The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s 90. What is The CEO's Job?
In this episode we discuss: What is the CEO’s job? We are joined by Keith Wallington, Chairperson and Investor in B2B SaaS businesses
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We chat about the following with Keith Wallington:
- What actually changes in an operating model as a company scales – and what shouldn’t change, even under pressure?
- How do you design an organisation that moves fast without creating chaos or decision fatigue?
- When does adding structure genuinely unlock performance, and when does it quietly slow teams down?
- How can operators tell the difference between a scaling problem and a leadership problem?
- What questions should COOs be asking before a Series B or major growth phase to avoid painful rework later?
References
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithwallington/
Biography
Focussed on Series A and Growth stage B2B SaaS businesses that deliver vital, core services to their customers.
Keith has led strategy and execution in technology businesses since the 1990’s, driving growth in Europe, the USA and Africa: His experience in driving online business models spans Retail Banking, Telecommunications, Online Live Broadcasting and Software as a Service (SaaS): He has led strategy and execution initiatives at businesses including Microsoft, Standard Bank, Omnicom/TBWA, MTN Group and Mimecast.
From 2008 – 2014 Keith spent 6 years driving growth at Mimecast, best in class and global leader in SaaS based email security, archiving and continuity: Here he assumed a number of C Level roles, including COO, spanning most of the business from Marketing to Customer Experience to Technical Operations as he championed scalable, efficient growth during this phase of hyper growth (from $6m to over $110m Annual Recurring Revenue) and global expansion from the UK base.
After preparing Mimecast for IPO Keith refocused his attention to support businesses on their growth journey. Keith invests in and assumes board roles with post Series A businesses. He engages directly and also collaborates with Venture Capital and Private Equity teams to co-invest and add depth to portfolio company boards.
To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here.
Summary
05:30 – Why operating models break during growth
12:45 – The tension between speed and structure
19:30 – Horizontal vs vertical operating models
26:00 – Decision-making at scale
30:00 – What scaling exposes about leadership teams
38:30 – Preparing for Series B (before it’s too late)
47:00 – Operating principles that actually stick
55:30 – Signals your operating model needs a reset
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