Identity Heroes - Eric Leach (Founder of What and Why)

Summary
In this episode, Eric Leach discusses his journey into the identity space and the key evolutions he has witnessed. He also shares insights into the challenges of building identity products and the importance of standards and open source. Eric then explains his transition to consulting and advisory work, focusing on helping companies define their product vision and strategy. He explores the concept of fractional product management and its growing popularity. Eric also discusses fractional leadership in product management and the importance of sharing experiences and lessons learned. Finally, Eric also explores the challenges in the identity industry and the impact of AI on identity and security.

About the featured Identity Hero
Eric Leach is the founder and President of  What Why Consulting, Inc., which offers fractional Chief Product Officer Consulting services using a unique practitioner's approach that helps companies of all sizes build products that matter. Eric is a founder, entrepreneur, author, speaker, and product leader with over 20 years of experience at startups, scale-ups, and large software companies. He's held product leadership roles at Oracle, Salesforce, and Strata Identity, where he built innovative and market-leading identity management and cybersecurity products. He tells stories about thriving in a software product management life in his weekly Substack newsletter, What and Why.

Reach Eric at eric@whatwhyconsulting.com
Eric's LinkedIn profile