Maria Zhang - Budgeting: Your (Unexpected) Opportunity To Be a Hero

In this keynote, Maria Zhang, CEO of Proactive AI Lab and former VP at Google and Meta, shares her strategic approach to engineering budgets. Maria introduces a three-step framework—Align, Allocate, and Amplify—designed to help engineering leaders maximize their impact through effective budgeting. She emphasizes the importance of aligning budgets with company goals, managing dollars rather than just headcount, and amplifying the impact of your budget through efficiency and leverage. Drawing on her extensive experience, Maria offers actionable insights on how to turn budgeting into an opportunity to drive significant business value.