Sheryl Ryan, Operational workflows, processes & data analytics

Check out Sheryl's expertise

As a highly strategic and hands-on operations executive, I work with fast-moving teams from early-stage startups to established organizations to operationalize new ideas, implement/integrate new tools and technologies, and extract actionable insights from their data.

Early and mid-stage tech companies

I'm hired to build foundational systems and processes, design financial and growth models, design action-driven dashboards and data visualizations, connect their tools, and automate their workflows.

Established organizations

I’m hired to solve and prevent complex problems. This generally involves rethinking and reengineering outdated processes and overburdened systems that have broken over time -- usually under the weight of workarounds stacked on top of workarounds or as a result of throwing people at process-related problems.

Whatever the initiative, my approach connects the continuous lifecycle of strategy ➜ process ➜ data ➜ insights ➜ strategy ➜ (repeat).

As more of a builder from zero to one than an incremental optimizer, I tend to hand over the systems I architect to another capable person to manage/improve over time so that I have the capacity to tackle the next big idea.

I’ve led successful teams and initiatives across operations, sales, marketing, finance, HR, data analytics/business intelligence, and client success. And I work hand-in-hand with product and engineering teams to deliver much of my work.

Infrastructure by Design

Fractional VP Operations

CONSULTING & AUDITS

January 2018 - Today (7 years)

Olympia, WA, USA

I work with funded startups, scale-ups, and established businesses to operationalize new initiatives, extract deep and actionable insights from their data, and develop systems that empower their teams. My work ranges from advisory services to hands-on execution and is provided on an interim, fractional, or project-by-project basis, usually for 6 to 24 months.

• Project manage the launch of new companies, strategic initiatives, or acquisitions

• Create foundational business infrastructure to support scalable growth

• Source/onboard/tailor/integrate tech stacks; train users and lead change management

• Design onboarding processes/workflows/training programs for employees & customers

• Develop in-depth financial and analytical models to support intelligent what-if decision-making

• Streamline and systematize processes and workflows across any team/ functional area

• Resolve complex problems, usually as they relate to the process/data/ insights/strategy loop

• Design thoughtful dashboard strategies and visualizations to surface insights and support decision-making at every level (from granular optimizations to exec-level planning)

Recent highlights: Untangling massive data and process issues for a high-growth tech scale-up; jumpstarting profitability for an underperforming, investor-acquired eCommerce company through data-driven marketing and operational strategies.

GloballyHired

Interim Chief Operating Officer

HUMAN RESOURCES

October 2022 - February 2024 (1 year and 4 months)

Portland, OR, USA

As the first hire and wearer of all hats, I designed and operationalized the product, tech, and GTM strategies from the ground up, managing the outsourced engineering alongside in-house ops to deliver the outcomes.

• Led product, engineering, marketing, partnerships, and business operations to build a next-generation recruiting marketplace from spec

• Developed in-depth revenue models and GTM plans alongside success metrics and detailed talent personas & employer use cases to guide our launch strategy

• Sourced tech partnerships to power critical platform functions outside our core competencies; led contract negotiations; directed API/webhook and embed integrations

• Crafted strategic positioning to establish a compelling identity and differentiate our unique value in an extremely crowded market

• Continually consumed and synthesized industry and competitive information to derive new insights, educate the team, guide the vision, and drive the product roadmap

Revvable

Vice President Operations

TECH

February 2022 - September 2022 (7 months)

San Francisco, CA, USA

Revvable is an early-stage SaaS startup building software to upshift the Powersports industry. As the company's operational leader and one of its first hires, I developed and integrated the foundational tools, practices, processes, and systems for company, employee, and customer success.

With an early focus on revenue operations and customer onboarding & adoption, I worked cross-functionally to design and develop holistic systems, create data intelligence to springboard decisions, and collaboratively drive product strategies to grow our org-wide KPIs.

• Architected and launched company-wide systems, tools, decision models, employee training, and base documentation from scratch

• Built revenue operations and customer onboarding/adoption/success programs

• Sourced, customized, and automated workflows across respective tech stacks to seamlessly transfer information, trigger workflows & notifications, and maximize data hygiene

• Collaboratively drove product strategies, roadmap development, and feature enhancements

• Set the stage for a data-driven culture with high-utility, action-driven dashboards that made insights easy to consume regardless of data fluency

Check out Sheryl's experience

Jory Anderson recommend Sheryl

Bachelor of Science

Rutgers Business School

1993

B.S. Finance, minor in Spanish

Master of Science

Boston University

1997

M.S., Computer Information Systems