Fractional & Interim COO
Build the operation your strategy depends on.
I help technology, hardware and regulated-product businesses move from ambitious plans to controlled execution: releasing products, scaling manufacturing, strengthening supply chains and becoming ready for investment.
Hands-on operational leadership for start-ups, scale-ups and established businesses.
Operating system view
One connected operation: strategy, design, implementation, measurement, improvement and review.
See the full systems map →- 25+ years in operations
- £200m+ funding supported
- 50+ product families outsourced
- 6 of the top 10 global CMs
- 20%+ warranty reduction delivered
- Chartered Engineer & MBA
- AI & cyber security leadership
- Regulatory approvals & QMS
The problem
The point where ambition starts to expose operational weakness
A product must move from prototype to repeatable manufacture.
Growth has outpaced the company's processes, systems and controls.
A fundraise, acquisition or board review is exposing gaps in execution.
Suppliers, quality, delivery, cost and ownership are no longer under control.
These are not isolated functional problems. They are operating-model problems, and they need senior ownership.
How I work with you
Four ways to engage senior operational leadership
Fractional COO is the core engagement. Interim, transformation and board work exist for the situations that need a different level of commitment.
Fractional COO
Embedded executive operational leadership for businesses that need senior COO capability without making a full-time permanent appointment.
Read more →Interim COO
Hands-on executive operational leadership during periods of transition, scale, transformation, leadership gaps or major change.
Read more →Operational Transformation
Defined transformation programmes for businesses that need to solve significant operational problems or build scalable operational capability, but do not necessarily need me acting as their COO.
Read more →Board, NED & Due Diligence
Independent operational judgement for boards, investors and leadership teams, including NED work, board advisory, operational due diligence, investment readiness and acquisition support.
Read more →Capabilities brought into every engagement
- Product Industrialisation
- Manufacturing Strategy & Scale-up
- Supply Chain & Procurement
- Quality, Regulatory & Operational Compliance
- Operational Systems, ERP & Data
- Cost, COGS & Unit Economics
- Service, Logistics & Aftermarket Operations
- Organisation, Leadership & Operating Cadence
- Investment & Scale Readiness
- AI & Operational Automation
- Cybersecurity & Operational Risk
Method
Strategy is only useful when the business can execute it.
- 1
Diagnose
Establish facts, constraints, risks and commercial priorities.
- 2
Design
Define the operating model, ownership, controls, capability and plan.
- 3
Deliver
Lead the work, suppliers and team through implementation.
- 4
Embed
Leave repeatable processes, evidence, systems and accountable owners.
I do not stop at recommendations. I work inside the business with founders and functional leaders until the new operation works.
Selected outcomes
Evidence of execution
- Built and transferred operations for more than 50 product families.
- Supported and de-risked more than £200m of venture and private-equity funding through operational planning, diligence and governance.
- Selected and managed global CEM, OEM, supplier and 3PL networks.
- Reduced warranty failures and associated cost by more than 20% through better product, process and feedback controls.
- Established operational roadmaps covering people, systems, supply chain, manufacturing, quality, service and governance.
- Supported regulated and technology-led products across development, release and scale.
Selected examples are anonymised where client confidentiality applies.
Read the case studiesWho I work with
Businesses where execution has become the constraint
Venture-backed founders preparing for seed, Series A, B, later growth rounds, exit or rapid scale.
Hardware and deep-tech businesses moving from engineering-led development into dependable operations.
Medical-device and regulated-product companies needing manufacturing, quality and compliance to work as one system.
Established companies facing transformation, supplier, delivery or margin problems.
About Gareth
An operator, not a commentator.
Dr Gareth Mills is a hands-on COO and operations executive with more than 25 years' experience building, scaling and transforming technology-led businesses. His background combines engineering depth, commercial judgement, legal understanding and doctoral research into the factors that drive company success.
About Gareth
Enquiries
Tell me what is stuck, and when it needs to change.
A few sentences is enough. The first discussion is confidential, carries no obligation, and usually takes half an hour. You will get a reply personally, normally within one working day.
Prefer the full form? Go to the contact page.
You do not need another report. You need the operation to work.
Bring me the growth plan, product roadmap, supplier problem or investor deadline. We will establish what must change and how to deliver it.
Start a confidential conversation