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About Wayne Fraser

Wayne Fraser, Fractional COO and Transformation Executive

I work with founder-led companies as a Fractional COO and AI Transformation Partner. For more than 25 years, I have helped organizations turn ambitious plans into businesses that actually work.

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Wayne Fraser

Who Wayne Fraser is

I am Wayne Fraser, a Fractional COO, Transformation Executive and Founder Operating Partner. I work with a small number of founder-led companies, where the founder is still deeply involved in the business. My initial focus is BC and Canada.

I have been a founder. I have been an executive. I have built teams and managed transformation. I move between the boardroom and the operational details.

What I have built and led

I have worked across technology, manufacturing, professional services, education, healthcare and entrepreneurial businesses. The work has included the following.

  • Building companies
  • Creating new business units
  • Leading major transformations
  • Building international teams
  • Redesigning operating models
Automated production line in a large, bright factory hall

How Wayne Fraser works as a fractional COO

I don't just advise. I get involved. I don't believe in delivering a strategy document and walking away. That means getting into the details when necessary: people, processes, technology, financials, customers and operations.

  1. Understand the business

    I work alongside the leadership team to understand how the business actually operates.

  2. Find what is in the way

    The next task is to identify what is getting in the way of growth.

  3. Build a practical plan

    The plan is practical, and it is built so the organization can actually execute it.

  4. Help execute it

    Then I help execute the plan with the team. I do not hand over a document and leave.

Three proof points, each with its own case study

Each proof point below has a full account in the case studies.

TIR: an LED recovery in 30 days

At TIR, I was brought into a new LED business unit. Approximately $3 million of product was failing in the field, and a major customer commitment was at risk. My team located the inventory, diagnosed and reengineered the product, rebuilt it, retrained installers and coordinated the field deployment. There was no time to build the perfect plan, so we built one that could work and executed it immediately. We had 45 days and completed the recovery in 30. A $30 million contract with BP followed, and the team earned BP's Supplier of the Year award. The business went on to deploy approximately 5,000 sites worldwide. Read the LED product recovery case study for the full account.

Odoo ERP: one connected operation

At one organization, I helped transform a fragmented operation. I redesigned its accounting, sales, order entry and manufacturing processes around an integrated Odoo ERP platform. Customers could configure products online, and those orders flowed directly into production and billing. Operating efficiency rose by 250%, throughput doubled and profitability rose by 25%. The Odoo ERP transformation case study explains the method.

What the three pieces of work taught me

WorkThe lesson
TIR LED recoveryThe biggest transformation opportunities don't always arrive as opportunities. Sometimes they arrive as a crisis.
Odoo ERP transformationTechnology doesn't fix a broken operating model. The operating model has to be redesigned first.
Appnovation managed servicesGrowth creates complexity. What works for a small business unit rarely works once the organization is larger.

What you get from a fractional executive

I am a fractional executive, not another consultant. You get an experienced operator who can sit beside the founder. That operator's job is to understand the problem, bring structure to ambiguity and help drive the work through to completion.

The Fractional COO engagement puts that involvement into practice. It includes a weekly leadership meeting, KPI management and team accountability. Two other engagements, Scale-Up Advisory and Fractional COO + AI Transformation, are covered on the services page.

If this description fits your company, use the contact form to start.

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Frequently asked questions

Who is Wayne Fraser?

Wayne Fraser is a Fractional COO, Transformation Executive and Founder Operating Partner who works with founder-led companies. He has more than 25 years of experience helping organizations turn ambitious plans into businesses that actually work. He has been a founder and an executive, and he works alongside leadership teams to help execute the plan.

What is a fractional executive?

A fractional executive is a senior leader who works with a company part of the time instead of full time. Wayne Fraser works this way. The Fractional COO engagement is approximately 1.5 days per week, and Scale-Up Advisory is approximately 1 day per month.

What sectors has Wayne Fraser worked in?

Wayne Fraser has worked across technology, manufacturing, professional services, education, healthcare and entrepreneurial businesses. His three case studies cover an LED business unit in lighting manufacturing and an ERP transformation of a fragmented operation. The third covers an international managed services business.

Keep reading

If your company has outgrown the way it operates, let's talk.

Use the contact form to tell me about your company and what is getting in the way.

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