The News Product Alliance is pleased to announce its new Executive Committee, which is set to start on March 1st, 2024. Anita Zielina, who has served as the Inaugural Board Chair for the past three years, will conclude her impactful tenure and pass the baton to Upasna Gautam, Senior Product Manager on CNN Digital’s Content Platforms team. 

As a Senior Product Manager at CNN, Upasna collaborates with a cross-functional team of engineers, designers, editors, and journalists to develop the core technology platform that delivers breaking news to a global audience.

Upasna has extensive experience in organizational and technological transformation over her 15-year career in the tech industry. As a Board Chair, she will play a pivotal part in guiding the strategic direction of the News Product Alliance, fostering collaboration within the industry, and steering initiatives that advance the mission of building a Diverse Talent Pipeline for News Product.

“I am thrilled to take on the role of Chair of the Board of Directors at the News Product Alliance, succeeding my esteemed mentor, Anita Zielina. Stepping into her shoes is both a humbling responsibility and an exciting opportunity. I am eager to drive the organization towards even greater heights. Together with the board, we will continue strengthening the practice of product management in newsrooms, ensuring that the NPA remains at the forefront of innovation, inclusion, and excellence. I look forward to steering the NPA towards a future defined by impactful contributions to the tech and news industries”, said Upasna Gautam.

Upasna will be joining the sitting members of the Executive Committee, which includes news product pioneers Luciana Cardoso as Vice-Chair, Elite Truong as Secretary, and AX Mina as Treasurer. The three of them were re-elected and have renewed their commitment to the organization. 

Luciana began her career at IBM in Project Management for Latin America and later became a CPO at Estadão Newspaper in Brazil, leading the company's digital transformation. Then she joined Quartz as a Senior Product Manager, achieving significant results such as increasing readership and creating a successful podcast. Currently, she is the Director of Product and Data at Grupo Bandeirantes in Brazil. 

Elite Truong is the Vice President of Product Strategy at the American Press Institute, where she manages data products that help local newsrooms make strategic decisions. Formerly, she was the Director of Strategic Initiatives at The Washington Post, where she led the newsroom R&D team to capture younger and more diverse audiences by creating projects driven by emerging technologies, including machine learning, artificial intelligence, 3-D, and augmented reality.

AX Mina (she/they) is a strategic consultant and leadership coach with over a decade of global experience in organizational strategy and leadership, technology development, public speaking, and media development. She’s coached and trained news entrepreneurs and managers through programs with LION Publishers, The Self-Investigation, The OpEd Project, and the American Press Institute. She was a founding board member of the News Product Alliance and is a Senior Civic Media Fellow at the USC Annenberg School for Journalism and Communications.

The new Executive committee will collaborate with the full board of directors to ensure strategic oversight for the organization's smooth functioning. The roster is completed by journalism, product, and tech leaders Aaron Williams, Sharon Moshavi, Nick Petrie, Tawanda Kanhema, and Anita Zielina.

As we celebrate the new Board leadership, we also want to highlight Anita Zielina’s legacy as Chair and founder of the organization. Through her tenure, Anita Zielina led the News Product Alliance to remarkable growth from an idea to a well-established 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a sustainable financial standing and a broad portfolio of impactful programs.

The NPA has established itself as a leading authority in news product management, with a community of over 3,000 members who engage in monthly collaborative calls, fostering connections worldwide. It has hosted three 500-participant annual Summits, mentored and trained 250 emerging product thinkers, and launched a first-of-its-kind News Product Management Certification. 

“I’m incredibly proud of the force NPA has become under the thoughtful leadership of Feli Carrique and Becca Aronson. As we are moving into 2024, the News Product Alliance is continuing and reinforcing its commitment to building a diverse news product talent pipeline through training, capacity building, and community”, Anita Zielina shared.

Starting in January, the News Product Management Certification will help advance careers in news with technical and product expertise. With a second cohort running in September, the program will empower dozens of individuals annually to lead strategic decision-making, drive innovation, and inspire positive changes in the industry. 

Additionally, the NPA will continue to run the NPA Summit virtually for its global community and pilot an in-person event for the North American community, hopefully leading to expanding these gatherings to different parts of the world. And will continue to improve the member experience, creating more networking opportunities and building communities of practice.

The News Product Alliance is confident that the board's strategic vision and passion for advancing the industry will contribute significantly to the organization's mission. The new appointments signify an exciting chapter for the News Product Alliance as it continues to promote excellence and product innovation throughout the industry through a lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion.