Vice President  ·  Product  ·  Engineering  ·  Goldman Sachs  ·  Columbia Engineering ’2018  ·  Operations Research  ·  Columbia Business School ’27  ·  Executive MBA  ·  Women in Engineering  ·  Coach  ·  Mentor  ·  Manager  ·  Goldman Sachs Cultural Recognition Award  ·  Goldman Sachs Engineering Tenet Award  ·  Hackathon Builder  ·  New York City     

Product · Engineering · AI · Leadership

I turn ideas into reality.

I’m a product manager and engineering leader with 8+ years of experience at Goldman Sachs, working across product, engineering, and program management. I’m passionate about problem solving, mentoring, and improving how teams and systems operate.

I care deeply about developing people and creating environments where teams can do great work and drive meaningful outcomes.

Goldman Sachs · VP, Product & Engineering Manager Columbia University · BS Operations Research · MBA Candidate ’27 New York City
Cristal Abud
Featured
Team at NYC Build with AI Hackathon

Hackathon · GDG NYC · Google Cloud Labs × Columbia Business School

Vista: a voice-first assistant giving blind and low-vision users real-time environmental awareness

Built end-to-end at the NYC Build with AI Hackathon — hosted by Google Developer Groups NYC, AI Futures Fund, and Columbia Business School at David Geffen Hall. Team EMBA-SEE built an iOS app using LiDAR, camera, and haptics, streamed via WebSocket to Gemini 2.5 Flash on Google Cloud Run, with an offline safety fallback. From idea to working demo in under 48 hours.

iOS · LiDARGemini 2.5 FlashVertex AIGoogle CloudWebSocketAccessibility
View hackathon details
Pixel Panic game logo

Side Project · Vibe Coding

Pixel Panic — a browser game built in a single session

Built a simple game for my team to play Tetris and Pictionary together as an excuse to get more hands on with vibe coding. Less about the game itself, more about staying sharp and continuing to build.

Vibe CodingAI-Assisted
Play Pixel Panic

MBA · Marketing Strategy · Conjoint Analysis

Airbnb Extended: how price becomes a quality signal for digital nomads

Led conjoint analysis across 15 AI-simulated personas to design a new Airbnb product tier. Key finding: $6,500/month yielded the highest utility score — price isn’t a barrier for this segment, it’s a feature. Projected 27% market share capture from Blueground at launch.

Product StrategyConjoint AnalysisMarket SimulationColumbia Business SchoolEMBA
Cristal at Columbia Business School orientation

Columbia Business School · EMBA ’27

First day at Columbia Business School — Fall 2025

Starting the Executive MBA program at Columbia Business School while continuing as VP at Goldman Sachs. Joining a cohort of leaders across industries, bringing a tech and product lens to every conversation.

Columbia Business SchoolEMBALeadership
Recognition
Goldman Sachs Cultural Recognition Award
April 2025
“Express Humanity” Engineering Tenet Award
December 2022
Timeline
2025 – present
Columbia Business School
EMBA · Expected May 2027
2023 – present
VP, Product & Engineering
Goldman Sachs · Employee Applications
2022 – 2023
Associate, Program Manager
Goldman Sachs · Web Foundry
2021 – 2022
Change Management PM
Goldman Sachs · Global Markets
2018 – 2021
Technology Auditor
Goldman Sachs · Internal Audit
2014 – 2018
Columbia University
BS, Operations Research
Posts
01

Leadership

Leadership lessons I learned my first semester at business school

02

Building

What I’ve Learned from Vibe Coding (So Far)

At Columbia
Columbia graduation with classmates
Undergraduate Graduation at Columbia
CBS x Google hackathon
CBS × Google “Build with AI” Hackathon
Columbia Business School orientation
First day at Columbia Business School
About
Product & Strategy
Roadmapping & PrioritizationRequirements DefinitionOKR DevelopmentUser ResearchJourney MappingCross-Functional AlignmentUX Collaboration (Figma)Workflow AutomationPlatform StrategyIntranet & Search ExperienceAgile / ScrumMetrics & Analytics
Technical Leadership
Systems DesignData ModellingData Visualization (Kibana)Full-Stack DevelopmentCode ReviewsTechnical Debt & EOLRelease ManagementInfrastructure ManagementMicrosoft Power Platform
Leadership
People Management & CoachingExecutive Stakeholder ManagementAI Working GroupWomen in EngineeringGlobal Team CollaborationAmericas · EMEA · APAC
Operations & Program Management
Operational ExcellenceProcess OptimizationIncident ManagementSupport OperationsChange ManagementProgram & Project Management
Outside Work
Cooking
I enjoy creating meals and desserts for my family, friends, and colleagues.
Working Out
Consistency breeds success. I love lifting weights and group fitness classes.
Event Planning
Like project management but for events in my personal life, with better snacks!
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