#145 Carol Wilder: From Corporate Leader to Impact-Driven Entrepreneur

Curiosity is a gift—but it only turns into momentum when it’s tied to impact. Host of the 2B Bolder Podcast, Mary Killelea, sits down with Carol Wilder, a strategic operator who helped launch the Alexa Skills Kit at Amazon, led generative AI partnerships at Dell, and now advises companies and municipalities on pragmatic AI adoption. Carol shares how aligning questions to concrete outcomes reshaped her career—and how that same shift can turn AI from a buzzword into a lever that reduces cycle time, improves resource utilization, and frees people to do higher‑order work.

We trace her pivotal moments: choosing the right team under pressure to ship Alexa skills, learning to communicate with crisp, results‑first clarity, and reinventing after hard feedback by defining what to stand for. Carol explains why so many AI programs stall, starting with tools rather than business goals, and outlines a simple framework: pick the outcome, fix process debt, unify data, then layer intelligence. She also challenges the cost of mass layoffs, noting how creative friction, hallway collisions, and institutional memory are often the real engines of innovation.

For women building careers in AI and product management, Carol offers direct, useful guidance: use automation to mute the noise, make impact legible, and build fundamentals in programming and model thinking through credible paths like Coursera and DeepLearning.AI. We explore mentorship as a multiplier, customer‑centricity as adopting a client’s aspirations as your own, and the underrated power of showing up prepared, questions ready, network engaged, and confidence primed.

If this conversation helps you refocus on outcomes and sharpen your AI strategy, share it with a friend, subscribe for more candid career playbooks, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.

Resources:
Carol Wilder on LinkedIn
Company websites: productmuseai.ca & www.atomic47.co 

Hi Mary here, through my conversations with women leaders, I’ve learned just how urgent the need is for AI strategies that actually make sense. It’s not about adopting tools just to keep up; it’s about building a smart foundation. That’s exactly what Beyondsoft is doing. To learn more visit
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-yCsEeZbsl6ivoZoS9YW1quYxbQr1Teo

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Guest Introduction
• 1:45 Curiosity Aligned To Impact
• 5:20 Mentors, Feedback, And Priorities
• 6:55 Current Work: Advising And AI Pragmatism
• 10:40 Start With Outcomes, Not AI
• 14:20 Process Fixes Before Models
• 16:12 Layoffs, Creativity, And Lost Know‑How
• 19:37 Mentoring, Skills Over Passion
• 22:12 Shipping Alexa Skills Under Pressure
• 26:32 Choosing Teams And Direct Communication
• 28:27 When To Reinvent Yourself
• 30:27 AI, Demographics, And Women’s Opportunity
• 33:47 Habits For Adaptability And Networking
• 37:07 Coaching Founders To Pivot
• 39:47 What Customer‑Centric Really Means
• 42:27 Skills, Certifications, And Learning Paths