Welcome to Inside the Manager’s Mind – a space dedicated to exploring the real-world decisions, cultural bridges, and strategic shifts shaping technology leadership at Mercari India. We sat down with Aditya Agarwal, PM Manager leading Mercari’s Global Cross-Border (GOB) product team in Bengaluru. Having joined Mercari with over a decade of management experience, Aditya is spearheading product efforts that connect Japanese sellers with buyers around the world.
The Evolution of Leadership: From Task-Tracker to Strategic Enabler
Leadership looks fundamentally different today than it did a decade ago. The rise of AI tools and a shifting tech landscape have altered the classic manager dynamic eliminating the need for endless daily status checks or top-down delegation.
“A lot of routine tactical work that managers used to delegate can now be accelerated through AI,” Aditya notes. “At the same time, product management teams are increasingly composed of senior talent who are already self-sufficient. Today’s manager needs to be a hybrid – part functional expert, part strategic enabler, and part individual contributor.”
In this model, trust isn’t built through constant scrums or daily hand-holding, but through consistent delivery and giving team members room to execute. “Mercari’s culture strongly reinforces “Be a Pro” and “All for One”. People are naturally self-motivated. As a manager, your job isn’t to micromanage daily tasks; it’s to unlock what people are capable of doing when given genuine room to grow.”
Bridging Bengaluru and Tokyo: From Problem Solvers to Problem Owners
Building products out of Bengaluru for a business rooted in Japan brings a unique set of cross-border challenges. Product managers serve as the essential bridge between business (sales and marketing in Tokyo) and software engineering (in India).
“Product management requires perfect harmony with business teams,” explains Aditya. “When your operational counterpart sits in Tokyo, you lose those spontaneous hallway conversations. You can’t fly to Japan every month, so bridging that distance requires deliberate extra effort and intentional relationship-building.”
The larger strategic goal for Mercari India is shifting the local engineering and product organization from being code-executors to holistic product owners.
“We are actively encouraging our PMs in India to independently discover user problems, solve for business, shape strategies, and build roadmaps for key markets like the US,” Aditya shares. “When you start taking ownership of the actual user problem, the dynamic across the entire global organization transforms.”
Practicing ‘All for One’ Across Cultural Boundaries
Operating across India, Japan, and global markets demands deep cross-functional empathy and intentional communication.
“In day-to-day operations, it’s easy to stay locked inside your own function’s goals,” says Aditya. “Our core value, All for One, means pausing to consider what a marketing counterpart in Tokyo is worried about when planning a new campaign. It’s about asking: How can I help them succeed?”
Cross-cultural collaboration also extends to how teams communicate on a practical level. Working within a multicultural ecosystem involving Japanese, Chinese, European, and Indian team members, clarity becomes a virtue. “Simplifying our language and being mindful of contextual nuances makes a massive difference in breaking down barriers.”
Golden Advice for New Managers: Growth Through Autonomy
Reflecting on his 10-year management journey across various tech functions, Aditya shares two core principles for emerging leaders navigating management today:
Cultivate High-Candor Discussions: Encourage open debate before decisions are finalized. “I actively urge designers, engineers, and PMs to bring 10 ideas to the table instead of two and to challenge any assumptions. When people know their perspectives actively shape the product they are building, they bring their best self to work.”
And if you are inspired to be part of an organization that values growth, learning, and collaboration, we encourage you to look out for more opportunities on our careers website.
Stay tuned for more stories, lessons, and reflections as we continue to learn and grow together.
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