Aabhas Sharma’s career began in the world of advanced AI research at IBM. In this role at IBM, he helped transform cutting-edge AI ideas into real prototypes, working on diverse applications from AI-powered educational tools to sophisticated machine learning security systems, innovations to IBM’s customers. Initially, his professional drive centered on expanding his portfolio with patents, research publications, and delivering groundbreaking AI innovations.
But as Aabhas sought to create greater user impact with his AI innovations, he found himself tackling a different question: not just how to build, but why. By this point, he had grown into a Technical Lead, responsible not only for designing and implementing systems but also for considering user needs. Why do users need this? What feature will help them the most? Aabhas discovered that he enjoyed bringing the user’s perspective into his team’s innovation strategy. That realization sparked Aabhas’ decision to formally transition into Product Management.
“As an engineer, I used to joke that Product and Strategy were ‘the dark side.’ I was spending a lot of time designing and implementing AI systems, but I realized the real impact came from understanding users and delivering for them. That part of my role excited me most — and it’s what led me to formally pivot into Product Management.”
To become a better product thinker, Aabhas decided to complement his technical foundation with graduate-level degrees. This led him to complete an MBA at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. At the same time, he also earned a Master’s in Design Innovation — a rare combination that allowed him to pair deep technical expertise with business strategy and human-centered design.
With those experiences, he had one big question left: How could he cement his transition to Product Management?
Enter Futureforce
The answer came through Salesforce’s Futureforce MBA Internship Program.
“At Salesforce, I was never seen as a beginner at Product Management. My mentors and teammates recognized my background and trusted me as a product leader in the making. Two years on, that same culture of trust continues to push me to grow faster than I ever expected.“
Matched with the Monitoring Cloud team, Aabhas was quickly trusted with responsibilities that mirrored those of experienced Product Managers. In just ten weeks, he wasn’t just drafting proposals or testing prototypes — he was confirming that he could bring impact as a Product leader at Salesforce. The internship served as Aabhas’ final step, cementing his transition from AI Research Engineer to Product Leadership. Shortly after, he accepted a full-time offer at Salesforce.
Driving Impact at Salesforce
“I had been working toward a formal pivot into Product, but my Futureforce internship is when everything finally came together. With their MBA internship, Salesforce gave me the chance to prove that I could translate my AI background into AI product leadership. Today, I’m guiding teams to deliver AI-powered products that thousands rely on every day.”
For two years at Salesforce, Aabhas has been leading product strategy as a Senior Manager of Product Management. Throughout this time, here’s how Salesforce provided Aabhas with the perfect platform to drive product results:
- Mentorship and Guidance: Aabhas got access to seasoned PMs. Under their mentorship, he drove the onboarding of multiple business verticals to his product, saving Salesforce millions in costs.
- World Class, Cross-Functional Teams: At Salesforce, with access to global teams of full-stack developers, AI engineers, and UX designers, Aabhas has launched several new product capabilities that made internal platforms more valuable to teams across the company.
- Staying at the Forefront: Salesforce has been at the frontier of AI with Agentforce. With every team in the company looking to become an Agentforce team, Aabhas got the ultimate opportunity to guide Monitoring Cloud’s AI/ML product strategy. Together, his teams have launched various AI-powered capabilities and are now working on their first Agentic AI Observability Platform.
Aabhas’ journey shows the power of Futureforce as the perfect platform to pivot your professional career. Through this internship, he was able to bring his past experience to Salesforce, but in his new capacity as a Product Manager. Today, Aabhas is not only building AI products, he is also helping use AI to influence how our customers trust the Salesforce platform.
Inspired by Aabhas’ career path?
Learn more about how you can launch your own journey at Salesforce through our Futureforce programs.
