Interim Leadership for the Chapter That Has to Move
For consumer brands doing $5M–$75M where the founder, board, or buyer process needs one accountable operator in the seat. I step into a defined chapter, run the operating rhythm, make the hard calls, and leave the business cleaner than I found it.
- P&L, cash, and margin priorities
- Weekly rhythm and owner follow-through
- Team structure and decision rights
- Board, investor, lender, or buyer communication
- Channel, inventory, and growth workstreams
Three ways I can step in
The role depends on where the constraint sits. The common thread is authority: clear decision rights, weekly accountability, and direct work with the team.
Own the business through a defined transition: priorities, leadership team, board updates, cash tradeoffs, and the decisions the founder has been carrying too long.
Run the operating machine: department owners, supply chain issues, inventory calls, 3PL or fulfillment friction, and execution against the 90-day plan.
Own the financial read: cash forecast, margin bridge, channel P&L, spend controls, board reporting, and capital or buyer prep work.
The situations where this works
Interim leadership is for a contained operating chapter with real consequences. The work starts with the question: what needs an accountable owner now?
Founder transition
The founder is stepping back, moving into a narrower role, or deciding what the next chapter should look like. I hold the business steady, reset owners, and keep the team moving while the long-term structure gets decided.
Sale or capital process
A process consumes attention. The business still has to hit numbers, answer diligence, and look controlled to buyers, lenders, or investors. I keep the operating rhythm tight and turn diligence questions into clean answers.
Path to profitability
Growth has stopped covering the operating drag. I cut into contribution margin, cash, headcount, inventory, and channel economics, then build the 90-day plan around the few moves that change the math.
Operating gap
The team has capable people, but the cross-functional system lacks one owner. I clarify decision rights, install the weekly meeting rhythm, and make sure finance, marketing, ops, and product are working off the same priorities.
What I bring to the role
I spent 10 years as founder-CEO of Koio through build, growth, turnaround, and exit. That matters because interim work is mostly judgment under constraint: which calls to make now, which ones to park, and how to keep the team with you while the business changes.
- Built Koio from zero into an omnichannel consumer brand
- Ran retail, wholesale, ecommerce, product, finance, and operations inside the same business
- Raised $20M and managed investor, board, and lender conversations
- Led an 18-month turnaround: cut $3M in annual costs and returned the business to profitability
- Closed stores, killed underperforming products, renegotiated vendor contracts, and rebuilt the cost base
- Navigated a 2.5-year exit process with 200+ buyer conversations
- Started in consumer M&A at J.P. Morgan before becoming a founder
Interim only works when authority is real. I need access to the numbers, the team, and the decision forum. Then I can make calls, drive owners, and be accountable for the outcome.
How interim engagements work
Scope and authority
We define the seat before the work starts: role, decision rights, reporting line, board involvement, weekly cadence, and what happens when a call needs approval. Ambiguity kills interim work, so the first deliverable is clarity.
Typical duration
Most chapters run 3–6 months: long enough to install the operating rhythm, make the major calls, and hand off to a permanent owner or cleaner structure. Some are narrower sprints around a sale process, cash plan, or operating reset.
Compensation
Every engagement is scoped to the situation. Structure can be monthly, project based, include equity, or tie part of compensation to a defined outcome when the incentives fit.
Availability
I only take one interim seat at a time. If the timing is wrong, I can still help pressure-test the situation through Founder Advisory or a narrower operating assessment.
Who this is for
Good fit
- Consumer brand doing $5M–$75M in revenue
- A defined chapter that needs an accountable operator
- Founder, board, or ownership group aligned on authority
- Real access to financials, team leads, and decision forums
- Willing to make hard calls on cash, org, channel mix, product, or execution rhythm
Poor fit
- Need advice only, with no authority attached (see Fractional COO/CFO)
- Need a permanent full-time hire immediately
- Stakeholders are split on whether the role should exist
- The numbers and team access are off limits