Sharif Karmally

I've spent my career at the intersection of technology and storytelling — finding the human truth inside complex products and turning it into something people actually care about. At Adobe, I spent 6 years making iconic products like Photoshop part of the lives of tens of millions of young creators worldwide. From there, I dove into startup and SMB land at Asana pre-IPO, I helped perfect product-led growth at scale. At Human Interest — the leading 401(k) provider for SMBs — I shook up a sleepy industry with firsts like zero transaction fees and cash back for 401(k) contributions. And at Atlan, I worked alongside the CEOs of Mastercard, FOX, and Workday to make AI agents 5x more accurate.

I believe we're at an inflection point — one where AI levels the playing field for Startups and SMBs in every industry. At Salesforce, I focus on helping lean businesses harness AI to compete at a scale that wasn't possible even a few years ago. My background spans product-led growth, industry disruption, and AI-native marketing — and I write about what I see on the frontier: the rise of the context worker, what it means to be an AI-native business, and how SMBs can use data and AI to reach their ambitions.

I hold an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, where I later taught Storytelling in the MBA program — because I believe the best ideas don't move people until they're told well. At home, I put that belief into practice every day, spinning up stories with my three kids to spark their curiosity and imagination.