How Tiama Hanson-Drury Leads Product, Tech, and AI Without Chasing the Spotlight
When you think of a Chief Product and Technology Officer, you might imagine someone coding the next big AI model, micromanaging teams, or chasing the latest tech trends. But for Tiama Hanson-Drury, award-winning CPTO at Opus 2, leadership is about amplifying others, not being the smartest person in the room.
Tiama’s journey, shared on the Signal to Noise podcast with Glenn Murphy, Managing Partner at Riviera Partners, is a masterclass in leading product and technology in legacy industries, from market research to advertising, banking, and now legal tech. She shows how to cut through AI hype, build high-trust teams, and focus relentlessly on signals that matter.
Let’s unpack how she scales impact without chasing ego or trends.
Hiring for Strengths, Not Ego
One thing Tiama is clear about: every hire needs to be better than her in at least one area.
“I don’t have any desire to be the person that knows everything. In fact, everybody I hire needs to be better than me in at least one area. Otherwise, I’m not hiring them. What’s the point?”
This philosophy underpins her approach to building high-performing teams. Instead of hiring clones, she looks for individuals who can context switch quickly, learn fast, and communicate clearly. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s diverse strengths that multiply team impact.
Her philosophy reinforces a key principle: leadership isn’t about doing everything yourself, it’s about creating systems that empower your team to make the right decisions, even when you’re not in the room.
AI Isn’t About Replacement
In an age of AI agents and GenAI hype, Tiama challenges the conventional thinking:
“What I think is overhyped is the idea of an agent that replaces Glenn or an agent that replaces Tiama…What’s underhyped is building agents that resemble the most high-performing teams.”
For her, AI is about collaboration, not replacement. Agents act as subject matter experts that complement human teams, amplifying their expertise. In practice, this means AI systems can handle routine workflows while the humans focus on judgment, strategy, and high-value decisions.
The lesson? Don’t build AI to replace humans, build AI to multiply human capability.
The Holy Trinity of Opportunity
When evaluating new opportunities, Tiama relies on what she calls the Holy Trinity:
- A real business problem
- Technology ready to meet the moment
- Commercialization potential
This framework has guided her through legacy industries, from market research to legal tech. By identifying the intersection of problem, tech, and business opportunity, she can focus on high-leverage bets instead of distractions.
First 100 Days: Listening, Mapping, and Stabilizing
Tiama’s approach when joining a new company is methodical. She spends the first 60–100 days:
- Listening to clients to understand real-world workflows
- Mapping the business model to identify how value is created
- Dogfooding the client experience to see where improvements are most impactful
For Opus 2, this meant balancing the AI-driven innovation with stabilizing core infrastructure, ensuring the company could scale quickly without technical debt or operational bottlenecks.
Leadership Lessons
Tiama’s leadership is grounded in authenticity, trust, and leverage:
- Reject the “smartest person in the room” trap: Real influence comes from amplifying others, not proving yourself.
- Hire for growth and stage fit: Talent from big tech isn’t automatically the right fit; context and adaptability matter.
- Focus on signals, not noise: In fast-moving AI and legal tech landscapes, focus on client impact, not trends.
Her low-ego, high-trust approach ensures teams can operate at their full potential, even in complex, regulated industries.
Final Thoughts
What makes Tiama a world-class leader? It’s her ability to simplify complexity, focus on what matters, and build high-performing teams that shine. She doesn’t chase trends, titles, or recognition. She builds systems and cultures where people, technology, and AI work together to create real impact.
The result? Teams that thrive, products that solve real problems, and innovation that scales without losing sight of human judgment.
Tiama Hanson-Drury Background
Tiama Hanson-Drury is an award-winning executive with a track record of scaling businesses and increasing enterprise value through product, technology, GTM, and AI innovation. She currently leads global product and technology at Opus 2, shaping strategy and development via client and product advisory boards. Previously, she was CPO at Minna Technologies, leading a strategic growth plan that resulted in an acquisition by Mastercard, and held executive roles at Zappi and Dynata. Tiama is known for low-ego leadership, cross-functional execution, and building high-performing, diverse teams.
Listen now: Signal to Noise Episode 12: How Tiama Hanson-Drury Leads Product, Tech, and AI Through Change Part-1
