Nikhil Saukhla

About

Operations leader/advisor with experience joining a Cedar Sinai Accelerator spinout (RAIOS) at an inflection point and rebuilding the company’s internal ops “connective tissue” across HR, finance, IT, product, and sales. Uses structured frameworks (RACI, OKRs/KPIs), rapid diagnostics, and tool centralization (Gusto, BILL, Brex) to create scalable, founder-friendly operating systems.

Experience

Education

Key Strengths

• Built operational foundation for a fast-scaling startup via a 2-week ops audit and end-to-end process mapping
• Implemented RACI ownership matrices across core processes to clarify accountability and fix communication breakdowns
• Centralized HR/finance/ops tooling (Gusto, BILL, Brex) to reduce redundant handoffs and improve visibility into headcount, spend, and compliance
• Creates scalable systems (ownership, workflows, metrics) rather than patch fixes; prioritizes by quantified cost of inefficiencies
• Effective at mentoring technical/clinical founders by translating ops into outcome-focused language and delivering quick wins
• Balances hands-on implementation sprints with strategic cadence-setting and leader coaching to avoid creating dependency
• Manages multiple parallel cross-functional initiatives with executive alignment
• Creates structured operating cadences (weekly exec syncs, check-ins) that reduce coordination debt
• Builds lightweight accountability systems (dashboards, written updates, clear ownership) without excess bureaucracy
• Identifies and automates repetitive operational work to increase executive focus and velocity
• Balances strategic systems design with day-to-day execution via time-blocking and clear boundaries
• High discretion and trusted handling of sensitive information (trained in talent agency environment)