Neela Deshpande
Isenberg School of Management, UMass Amherst
GALAXIA
Available Monday
Starting at 8:00 PM UTC
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Work Experience
Leadership Coach/ Strategic Consultant
GALAXIA
2024 - Present
Transitioned to strategic consulting to leverage 12+ years of scaling experience across multiple high-growth technology companies. Partner with C-Suite at Series A+ SaaS start-ups operationalizing strategy, AI-driven roadmap execution, and OKR alignment. As Operations Lead and Founding Member at a health-tech wearable startup, co-led problem discovery and refined the predictive multi-alert concept, translating product and technical specs into operational requirements, leading technical execution from concept to alpha delivery. • Partner with C-suite leaders at Series A+ SaaS companies to operationalize R&D strategy through strategic planning cadence, OKR cascading, and cross-functional execution across engineering and product. • Lead strategic R&D operations for AI-driven initiatives, translating technical vision into operating plans, priorities, and execution rhythm that connects product roadmap to engineering capacity. • Designed AI-enabled executive dashboards integrating Jira and Slack to provide real-time observability into delivery, risk, capacity, and quality metrics for leadership decision-making. • Established observability and metrics frameworks for engineering operations, enabling data-driven visibility into program health, team productivity, and delivery predictability. • Integrated GenAI tools into SDLC and Agile workflows, improving sprint predictability 18% and reducing cycle time 40%. • Build and scale Technical Program Management (TPM) functions and capabilities, establishing processes, standards, and career development frameworks for program delivery excellence. • Led technical program execution for new market entry and pilot initiatives, achieving 90% anomaly-detection accuracy in alpha. • Offer 1:1 coaching and mentorship for TPMs and engineering leaders on execution excellence, career growth, org navigation, and interview preparation. Amazon Web Services (AWS), Jira and +14 skills
Chief of AI R&D
Boomi
June 2022 - November 2023
• Operationalized strategic technology initiatives (AI platform, cloud modernization) by removing cross-functional blockers, securing investment, and aligning engineering roadmap with architectural priorities, enabling accelerated delivery and 2x revenue growth. • Led comprehensive R&D operational cadence incl. OKR cascade, strategic planning, quarterly execution, talent reviews, and internal communications, establishing operating rhythm to kept the R&D org aligned. • Standardized roadmap execution by implementing integrated quarterly planning, Agile scaling, and portfolio reviews that improved delivery predictability 30% and annual commitment achievement to 90%. • Built and scaled TPM function from scratch and established global team; established EngOps function, creating execution systems and processes that enabled consistent program delivery. • Orchestrated full-cycle PDLC execution, connecting product vision to engineering capacity planning and delivery, balancing feature delivery with technical debt reduction and infrastructure modernization priorities. • Reduced customer escalations by 65% and production defects by 30% through cross-functional defect management overhaul, optimizing incident triage, escalation/ root-cause analysis workflows, and improved exec-to-ops communication. • Expanded India engineering footprint 10x through strategic hiring, talent acquisition planning, local leadership development, and performance management frameworks, establishing KPIs and governance. • Strengthened engineering culture by establishing consistent exec-to-engineering communication cadence (newsletters, AMAs, all-hands, offsites), improving transparency and developer experience, increasing employee NPS by 20% across R&D. • Mentored engineering and program leaders on execution excellence, cross-functional collaboration, and career development, building leadership capability and succession planning across global teams. R&D Operations, Digital operations and +28 skills
Chief of AI R&D
Intuit
2020 - 2021
• Led R&D operations and TPM for the Financial Data Exchange Platform (IDX), powering QuickBooks, TurboTax, and Mint, managing strategic planning, operating cadence, portfolio governance, and cross-functional execution. • As Chief of Staff to the Platform VP, owned strategic planning, operating cadence, executive reviews, decision follow-through, and OKR alignment. • Enabled cross-functional execution across Engineering, Product, and cross-functional teams through structured portfolio operations, OKR cascading, dependency management, and communications cadence. • Redesigned PDLC with integrated technical feasibility assessment, customer feedback, technical debt prioritization, and architecture governance, reducing planning churn 55%, shortening cycle time 15%, and improving delivery predictability 50%. • Improved feature velocity by 25% YoY by building KPI frameworks, automated reporting, data-driven decision workflows, and observability into delivery metrics. • Optimized high-impact issue resolution by establishing triage processes, cross-functional escalation protocols, and root-cause analysis workflows, reducing average resolution time by 60% and blocking issues by 50%. • Launched new AWS-hosted platform capabilities improving financial data connectivity and supporting APAC expansion • Mentored engineering managers and product leaders on execution excellence, cross-functional collaboration, and career development. • Left role to manage family medical situation during Covid Cross-functional Team Leadership, Operational Cadence & Rhythm of Business and +18 skills
Director, Technical Program Management
Business Wire
2019 - 2020
• Led technical program delivery and portfolio management for enterprise publishing and content distribution platform, managing cross-functional execution across engineering and product teams. • Built PMO from scratch, establishing program execution discipline, portfolio intake/prioritization framework, PDLC standards, and vendor management processes that improved release predictability 40%. • Managed cross-functional execution across engineering and product teams, driving Agile practices, release coordination, dependency management, and risk mitigation. • Established program governance and escalation processes, improving communication between engineering, product, and executive leadership. • Led large-scale, cross-functional programs including Yahoo integration and AWS migration, executing these complex initiatives across distributed teams in fast-paced environments. Jira, SaaS Development and +1 skill
Chief of AI R&D
VMware
2016 - 2018
• Led strategic execution and R&D operations for Cloud Management BU, overseeing cross-BU SaaS and on-prem delivery, strategic planning, portfolio governance, and cross-functional execution cadence. • Established R&D operating model including strategic planning cycles, OKR cascading, quarterly execution reviews, and cross-functional governance for engineering organization. • Established cross-cloud architecture governance standards and decision-making processes, improving alignment between product vision and technical implementation across multiple product lines. • Optimized engineering spend and ROI by simplifying budget planning, aligning finance and product priorities, establishing cost-efficiency metrics for infrastructure and tooling, and reducing decision cycles. • Improved on-time delivery by 30% and enhanced cross-org predictability through standardized program management processes, cross-functional governance, and dependency management. • Launched vRealize Suite, unifying five product lines, on time, strengthening customer experience and market position through coordinated execution across engineering, product, and operations. • Improved deployment speed by 35% YoY through streamlined CI/CD pipeline, release automation, infrastructure efficiency improvements, and deployment automation standards. • Mentored engineering leaders on program execution, cross-functional collaboration, and organizational leadership. Process Transformation, Cross-functional Team Leadership and +23 skills
Education
Isenberg School of Management, UMass Amherst
MBA
2026
Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel and +7 skills
University of California, Berkeley
Engineering Leadership Professional Program, Engineering Leadership
Change Management, Data-driven Decision Making and +4 skills