I'm Steve Abbit. I step into companies — typically 50 to 500 people — at the VP-to-COO level, on an interim or fractional basis, and do what I've spent 25 years doing: fixing, building, and leading operations from the inside. I've taken small and mid-sized companies from operational chaos to acquisition by Google, IBM, Dell, and Symantec. I know this journey because I've made it happen, repeatedly.
I work at the executive level — embedded in your business, attending your leadership meetings, accountable for your outcomes. But I've also built the teams, run the operations, been in the weeds on the deals, and worked directly alongside individual contributors when that's what the situation required. I don't lead from a distance. I lead from wherever the work actually is.
I step in immediately as your executive operations leader for a defined period. You get experienced leadership on day one, not after a six-month search.
I work with you on a retained basis — one to two days a week — as the executive operations leader your growth demands. Consistent, accountable, and present. Not advisory from the outside.
Scaling chaos. Delivery breakdown. Preparing for investment or acquisition. Integrating after a deal closes. Whatever the source of the operational friction — I diagnose what's broken, build the fix, and work alongside your team until it holds. I don't hand you a report and leave.
Most of the companies I've worked with were small when I joined them — under 500 people, sometimes under 100. I helped build the operations that made them worth acquiring. Vcommerce was acquired by Google. Ensynch was acquired by Insight. NetPro was acquired by Dell. LifeLock went public and was acquired by Symantec. That pattern — joining a growing company, fixing or building its operations, and creating something an industry giant wants to own — is the work I do. I've done it eight times. I know exactly what it takes.
I work best with technology, software, and professional services companies in the 50 to 500 employee range — where the leadership team is strong but the operating layer hasn't kept up. PE-backed firms navigating post-acquisition integration. Founder-led businesses that have outgrown their original model. Companies that need a battle-tested operator in the room, not a strategy deck delivered by someone who's never run anything — and that aren't yet operationally ready to scale, attract investment, or become an acquisition target.
Companies I've worked with have been acquired by Google, IBM, Dell, FIS Global, Insight, Norton, Symantec, and JP Morgan Chase. That doesn't happen by accident. It happens because the operations are built to make it possible.
Acquisition doesn't happen because a company has a great product or a great team. It happens because the operations behind that product and team are solid enough to survive due diligence — and compelling enough to make an acquirer confident they're buying something real. I've helped build that operational foundation eight times, at companies that started small and ended up owned by some of the biggest names in technology and financial services.
If acquisition, investment, or IPO is on your horizon — even a distant one — the time to build the operations that make it possible is now, not six months before you need it. And if the goal right now is simply a business that runs better — less friction, less firefighting, a team that isn't constantly overwhelmed — that's the same work. Good operations make everything easier. I can help you get there.
I build the operational infrastructure, governance, and delivery consistency that makes a company survive due diligence and command a premium. I've been on the inside when acquirers came looking. I know exactly what they find — and what they walk away from.
PE firms and strategic investors don't just buy revenue. They buy operational scalability. I help you build the operating model, reporting structure, and delivery discipline that makes your business look as good on the inside as it does on the pitch deck.
You closed the deal. Now two organizations need to become one — fast, cleanly, without losing the people or the momentum that made the deal worth doing. I've led integrations at this level. I know how they go wrong and how to keep them on track.
30 minutes. No pitch. Just a direct talk about what's happening and whether I'm the right fit.
I take a limited number of engagements at a time to ensure every client gets my full attention and real presence — not a check-in call once a week.
I step into your organization as your executive operations leader for a defined engagement, typically three to nine months. I attend leadership meetings. I work directly with your teams at every level. I own the outcomes your business needs during the transition, the integration, or the crisis — then I hand off cleanly and exit.
This is not consulting from the outside. I am inside your organization, on your leadership team, accountable to you and your board. I've done this work for 25 years at organizations that ran at a scale most companies never reach — and I know what good looks like because I've built it myself.
A delivery or operations executive departed. You need leadership in place immediately — not in six months after a search.
You closed a deal. Now two organizations need to become one. I've led the largest integrations in company history. I know how this goes wrong and how to keep it on track.
Your delivery function can't keep pace with growth. The operating model is failing under load. I step in, diagnose fast, and lead the rebuild from inside the organization.
I work with you consistently — one to two days a week — as your executive operations leader on a retained basis. Not a monthly advisor call. Not a quarterly check-in. I'm present in your business every week, working on the problems that actually matter, with the authority and experience to drive real change.
I take a maximum of two to four fractional clients at any time. If I'm in your business, I'm actually in your business.
Tell me what's happening. I'll tell you honestly which makes sense — or whether I'm the right fit at all.
I started Abbit Advisory because the most useful thing I can offer a company isn't my title history — it's the fact that I've actually done this work. Most of the companies I've been part of were small when I joined them. I helped build the operations, the delivery infrastructure, and the organizational discipline that made them worth acquiring. Eight times, companies I helped build were acquired by some of the biggest names in technology and financial services. That's not a credential borrowed from a large employer. That's a track record built from the inside, at scale.
At Vcommerce — under 100 employees when I joined — built the delivery team and all operational infrastructure from the ground up, established the cross-functional communication and processes that allowed internal teams to operate seamlessly, and closed the largest deal in company history personally — increasing the company's value to investors and setting the stage for acquisition by Channel Intelligence and then Google.
At Ensynch — under 150 employees — designed and built Arizona's first cybersecurity practice focused on secure identity and access management, from concept to operational practice. The company was acquired by Insight, a Fortune 500 technology solutions provider.
At NetPro — under 200 employees — led product operations specifically, building the operational discipline around a software product that scaled the business and demonstrated breadth across both product and service delivery. The company was acquired by Dell Software.
At LifeLock — under 300 employees when I joined — led technology operations hands-on through rapid growth that culminated in a successful IPO, then acquisition by Symantec for $2.3 billion — building the operational infrastructure that made both outcomes possible.
At ProNet Technologies — under 140 employees, just acquired by FIS Global — was brought in to build and run the operational processes that would keep the small company from collapsing under the weight of its new parent. Once stabilized, led the operational and technical integration of the division's largest client acquisition in company history — Beneficial Bank — an integration exponentially larger than anything the division had attempted. The result: the highest revenue growth and most awards of any FIS Global division during my tenure.
At Charles Schwab, led global teams of 200+ people across 11 technical disciplines — AI, Enterprise Data Warehouse, Business Intelligence, Software Development, Big Data, and ETL — responsible for 6 million+ ETL jobs annually processing data for $3.72 trillion in assets under management.
Across a 25-year career, eight companies grew to acquisition by Google, IBM, FIS Global, Symantec, Insight, Dell, Norton, and JP Morgan Chase — most of them under 500 employees when my work began.
Let's have a direct conversation about where your business is and where you want it to go.
Every engagement starts the same way — a direct conversation. No discovery questionnaire, no proposal before we've talked, no junior associate running the intake process. You talk to me. If it makes sense, we move quickly.
30 minutes. I want to understand what's actually happening in your business — not what looks good in a brief. Tell me the real situation. I'll tell you honestly whether I can help and what that would look like.
I define the engagement, the outcomes I'm accountable for, the timeline, and the price — all in writing before a single hour of work begins. No ambiguity. No billing surprises.
I'm in your leadership meetings. I'm working directly with your team leads, your individual contributors, your board — wherever the work requires. I operate at the level the situation demands, not the level my title suggests.
I'm not trying to stay longer than I should. When the work is done, I transition out cleanly — or shift to lower-intensity retained support if that's what's useful. The goal is to make myself unnecessary, not indispensable.
30 minutes. No commitment until we both know it makes sense.
Most executives at the VP and C-level have spent decades managing through layers. They haven't been in the weeds in years. I have. That's not a small distinction — it's the difference between someone who can diagnose your problem from a presentation and someone who can actually fix it from the inside.
I've operated at the executive level across financial services and technology for 25 years. I've built the teams, run the processes, closed the deals, and been on the floor when things went wrong. I don't describe problems. I fix them.
I'm a solo practitioner by design. When you engage me, I'm the one in your meetings, working your problems, and accountable for your outcomes. Not a partner who sold the work and handed it off. Me.
Eight companies I worked with — most under 500 people when I joined — were acquired by Google, IBM, Dell, Symantec, Insight, FIS Global, Norton, and JP Morgan Chase. I know what it takes to build operations that make acquisition possible. That experience applies directly to where you are right now.
I've also operated at the largest scale — $3.72 trillion in assets, 200+ person global teams. I bring that pattern recognition to companies earlier in the journey, so you benefit from what I've seen without having to live through it yourself.
I'm as effective in a boardroom conversation as I am working directly with the team leads and individual contributors doing the work. Good operators don't lose the ability to operate. I haven't.
If your operating model is broken, I'll say so and tell you why. If your plan has a flaw, I'll name it early. I'm not trying to extend my engagement. I'm trying to fix your problem. Those are different incentives.
One more thing worth saying directly: this work requires a leadership team that is genuinely willing to act on what they hear — not just say they are. I've seen companies transform quickly when that commitment is real. I've also seen companies make early progress, then revert to old habits when the advice became harder to accept. In those situations, the growth stalls. I'm not the right fit for leaders who only want validation, not results. If you're willing to hear the truth and act on it, we'll get somewhere. If you're not, we'll both know it quickly.
30 minutes. No pitch. No commitment. Just a direct talk about what's happening and whether I'm the right fit.
You reach me directly. There's no intake team, no scheduling assistant, no pre-call questionnaire. If you think there's something worth talking about, let's talk.
30 minutes. I'll tell you honestly whether I can help and what working together would look like. If I'm not the right fit, I'll tell you that too.
Steve Abbit steve@abbitadvisory.com