D. Axel Neff
Sarasota,FL
Summary
Product Management leader known for creating category-defining products, driving viral growth, and scaling companies to multi-billion-dollar enterprise valuations through strategic vision and cross-functional execution. Accomplished, results-driven product architect, globally recognized for delivering award-winning products. Specializing in rapid delivery, forging strategic partnerships, generating new revenue streams, and developing innovative solutions to complex problems. A strategic leader with a track record of building and inspiring high-performing teams that consistently exceed targets. Focused on boosting client retention by swiftly identifying and resolving user pain points and requests. Utilizing strong communication to build enduring relationships with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders. Excels in dynamic, fast-paced, collaborative, and globally diverse environments.
Overview
40
40
years of professional experience
Work History
Product Director
Indeed
Austin, TX
01.2023 - Current
- Built Indeed's first core AI user experiences, a chat-based job search agent via an OpenAI partnership.
- Led product strategy and innovation for Indeed's resume, profile, career services, and R&D teams.
- Acknowledged by CNET for delivering the best-in-class resume builder and resume review service.
- Developed multi-year, stack-ranked product strategy and roadmap for Job Seeker Representation.
- Integrated generative AI into resume optimization tools, improving resume quality by 75%.
- Lead a 200-contractor product unit providing career coaching to 12,000 paying job seekers monthly.
- Increased purchase conversion by 25% through demand growth and UX optimization.
- Delivered 20% profit margins, $1.5 million in new recurring profits from Indeed's Career Help subsidiary.
Director of Product Management
Indeed
Austin, TX
01.2019 - 01.2022
- Provided executive leadership and direction to a 250-employee R&D product and engineering department.
- Defined the Product Operations role, introducing a new function, office, and team to Indeed.
- Earned #1 Ranking for America's Best Customer Service in 2023 for Employment Search (SimplyHired).
- Launched company's first suite of native mobile apps driving $20M in new revenue.
- Championed the growth of various R&D products in the HR Tech space using off-brand digital assets owned by Indeed (SimplyHired, Workopolis, WowJobs, Resume.com, Gigajob.de, Careesma.in, etc).
- Fostered a partnership with OpenAI in 2021 as an early adopter, leading AI-driven automation at Indeed.
Co-Founder and CIO
Telegram Messenger
Miami, FL
01.2012 - 01.2015
- Led operations from startup to global launch, building the world's best mobile messaging platform.
- Directed IT and product operations, overseeing go-to-market execution from concept to launch.
- Liaised with corporations and strategic partners to negotiate contracts, fulfilled legal requirements, and ensured worldwide regulatory compliance with government agencies.
- Architected private global cloud network, enabling high-speed, high-bandwidth, multi-platform applications.
- Setup points of presence on 4 different continents, including equipment procurement and provisioning.
- Achieved viral growth, earning the #1 ranking on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in 50+ countries, and has since achieved 1 billion MAU.
- Successfully navigated the company through due diligence, transitioning operations via change management.
Senior Director of Product Management
VK.com
St. Petersburg, Russia
01.2008 - 01.2014
- Maintained oversight of the international business activities for Europe's largest social media platform.
- Bridged communications and aligned objectives cross-functionally in the areas of monetization, business development, engineering, product design, finance, legal, international compliance, and media industry regulations, enabling payments and mobile gaming.
- Planned and executed major corporate rebranding from Vkontakte.ru to VK.com, launched international localization efforts, and drove worldwide growth campaigns that reached 100 million MAU.
- Realized a $3B USD valuation for the company through a private sale in 2014.
Strategic Advisor
Blackmoon Financial Group
New York, NY
01.2015 - 01.2017
- Advised team with US regulations through successful ICO in 2017, raising $30M USD via a public token sale.
Advisor, Investor, Coach & Board Member
Western New York Startup Community
Buffalo, NY
01.2015 - 01.2019
Restaurateur & Commercial Real Estate Developer
Buffalo & Sarasota
01.1986 - Current
Education
Bachelor of Science - Engineering
Executive Education - Advanced Management Program (AMP)
YC Startup School
Skills
- Executive Leadership & Planning
- Enterprise Product Strategy
- Product Innovation
- Agile Methodologies (Jira)
- Big Data & AI Analytics
- Artificial Intelligence
- Risk Management
- Strategic Planning
- Change Management
- Data-Driven Decision Making
- UX & User Research
- Team Empowerment
- Operational Excellence
- Partnership Strategy
- Revenue Optimization
- Digital Asset Strategy
- A/B Testing & Experimentation
Professional Highlights
- Co-founder of Telegram Messenger, #1 downloaded app (iOS & Android) with over 1 billion users worldwide (Telegram).
- Exceeded multi-billion $USD valuation with two startups, VK & Telegram Messenger (VK.com + Telegram).
- Europas Award Winner for Fastest Growing European Startup in 2014 (Telegram).
- Rebranded Vkontakte.ru to VK.com and introduced judo growth marketing campaigns to fend off Facebook (VK.com).
- Facilitated international business compliance, fostering tier-1 partnerships, enabled global commercialization (VK.com).
- Established VK as an iconic brand, recognized as the largest social network in Europe, with 85 million MAUs (VK.com).
- Advised on Blackmoon Financial Group's ICO, raising $30M in token sales via an ICO and Pre-ICO (Blackmoon FG).
- Achieved Newsweek's #1 ranking in 2023 for America's Best Customer Service in HR Tech (SimplyHired).
- 2025 CNET best-in-class award for creating industry-leading Resume Builder & Resume Review services (Indeed).
- Scaled Indeed Research into a 250-person R&D department, leading Product & Product Operations (Indeed).
- Early adopter of AI, spearheaded LLM integrations, and launched Indeed's first AI Products to benefit users (Indeed).
Personal Information
Title: Product Leader
Timeline
Product Director - Indeed
01.2023 - Current
Director of Product Management - Indeed
01.2019 - 01.2022
Strategic Advisor - Blackmoon Financial Group
01.2015 - 01.2017
Advisor, Investor, Coach & Board Member - Western New York Startup Community
01.2015 - 01.2019
Co-Founder and CIO - Telegram Messenger
01.2012 - 01.2015
Senior Director of Product Management - VK.com
01.2008 - 01.2014
Restaurateur & Commercial Real Estate Developer -
01.1986 - Current
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE - Bachelor of Science, Engineering
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - THE WHARTON SCHOOL - Executive Education, Advanced Management Program (AMP)
Y-COMBINATOR - , YC Startup School