Rakshana Balakrishnan
Rakshana Balakrishnan — Product Leader at Amazon Web Services. Talks and sessions delivered at UXDX.
Product Leader
Rakshana Balakrishnan is an accomplished cloud product leader with over 12 years of experience in designing and delivering technical cloud-based products from concept to launch, including 0-to-1 and 1-to-n products. At Oracle, she leads the vision, product development and growth for Oracle Database@AWS, a first-of-its-kind multicloud product that caters to global customers across AWS and Oracle clouds. Previously at AWS, she empowered thousands of global customers to create better business outcomes through their cloud journey, by delivering a portfolio of 20+ products focused on optimizing cloud spend, improving the cloud security posture, and accelerating AI/ML value creation, influencing billions in revenue. She notably pioneered the launch of Innovation Sandbox on AWS, a transformative product that enabled customers across all industries, geographies and business sizes to run thousands of sandbox experiments and advance their GenAI innovation journey in the cloud. Her prior experience at PwC involved implementing custom AI/ML products for customers in the Pharmaceutical industry. Additionally, she holds a Masters degree in Information Systems from Kelley School of Business, Indiana University.
Past talks
2 talks · 1 eventRedefining Product Building in the Age of AI
What does modern product development look like in an era defined by economic uncertainty, AI, and shrinking career ladders? Join Swarna Pandu and Rakshana Balakrishnan as they reflect on how creating products has evolved in recent years and discuss the realities of shipping in uncertain conditions, the pressures on product teams to do more with less, 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 designing, coding, or driving product strategy, this session will help you understand how to stay relevant, resilient, and ready for the next shift.
UX in the AI Era: Rethinking UX Design for Next-gen Cloud Products with AI Agents
AI agents are rapidly becoming more prevalent in cloud products, transforming how users interact, discover value, and build trust. The success of these integrations depends on striking the right balance between automation and user control, while tackling the challenges of trust, bias, and transparency. In this talk, we’ll explore how product leaders and designers can rethink UX when embedding AI agents into cloud products, while straddling usability and transparency. What you’ll learn: - How AI agents are reshaping user expectations in cloud products - The UX challenges unique to AI-driven interactions - Practical strategies for designing intuitive, human-centered AI experiences