Christina Goldschmidt is an award-winning design leader who is known for transforming product design teams to work at enterprise scale. She has a proven track record of fostering cultures that drive both business and social impact by unlocking the power of data. Before joining Warner Music Group as their VP of Product Design, Christina spent 25 years gaining cross-functional experience driving digital innovation including at Fortune 500 companies like Etsy, Accenture, Morgan Stanley, American Express, Omnicom Media Group, The Discovery Channel and others. She is an advocate for mental health and works to help managers lead from a place of authenticity. Christina is a board advisor and founding member of the Design Executive Council. Christina received her MBA from NYU Stern, where she is also an Adjunct Professor, and holds a B.S. in design from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Upcoming Talks
13 May 2026
AI is changing product work fast. It can write code, accelerate research, support design decisions and remove hours of repetitive work. But is it taking your job, or changing it?
In this debate, Dana Lawson and Christina Goldschmidt take opposing sides on one of the most urgent questions facing modern product teams. One side argues that AI is reducing the need for people by collapsing roles, raising expectations and putting more pressure on fewer individuals. The other argues that AI is changing the job, not replacing it, freeing skilled practitioners to focus on judgement, taste, strategy and the work that matters most.
Moderated by Ryan Leffel, this session explores what happens as AI moves beyond programming into design, research and product decision-making, and what that means for the future of work. Will experienced product people become more valuable, or will the pressure on individuals become unsustainable? And if AI can build more and more of the product, who stays accountable for what gets made?
Key Learnings
- How AI is already reshaping work across product, design and engineering
- Why some leaders see AI as a job threat, while others see it as a job upgrade
- Where human judgement, taste and accountability still matter most
- What the future may look like as AI takes on more of the work of building products
Past Talks
What does modern leadership look like in an era defined by economic uncertainty, AI, and shrinking career ladders? Join Cindy Chastain and Christina Goldschmidt as they reflect on how leadership has changed in the last few years and discuss the emotional realities of leading teams today, the burnout of leadership navigating uncertain waters, why hiring is fundamentally changing, and how mid-level and junior talent can adapt and grow in a market that’s no longer predictable. Whether you're managing teams or aiming to move into leadership, this session will help you understand how to stay relevant, resilient, and ready for the next shift.
13 May 2025
Christina Goldschmidt will talk about how her team has integrated design deeply into Warner Music Group’s product lifecycle, transforming their approach to product development. From discovery to iteration, Christina will share how they’ve overhauled their processes by embedding a design lens across cross-functional teams. This talk will explore the challenges of introducing new workflows, the critical role of design systems, and how Christina’s team is experimenting with stakeholder management and design thinking to drive product strategy and transformation. Attendees will leave with insights on how to apply a design-first approach to product strategy and execution within complex organizational structures.