AthenaFaber
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Think clearly. Build intentionally. Leave people more capable.

Athena
Faber

Product Foundations

Helping people and teams grow into better thinkers, leaders and builders, so they can create meaningful value for others.

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* You’ll leave with more clarity on the problem, the options, and what to do next.

9+ Years in product
30+ Organizations
5 Industries Healthcare · Biotechnology · Fintech · Education · Manufacturing

The challenge

The problem gets solved. The capability doesn’t always stay.

Teams bring in expertise, adopt new tools, introduce new processes, and ship new products. But solving the immediate problem doesn’t necessarily make the people behind it better equipped for the next one.

The same is happening with AI. New tools are everywhere, but access to technology doesn’t automatically create better judgment. The harder question is knowing where it creates value, when to use it, and how it should change the way people work.

That’s why we focus on both sides: solving the problem in front of you and strengthening the thinking behind what comes next.

The people and teams we work with are often asking:

  • I’m growing into Product. How do I get better at the work, not just learn the frameworks?
  • I’m leading a team. How do I make better decisions and help others grow?
  • We know AI matters. Where does it actually create value for us?
  • Our roadmap is full, but are we building the right things?
  • We need experienced product leadership, but we also want our internal team to eventually own it.

Services

What we do

Team Engagements

AI Product Strategy & Software Development

For organizations that need to move an important product from ambiguity to reality.

We help organizations move important ideas from ambiguity to reality. From problem definition and validation through strategy, design, AI-native development, and scalable software development.

The goal is not simply to ship software. It’s to build the right thing and leave behind a product that the organization understands and can continue to evolve.

Includes

  • Problem definition and product strategy
  • Discovery and validation
  • Product specifications and roadmap
  • AI prototyping and pilots where appropriate
  • Software development and delivery
  • Documentation, handover, and continuity planning

Engagement: Scoped per project

Investment: Quoted after discovery

Discuss your product

Fractional AI Product Leadership

For organizations that need experienced product leadership while building the capability to eventually own it internally.

Stepping into a senior AI product role when an organization needs experienced leadership to shape strategy, prioritize opportunities, and guide AI initiatives from concept through delivery, while building the internal capability to eventually own the work.

Includes

  • Senior product leadership embedded in your team
  • Product strategy, prioritization, and roadmap direction
  • Stakeholder and cross-functional alignment
  • Structured development for your internal product talent
  • Product practices and decision frameworks your team keeps

Engagement: Monthly, typically 10–20 hrs/week

Discuss Fractional AI Product Leadership

Sessions 1:1

Product Foundations in the AI Era

For people building the judgment and practical skills to become strong product professionals in an AI-shaped world.

We work through real product decisions: understanding the problem, talking to users, prioritizing, defining what to build, writing clear specifications, working with engineering, and using AI where it adds value without replacing the thinking.

Includes

  • 60-minute 1:1 sessions, 4 or 8 per month
  • A product case worked from discovery to specification
  • Practical frameworks and templates you can reuse
  • Feedback on your thinking and decision-making
Book a 1:1 session

AI Strategy & Advisory

For founders and leaders deciding where AI can genuinely create value and where it can’t.

Sometimes the question is specific: Is this AI feature worth building? Why isn’t the prototype landing with users? What should we prioritize?

Other times, the challenge is simply making sense of what AI means for the organization.

We start with the problem, not the technology. Together, we identify where AI can strengthen the product or the way people work, what capabilities are worth building, and what is better left alone.

Includes

  • 60-minute advisory sessions, 4 or 8 per month
  • Decisions grounded in customer, business, and organizational needs
  • Written follow-up capturing decisions and reasoning
  • Async access between sessions
Book an advisory session

Leadership Development

For leaders who want to become better at leading people, making decisions, and navigating complexity.

We work 1:1 on the situations that actually shape how you lead: the difficult conversation you’re avoiding, a stakeholder who won’t align, a team that executes but doesn’t take ownership, or a decision you’re struggling to make.

The goal is to strengthen the judgment behind how you approach them, so you become more capable of navigating the next one yourself.

Includes

  • 60-minute 1:1 sessions, 4 or 8 per month
  • Work on real leadership situations, not generic cases
  • A development plan revisited monthly
  • Frameworks you can apply beyond the session
  • Async access between sessions
Book a leadership session

How it works

Start with the problem. Then decide what it needs.

Not every challenge needs a long engagement, a new product, or AI. We start by understanding what’s happening, then decide together what kind of support will actually move it forward.

  1. Step 1

    Fit call

    30 min · Free

    We talk through what you’re working through, a product decision, a leadership challenge, an AI question, or your own growth.

    You’ll leave with a clearer read on the situation and what I think the next step should be, whether or not we work together.

    Book fit call
  2. Step 2

    Discovery & Assessment

    Individuals · Free  |  Teams · Paid

    If we need to go deeper, we look at what’s actually happening before prescribing a solution.

    For individuals, that might mean assessing your current product skills, judgment, and development priorities.

    For teams, we look at the product, people, processes, decisions, and existing work to understand where the real gaps are and what should change.

    Start an assessment
  3. Step 3

    The Right Engagement

    Scoped to fit

    Once we understand the problem, we choose the right way to work together.

    That might be AI Product Strategy & Software Development, Fractional AI Product Leadership, Product Foundations, AI Strategy & Advisory, or Leadership Development.

    Explore the ways we work

Companies we’ve worked with

TMRW Life Sciences Code and Theory University of Tampa Bitsight Technologies USC Lehigh University USC Libraries Hunter Industries Principal Group Golub Capital Group

About

I’m Stephanie Córdova, founder of Athena Faber.

My background spans Product, Business and Industrial Engineering, and Education, with more than nine years building software products and leading teams across Healthcare, Biotechnology, Higher Education, and Financial Services. I’ve worked with founders, executives, product teams, and engineers across the US, EMEA, and Latin America.

That mix of product, business, and education shapes how I work. I tend to look beyond the immediate request to understand the system behind the problem: the decisions being made, the people making them, and the capabilities that may be missing.

And I care about what happens after the work is done. Does the team understand the thinking behind the decision? Can they make the next call themselves? Did we leave behind stronger people and practices, not just a finished deliverable?

That is the philosophy behind Athena Faber.

We define the problem before proposing the solution. We treat technology as a choice, not the default. And whether we’re developing a product professional, working with a leader, advising on AI, or building a product, we work to strengthen the capability behind the work.

The goal isn’t dependency. It’s better thinking, better decisions, and leaving people more capable than when we started.

Selected clients

USC · University of Tampa · BitSight · TMRW Life Sciences · Principal Financial Group · Golub Capital Group · Hunter

  • MBA, Boston University (Questrom)
  • Product Strategy, Kellogg
  • Industrial & Commercial Engineering, ESAN

DNA

Three rules we don’t break.

01

Define the problem before proposing the solution.

The wrong solution can be executed perfectly. We start by understanding what is really happening, what outcome matters, and what is getting in the way — even when that means challenging the original request.

02

Technology is a choice, not the default.

Sometimes the answer is a product. Sometimes it is a process, a new way of working, stronger leadership, or better capability inside the team. We recommend what solves the problem, not what creates the biggest engagement.

03

Leave people more capable than when we started.

We don’t want the thinking to leave with us. Whether we are coaching a leader, developing a product professional, advising on AI, or building something with a team, the goal is for people to understand the reasoning and be better equipped to make the next decision themselves.

Athena — Wisdom · Strategy · Clear Thinking

Athena represents thoughtful judgment before action.

We believe meaningful progress starts with understanding the problem, seeing the system around it, and making deliberate decisions about what should happen next.

Faber — Craft · Building · Making

Faber represents turning good thinking into something useful.

Ideas only create value when they become real — whether that means a stronger leader, a better product, an AI-enabled workflow, a learning experience, or a new way of working.

FAQ

Common questions

With a fit call — 30 minutes, free. We talk through what you’re working through: a product decision, a leadership challenge, an AI question, or your own growth. You’ll leave with a clearer read on the situation and what I think the next step should be, whether or not we work together. If it makes sense to go deeper, the next step is Discovery & Assessment, and after that we choose the engagement format that fits.

Five formats. Two are team engagements: AI Product Strategy & Software Development (product strategy, design, AI-native development, and scalable software development, taking an important idea from ambiguity to reality) and Fractional AI Product Leadership (senior AI product leadership embedded with your team, while building the capability to own it internally). Three run as recurring 1:1 sessions: Product Foundations in the AI Era (for people building the judgment and practical skills to become strong product professionals in an AI-shaped world), AI Strategy & Advisory (for founders and leaders deciding where AI can genuinely create value and where it can’t), and Leadership Development (for leaders who want to get better at leading people, making decisions, and navigating complexity).

Yes. Three of the five formats are 1:1. Product Foundations in the AI Era is for people building the judgment and practical skills to become strong product professionals in an AI-shaped world — you work a product case from discovery to specification. AI Strategy & Advisory is for founders and leaders deciding where AI can genuinely create value and where it can’t. Leadership Development is for leaders who want to get better at leading people, making decisions, and navigating complexity, working on your real situations rather than generic cases. All three run as 60-minute sessions, four or eight a month, and Discovery & Assessment is free for individuals.

Discovery & Assessment is the read on where you stand before committing to anything else. For individuals that might mean assessing your current product skills, judgment, and development priorities, and it’s free. For teams we look at the product, people, processes, decisions, and existing work to understand where the real gaps are and what should change. An engagement is the work that follows, in whichever of the five formats fits. Discovery is what tells you which one that is.

Yes — that’s what Fractional AI Product Leadership is for. I step into a senior AI product role, shaping strategy, prioritizing opportunities, and guiding AI initiatives from concept through delivery. It isn’t a replacement for your PM: the engagement is structured to build the internal capability to eventually own the work, and your team keeps the product practices and decision frameworks we build together.

Start with Discovery & Assessment. For teams we look at the product, people, processes, decisions, and existing work to understand where the real gaps are and what should change, so the gap is measured rather than guessed. AI Strategy & Advisory is where the calls get made after that: 60-minute sessions, four or eight a month, working on your actual situation, with a written follow-up capturing the decisions and the reasoning behind them.

Yes. Software engineers are part of the team, so product, design, and software development all run in-house. That’s the AI Product Strategy & Software Development engagement, and it’s meant for organizations that need to move an important product from ambiguity to reality. It covers problem definition and product strategy, discovery and validation, specifications and roadmap, AI prototyping and pilots where appropriate, software development and delivery, and documentation, handover, and continuity planning.

You should be able to repeat the work without us. Every format is built so the thinking transfers: the 1:1 formats leave you frameworks you can apply beyond the session; fractional leadership develops your internal product talent and leaves behind the product practices and decision frameworks your team keeps; and builds ship with documentation, handover, and continuity planning. The goal is to leave people more capable than when we started.

Start with a conversation.

Tell me what you’re working through, a product challenge, a leadership decision, an AI question, or your own growth.

You’ll leave with more clarity on the problem, the options, and what to do next, whether or not we end up working together.

athenafaber.com hello@athenafaber.com

AI Product Strategy & Software Development · Fractional AI Product Leadership · Product Foundations · AI Strategy & Advisory · Leadership Development