Jerry Limber is the VP of Strategy and Operations at ZoomInfo, a global leader in go-to-market intelligence solutions. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, we hear Jerry's unlikely journey from professional poker player to VP of Strategy and Operations at one of the fastest-growing software companies in the world. He also shares how his career in poker taught him to focus on the decision making process, not just the results.

Jerry Limber is the VP of Strategy and Operations at ZoomInfo, a global leader in go-to-market intelligence solutions. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, we hear Jerry's unlikely journey from professional poker player to VP of Strategy and Operations at one of the fastest-growing software companies in the world. He also shares how his career in poker taught him to focus on the decision making process, not just the results.

Episode 38: Making Effective Decisions while Embracing the Unknown

Jordan Gift is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at BeyondTrust, the worldwide leader in Privileged Access Management (PAM), empowering organizations to secure and manage their entire universe of privileges. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Jordan shares her journey into the Chief of Staff role at BeyondTrust, and how it led to her role as Director of Strategic Initiatives in the Transformation Office. She also highlights the impact the Transformation Office has within the business, and how the team has helped unlock the company’s strategy and drive alignment.  

Jordan Gift is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at BeyondTrust, the worldwide leader in Privileged Access Management (PAM), empowering organizations to secure and manage their entire universe of privileges. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Jordan shares her journey into the Chief of Staff role at BeyondTrust, and how it led to her role as Director of Strategic Initiatives in the Transformation Office. She also highlights the impact the Transformation Office has within the business, and how the team has helped unlock the company’s strategy and drive alignment.

Episode 37: How a Transformation Office Can Help Unlock Your Strategy

Toby Carrington is the EVP of Global Operations at Seismic, the global leader in enablement, helping make sales teams better by becoming more productive and engaging with buyers in a compelling way. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Toby shares how he’s helped build a world-class operations team, and the focus he’s placed on finding team members with a complementary skill-set. He also highlights the role Operations plays in Strategic Planning, and how OKRs have helped drive alignment and execution throughout the company.

Toby Carrington is the EVP of Global Operations at Seismic, the global leader in enablement, helping make sales teams better by becoming more productive and engaging with buyers in a compelling way. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Toby shares how he’s helped build a world-class operations team, and the focus he’s placed on finding team members with a complementary skill-set. He also highlights the role Operations plays in Strategic Planning, and how OKRs have helped drive alignment and execution throughout the company.

Episode 36: Building a World-Class Operations Team

Abby Parker is the COO and Co-Founder at Elate, the leading Strategic Planning software built to help high growth companies communicate their vision, create alignment, and track performance all in one place. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Abby discusses some of the keys to success for making an effective transition from planning to execution. Abby, also shares why simplicity is the key to an initial OKR roll out, and highlights how focusing on the fundamentals can increase adoption across the company.

Abby Parker is the COO and Co-Founder at Elate, the leading Strategic Planning software built to help high growth companies communicate their vision, create alignment, and track performance all in one place. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Abby discusses some of the keys to success for making an effective transition from planning to execution. Abby, also shares why simplicity is the key to an initial OKR roll out, and highlights how focusing on the fundamentals can increase adoption across the company.

Episode 35: Fundamentals for Bringing Your Strategic Plan to Life

Lu Li is the VP of Global Sales and Strategy at Indiegogo, a leading crowdfunding platform empowering people around the world to fund projects that matter to them. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Lu shares her journey into strategy and operations, and how her go-to-market experience helped shape how she connects a company’s vision with execution. Lu also provides a glimpse into how prioritization is key to success at a growth stage company when opportunities seem to be everywhere.

Lu Li is the VP of Global Sales and Strategy at Indiegogo, a leading crowdfunding platform empowering people around the world to fund projects that matter to them. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Lu shares her journey into strategy and operations, and how her go-to-market experience helped shape how she connects a company’s vision with execution. Lu also provides a glimpse into how prioritization is key to success at a growth stage company when opportunities seem to be everywhere.

Episode 34: Fierce Prioritization in Strategy and Operations

Matt is the former Chief of Staff at Segment and Twilio, a leading Customer Engagement Platform that helps power personalized interactions and trusted global communications to connect you with customers. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Matt shares his journey to the Chief of Staff position at Twilio, and how he helped drive clarity for his executive team and employees by focusing on the problem to be solved. Matt also shares how his previous experience stepping into strategic planning at Segment shapes the advice he provides to new Chiefs of Staff looking to understand how to introduce strategic planning to a company for the first time.

Episode 33: Aligning on the 'Why'

Kip Zurcher is the COO at Authenticx, the leading customer experience platform built to help humanize conversational intelligence in healthcare. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Kip highlights his journey into the role, and how the range of experience from Fortune 500 companies to startups has shaped his approach to the position. Kip also shares how he balances the pressures of driving efficiency and scalability across the organization with a culture-driven approach. For those Aspiring Operations leaders, Kip closes out the episode with three unique pieces of advice he would share with anyone early in their career. 

Kip Zurcher is the COO at Authenticx, the leading customer experience platform built to help humanize conversational intelligence in healthcare. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Kip highlights his journey into the role, and how the range of experience from Fortune 500 companies to startups has shaped his approach to the position. Kip also shares how he balances the pressures of driving efficiency and scalability across the organization with a culture-driven approach. For those Aspiring Operations leaders, Kip closes out the episode with three unique pieces of advice he would share with anyone early in their career.

Episode 32: The Balance of Efficiency and Culture in Operations

Christy Lynn White is the Chief of Staff at Fullscript, the leading platform to help make healthy habits stick with access to practitioner-grade supplements and powerful adherence tools. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Christy shares how the Chief of Staff position can help build a culture of alignment and ownership throughout the company. She also provides a glimpse into the strategic planning process at Fullscript, and how the company has continued to evolve the process to help employees understand the 'why' behind their work. 

Christy Lynn White is the Chief of Staff at Fullscript, the leading platform to help make healthy habits stick with access to practitioner-grade supplements and powerful adherence tools. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Christy shares how the Chief of Staff position can help build a culture of alignment and ownership throughout the company. She also provides a glimpse into the strategic planning process at Fullscript, and how the company has continued to evolve the process to help employees understand the 'why' behind their work.

Episode 31: Building a Culture of Alignment and Ownership in the Chief of Staff Role

Nancy Hang, the former Head of Engineering Program Management at Mozilla, is no stranger to implementing process and structure at high growth companies. With an incredible background in project management at companies like Google, Disney, and Mozilla, Nancy shares how her project management background helped lay the foundation for how she thinks about strategy and operations. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Nancy also provides practical advice on how to successfully introduce a foundation of process that can close gaps and accelerate growth for any company.

Nancy Hang, the former Head of Engineering Program Management at Mozilla, is no stranger to implementing process and structure at high growth companies. With an incredible background in project management at companies like Google, Disney, and Mozilla, Nancy shares how her project management background helped lay the foundation for how she thinks about strategy and operations. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Nancy also provides practical advice on how to successfully introduce a foundation of process that can close gaps and accelerate growth for any company.

Episode 30: Introducing Process to Close Gaps and Accelerate Growth

Amy Liu is the Chief of Staff at SmartHop, an AI-powered app that helps interstate truckers make their routes more efficient and lucrative, while removing a lot of the administrative hassle for drivers. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Amy shares how her background in strategy and operations drives the way in which she thinks about success in the Chief of Staff position, and the role data plays in influencing the direction of the company. From a career that started at enterprise companies like Goldman Sachs and Uber to the transition into the Chief of Staff role at an early stage company, Amy’s journey provides a range of perspective for any aspiring strategy and operations leader.

Amy Liu is the Chief of Staff at SmartHop, an AI-powered app that helps interstate truckers make their routes more efficient and lucrative, while removing a lot of the administrative hassle for drivers. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Amy shares how her background in strategy and operations drives the way in which she thinks about success in the Chief of Staff position, and the role data plays in influencing the direction of the company. From a career that started at enterprise companies like Goldman Sachs and Uber to the transition into the Chief of Staff role at an early stage company, Amy’s journey provides a range of perspective for any aspiring strategy and operations leader.

Episode 29: Building a Culture on Data-Driven Decisions

Aspiring Ops is a series meant to unite us around a common purpose, to amplify the voices of world-class Strategy and Operations Leaders as they share their personal stories and provide practical steps we can all take to help scale our companies and ourselves as leaders.

Maariyah Choudery is the Chief of Staff, VP Global Business Development at Uber, overseeing global business development across Uber Eats, Rides, and new verticals. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Maariyah shares her incredible journey from JP Morgan to Uber, and her ascent into the Chief of Staff position. She also gives a glimpse into how confidence and courage can help any aspiring leader pursue opportunities they might not be qualified for on paper.

Maariyah Choudery is the Chief of Staff, VP Global Business Development at Uber, overseeing global business development across Uber Eats, Rides, and new verticals. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Maariyah shares her incredible journey from JP Morgan to Uber, and her ascent into the Chief of Staff position. She also gives a glimpse into how confidence and courage can help any aspiring leader pursue opportunities they might not be qualified for on paper.

Episode 28: Creating Opportunity through Courage and Confidence

Noah Mishkin is the co-founder and COO at CraftJack, a lead generation service that gives contractors an easier way to get more referrals and win more jobs. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Noah shares his entrepreneurial journey to building CraftJack, and how his early focus on customers gave him a complete view into the current and future direction of the business. He also discusses how his background in architecture helped him bring together the art and science of building a business and thriving in the COO role.

Noah Mishkin is the co-founder and COO at CraftJack, a lead generation service that gives contractors an easier way to get more referrals and win more jobs. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Noah shares his entrepreneurial journey to building CraftJack, and how his early focus on customers gave him a complete view into the current and future direction of the business. He also discusses how his background in architecture helped him bring together the art and science of building a business and thriving in the COO role.

Episode 27: Bringing Together the Subjective and Objective in Operations

Carmeanna Eberly is the Director of Operations at Refine Labs, a demand accelerator for B2B SaaS companies. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Carmeanna shares how as a Strategy and Operations leader she is constantly evaluating whether her company has the right people and processes in place to continue growing. She also provides practical advice for aspiring Strategy and Operations leaders on how to find the right company and role in your career development, and why communication and proactiveness is key to any role in strategy and operations.

Carmeanna Eberly is the Director of Operations at Refine Labs, a demand accelerator for B2B SaaS companies. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Carmeanna shares how as a Strategy and Operations leader she is constantly evaluating whether her company has the right people and processes in place to continue growing. She also provides practical advice for aspiring Strategy and Operations leaders on how to find the right company and role in your career development, and why communication and proactiveness is key to any role in strategy and operations.

Episode 26: Building and Letting Go as the Chief of Staff

John Quayle is the Chief of Staff at Four Growers, an industrial automation platform that develops harvesting robots for greenhouses. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, John shares how his unexpected journey into entrepreneurship led to his role at Four Growers, and why the Chief of Staff position at an early stage startup provided the career development he was looking for at a company. John also gives a glimpse into how the position might look different at earlier stage companies, and the advantages of hiring someone who can ‘duplicate’ the presence and impact of their principal.

John Quayle is the Chief of Staff at Four Growers, an industrial automation platform that develops harvesting robots for greenhouses. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, John shares how his unexpected journey into entrepreneurship led to his role at Four Growers, and why the Chief of Staff position at an early stage startup provided the career development he was looking for at a company. John also gives a glimpse into how the position might look different at earlier stage companies, and the advantages of hiring someone who can ‘duplicate’ the presence and impact of their principal.

Episode 25: Why To Hire A Chief of Staff Sooner Than Later

Ben Miller is the Chief of Staff at Ladder, the digital life insurance company of tomorrow that uses an all-digital architecture and real-time underwriting to make life insurance as accessible, affordable, and beloved as it should be. On the latest episode of Aspiring Ops, Ben provides a glimpse into his experience in consulting at Bain, and how his experience being part of a consulting team helped him make the transition to a startup. He also shares how his first position at Ladder on the Data Science team and probabilistic thinking shapes how he thinks about building the business.

Ben Miller is the Chief of Staff at Ladder, the digital life insurance company of tomorrow that uses an all-digital architecture and real-time underwriting to make life insurance as accessible, affordable, and beloved as it should be. On the latest episode of Aspiring Ops, Ben provides a glimpse into his experience in consulting at Bain, and how his experience being part of a consulting team helped him make the transition to a startup. He also shares how his first position at Ladder on the Data Science team and probabilistic thinking shapes how he thinks about building the business.

Episode 24: An Invitation to Serve

Rajsi Rana is the Chief of Staff at Skyflow, a data privacy vault for customer data, radically transforming how businesses handle users’ financial, healthcare and other personal data that powers the digital economy. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Rajsi shares how her willingness to take on new initiatives within Amazon and Oracle gave her a bird's eye view into a number of different areas of a business. She also shares how her product background helped shape the lens through which she views the Chief of Staff role, and provides advice any aspiring strategy and operations leader should ask themselves before stepping into the position.

Rajsi Rana is the Chief of Staff at Skyflow, a data privacy vault for customer data, radically transforming how businesses handle users’ financial, healthcare and other personal data that powers the digital economy. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Rajsi shares how her willingness to take on new initiatives within Amazon and Oracle gave her a bird's eye view into a number of different areas of a business. She also shares how her product background helped shape the lens through which she views the Chief of Staff role, and provides advice any aspiring strategy and operations leader should ask themselves before stepping into the position.

Episode 23: Thriving in Ambiguity  

Mackenzie Regent is the Chief of Staff at Notation Capital, and former Chief of Staff at Able. After starting her career in auditing at PWC, Mackenzie made the leap into strategy and operations at WeWork. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Mackenzie shares why she believes the Chief of Staff position ultimately comes down to providing your principal leverage in order to focus on the long-term future of the company. She also provides insight into how a Chief of Staff can take on the high priority initiatives that don't have a true owner, and successfully work across all areas of the business.

Mackenzie Regent is the Chief of Staff at Notation Capital, and former Chief of Staff at Able. After starting her career in auditing at PWC, Mackenzie made the leap into strategy and operations at WeWork. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Mackenzie shares why she believes the Chief of Staff position ultimately comes down to providing your principal leverage in order to focus on the long-term future of the company. She also provides insight into how a Chief of Staff can take on the high priority initiatives that don't have a true owner, and successfully work across all areas of the business.

Episode 22: The Chief of Staff as a Point of Leverage

Céline Felan is the Chief of Staff at SugarCRM, a software solution that helps businesses create customers for life with the world's most intelligent CRM platform. After starting her career as a business analyst with stops along the way in program management, business transformation, and mergers &amp; acquisitions, Céline found herself drawn to opportunities where she was helping leaders bring ideas to life. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Céline shares how her willingness to accept opportunities with open arms led to her role as the Chief of Staff at Sugar, and helped her understand the importance of providing clarity and managing expectations across the business.

Céline Felan is the Chief of Staff at SugarCRM, a software solution that helps businesses create customers for life with the world's most intelligent CRM platform. After starting her career as a business analyst with stops along the way in program management, business transformation, and mergers &amp; acquisitions, Céline found herself drawn to opportunities where she was helping leaders bring ideas to life. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Céline shares how her willingness to accept opportunities with open arms led to her role as the Chief of Staff at Sugar, and helped her understand the importance of providing clarity and managing expectations across the business.

Episode 21: Providing Clarity in the Chief of Staff Role

Scott Amenta is the founder of the Chief of Staff Network, the leading private membership network for Chiefs of Staff. Scott's professional journey began in the early days of the New York startup tech scene at Foursquare and Techstars. After his initial exposure to working with early stage companies, Scott decided to make the jump to a four-person startup called Spring where he pitched the idea of joining the company as a Chief of Staff. Although he didn't come on immediately as the Chief of Staff, he gradually made the transition into the role, and his career path played a pivotal role in the emergence of the Chief of Staff position as we know it today. On the Season Two Finale of Aspiring Ops, Scott shares how his experience as a Chief of Staff led to the creation of the Chief of Staff network, and why the position is becoming more prominent for businesses today. Scott also shares how the position has evolved, and what he believes the future has in store for the role.

Scott Amenta is the founder of the Chief of Staff Network, the leading private membership network for Chiefs of Staff. Scott's professional journey began in the early days of the New York startup tech scene at Foursquare and Techstars. After his initial exposure to working with early stage companies, Scott decided to make the jump to a four-person startup called Spring where he pitched the idea of joining the company as a Chief of Staff. Although he didn't come on immediately as the Chief of Staff, he gradually made the transition into the role, and his career path played a pivotal role in the emergence of the Chief of Staff position as we know it today. On the Season Two Finale of Aspiring Ops, Scott shares how his experience as a Chief of Staff led to the creation of the Chief of Staff network, and why the position is becoming more prominent for businesses today. Scott also shares how the position has evolved, and what he believes the future has in store for the role.

Episode 20: The Emergence of the Chief of Staff and What Lies Ahead for the Position

Ben Battaglia is the Chief of Staff at Lessonly, a simple training software that helps teams learn, practice, and do better work. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Ben takes us through his decision to transition from Marketing to Strategy and Ops, and how he saw the construction of the Chief of Staff role as a balance of the relational and operational. Ben also shares how his experience in a management role lends itself to the position, and why he reminds himself that ‘slow is smooth, smooth is fast’ when it comes to his first 30 days in the role.

Ben Battaglia is the Chief of Staff at Lessonly, a simple training software that helps teams learn, practice, and do better work. On this episode of Aspiring Ops, Ben takes us through his decision to transition from Marketing to Strategy and Ops, and how he saw the construction of the Chief of Staff role as a balance of the relational and operational. Ben also shares how his experience in a management role lends itself to the position, and why he reminds himself that ‘slow is smooth, smooth is fast’ when it comes to his first 30 days in the role.

Episode 19: Balancing Relational and Operational While Designing the Chief of Staff Role

Aspiring Ops

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