Vetted Chief Operating Officers

“Manufacturing and operations leader (industrial engineer turned plant manager) who has driven major operational and business-model change in legacy manufacturing, including demand-driven Kanban replenishment and lead-time reduction. More recently built KPI systems and capacity-scaling improvements at Laboratory Testing Incorporated while integrating an acquisition, and now supports Laminators Incorporated at the board level while hands-on building a formal product development process from ideation through launch.”

“Veteran hockey coach and player-development consultant (UConn NCAA ’92; minor pro) with 30+ years spanning AAA, prep, junior, and NCAA, plus experience as Player Personnel Director in the USHL. Key architect of South Kent’s Selects Academy, credited with 23 NHL draft picks and hundreds of NCAA placements, and runs an education-focused consulting practice helping families navigate pathways with honest, level-appropriate guidance.”

“Startup/scale-up operations leader who repeatedly builds lightweight but rigorous operating systems (OKRs/KPIs, agile/Lean cadences, PMO, financial controls, People Ops) from scratch and through change resistance. Cites measurable outcomes including 38% faster execution, 12x user growth, major cost reductions, and valuation increases (e.g., $6M to $56M in <12 months) across companies including DocuGuardian, Washify, NxtWash/NextWash, and Parkidy.”

“Backend engineer who built and evolved a startup data-processing backend (Express.js/MySQL) handling millions of user data points, with a microservices pipeline integrating multiple social media APIs. Emphasizes reliability and security through comprehensive testing, robust error/retry handling for sequential pagination constraints, and tight IAM/JWT/OAuth-based access controls.”

“Fractional ops/HR leader with 15 years of experience supporting ~40 startups, building internal operations and people infrastructure from scratch (HRIS, recruiting funnels, career pathing, benefits). Recently helped a Series A company ($11M raise) implement headcount budgeting and runway modeling to align young founders on sustainable hiring plans, and uses survey/exit-interview feedback loops to fix leadership communication and retention issues.”

“Ops/tech program leader who supported the national rollout of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by building an enterprise OKR system and implementing Asana + real-time dashboards across technology, operations, clinical support, and communications. Has led a 15-person team and repeatedly improves executive productivity through pragmatic tool rollouts (HubSpot, SharePoint/Confluence, Slack/Zoom) and lightweight integrations.”

“Silicon Valley operator with ~30 years of experience as a board member, advisor, VC, founder, and turnaround executive, claiming 50+ venture-backed turnarounds. Has driven outsized outcomes including a $1B Nokia spinout and a 9-figure Jaspersoft exit to TIBCO, and is known for pragmatic, people-and-financials-first operational diagnosis (including CRM forensics) and rapid team scaling via structured hiring pipelines.”

“Talent/Recruiting Operations leader who has run regional and national high-volume recruiting organizations (~40–50 people) and owned the full recruiting operating system end-to-end (ATS/CRM, analytics, workflows, training, and cross-functional governance). Known for rebuilding chaotic multi-state hiring engines into standardized, SLA-driven processes with real-time dashboards—cutting time-to-fill ~30% and boosting recruiter productivity >25%—and for leading major tooling implementations like GoodTime and advanced Lever reporting.”

“Operations leader and advisor (former COO at College Partnership; also worked with Founders Advisors) who rebuilds and scales early-stage operations using Lean Startup experimentation and KPI-driven execution. Notably centralized a call-center function, implemented scripts/SLAs/metrics, and iterated staffing based on conversion and response-time data while mentoring non-ops founders on MVPs, SMART goals, and tactical operating plans.”

“Entrepreneur and turnaround operator who recently sold a patented mobile + connected TV (CTV) technology startup. Took the product from concept and use-case definition through market testing, product planning, and GTM traction, ultimately converting a prospective client presentation to a European regional digital media company into an acquisition; also advises on turnarounds including stalled VC investments.”

“Cross-functional operations/coordination professional with experience aligning finance (including FP&A), vendor management, and operations through structured communication cadences and tools like Asana. Has supported executive productivity by coordinating executive assistants, prioritizing meeting agendas, and triaging inbound email and meeting requests, and has stepped in to resolve finance-team misalignment by clarifying objectives and delivery expectations.”

“Hospitality operator who has opened and started multiple restaurant and bar concepts, with a structured approach from concept/brand story and mission creation through to operational execution. Emphasizes repeatable standards, margin discipline (inventory, portioning, labor), and coaching founders/executives to build scalable, replicable operations.”