Shantanu Kumar

Sharpshooter
DISC Type : CD

Director of Product Management at Coupang

Greater Bengaluru Area, India

Overview

Shantanu is a product leader with over 15 years of experience in e-commerce, SaaS, and AI/ML. Currently a Director of Product Management at Coupang, he leads an AI team focused on LLM-powered solutions. He holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and a BTech from IIT Kharagpur.

Outside of his primary role, Shantanu is an advisor to Z21 Ventures, a fund for early-stage companies. His interests include the dynamics of the semiconductor industry, the future of education post-pandemic, and the evolution of autonomous vehicle technology, which he has shared perspectives on.

He is a co-inventor on a patent for "Virtual Shelves for Amazon Search, " a shelf-level search innovation.

Personality Overview

Fast But Analytical

Rigorous & Demanding

Thorough Evaluator

They like to act fast and expect others to do the same.  They are very proud of what they do. More than the product, they care about the effectiveness of the product.

Topics They Care About

AI in E-commerce
He leads teams building LLM-powered solutions at Coupang and previously led search science and AI product teams at Amazon, focusing on ranking and relevance.
Cold-Start Problems
Recently co-authored a research paper on a framework for cold-start relevance matching in new e-commerce markets, demonstrating his expertise in this specific challenge.
Venture Advising
Serves as an advisor for Z21 Ventures, guiding early-stage tech companies that are looking to leverage talent and technology in India to drive growth.

Media Appearances

Engineering Management Impact Meet – Shantanu Kumar (Director of Product Management, Coupang). Featured in Yale Engineering (Facebook)

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Work History

2-2024
Director of Product Management at Coupang
7-2022
Advisor at Z21 Ventures
2-2023 - 2-2024
SVP at Unacademy
2-2021 - 1-2023
Vice President at Huawei
8-2015 - 2-2021
Product Leader @ Search Science & Artificial Intelligence at Amazon

Education

Master of Business Administration (MBA) from University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business
B.Tech and M.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 10 Location : Greater Bengaluru Area, India Job Level : Mid-senior Designation : Director of Product Management at Coupang
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Insights For Selling To Shantanu

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Objectively showcase the impact that your product creates
  • Make sure that you circle back fast on any action items, it wins their trust
  • Hold your ground without indulging in one-upmanship

DONT's

  • Don’t focus on process and rules, give the impression of being a ‘gets it done’ person
  • Don’t take too much time in sending them information if they ask for any
  • Do not hesitate from asking counter questions, just avoid challenging their authority

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Shantanu is

  • Conviction around the impact matters the most to them, followed by a sense of achievement and ROI.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Shantanu

  • If they decide not to use your product, they will say no clearly.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Shantanu move?

  • They can take decisions very fast if you manage to convince them.
  • Can Shantanu take some risk or not?

  • The risks don’t matter much to them.

You And Shantanu

Personality Compatibility


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