Interim COO – Best Practice & Acquisitions - Case Study

Interim Chief Operating Officer

Sector: Education & Training

Location: Brisbane, Queensland

Our private equity client bought an award-winning education and training group with a national presence of more than 180 sites across Australia. Led by the CEO and his C-Suite executive team of three, the group has grown and continues to grow exponentially.

Issue:

The COO resigned suddenly, leaving the CEO to support the group operationally in a quasi-COO role in addition to their CEO responsibilities. This was unsustainable long-term as the CEO needed to have the capacity to focus on growing the business strategically, via further acquisitions.

The group approached EIM to appoint an interim COO with multi-site experience. They also requested the Interim exhibit pace, urgency, clear communication skills and a fit into a ‘doing’ organisation in a fast-paced environment. Moreover, as the group had yet to decide on whether to pursue a formal executive search process, there was a possibility, that the interim COO may be invited to remain longer on a permanent basis.

Solution:

EIM appointed an Interim Executive, with proven C-Suite experience in similar large-scale/complex multi-site businesses and was a natural leader with an influential and engaging communication style. Quickly getting up to speed on understanding the business, the Interim COO supported, led, and mentored the operations team to drive best practice operations, people, and customer experience across the national network. Comfortable with flat leadership structures, the Interim COO seamlessly joined the C-Suite executive team supporting and reporting to the CEO.