David Kaganovsky, Global Head of Product, WPP: The Problem Behind the Problem
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David Kaganovsky, Global Head of Product, Brand at WPP, brings a career spent at the intersection of brand strategy, technology, and applied AI to this conversation on People Solve Problems. His perspective on problem-solving is shaped by experiences at some of the world’s most recognized organizations, from PWC and EY to Landor, Wavemaker, and GroupM, and sharpened by time at a startup where there was, as he puts it, no safety net.
That startup, Go, set out to reinvent how people get a car. Not just the purchase process, but the entire experience of acquiring, using, and returning a vehicle. David describes the breakthrough moment not as a technical one, but as a conceptual one. The team kept failing when they approached the problem through the lens of traditional automotive retail. They only began to succeed when they stopped thinking about selling cars and started thinking about what customers actually wanted: the same frictionless, phone-in-hand experience they had come to expect from every other transaction in their lives. That insight, focusing on the problem behind the problem, is the thread that runs through everything David shares in this episode.
Understanding what people are really after, not just what they say they want or what the surface situation suggests, is at the core of David’s approach to any problem. He argues that human beings are largely rational, but their rationality is driven by motivations, incentives, and disincentives that are often invisible unless you take time to look for them. This holds in startups, in large organizations, with clients, with colleagues, and even with customers you may never meet. One of David’s colleagues has taken this concept and applied it with the help of AI, building persona simulations that allow a team to stress-test ideas against the likely reactions of key stakeholders before those conversations ever happen. David sees this kind of technology not as a replacement for genuine understanding, but as a tool that makes the effort of understanding others faster and more accessible.
When it comes to tackling large, complex problems, David pushes back on the instinct to define everything up front. The pace of change, especially in technology, makes long-horizon planning a risky bet. He advocates for breaking problems into manageable pieces and delivering value as early and as consistently as possible, rather than waiting for a fully realized solution that may be outdated by the time it arrives. That said, he does not dismiss vision entirely. A clear direction of travel matters, not because it predicts the future, but because it aligns people and creates the shared understanding necessary to move well together. Changing course along the way is not a failure; it is evidence of paying attention.
On leadership, David holds two things in tension that might seem to contradict each other. He believes in giving people real freedom and real trust. And he also believes in staying close. Not as oversight, but as investment. Being present in the architectural decisions, asking questions, showing up: these are ways of signaling that the work matters and that the leader is genuinely alongside the team, not waiting for a report at the end of the month. He closes with a thought on where all of this is heading: as AI-driven agents become part of how teams operate, the skills of a good manager, giving context, staying engaged, holding accountability with respect, are not fading. They are becoming more important.
David Kaganovsky is a thoughtful practitioner whose experience spans some of the most demanding environments in global business. You can learn more about his work at wpp.com and connect with him on LinkedIn