Rodney R.

Operations leader who builds the systems that let founders stop firefighting. 20+ years leading operations, from certified manufacturing plants (500+ people, ISO 9001 / IATF 16949) to, most recently, building the complete operating system for an AI-native fintech startup from zero as Chief of Staff. What that looks like in practice: I design the operating cadence (PDCA cycles, weekly reviews, accountability frameworks), the governance layer (SOPs, policies, approval gates), and, increasingly, the AI agent architecture that runs parts of it: Slack-based standups, automated reporting, meeting-to-knowledge pipelines, and clear rules for what agents can decide versus what needs a human. I use Claude/Cowork daily, not as a novelty but as core infrastructure. Earlier in my career I ran 300-500 person manufacturing operations at Bourns Inc., leading ISO/IATF certification efforts, driving a 30% output expansion via a $3M capital investment, and cutting operational costs by 25% through Lean Six Sigma. That same discipline (process ownership, root cause analysis, no initiative without a named owner) is what I now apply to leaner, faster, AI-augmented organizations. I currently manage a ~50-project portfolio across a multi-entity corporate group, using a Waterfall/Kanban hybrid methodology I designed myself: full artifact set (charters, RACI, risk logs, UAT gates, lessons learned), so nothing depends on tribal knowledge. If you're a founder or ops leader who needs someone to turn "we're doing this in our heads" into a system with clear owners, evidence, and, where it makes sense, AI agents doing the repetitive parts. That's the work I want.