Services
There's a point where running everything yourself stops working.
When your company outgrows the way it's been run, I step in as senior operational leadership — embedded, practical, and designed to make itself unnecessary over time.
Sound familiar?
Your time and energy go to wrong things
You should be focusing on the vision, the customers, and the investors. Instead, you're
firefighting operational matters.
Your team is capable, but unclear
While the people on your team are great, there's more that could be achieved together. Priorities aren't clear, and people work in silos.
Growth creates chaos
What worked before no longer works. You’ve outgrown your structure. Processes are unclear, responsibilities overlap, and work feels reactive.
It's not the right time to hire a full-time COO/CPO
Hiring a full-time COO/CPO feels too early or too expensive, but struggling through alone isn't working either.
Embedded, not fly-in. Building capability, not dependency.
I don't parachute in with a pre-built playbook. I get to know your company from the inside — your people, your context, your actual blockers — and build from there.
Every engagement is designed so that when I leave, things run better than when I arrived.
I work with 2–3 companies at a time, so you get real focus — not a fractional excuse for being stretched thin.
How I work
Deeply embedded
Remote and in-person. Part of your team, not a consultant looking in from outside.
Flexible intensity
From 2 days a month to nearly full-time — matched to what your company actually needs right now.
The "beautiful exit"
When I leave, things run better than when I arrived. Capability built, not dependency created.
People first, always
Operational systems matter. But they only work when the people running them are clear, aligned, and trusted.
My work moves through these areas
Three ways to work together
The right model depends on where you are, what you need, and how much operational capacity your company is missing.
Not sure? Start with the Growth Readiness Assessment below.
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Strategic Sparring & Design
Focused strategic support for specific moments and challenges — when you need clarity, a fresh perspective, or someone to challenge your thinking.
→ On-demand support for key decisions and challenges→ Strategic thinking partner who challenges assumptions and helps you decide faster
→ Fresh perspective on growth bottlenecks before they become crises
→ Workshop facilitation and team alignment sessions
→ Scoped projects: process design, org planning, leadership team development
Engagement model
From a single session to a clearly scoped project. Flexible and tailored — we define the scope together.Best fit for
Founders who need a trusted thinking partner on specific challenges, without an ongoing commitment. -
Fractional COO/CPO
Embedded senior leadership that builds the operational backbone your company needs — without the overhead of a full-time hire.
→ Tackle your biggest operational challenges and install the systems that keep things moving
→ Reduce founder dependency on tactical decisions — free up your time for strategic work
→ Create clarity, alignment, and a culture of trust across your team
→ Drive growth initiatives and cross-functional execution
→ Build the leadership team's capacity to operate independently
Engagement model:
~ 2–10 days/month, embedded remotely and in-person. 3–12-month engagements that scale with your needs.Best fit for
Founder-led companies of 10–30 people, pre-Series A to Series A, where the founder carries too many operational responsibilities. -
Fractional Chief of Staff
Reducing the overhead of coordination and turning the C-level team into a single unit by building strategic execution architecture and organisational capability.
→ Senior strategic role working directly with CEO and leadership team→ Build the operating rhythms and coordination structures that keep the team aligned
→ Create strategic execution architecture — from priorities to decisions to follow-through
→ Behind-the-scenes enabler: fewer gaps between what's decided and what gets done
→ No extra layer of hierarchy — just better connection between the layers that exist
Engagement model:
~ 2–10 days/month. 6–12+ month engagements with flexible intensity. Remote and in-person.Best fit for
Companies with an existing C-level team that needs better coordination, execution follow-through, and leadership alignment.
Not sure where to start?
Begin with a Growth Readiness Assessment
Before committing to an ongoing engagement, it helps to get a clear picture of where the real friction is. The Growth Readiness Assessment is a focused 2–3 week sprint that does exactly that.
You get a structured map of your biggest operational bottlenecks, a clear view of what's holding you back, and concrete recommendations for how to move forward — including whether (and how) we should work together.
⏱ 2–3 weeks. Fixed fee. No ongoing commitment required.
📍 Interviews, observations, and structured diagnosis — tailored to your company's specific situation.
→ A clear, honest picture of what's blocking growth — and a practical path forward.
How it works
1 - Discovery call
30 minutes. We talk through where things are and whether this makes sense.
2 - Structured assessment
Interviews with you and key team members. Observation of how things actually run.
3 - Clear diagnosis
A written report: what's blocking you, what matters most, what to do next.
4 - Your call
Whether we work together after that is entirely up to you.
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![Meri-Tuuli Helin Gubbe]()
“As interim COO at Gubbe, Susanna managed to identify where the real need was. She helped us direct our focus to the right things, namely interpersonal trust, leadership structures, and creating clarity.”
— Meri-Tuuli Helin, Co-Founder & CEO of Gubbe
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![Antero Vartia]()
"Susanna helped clarify my thinking, and allow me to focus on my own strengths as a founder. She's able to empower both leadership and the wider team, while ensuring that necessary changes are carried through with purpose and respect for people."
— Antero Vartia, Founder of Compensate
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![Ciarán Duffy]()
"Susanna translates complex challenges into actionable next steps, ensuring everyone understands the 'what', 'why' and ‘how’ behind organisational changes."
— Ciarán Duffy, Sonder Collective
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![Katri Kallio-Koski]()
"Susanna brings clarity and operational flow, allowing the team to focus and shine on their work. She has a wide range of tools and approaches, and she engages the team in a way that makes everyone feel heard and want to commit."
— Katri Kallio-Koski, Gaia Consulting
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![Melanie Wendland]()
"Engagement with Susanna brought us clarity and focus. Her human centred approach helped to surface unspoken tensions and move us towards solutions that fit both people's and the organisation's needs.
— Melanie Wendland, Co-Founder of Sonder
Let's talk
Ready to get your time and energy back?
Let’s figure out if this makes sense for your company, right now. No pressure, no pitch.
I work with 2–3 companies at a time. If there's capacity, we'll find a way to make it work.