Fractional Executive Leadership
Fractional COO Services
Operational leadership that streamlines execution, optimizes supply chain, and builds the systems your growth demands.
COO is the second most common fractional C-suite engagement, as companies increasingly need operational leadership that scales with complexity.
Three Teams Waiting on One Decision. Your COO Clears the Jam.
Your production line missed its third delivery commitment this quarter. The sales team is frustrated. The ops team is overwhelmed. Your fractional COO maps the bottleneck to a scheduling conflict between two product lines, restructures the production sequence, and implements a capacity dashboard the team can actually use.
That is the fractional model. You get an operations leader who has optimized workflows at multiple companies across multiple industries. They see the systemic issue, not just the symptom. And they build the fix so your team can run it after they step back.
What a Fractional COO Handles
A Fractional COO provides senior operational leadership on a part-time or project basis. They own process, execution, and cross-functional alignment.
- Operational process design and improvement - building systems that actually get followed
- Supply chain optimization - reducing cost and variability
- Cross-functional alignment - getting departments to work together, not around each other
- KPI frameworks and dashboards - measuring what matters, not everything
- Vendor management and contract negotiation - getting better terms and better performance
- Scaling operations - building the infrastructure your next stage requires
The Execution Gap
A full-time COO carries total compensation between $325K and $400K annually. For many companies, the operational challenges are real but episodic. You need someone to build the system, not babysit it forever.
Fractional COO engagements typically focus on specific operational initiatives: a supply chain overhaul, a new facility ramp, a cross-functional alignment project. The engagement scales with the work, and the systems they build outlast their time with you.
Most operational failures are not caused by bad people. They are caused by missing systems. A fractional COO builds the systems so your team can execute consistently.
Signs You Need a Fractional COO
Operational gaps show up in delivery failures, margin erosion, and team frustration. If these sound familiar, the issue may be structural:
- Delivery commitments are being missed regularly
- Margins are shrinking despite stable or growing revenue
- Departments are working in silos with conflicting priorities
- You are scaling but your processes have not scaled with you
- Your team is working harder but output is not improving
- You need to open a new facility or market and lack the operational playbook
Meet Our Fractional COOs
Operations leaders across manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, and construction. The right COO matched to your industry and challenge.
Eric Van Roekel
Fractional Executive, COO
Brett Corrick
Fractional Executive, CIO
Susan Johnson
Fractional Executive, CFO
Troy Harnisch
Fractional Executive, CFO
Mike Halekakis
Fractional Executive, COO
Molly Varangkounh
Fractional Executive, CEO
Ready to Fix the Execution Gap?
A 30-minute call to discuss your situation. No pitch, no pressure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a fractional COO do?
A fractional COO turns strategy into execution on a part-time basis: building the operating rhythm, aligning teams across functions, tightening processes and systems, optimizing supply chain and delivery, and clearing the bottlenecks that stall growth, without the full-time cost.
When should a company hire a fractional COO?
Common signals: growth has outrun your processes, decisions keep piling up on the founder, teams are busy but execution stalls, you're scaling and need operating discipline, or a major initiative like a new site, system, or market needs someone to actually run it.
How much does a fractional COO cost?
Engagements average between $2,200 and $7,900 per month for basic services and scale from there based on your needs, priorities, and available internal resources. That's a fraction of the $325,000 to $400,000 in total compensation a full-time COO commands.
What's the difference between a fractional COO and an EOS Integrator?
An EOS Integrator runs one specific operating framework, Traction/EOS, and focuses on accountability and cadence within it. A fractional COO brings broader operating leadership that's framework-agnostic, spanning process, systems, supply chain, and cross-functional execution, and can run EOS if that's your system or build the right one if it isn't.
What's the difference between a fractional COO and an interim COO?
A fractional COO is an ongoing, part-time partner who scales with you over time. An interim COO steps in full-time and temporarily, usually to hold operations together through a transition or until you hire a permanent replacement. Altus offers both.
What industries do your fractional COOs work in?
Our fractional COOs work across many sectors, and we're not limited to a fixed list. We match the right operator to your business whatever your industry. We work most often in manufacturing, construction, healthcare, professional services, cooperatives, agriculture, private equity, venture capital.