Fractional COO profile
The operator behind the role
A fractional COO is only as good as the operations they have actually run. This is the record: past engagements, the capability behind them, and qualifications.
Dr Gareth Mills, DBA, MBA, MSc, CEng, MIET — Chief Operating Officer, interim COO and fractional COO across connected health, renewable energy, robotics, RF semiconductor and consumer electronics.
More than 25 years building and scaling technology and manufacturing businesses, from pre-revenue deep tech to global consumer hardware. The work spans industrialisation, global supply chain, quality and regulatory approvals, operating systems and funding readiness — carried out as an executive with ownership, not as an adviser with a report.
- Years in operational leadership
- 25+Years in operational leadership
- Product families transferred to volume manufacture
- 50+Product families transferred to volume manufacture
- Funding rounds supported, seed to strategic exit
- £200m+Funding rounds supported, seed to strategic exit
- World's largest contract manufacturers worked with
- 6 of 10World's largest contract manufacturers worked with
Past engagements
Roles held, and what each one was for
Executive, interim and fractional mandates across 25+ years — the businesses, the stage they were at, and the operational problem the role existed to solve.
IONATE
Deep tech · power systems
Fractional COO
2026 – Present
Preparing a deep-tech power-systems business for Series B investment and commercial scale — operating plan, manufacturing route and investor-grade operational evidence.
Equivital (Hidalgo Ltd)
Connected health · regulated hardware
Chief Operating Officer
2023 – Present
Recovery and scale-up of an AI-enabled connected health-monitoring business. Executive ownership of product, engineering, operations, quality, regulatory and manufacturing.
Indra Renewable Technologies
EV charging · energy
Interim COO
2022 – 2023
Stabilised and transformed the EV-charging operation, lifted internal manufacturing capacity and reduced BOM cost, and supported a £20m Series B raise.
Fwip
Connected food robotics
VP Global Operations
2021 – 2022
Built European logistics and field-service infrastructure; scaled the service network from 8 to over 120 engineers alongside a growing installed base.
XYZ Reality
Construction technology · AR hardware
VP Global Operations
2021
Professionalised operations and product development for a hardware-plus-software business and supported a £20m Series A round.
Education First
Consumer education hardware
VP Operations & Technology
2019 – 2021
Led global engineering and manufacturing for connected education hardware; contributed to a £1.5bn PE investment in EF China technology.
ROLI
Consumer music technology
VP Global Operations
2015 – 2019
Built the global CEM and supply network; scaled revenue from £0.5m to £30m and supported £40m+ Series B and C rounds.
Nujira Ltd (acquired by Qualcomm)
RF semiconductor
VP Operations and Quality
2006 – 2015
Built operations supporting 100m+ RF units annually and supported venture rounds totalling approximately $100m prior to acquisition.
Splashpower
Wireless power
Operations and Quality Manager
2004 – 2006
Supported £30m VC funding through operational and quality readiness and established the global supply chain.
ABB Ltd
Industrial automation · power
Engineering and Quality roles
1997 – 2004
Progressed through engineering and quality roles in industrial automation and power infrastructure.
Advisory and short-term consultancy
Apple, BMW, Nike, Flex, ABB, Nest, Qualcomm, Alert Me, Bouncepad, Fwip and XYZ Reality.
Capability
What that experience translates into
The areas I take executive ownership of in a fractional COO engagement, each built on operations I have personally run.
Operational strategy and operating model
Defining how a business runs — decision rights, cadence, metrics and the operating plan the leadership team is held to.
Industrialisation and NPI
Prototype to volume through EVT, DVT and PVT with evidence-based gates, design for manufacture and test, and configuration control.
Global supply chain
CEM and OEM strategy, supplier selection and performance management, capacity, inventory and logistics across international networks.
Quality, regulatory and QMS
ISO 9001 and 14001 systems, UKCA and CE conformity, CAPA discipline and audit readiness held as a standing capability.
Systems and data
ERP/MRP capability aligned to how the business actually plans, with a KPI set that has agreed definitions and named owners.
Funding and board readiness
Operational evidence that survives diligence, from seed through Series C and into strategic exit, plus board and investor reporting.
Qualifications
Academic and professional credentials
- DBA — Doctor of Business Administration
- MBA — Master of Business Administration
- MSc — Master of Science (Electronic/Electrical Engineering)
- CEng — Chartered Engineer
- MIET — Institution of Engineering and Technology
- LRQA Advanced Lead Auditor — ISO 9001 and ISO 14001
- IBM Leaders Specialization
- Microsoft AI credentials
Common questions
Profile questions, answered plainly
- What kind of businesses do you work with?
- Technology and manufacturing businesses, typically between first product and scaled operation — deep tech, connected hardware, medical and regulated devices, energy and industrial. The common factor is a physical product and an operation that has to become repeatable, compliant and investable.
- Do you take permanent roles as well as fractional ones?
- Yes. I currently hold a full-time COO role alongside fractional and advisory work, and I have taken interim COO mandates. The right shape depends on the stage of the business and the depth of the problem — fractional, interim, Non-Executive Director or board advisory.
- Can you provide references?
- Yes. Named references from founders, chairs and executives I have worked with are available on request, and several are published on the experience page. Client names and commercial details are withheld where confidentiality applies.
- Can you share a detailed career history?
- Yes. The engagements, capability and qualifications on this page set out the full operating record. If you need a more detailed CV for a specific mandate or an investor pack, ask and I will tailor one to the opportunity.