I can help you accelerate.

• In the “strategy-execution” dyad, I focus on execution
• I don’t just make recommendations – I also drive actual execution

Are you the investor?

I can help you maximize the return on your investment (money, time)

Are you the investee / are you early growth-stage?

I can help you reach your goals and meet your commitments better/faster

How?

• I assess execution status and potential; I work with you to identify gaps, opportunities, actions
• I drive improved execution (maximize /accelerate), working directly with the team (plan/roadmap, implementation, ongoing)
• Creatively using the methods that have delivered my long track record of execution success

If your concern is…

...strategy implementation:

...too many things on the go, too many things yet to start

• What to work on first? How to organize? How to keep track?

• How to optimize resources and avoid churn? How to keep track?

• How to ensure we ship? (consistently, predictably)

...scaling?

• Need help with critical leadership meetings? The leadership team needs to grow and mature? Need to hire? Need to set up / scale key business processes?

My Style

Personal values: Integrity, respect for others, and making a difference.

I believe in collaborative, persuasive leadership, and in creating a healthy team environment. At the same time, very high standards.

I adjust the approach to the specifics of the organization. I am never scripted.

I steer firmly through chaos and ambiguity, defining and permanently refining the journey plan – while developing the people and organization.

I help teams move quickly and intelligently through the entire change lifecycle.

Multiple ways to deploy

For Investor / VC firm:

• Employee or contract - as in house execution expert
• Assist investors in due diligence and oversight
• Dispatched to prospects and investees

Individual start-up:

• Contract

Location independent:

• On site; remotely
• Local; international

Involvement models:

Click here for 1-page printable summary.

Adriana

Engineer-turned-business execution expert, (happily) married to a visual artist. Two (wonderful) adult sons. Lived and worked in several places / swung back and forth across the ocean (Romania, Greece, Canada, Romania, Canada). I love work that moves things forward, but "can't tolerate fools well”. I believe in collaborative, persuasive leadership. Bragging rights: there are a few people whom I helped grow.

My story, like many others', is about a mix of blessings and adversities, which made me who I am now. Third generation engineer, I worked for 7 years in research, but then we emigrated from Romania, under difficult circumstances, when our first son was a toddler. While waiting in Greece for the Canadian visa, with no work permit, I worked as a cleaning lady. After about a year, the owner of a small software boutique offered me an informal role - provided I could learn the platform and programming languages in the one summer month when his people were on vacation. I studied ferociously, and he allowed me to start. Within 2 months I debugged their flagship product demo (a nasty bug they had tried for months to find; the product was in C and SQL), and documented their system so thoroughly that even after I left, they were still using my documentation.

When we finally made it to Canada (our second son was born just two months after arrival), I thought I was going back to engineering research, but the first opportunity was in IT at Sears Canada. Again I had to learn a whole new environment (business, IT platform, languages); curiosity, passion and honest effort help one grow: before I left after 5 years, I was a project leader and being assigned to pioneering enterprise projects. I then moved into management consulting, project and program management; I worked for many years in Fortune 500 companies, in global roles managing international teams.

A little plaque I keep by my desk sums it up: "Sometimes on the way to a dream, you get lost and find a better one”.

So how do I pay it all forward? I help leaders and teams accelerate, while developing their people: implementing strategy, optimizing execution, scaling – in roles like advisor, coach, mentor; portfolio/program/project manager.

My life and career, with coexisting enterprise and entrepreneurial streams, enable me to understand and relate to the starting point, the journey, and the destination options for a start-up. I’ve been a partner in my husband’s career-long, rather esoteric efforts of reviving a Renaissance mural art technique and in his research into historic mortar. For the past three years, I’ve been an “angel” and a close-up witness to my sons’ knowledge management start-up. In my career, I set up new teams and developed/matured young ones, in both small companies and in global enterprises. I worked in established corporations, improving the way things were done, but also on introducing new offerings and leading entrepreneurial endeavours. I love working with young people, young teams and young companies.

I'd be delighted to help your team(s) too. Get in touch and tell me what you need.

Testimonials

(as provided on LinkedIn: complete list)

Adriana’s business acumen and leadership are bringing the best in the team and are ensuring solid progress. (Vice President, Small Business at Royal Bank of Canada)

[Adriana] became my trusted advisor and I would count on her to improve program performance and business results. (Vice President, GBS Global, IBM)

Adriana is truly a genius in defining operations with just the right amount of structure, process and discipline to enable our global teams to collaborate effectively and get things done! … If you absolutely need someone you can count on to manage chaos and deliver, you want Adriana on your team! (Director, Development and Delivery, GBS Global, IBM)

[Adriana’s] program management skills are second to none, she keeps everyone and the program/project on track. (Sr. Manager Strategic Initiatives, Royal Bank of Canada)

Adriana makes sure she understands how a project fits into the overall business strategy and subtly yet effectively challenges the team to ensure the best decisions are being made. (Regional Manager, Royal Bank of Canada)

[Adriana’s] professional and positive attitude is augmented by a collaborative style that drives her staff, co-workers and colleagues to strive to not just do better but do their best. (Business and Solution Architecture and Thought Leadership, IBM)

Adriana has a keen sense of developing leaders and allowing her teams to learn and grow while providing development guidance ... She is an effective communicator at levels ranging from CxOs, VPs, through to business analysts, testers, and developers. (Program Manager, IBM Canada)

[Adriana] helped me & my team to understand the organization priorities, aligning our work directly coping with the organizational change. (Development Manager, IBM India)

Adriana is a great leader to work with because she could always coach her direct or indirect reports with her strong business insight and strategic thinking. (Department Manager, IBM China)

I was always in awe of [Adriana’s] flawless people skills and work ethic. Also, her ability to easily build a climate of trust and respect within a young and enthusiastic team was off the charts. (Operations Specialist, DHL Romania)