When you first moved into a COO role, was this an accidental step or one by design and intent?

My first COO opportunity enabled me to move from Middle and Back-Office operational roles into the Front Office side of the business. I enjoyed that role very much, working with Sales, Relationship Management, Consulting Relations, and Marketing Teams to support the Institutional Business for Deutsche Asset Management. That move was quite intentional, as I had supported these teams from the Operations department for many years before finally getting the opportunity to represent them in a Business Management capacity.

Thereafter, what is it that committed you to a career as a COO?

I was always drawn to business management roles, as they provided the opportunity to get involved in a wide variety of opportunities, from systems implementations to budgeting and financial projections, to strategic planning and client meetings. The fact that every day was different, with new challenges, kept the role interesting. I always wanted a role that was as wide and varied as possible, so that I could continue to expand my skillsets.

What was the greatest challenge you faced as a COO and what skills proved to be invaluable in helping you meet this challenge?

The biggest challenge I always faced was resourcing. Financial considerations at the senior levels generally permeated down through the organization and limited how much improvements or systems advancements could be made. In moving to smaller companies that weren’t chasing a stock price made investments in the future more achievable and rewarding.

When you left DWS, and took time out, was leaving financial services a likely outcome or just a possibility at this stage?

Financial Services is a tough place to be, especially in these years of industry and fee compression. The trends over the past 10 years or so has resulted in more and more people chasing fewer and fewer opportunities. During this time, I received a lot of good advice, but perhaps the best advice I received was to focus on transferrable skills. 

When I opened my eyes to other roles where I could leverage my COO experience more broadly, I was fortunate to find a role as COO for a management consulting firm, Spinnaker Consulting Group.  While this firm still focused on financial services broadly, it was a different focus, and in a much smaller company. It was an eye-opening experience to move from a major Wall St. bank to small consulting firm, and I loved it.

In April 2023 you were appointed Interim CEO HeliNY, how did this come about?

This was the craziest scenario of my life, and it just goes to show that “you just never know” what can happen. When I left my COO role in consulting, I looked again to other industries where I could leverage transferrable skills, but also leverage the skills and knowledge I had gained in consulting.

My research led me to aggressively pursue a COO role in law firms. Since 2008, Legal firms had recognized the importance of business management roles, and slowly the industry has been hiring non-lawyers to cover their business management functions including marketing, cyber security, and financials. After working with recruiters in this specialized space, I made it to #2 for a large legal firm in Midtown Manhattan.

The Managing Partner of the firm told me how much he really liked my background, but ultimately, the board felt they needed an individual that was also a CPA for their new COO position. He promised to keep me in mind if he heard of other opportunities down the road. Eight months later, out of the blue, the Managing Partner reached out to me to see if I had any interest in an interim CEO position for a helicopter company in NYC as his client was seeking a new one. Five months later, the firm offered me the role on a permanent basis.

Did you have any concerns about being successful in a commercial role in a very different sector?

Surprisingly, no. In hindsight, my transition into a COO role for a management consulting firm gave me a lot of confidence in my ability to do something different.

When the CEO opportunity in an extremely cool industry came up, my answer was “Absolutely!” I knew that the firm had experienced people in Aviation that I could lean on, and I was confident that my previous experiences in business and sales management could be beneficial.

I also looked at this an opportunity to learn something completely new. It’s almost like starting a completely new career, which is something I would have never experienced had I stayed in financial services.