Work with Neela
About
Neela’s Business Operations & Strategy Qualifications
Experience level: Director
10+ Business Operations & Strategy clients
I bring 15 years leading business, strategy, and engineering operations at large companies and startups. I have partnered with executives to shape strategy, build operating models, establish OKRs and execution rhythms, manage $60M–$150M portfolios, plan budgets and organizational capacity, and lead transformation across global organizations of up to 800 people. My work has delivered measurable improvements in growth, cost, execution speed, and organizational effectiveness. I help founders, operators, and emerging leaders turn ambiguity into practical operating plans. Coaching areas include strategic planning, prioritization, OKRs, portfolio management, organizational design, resource allocation, executive communication, metrics, cross-functional alignment, and scaling execution. I combine firsthand operating experience across startups and global enterprises with more than 10 years of Dale Carnegie coaching to provide structured, candid, and immediately applicable guidance.
Neela can help with:
AI Automation
AI Fundamentals
Business Strategy Development
Financial Analysis
Interview Prep
LinkedIn Review
Negotiation Skills
Operations Management
Process Improvement
Project Management
Resume Review
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