About Holly

Operational transformation for scaling businesses

I’m an operational transformation specialist with more than 20 years’ experience building leadership structures, governance frameworks and operational discipline across scaling SMEs and global organisations.

My career began at General Electric, where I progressed from graduate trainee to Global Performance Leader, leading operational improvement programmes across complex international environments.

Today I work as a Fractional COO, partnering with founder-led and investor-backed SMEs where growth has outpaced operational maturity.

My focus is simple: building businesses that can scale sustainably without relying on the founder to hold everything together.

Career Background

Over the past two decades I’ve worked across both large corporates and scaling businesses, leading operational transformation, organisational redesign and performance improvement programmes.

This experience allows me to combine corporate operational discipline with SME pragmatism, translating proven operating models into practical structures that work in real businesses.

My work typically focuses on:

  • Designing leadership structures that support the next stage of growth
  • Installing governance, decision frameworks and operational discipline
  • Building performance visibility through metrics and reporting
  • Strengthening execution capability across teams and functions
  • Reducing founder dependency so businesses can scale sustainably

Why Work with Holly

  • 20+ years operational leadership across global corporates and scaling SMEs
  • Former Global Performance Leader at General Electric
  • Proven record delivering operational transformation and organisational redesign
  • Extensive experience building leadership structure, governance and accountability
  • Strong track record improving operational performance and execution capability
  • Able to embed quickly within leadership teams and deliver practical operational change

Leadership Approach

My approach is practical and collaborative.

I embed within leadership teams, working alongside founders and executives to introduce the structure, governance and operational discipline required for sustainable growth.

Rather than delivering recommendations from the sidelines, I focus on building operational capability within the organisation so improvements continue long after the engagement ends.

Situations Where I'm Typically Engaged

Most businesses bring me in when growth has outpaced operational maturity and stronger leadership structure, governance and operational discipline are required to support the next stage of scale.

Common situations include:

  • Rapid growth creating operational complexity and unclear accountability
  • Founders overwhelmed by operational decision-making
  • Leadership teams lacking clear roles and performance visibility
  • Operational bottlenecks or margin pressure limiting growth
  • Businesses preparing for investment, scale or exit

Outside Work

I live in Cheshire with my fiance, two sons and Macy, our crazy cockapoo.

Outside of work I enjoy travelling, a good Sauvignon Blanc, great quotes and an excellent TV box set.

Explore How We Could Work Together

If your business has reached the point where operational complexity is beginning to constrain growth, a Fractional COO can help install the structure required for the next stage of scale.

Book an Introductory Conversation