Web Experimentation products also embrace the Growth Mindset and help build a culture of experimentation within an organization.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone just starting in product, what would it be?

Don’t be afraid to roll up your sleeves and really know the details. It can be customer intimacy, product intimacy, technical intimacy, or all of the above. Early career product managers can stand out by truly being experts in their area of the product, such that executives and company leaders rely on their point of view because it is grounded in deep understanding. As you build trust and get broader exposure outside your initial domain, you can build complementary skills around strategy, communication, and craft.

What strategies do you use to prioritize self-care while managing a busy work schedule?

Exercise is important for me during the week to help me manage stress and keep my energy high. I tend to wake up early to take advantage of my Peloton Bike+ (Peloton is an Amplitude customer!) with Power Zone cycling classes and strength and meditation classes.

What drew you to this position, and what do you hope to achieve at Amplitude?

One of the challenges I have faced in past product leadership roles is the disconnect between questions my team and I had about user activity and the ability to answer those questions quickly to make better decisions about the product. Our internal product analytics infrastructure governed my team’s ability to iterate quickly. What is so exciting about Amplitude is that product teams now have complete control over the speed of insight with Amplitude’s self-service capabilities.

The opportunity to contribute to Amplitude’s product growth beyond its core Analytics product also drew me to the position. With the Command AI acquisition, we are innovating our platform quickly and adding more products like guides and surveys. I hope to turbo-charge the Amplitude business by helping us become the analytics platform of choice for all digital teams.