Anthony Austin

Senior Product Leader · Florida

"Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need before they realize it." — Steve Jobs

AI-forward product leader with fifteen years building products that solve real problems.

I lead product teams through the full arc — vision, strategy, continuous discovery and delivery.

Founding PM · TribeHR Built the product function from scratch. Grew revenue 500% to an acquisition by NetSuite within 18 months.

Lead PM · Plex Systems Led UX & globalization across a manufacturing ERP, helping drive a $2.2B acquisition.

Director of PM · Nexxen Rebuilt an adtech DSP from the ground up and embedded agentic AI into workflows where minutes matter.

Director of Product Management · Nexxen Formerly: Plex Systems · NetSuite

30×valuation increase at Plex ($2.2B exit)

500%revenue growth at TribeHR (acquired by NetSuite)

+17NPS points from Nexxen DSP redesign

20,000screens redesigned across 35 Plex modules

Selected Work

Three products. Three turning points.

Case study 01 · 2022 — Present

Rebuilding a demand-side platform, AI-first.

CompanyNexxen Inc. ($365M ARR)

RoleDirector, Product Management — DSP Apps & UX

Outcome+17 NPS · reduced campaign optimization time

The problem

Nexxen's DSP had grown through acquisition. Every part of the platform looked and behaved differently, campaign optimization was slow, and QA consumed hours that should've taken minutes. Customers noticed.

The approach

Built and trained the PM team, defined the DSP vision end-to-end, and ran a multi-year redesign on Vuetify components. Embedded agentic AI directly into campaign setup, QA, and troubleshooting — not as a bolt-on, but as a first-class part of the workflow.

Nexxen New UI product vision and objectives — The product vision that drove the redesign — AI-powered, efficient, and built around campaign performance.

Embedded agentic AI capabilities directly into user workflows to enhance QA checking and troubleshooting efficiency.

Nexxen DSP with AI diagnostics panel open — AI diagnostics embedded in context — accessible from any campaign level without navigating away.

Nexxen bid exclusions flyout panel — Bid exclusions and audit log consolidated into the flyout — no more context-switching to diagnose delivery issues.

Flyout panels in action — edit, analytics, audit log, and bid exclusions in a single context-preserving surface.

New pacing columns — delivery projections at a glance.

Comparative view — compare tactic performance across advertisers in one flat view.

What shipped

New pacing and projection visualizations for in-table decision-making
Flat View to compare tactic performance across advertisers
AI-powered analytics and deal troubleshooting, embedded in context
Redesign of whole layout and workflows

What I led

Built the PM organization and defined vision, strategy, and roadmap
Installed Design Thinking and Agile across three distributed teams
Deployed Lovable.ai, Pendo, Jira, Coda, Confluence as the working stack
Ran the program from concept → MVP → go-to-market

New UI product vision walkthrough — the full DSP redesign from first principles.

Case study 02 · 2014 — 2022

From flat 2012 UI to a Smart Manufacturing Platform.

CompanyPlex Systems — Manufacturing ERP

RoleLead PM, Platform Globalization, Product Analytics & UX

Outcome30× valuation · $2.2B exit · 35 modules · 20,000 screens

The problem

Plex's ERP was originally designed by customers. The platform had no unified design standards, no rapid prototyping, and no systematic customer empathy. Complexity drove down NPS; training costs were climbing. Leadership knew it, but the path forward wasn't obvious.

The approach

Built a six-person UX team, introduced Design Thinking and Jobs-to-be-Done as operating practices, and led end-to-end redesign across 35 modules. Accelerated customer insight by 40% and cut feedback cycles from four weeks to one.

What I installed

A unified Design System and workflow guidelines
Product and Design bootcamps for onboarding
OKR-based execution discipline across the team
Gainsight PX analytics and Customer Advisory Boards

Anthony Austin champions things about which I feel passionately — and with surprising success considering how difficult it is to morph UX at the platform level.
— Plex internal feedback, 2020

Anthony worked for me for several years during my time as Head of Product at Plex Systems. His leadership and passion resulted in a true cultural shift within the engineering function at Plex.
— Head of Product, Plex Systems

Plex mobile browser and native app views — Responsive Smart Manufacturing Platform — desktop, mobile browser, and native app, consistent across all form factors.

Plex Knowledge Center — Knowledge Center — in-product contextual help across all ERP modules.

Plex checksheets on desktop and mobile — Checksheets — quality inspection on any device, on the floor.

Plex Developer Portal API documentation — Developer Portal — REST APIs enabling third-party integrations at scale.

Industrial IoT expansion

Partnered with engineering to launch five new IIoT modules in 10 months. Measured outcomes through OEE, product quality, throughput, and machine downtime. The work opened new smart-manufacturing verticals and geographies.

Plex IIoT asset dashboard with live sensor data and scheduling — The IIoT Asset Dashboard — live sensor data, OEE tracking, and workcenter scheduling in one view. Five modules shipped in 10 months.

How I work

Design Thinking, actually practiced.

Not a framework on a slide — a practiced discipline. Empathy interviews, contextual enquiry, research-based personas, journey mapping, and validated prototypes. Applied across adtech, manufacturing ERP, and HCM.

Design Thinking framework: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test

Empathy interviews and shadowing in the field — Empathy interviews & shadowing — 50+ per PM per year, on-site at customer facilities.

Contextual enquiry methodology — Contextual enquiry — talk about their job, not your ideas. Own the problem; let them own the solution.

User and buyer persona creation — Research-based personas — built from field interviews, not assumptions.

User journey mapping — Journey mapping — identifying friction points and moments that matter.

Validating user journeys through product analytics — Product tracking — validating journeys with behavioural data, not just attitudinal research.

Design validation focus groups with 300 volunteer users — Design validation — 300 volunteer users, 100 sessions a year. Dev, Design, Sales, and Execs in the room.

Empathy mapping and shared learnings across teams — Shared learnings — synthesis sessions that turn raw interview data into problem statements the whole team owns.

Plex Tech Talks — presenting Design Thinking and UX strategy to the broader engineering organisation.

Case study 03 · 2012 — 2014

500% growth, then acquired by NetSuite.

CompanyTribeHR — Social HR platform

RoleDirector & Principal, HCM Product Management

Outcome500% revenue growth in 18 months · acquired by NetSuite/Oracle

The mandate

A self-service HR product searching for product-market fit. I led redefinition of positioning, pricing, and product-led growth tactics, then rebuilt product, UX, and QA from scratch — ten direct reports inside eighteen months.

What I brought in

Rigorous A/B testing on acquisition and retention. Social engagement and gamification woven through the product experience. Build-partner-buy analysis for strategic integrations. And a design language that felt human — in a category full of spreadsheets.

The TribeHR dashboard — personal, social, and scannable. Unusual for HR software in 2013.

Employee profile with kudos feed.

TribeHR job posting detail — ATS / job posting detail.

TribeHR performance review form — Performance review flow.

In progress

AI projects, coming soon.

I'm deep in the Maven/Google AI Product Management, Agentic AI Engineering, and AI Evals bootcamps. Vibe-coding with Cursor, Claude Code, Lovable.ai. Building RAG and agentic orchestrations on OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Tavily, OpenClaw. New case studies land here soon.

CursorClaude CodeCoworkLovable.ai OpenAIGeminiTavilyOpenClawRAGAgentic orchestration

About

Hands-on. Entrepreneurial. AI-forward.

I build product value from the ground up — across products and culture. I translate complex ideas into narratives that move stakeholders to action, and complex workflows into intuitive experiences customers actually adopt.

Three things are true across every role I've held: I listen to customers more than I expect to, I ship through small iterative bets, and I leave the teams stronger than I found them.

Resume

Anthony Austin

Senior Product Leader · Jacksonville, FL

Download PDF

Summary

Entrepreneurial, hands-on software product leader with 10+ years of experience scaling product organizations and driving business transformation at fast-growing startups and PE-backed ventures. Known for building value from the ground up — across products and culture. Translates complex ideas into clear, compelling narratives that move stakeholders to action. Skilled in defining product vision, strategy and roadmaps, embedding AI-driven capabilities, and translating complex workflows into intuitive, high-adoption user experiences.

Competencies

Customer-Centric Discovery
Design Thinking & Jobs-to-be-Done
Agentic AI & LLM Integration
Vibe-coding: Cursor, Lovable.ai, Claude Code, OpenAI, Gemini
Agile & Iterative Delivery
GTM Planning & Product Operations
Cross-Functional Leadership
Market & Competitive Analysis

Experience

Director of Product Management, DSP Apps & User Experience

Nexxen Inc. — Programmatic Advertising Platform

Jan 2022 – Present

Built high-performing PM team; defined the Apps & UX Product Vision, Strategy, and Tactics to build a world-class DSP from the ground up — from initial concept through MVP to go-to-market launch.
Led multi-year DSP platform UI and workflow redesign integrating adaptive Vuetify components and automated user guidance. Reduced campaign optimization time and elevated NPS by 17%. Embedded agentic AI capabilities into user workflows to enhance QA checking and troubleshooting efficiency.
Established Design Thinking and Agile practices across three distributed teams. Deployed AI vibe-coding toolsets including Lovable.ai for rapid prototyping, Pendo for in-product analytics, and usability studies.
Drove systematic product simplification through rigorous user journey analysis and workflow optimization, eliminating redundant interactions and improving task completion efficiency.

Lead PM, Platform Globalization, Product Analytics & UX

Plex Systems — Manufacturing ERP

Dec 2016 – Jan 2022

Company sold for $2.2B; valuation increased 30× during tenure.
Recruited and coached a team of six PMs, UX designers, and analysts. Accelerated customer insight by 40% and cut feedback cycles from four weeks to one through Design Thinking, JTBD, and Lean Startup frameworks.
Led platform-wide UX transformation — end-to-end redesign of 35 modules and 20,000 screens. Implemented a unified Design System that decreased average task completion times by 15%.
Pioneered IIoT product expansion: launched 5 new modules in 10 months, delivering measurable improvements in OEE, product quality, throughput, and machine downtime.

Senior Product Manager, HCM

Plex Systems — Manufacturing ERP

Sep 2014 – Dec 2016

Managed HCM product strategy within the Plex ERP platform, overseeing enhancements to HRIS, ATS, Performance Management, and Time Tracking modules.

Director & Principal, HCM Product Management

NetSuite | TribeHR — HR Platform

Dec 2012 – Sep 2014

500% revenue growth over 18 months; contributed to successful acquisition by NetSuite/Oracle.
Directed product vision, strategy, and roadmap. Built product, UX, and QA organizations from the ground up — team of 10 direct reports.
Redefined GTM strategy including product-market fit, positioning, pricing, and PLG tactics. Implemented A/B testing to optimise customer acquisition and retention.

Senior Product Manager, Strategy and Development

Canada Post Corporation Digital Group

Sep 2008 – Dec 2012

Launched a self-service encrypted cloud storage and collaboration platform as Lead PM within Canada Post's Digital Group.
Developed and launched the epost mobile app — #2 most downloaded app in iTunes Canada.
Pioneered Agile transformation at Canada Post, delivering over $1M in measurable savings. Initiative became company-wide standard methodology.

Education

MBA, Master of Business Administration (Distinction)

Warwick Business School, UK — Strategy, Statistical Methods

BEng, Energy Engineering & Computer Science (Honors)

University of Leeds, UK

Certifications

AI Product Management Bootcamp — Maven/Google (In Progress 2026)
Agentic AI Engineering Bootcamp — Maven/Google (In Progress 2026)
AI Evals — Maven/Google (In Progress 2026)
Mastering Design Thinking Diploma — MIT
UX Master Certification — Nielsen Norman Group
Certified Scrum Master & Product Owner
Product Management, Requirements, Marketing & Launch — Pragmatic Marketing