From WhatsApp's data org to Google Suggest, YouTube and Careem.

Wael Salloum has built AI infrastructure used by billions. In this episode he unpacks how AI is really adopted inside companies, how to lead senior technical teams, and where MENA's AI moment is heading.

In this episode:
How Wael scaled WhatsApp's data organisation from 4 to 200+ people globally

• What CEOs still get wrong about building data-driven organisations
  
  
• Where companies waste the most money in AI transformations
  
  
• The privacy vs personalisation debate and what WhatsApp actually did
  
  
• The AI belief almost nobody in Silicon Valley agrees with him on
  
  

Guest: Wael Salloum | former Head of Data at WhatsApp, data and AI leader at Google, YouTube and Careem

Connect with Wael:
LinkedIn: / waelsalloum

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Powered by ‪@saltdigital‬ | welovesalt.com

Connect with Ricci Putnam:
LinkedIn: / ricci-putnam

Walid Omar has built products and teams at Dropbox, Snapchat, DoorDash, and now HungerStation, shaping some of the most admired tech cultures in the world.

From scaling creator tools to designing merchant ecosystems, he’s spent his career turning product theory into products that win, and teams that win bigger.

In this episode, we go back to basics to uncover the operating system of high-performance product leadership.

- When does a PM stop shipping and start leading?
- How do you build elite product culture across geographies and business models?
- What skills will every PM need in the AI era?

Breaking Down Barriers - Hosted by Ricci Putnam, Chief Growth Officer @saltdigital

We cover:

• The barrier that changed everything in Walid’s career
• Building product culture at Dropbox, Snapchat, DoorDash, and HungerStation
• High-performance teams and the basics that actually scale
• Solving the right problems, shipping fast, and empowering teams
• C-suite lessons: clarity, alignment, and elite PM behaviours
• AI in MENA: which sectors will fail, which will thrive, and how product teams adapt
• Personal inflection points and leadership lessons you won’t find on LinkedIn

This episode is for PMs, founders, and product leaders who want to stop running and start shaping, 10x their teams, and build products that last.

Kristjan Kaar has been behind some of Europe’s most important fintech products.

From helping build OakNorth, one of the UK’s most successful AI-driven digital banks, to redefining SME finance at Finom, Kristjan has spent his career operating at the edge of product, regulation, and intelligent finance.

In this episode, we unpack what it really takes to build financial products people trust. Without slowing down.

• How do you move fast in regulated environments?
• Is trust more powerful than speed?
• And will AI replace product managers — or make them indispensable?

Breaking Down Barriers — Hosted by Ricci Putnam, Chief Growth Officer @saltdigital

We cover:

• Building AI-powered financial products that scale trust
• Lessons from OakNorth’s hyper-growth as an “intelligent bank”
• Product–engineering alignment in regulated environments
• What founders get wrong when hiring their first CPO
• Scaling product teams without killing innovation
• AI hype vs reality in fintech today
• How European fintech differs from Silicon Valley models
• The future of AI-powered banking and product leadership

This episode is for founders, CPOs, and product leaders building in complexity. Where speed matters, trust is non-negotiable, and culture decides everything.