Agree the executive mandate
Define scope, authority, reporting relationships, onsite needs, capacity, and the outcomes the engagement is responsible for leading.
The short answer
Pursuing Excellence provides fractional and interim operating leadership for businesses that need senior executive capacity. Warren can serve as a fractional COO, VP of Operations, interim leader, or transformation lead under an agreed mandate, time commitment, and set of outcomes.
When this
becomes a priority.
The business may need an operating partner while it grows, a leader during a transition, or someone accountable for a transformation that crosses functions. The engagement starts by defining what Warren owns, how decisions will be made, and what the organization must be able to sustain afterward.
- The founder remains the escalation point for daily execution.
- A leadership transition has left an immediate operating gap.
- A transformation spans functions but lacks one accountable owner.
- The management system has not kept pace with the business.
From the facts to the work
What the engagement
can cover.
The scope follows the business need. These workstreams define the decisions, controls, and delivery responsibilities that matter.
Establish operating visibility
Create a focused fact base and scorecard. Align the team around priorities, decision rights, performance standards, and escalation thresholds.
Lead the priorities into execution
Run the operating cadence, coach leaders, resolve barriers, and maintain transparent communication with the CEO, sponsor, or board.
Build a durable handover
Develop internal owners and leadership capability. Document the operating routines and agree on the criteria for transition or a revised mandate.
A concrete result
What your team
leaves with.
Practical decisions and usable operating tools, with owners, measures, and a path into execution.
- Defined executive scope and decision rights
- Operating priorities and ownership
- Management cadence and scorecard
- CEO / sponsor reporting
- Leadership capability and succession actions
- Transition and handover plan
The experience behind the work
Grounded in
operating reality.
Warren’s engagement with a technology services provider consolidating operations after a merger began as a Pursuing Excellence advisory assignment and developed into a full-time vice president role. His career spans operating leadership in public companies, private equity portfolios, and growing private businesses.
Explore Warren’s experienceResults reflect Warren's prior executive roles and the teams involved.
Questions leaders ask
Before you
make the call.
When should a company hire a fractional COO?
Consider a fractional COO when the business needs executive operating judgment and leadership but the scope does not require a permanent full-time hire. Common triggers include growth, weak execution cadence, founder dependency, or a defined transformation.
How does interim leadership differ from fractional leadership?
Interim leadership typically fills a temporary role or transition with a defined operating mandate. Fractional leadership provides recurring executive capacity at an agreed commitment. Scope, authority, availability, and handover expectations should be explicit in either model.
Can an engagement include hands-on implementation?
Yes. PX can combine executive leadership with delivery of a network change, systems stabilization, integration, service recovery, or management-system improvement. The priorities and ownership are agreed in the engagement scope.
Start with a conversation
Discuss an executive leadership mandate.
Start with a focused 30-minute conversation about your situation, the value at stake, and the right next step.