Dean’s Speaker Series Leading in Tech, Building for Tomorrow: A Conversation with Ana Corrales
Nov 19, 2025
Ana Corrales, COO of Google Consumer Hardware and former leader at Nest and Cisco, dives into her career journey from startups to tech titan. She candidly addresses the challenges women face in tech and the importance of mentorship. Corrales emphasizes sustainability as a core principle, advocating for deep innovation in materials and design. She predicts a future where AI seamlessly integrates into consumer hardware. Her insights on balancing practical decisions with visionary bets provide a roadmap for aspiring leaders in the tech industry.
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Episode notes
Building Google Consumer Hardware From Scratch
- Ana rebuilt Google Consumer Hardware by consolidating many internal efforts and sunsetting projects.
- She also started sustainability efforts from zero and drove repairability and packaging innovation.
Decide Fast, Prioritize The User
- Make decisive calls under ambiguity and prioritize user pride when launching products.
- Limit pivots; set a direction teams can execute on despite changing inputs like tariffs.
Sustainability Is An Engineering Challenge
- Sustainability success requires deep engineering and material innovation, not just trade-offs.
- Scaling from partial to full solutions (e.g., plastic-free packaging) needs new materials and reformulation.