May 2024 – Nov 2025, San Diego

Deep-tech startup, backed by a $4B company, industrializing the world’s first direct shear extrusion press for 100%-scrap-based aluminum extrusions, onshoring the supply chain, and reducing carbon impact by 90%. Led by a 2× deep-tech, public exit CEO.

• As the first hire and CEO proxy, sourced legal firms, EPCM firm, and IT vendor, built core functions from scratch for a team of 10, and established rhythm of business and knowledge management.

• Owned IT and cybersecurity strategy and execution, achieving near-ISO 27001 readiness in under 12 months on a $70K budget, directing a team of 4 external engineers across Microsoft 365 Enterprise, Entra ID, Intune MDM, and Azure implementation while authoring 10+ cybersecurity and IT usage policies.

• Partnered with the Director of Product Engineering to build milestone-based Gantt and OKR/KPI reporting dashboards in Asana supporting quarterly board and investor reporting, contributing to a fundraising arc from $5M to $58M.

• Built a proprietary geospatial database of 500+ U.S. aluminum extruders mapping competitor positions, alloy specializations, and casting facility proximity, directly informing factory site selection, product launch sequence, and JDA customer targeting.

• Partnered with the VP of Talent on HR direction while owning all execution across the full HR foundation: handbook, policies, onboarding, benefits, compliance, training, offboarding, employer branding, and the full employee experience.

Aug 2022 – Jun 2023, San Diego

$100M+ global IoT company (400 employees, 10 offices worldwide) manufacturing advanced RF components for Amazon, Tesla, Rivian, Vodafone, and the European Space Agency.

• Started and led the ESG function from zero, managing a $200K annual budget, directing the first materiality assessment and 3-year ESG strategy, and introducing environmental KPIs targeting a 30% carbon reduction by 2030 across North America, Ireland, and Poland.

• Achieved EcoVadis Bronze leading Taoglas' first audit, initiated by Amazon as a Scope 3 supply chain compliance requirement.

• Directed a two-year global carbon inventory across all facilities, building the data infrastructure and reporting processes for a credible GHG measurement program handed to an incoming PE-backed team post-acquisition.

• Built the first company-wide intranet and launched a monthly newsletter achieving a 70% open rate, extending reach to 400 employees including factory workers in Taiwan with no company email via translated printed content, contributing directly to the 2022 Great Place to Work certification.

May 2021 – Aug 2022, San Diego

• Set up a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, coordinated international shipping of $130k worth of military protective equipment for 130 civilians in an active conflict zone, and managed relocation for 20 refugees through a European office.

• Planned and executed 15+ corporate events from $2K to $100K, including international board offsites and the annual 60+ person multi-day NASAC all-hands resort retreat with keynote programming, team building, custom gifting, and a company talent show with an all-expenses-paid Las Vegas trip for the winner.

• Built and managed the full workplace experience for 40 HQ staff across 8 global offices: weekly catered lunches, daily snack bar and executive lunch service, holiday engagement, birthday programs, new employee onboarding, facility management, and OSHA compliance, contributing directly to the Great Place to Work certification.

• Owned all travel management for HQ, authoring the T&E policy and handling C-suite expenses, inbound and outbound travel for all employees and VIPs, and high-stakes logistics including last-minute Ryder Cup VIP arrangements for the executive team and partner CEOs.

• Produced the official US visit of the Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland, coordinating F&B, AV, documentation, staff protocol briefings, and a full lobby redesign into an immersive branded exhibition space; served as company representative in recurring international manufacturing syncs.

Mar 2018 – May 2021, San Diego

Joined a solopreneur whose web design & SEO/PPC business had operated organically for 15 years serving local restaurants and small businesses, without operational infrastructure or full-time staff. Recruited from Romania to scale it into a boutique agency.

• Repositioned company from SMBs toward white-label partnerships with enterprise agencies, securing two anchor partnerships that filled capacity and tripled margins. Further diversified revenue by productizing services and expanding into custom printing and brand activations. Established company OKRs and a 3-year strategic plan, driving rhythm of business and aligning the team around the white-label pivot.  

• Owned full P&L and grew revenue to 250% of baseline through the pandemic. Recovered 80% of long outstanding receivables by converting clients to a subscription model, renegotiating contracts, leading credit collections, and offboarding legacy accounts that didn't fit the new pricing tiers.

• Stood up the company's financial and legal infrastructure from zero, including LLC formation, bookkeeping, tax filing, AP/AR, contract drafting and negotiation, pricing models, and proposal formats.

• Built the people function, owning hiring, payroll, performance reviews, KPIs, training and career development for a team of 5 web designers and SEO/PPC specialists. Secured a $1.2M forgivable PPP loan to transition contractors to W-2 employees during COVID.

• Designed lean SOPs by mapping customer journeys across service lines, then operationalized them as reusable Asana project templates with dependency logic across data collection, decisions, revisions, and payment milestones. Cut project timelines by 50%, enabled consistent white-label delivery, and gave the team a single source of truth for client work. Built client onboarding and offboarding workflows in the same system.

• Handled client discovery, proposal writing, pitching, to contract negotiation, billing. Led brand development for the agency and select clients, designing logos, typography, mood boards, brand manuals. Drove the company's full rebrand and website redesign, repositioning the agency visually to match its new white-label tier.

• Led the RF team in building a civic app prototype for San Diego's Arts & Culture Department to the Smart Cities Accelerator Labs SD competition final before it got canceled due to COVID.

Sep 2016 – Mar 2018, Romania

Romania’s first private K–12 school following a Cambridge International curriculum: 600 students, 125 staff, 35 nationalities — under the High Patronage of Crown Princess Margareta. Upon departure, offered and declined the Director of Development role in order to move abroad.

• Coordinated the annual fundraising gala end to end across three consecutive years: event theme, décor, menu, seating, volunteer coordination, MC script, event program, all branded materials (invitations, banners, step & repeat, 30+ page brochure), photo and video direction, and live donor activations. The event delivered a consistent 9× ROI.

• Designed and led the Student Internship Program and annual Healthy Lifestyle Week (National 1st Prize, Best Social Involvement Project in Romania); managed the Alumni Society, Robotics Program, and Women in Business Community across comms, events, and member engagement.

• Planned and executed dozens of school events including donor recognition dinners, inaugurations, alumni reunions, program launches, career fairs, and student and teacher conferences.

• Managed a 500+ donor Salesforce database, grew donor retention 20% through curated stewardship, and handled all donor reporting and recognition; secured strategic corporate sponsorships to maximize programming impact on lean budgets.

• Produced the school's annual report, collecting departmental data and owning all copywriting, graphic design, and photography across fundraising, admissions, scholarships, and student outcomes.

Jan 2015 – Sep 2016, Romania

Simona Baciu: the founder of the first private school in Romania in 1990, internationally published author, TEDx speaker (Hong Kong, Salt Lake City), board member of two international nonprofit foundations, recipient of the British International Schools Lifetime Award, and a figure who regularly briefed heads of state, government ministers, and global education decision-makers.

• Managed the President's full executive operations: inbox, calendar, domestic and international travel, expense reconciliation, file management, and all personal and business correspondence.

• Created and implemented the Board of Advisors governance structure, stewardship procedures, and full meeting management system, formalizing board operations for the first time.

• Prepared the nomination that earned TC a place among four global finalists for the 2015 TES British International School of the Year — the only European school on the shortlist — and secured the school's operation under the High Patronage of Crown Princess Margareta of Romania.

• Served as primary liaison to high-level stakeholders including the Royal House of Romania, AmCham, foreign ministries, diplomats, press, and major donors; delivered board reports, conference presentations, speeches, and articles; and secured high-profile international dignitaries for major program inaugurations.

• USO San Diego (2018–2020): Community events and airport hospitality for active-duty service members.

• San Diego Latino Film Festival (2018–2019): Coordinated opening and closing ceremonies; secured in-kind sponsorships.

• Intersection Inc. / The Design Academy (2018): Coordinated executive Human-Centered-Design training sessions.