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Case study · 01

Portfolio Operations & Commercial Infrastructure

Embedded operating leadership inside a PE-backed loyalty SaaS. Built the commercial, renewal, and reporting layer around a ~$7.5M ARR book and executed a 100-day operating plan with the CEO and sponsor.

June 2025 to February 20269 monthsInterim Chief of Staff, Portfolio Operations
Client
PE-Backed Loyalty SaaS
Enterprise and mid-market loyalty tech
Portfolio
~$7.5M ARR · 42+ accounts
47 active client projects
Industry
PE-Backed SaaS
Presenting problem
Operating infrastructure behind the complexity of the business
Headline Result
$7.5M ARR
Book governed under a new operating layer

The Situation

A PE-backed loyalty SaaS business serving enterprise and mid-market brands had reached a point where the operating infrastructure had not kept pace with the complexity of the business. Revenue and renewal information was fragmented, commercial processes were inconsistent, collections were reactive, and the sponsor lacked a reliable operating view across the portfolio.

I joined in an embedded Interim Chief of Staff and Portfolio Operations capacity to build the operating layer, execute a structured 100-day plan, and create the commercial and reporting infrastructure required to manage the business. I worked directly with the CEO and the PE sponsor, and drove execution across Sales, Product, Engineering, and Customer Success through dotted-line functional leadership.

Challenge

01

No Operating Cadence

No 100-day plan, no accountability framework, no shared priorities. The business responded to whatever surfaced first.

02

Fragmented Delivery

Bespoke builds, inconsistent handoffs, no escalation mechanism. Client relationships were strained across several accounts.

03

Inconsistent Commercial Process

No standard MSA, Order Form, or SOW. Every deal negotiated from scratch. Contracts lapsed with no forcing function, and scope was committed informally.

04

No Sponsor-Grade Reporting

No revenue waterfall, no weighted pipeline, no retention view. The sponsor could not see the business clearly enough to make portfolio decisions.

05

No Renewal Visibility

Renewal dates lived in CSM notes and email threads. No centralized view across 47 projects and 42+ accounts.

06

Inherited Liabilities and Reactive AR

A $247K inherited vendor liability with no clear record of what had been paid, plus overdue receivables managed case by case.

Actions

MSAOrder FormSOW

Commercial Infrastructure

Templates and deal mechanics standardized. Commercial gating implemented. A centralized renewal tracker stood up across all 47 projects and 42+ accounts.

RevenuerenewalsKPIs

Reporting Framework

Revenue, renewal, retention, and pipeline reporting established for the first time, feeding CEO, investor, and board updates on a fixed cadence.

AR processescalation path

Collections & AR Governance

Collections rebuilt from reactive chasing into a governed process with ownership, aging thresholds, and escalation, including commercial renegotiations where they were the faster path.

At-risk accountsescalation

Client Stabilization

Delivery commitments reset, requirements standards introduced, and account team coverage revamped. Renewal negotiations run across the largest accounts in parallel.

$247K inherited AP

Liability Reconciliation

Reconciled an inherited $247K vendor liability, separating what had already been paid from what was actually still owed, and resolved it with counsel.

Bank audit support

Audit-Ready Commercial Pack

Produced the reporting and supporting materials the bank required during its audit of the commercial process.

Results

$75K+ overdue receivables recovered

Realized result

Recovered more than $75K in overdue receivables, with additional collections advanced through commercial renegotiations.

$247K inherited liability reconciled

Realized result

Inherited vendor liability reconciled and resolved, distinguishing amounts already paid from amounts still owed before it became a contractual problem.

100-day operating plan designed and executed

Realized result

A structured 100-day plan with named owners, cadence, and reporting, executed while delivery continued across the client base.

~$7.5M ARR book governed

Business scale

Fragmented revenue and renewal information consolidated into one governed view across 42+ accounts and 47 active projects, giving leadership and the sponsor reliable visibility.

~$7.6M renewal book managed

Business scale

Renewal tracking, forecasting, negotiation, redlines, and execution owned end to end across the book.

$1M to $1.6M expansion opportunities identified

Identified opportunity

Expansion opportunities across existing accounts identified and quantified, including global rollouts, new market entries, and module expansions. Presented in the 100-day readout as pipeline, not booked revenue.

0% churn in the managed cohort

Reporting snapshot

No churn across the 18 accounts actively managed in the first 100 days. Scoped to that cohort, not to the full 42+ account portfolio. Retention and NRR figures produced during the engagement are forecasting and reporting snapshots rather than final realized performance.

Operating layer built and governed
$7.5M ARR
9 monthsInterim Chief of Staff, Portfolio OperationsPE-Backed SaaS