Empowering Young Professionals: Life as a Salesforce Product Manager

Passion is fuel for product managers — or, at least, that’s the case for Divya Sharma, Senior Director of Product Management at Salesforce.

Discover her career path below, and how she’s blazed new trails for product management in India.

Charting a path of rapid learning and growth

Divya had already built an impressive resume before she joined Salesforce as a Senior Manager, Product Management for Industries Cloud. She was drawn to Salesforce by its reputation as one of the best workplaces and its innovative product portfolio.

“It has been an amazing experience from day one,” says Divya. “I delivered on four industry domains and learned so much in the first three years. I was working with a high-performing development team, and the rapid pace at which we could deliver on commitments was exhilarating.”

She credits her managers and mentors for her ability to thrive in this high-velocity, results-driven environment.

“All through my journey at Salesforce, I have had phenomenal support in the form of guidance from seniors. I also had access to technical and leadership programs, which really made a difference in my learning and growth,” she says.

Now a Senior Director of Product Management for Financial Services, Divya’s in charge of product releases at various stages of development. Her work involves collaborating with teams and stakeholders and driving discovery or validation sessions with customers or partners as secondary research. When she’s not working on aligning teams, she’s canvassing for new features and building product roadmaps.

Flourishing in an encouraging culture

When asked how she balances the demands of her leadership role, Divya credits her work as a passion that gives her energy — not to mention her family’s unwavering support.

“For one thing, there is no boredom,” she said. “I love building intelligent products that solve customer problems. Plus, I find it motivating to work with an organization focused on making a positive business and social impact. The fact that I get to work with high performers and benefit from the company’s employee-friendly policies and open culture are all drivers for me.”

The open culture Divya refers to includes the Salesforce policy of inviting every employee to voice their opinions on the company’s V2MOM — the business management process which stands for Vision, Values, Methods, Obstacles, and Measures — and other company-wide initiatives that encourage open dialogue, no matter an employee’s title. “I think Salesforce is the best place for everyone looking to invest and grow in their careers with the right support.”

Divya credits her growth to the emphasis on learning at Salesforce, which including hands-on opportunities, continuing education support, structured training programs, and mentorship opportunities.

“When the Salesforce Women Network was started in India, I was part of the mentorship team,” she said. “Many of those who attended our sessions were keen to pursue product management. They had specific questions about the nature of skills required. I was able to coach them, and it was incredibly rewarding,” explains Divya.

Building her path to success

Divya has one motto that guides her own successes: Life is 10% of what happens to you, and 90% of how you react to it.

For her, that means always being detailed, thorough, and curious about ideas. After all, as Divya says, “there is no substitute for taking the initiative and being proactive.”

This philosophy also extends beyond the workplace ... in fact, it goes back to when Divya represented Mumbai city and played table tennis at the state level.

“I was playing at an inter-school championship against the second seed. Despite being the third seed, I went on to win the last game,” she said. “It happened because of something my coach said. She reminded me to take a moment to breathe and remind myself that I would do my best, no matter the result. This helped rebuild my confidence — and win a game even when everything was in the opponent’s favor.”

Though Divya no longer plays table tennis competitively, she continues to find moments of happiness through hobbies like painting and gardening. At work, team lunches and outings remind her of the “small things that give me happiness and make me feel at peace with myself,” she says.

Divya believes Salesforce is one of the best places to work for a reason. Join our Talent Community to learn why — and then explore our open roles.