Autumn McFarland

Chief Operating Architect | Chief Operating Officer | Turnaround & Growth | Founder-Led & Growth-Stage Companies | GTM · DTC · SaaS · Technology · FinTech · Hospitality · Fashion · Hospitality · Food&Beverage

International Conference on Environmental Systemsex-Selkieex-FamilyFactor

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Twenty years of operational leadership. A professional journey that started on a restaurant floor at 13, General Management at 21 and grew into running companies.

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With an early career in hospitality operations & general management, 2004–2015. Category-creating founder before 30. A COO who has walked into businesses in freefall and walked out with revenue up, margins recovered, and a team that knows how to work. I call myself a Chief Operating Architect, because I don't install standard systems — I build Individualized Operating Processes (IOPs): operating systems designed around how your people actually communicate, receive information, and do their best work. Most operators pull a playbook that worked somewhere else. I architect one for the team in front of me. The companies I'm drawn to are founder-led, at an inflection point, and usually past the moment when gut instinct alone can carry them. I bring financial discipline, cross-functional alignment, and a master's in educational psychology that shaped one conviction I've never let go of: you can't fix the big issues without fixing how decisions get made — and how they're received. Operations and culture aren't separate problems. ▸ turnaround & revenue recovery▸ P&L ownership▸ org design▸ decision architecture▸ principal-agent alignment▸ individualized systems (IOP's) SOP-to-IOP▸ effective communication — measured by how it lands, not how it's sent▸ go-to-market execution▸ customer success & retention▸ HR & people strategy/support/implementation ▸ leadership development & executive coaching▸ founder experience & category creation▸ board & CEO partnershipYour team wasn't built standard. Your operations shouldn't be either. Open to full-time COO and Head of Operations roles · Available immediately for fractional and interim engagements · DTC, SaaS, Technology, FinTech, Hospitality, Fashion, GTM, Start-Ups and Founder-lead companies 📩 com