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Maria Fernandez Guajardo is a transformative product executive and entrepreneur with a 25-year track record of pioneering and transforming the tech landscape, from startups to tech giants like Meta and Google. With a robust technical and business background, Maria has led the development and launch of cutting-edge consumer and B2B products on a global scale. Her book, Sail to Scale: Steering Startups Clear of Mistakes from Launch to Exit (2024), co-authored with Heather Jerrehian and Mona Sabet, helps entrepreneurs navigate the challenges they’re likely to face on their journeys. 

 

Maria serves as the Senior Director of Product Management at Google, where she leads the global Gmail product team for both business and consumer segments. Under her leadership, the team is transforming how Gmail users remain productive and fulfilled by leveraging the latest AI technology, leading the way with one of Google's first generative AI products at scale.

 

Before joining Google, Maria spearheaded major initiatives at Meta, such as overseeing the transformation of Facebook’s video products including Reels, Watch and Live and launching new audio products like Podcasts and Music. Maria also pioneered Meta’s “VR for work” efforts, expanding Oculus gaming leadership into productivity. She launched 'Oculus for Business,' which integrated Meta’s virtual reality solutions into the corporate sector and marked the company's first direct hardware offerings to businesses. Additionally, as the head of Core Tech product management at Oculus, Maria played a critical role in advancing Meta’s VR capabilities with groundbreaking technologies like mixed reality. 

 

Before her time at Meta, Maria served as the Vice President of Product at both Clear Labs, a B2B biotech company specializing in food genomics, and RetailNext, a B2B enterprise pioneering computer vision-based retail analytics. Earlier in her career, Maria held various engineering, marketing and business roles at Texas Instruments in both France and the United States, where she worked within their mobile application processors division. She began her professional journey as a silicon engineer at Cadence Design Systems.

 

Maria also champions diversity by supporting female tech leaders and promoting STEM education through her non-profit work. She is the founder of the Silicon Valley Club de Ejecutivas Españolas, to empower Spanish female executives and served on the board of Ignited Education, a non-profit organization dedicated to transforming STEM education. Maria was named one of the top 40 leaders in the Bay Area by the Silicon Valley Business Journal, and she was featured by CNET as one of the top Latinos making a significant impact in the tech industry.

 

Maria holds an Engineer’s degree in Electronics from the University of Zaragoza in Spain, as well as from the Enssat in Lannion, France. Maria is trilingual in English, French and Spanish. Additionally, she has completed executive education from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.