Atul Palande

I’ve spent the last 15 years building tech products, and these days I focus on making AI actually help people at work. Right now, I lead product work at CGI on AI assistants for enterprise teams—kind of like Copilot. The goal isn’t just to add AI, but to make it feel like a helpful partner.

We recently launched features that cut manual work by 80%, and users said they finally felt in control—not replaced. I’m also doing the Google UX Design certificate because I believe great tech starts with simple, clear, and inclusive experiences. As someone who’s deaf and uses hearing aids, I always design with real people in mind—not just the ‘average’ user.

Work Experience

Principal Product Manager April 2019 – Present

CGI Mumbai, India

• Led product for SOFIA, a client-deployed AI/ML assistant that reduced manual agent effort by 80% and accelerated customer self-service for insurance/finance clients.
• Wrote production Python/SQL scripts to automate data validation, monitor pipeline health, and slash SQL load time from 4 hours to 15 minutes.
• Built real-time telemetry dashboards with engineering to track user behavior, AI corrections, and task success—enabling rapid iteration.
• Drove +34% client retention and +30% conversion uplift (63% → 82%) through hypothesis-driven A/B testing and behavioral insights.
• Improved CSAT from 8.0 → 9.1 via accessibility-first redesigns and reduced cognitive load in AI interactions.
• Migrated legacy systems to cloud, cutting annual infrastructure costs by 30% (~CA$140K) while improving reliability.
• Streamlined GTM across 12+ squads, aligning roadmaps under unified OKRs and cutting time-to-market by 15%.
• Mentored 4 associate PMs in AI product thinking, experimentation, and inclusive design.

  (Earlier roles: Software Developer, Team Lead, TPM – 2007–2019)

Education and Certifications

• Google UX Design Professional Certificate – In progress – Due May 2026
• SAFe 6.0 - Certified SAFe 6 Practitioner- Completed 2025
• Google Foundations of User Experience (UX) Design - Completed 2024
• Equivalent of Bachelor’s + Master’s through 12+ years in product, engineering, and team leadership) 
• ITIL Foundations – Completed 2016