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Best Fractional COO Services in London
Top London Outsourced COO Services & Fractional Chief Operating Officers (COOs)
In today’s fast-moving business environment, more and more companies—especially startups and scale-ups—are recognizing the need for executive leadership that is flexible, scalable, and rooted in experience. That’s where fractional COOs come in. These operational leaders step in part-time but bring full-stack thinking, helping businesses gain clarity, increase performance, and build the kind of infrastructure that supports long-term growth.
At Digital Reference, we’re focused on creating transparency in the professional talent ecosystem. We surface not just who’s doing the work, but how they do it—and why it matters. In this blog, we’re spotlighting some of the top fractional COOs working in and around London who are making a meaningful difference inside the companies they serve.
Our Methodology - How We Selected the Best Interim, Outsourced, and Fractional COO Services in London
This list of fractional COOs is part of our ongoing commitment to identifying fractional talent across industries and regions. We apply a thoughtful and human-led approach to curation. While you notice each individual uses a different public facing title, each professional listed below provides fractional COO services.
Our selection process includes:
- Experience: We reviewed each leader’s operational background, looking at both corporate and consulting experience.
- Transparency: Each executive has a clear public presence and defined service offering.
- Reputation: We factored in endorsements, client testimonials, and industry recognition.
- Relevance: Each COO is based in or regularly works with companies in the London market.
- Specialization: We sought out individuals with unique strengths across industries such as SaaS, CPG, hospitality, healthtech, media, and more.
This is not a ranking—it’s a showcase of people we think you should know. Whether you're a founder looking to hire or a fellow operator looking to connect, these are the names to keep on your radar.
Meet The Best Fractional COO & Outsourced COO Services in London
Milly Barker
Milly Barker is the founder of Pay As You Go COO, a consultancy designed to give early-stage businesses practical operations support without the fluff. She helps founders transition from survival mode to strategic growth, leveraging her experience scaling e-commerce and purpose-led brands. Milly is known for her empathy, clarity, and hands-on approach to operational systems.
Highlights:
🏢 Scaling operations for early-stage, founder-led businesses
📑 Designing practical, founder-friendly processes
💬 Translating complex operational challenges into actionable strategies
Milly empowers founders to trust their systems and gain operational clarity while keeping transparency and simplicity at the core of her practice.
Steve Squires
Steve Squires leads The Ops Guys, a specialist operations consultancy focused on high-growth tech and SaaS companies. He helps businesses implement repeatable systems that scale, while bringing calm and structure to fast-moving environments. Steve is recognized for his structured approach and ability to align cross-functional teams.
Highlights:
🏢 Building scalable operations and repeatable systems
📑 Cross-functional alignment and technical operations
💬 Providing calm, structured guidance in high-growth environments
Steve’s work allows companies to scale efficiently while maintaining operational clarity and measurable growth.
Avneet Singh Riat
Avneet Singh Riat is the founder of Angel Advisors and a strategic operator trusted by venture-backed startups. With a background in law and hands-on startup experience, he helps founders build the internal scaffolding needed for sustainable growth, from financial systems to compliance processes. Avneet is known for his founder empathy, structured thinking, and execution clarity.
Highlights:
🏢 Aligning operations to business vision without over-engineering
📑 Navigating compliance-heavy sectors (fintech, healthtech)
💬 Turning messy back-office operations into investment-ready systems
Avneet partners with founders to bring clarity, structure, and momentum to early- and growth-stage startups.
Nikki Michelsen
Nikki Michelsen is a serial entrepreneur and former startup founder who now advises CPG, wellness, and e-commerce brands. She helps businesses align operations with revenue-driving activities while maintaining profit and culture. Nikki is recognized for her commercial insight and founder-focused guidance.
Highlights:
🏢 Aligning operations with commercial objectives
📑 Scaling purpose-led consumer brands
💬 Bridging operational strategy with lived founder experience
Nikki enables brands to grow sustainably while protecting both culture and profitability.
Mark Scrivener
Mark Scrivener is a seasoned transformation executive supporting startups and enterprise organizations in scaling operations. He specializes in organizational design, governance, and stakeholder management, bringing strategic insight into complex operational change.
Highlights:
🏢 Organizational design and transformation
📑 Governance and stakeholder management
💬 Integrating customer experience into operational processes
Mark helps companies navigate growth and transformation with clarity and strategic precision.
Pippa Peckham Cooper
Pippa Peckham Cooper blends culture and operations to create high-performance, inclusive teams. She helps founders design people systems that support growth and codify organizational values. Pippa is recognized for linking culture directly to operational strategy.
Highlights:
🏢 Designing inclusive, scalable team structures
📑 Integrating culture into operational infrastructure
💬 Supporting high-performance and talent retention
Pippa ensures that people and operations grow together to sustain long-term success.
Arpit Kaushik
Arpit Kaushik helps microbrands implement effective operational systems. With over twenty years of experience, he focuses on designing business functions that allow founders to concentrate on their core brand strengths. Arpit is known for adaptive frameworks and hands-on guidance.
Highlights:
🏢 Implementing the Microbrand Operating System
📑 Aligning leadership teams and operational systems
💬 Designing right-sized processes without bureaucracy
Arpit equips founders with flexible systems that scale alongside their brand’s growth.
Peter Peart
Peter Peart supports pre-Series A and seed-stage companies in building scalable operations. From financial modeling to process mapping, he helps founders establish the structure they’ll need to grow. Peter is known for making abstract challenges actionable.
Highlights:
🏢 Building foundational operational systems for startups
📑 Translating strategy into actionable processes
💬 Guiding founders through early-stage operational design
Peter enables startups to scale confidently with structured, founder-friendly systems.
Neda Sahebelm
Neda Sahebelm is a digital-first operator helping purpose-driven startups integrate product, strategy, and operational processes. She has cross-sector experience in tech, education, and nonprofits, bringing fresh perspectives to operational design.
Highlights:
🏢 Product-focused operational design
📑 Integrating purpose with scale
💬 Cross-sector experience driving innovative solutions
Neda helps founders build operational systems that balance social impact with sustainable growth.
Jonny Searle
Jonny Searle blends leadership coaching with operational strategy to align founder-led teams. He helps clarify roles, reset priorities, and establish accountability structures that last, particularly in fast-moving or complex environments.
Highlights:
🏢 Leadership alignment and operational coaching
📑 Building functional operating systems
💬 Strengthening team cohesion in dynamic environments
Jonny empowers leadership teams to operate effectively with clarity and accountability.
Dan Burman
Dan Burman works with creative and service-based companies to refine operations and drive growth. He specializes in resource planning, pricing models, and delivery optimization, enabling founders to scale without compromising creativity.
Highlights:
🏢 Operations for creative and service companies
📑 Resource planning and delivery optimization
💬 Balancing growth with creative freedom
Dan equips founders with operational systems that support scalable, sustainable creative businesses.
Adam Lancaster
Adam Lancaster helps organizations modernize legacy processes and improve customer experience operations. With expertise in logistics and transformation, he bridges operational detail with big-picture strategy.
Highlights:
🏢 Transformation and modernization of operations
📑 Logistics and complex service operations
💬 Aligning operational detail with strategic goals
Adam guides companies through operational change with clarity and measurable impact.
Chloe Foden
Chloe Foden advises founders and investors on operational infrastructure and investment readiness. She excels in ambiguous environments, quickly creating traction and providing actionable insights for early-stage teams.
Highlights:
🏢 Operational strategy for startups and funds
📑 Prioritization with limited resources
💬 Driving traction in early-stage and ambiguous situations
Chloe helps founders and investors achieve operational clarity and scalable systems efficiently.
Anthony Siskos
Anthony Siskos combines finance and operations expertise to support companies through growth, change, and restructuring. He is valued for providing clarity in high-stakes situations and advising board-facing leadership teams.
Highlights:
🏢 Finance-driven operational strategy
📑 Supporting scale, change, and restructuring
💬 Calm, pragmatic guidance for high-pressure situations
Anthony helps companies navigate complex operational and financial challenges with confidence.
Huw Bevan
Huw Bevan is an operator and product leader specializing in scaling AI-driven startups and regulated businesses. He combines operational insight, product leadership, and hands-on AI expertise to build scalable systems and high-performing teams.
Highlights:
🏢 Scaling AI startups and regulated businesses
📑 Operational and product leadership
💬 Building teams and systems for high-growth environments
Huw brings clarity, structure, and people-focused operational excellence to fast-scaling companies.
Final Thoughts - Fractional Ops is the Way of The Future
London is quickly becoming a hub for fractional executive leadership, and this group represents the very best in operational thinking. Whether you’re building a startup or navigating scale, the individuals on this list offer expertise that’s not just functional—but transformative.
At Digital Reference, we believe in making the work world more transparent, one operator at a time. If you’re looking for more insight into fractional talent, be sure to explore:
Have someone we should consider for a future list? Let us know—we’re always on the lookout for operators who are making things happen.
Check Out Our Local Directories of Fractional & Part-Time COOs by City
Ann Arbor, MI - Part-Time COOs & Fractional COO Services
Ann Arbor startups and research-driven firms are turning to fractional ops leaders for precision execution and growth strategy.
Atlanta, GA - Part-Time COOs & Fractional COO Services
In a city that blends enterprise and startup energy, Atlanta companies lean on COOs who can unify vision and operations.
Boston, MA - Part-Time COOs & Fractional COO Services
From biotech to B2B SaaS, Boston’s ops leaders bring structure and speed to innovation-heavy teams.
Chicago, IL - Part-Time COOs & Fractional COO Services
COOs in the Windy City are helping companies align their back-end systems with bold front-end goals.
Dallas, TX - Part-Time COOs & Fractional COO Services
Denver, CO - Part-Time COOs & Fractional COO Services
Denver’s scale-ups are calling in fractional execs to professionalize their operations without slowing their culture.
Detroit, MI - Part-Time COOs & Fractional COO Services
With roots in manufacturing and momentum in mobility, Detroit companies rely on fractional COOs for systems that scale.
Houston, Texas - Part-Time COOs & Fractional COO Services
Houston’s operational ecosystem is evolving fast. More startups are scaling. More nonprofits are serving complex needs.
Los Angeles, CA - Part-Time COOs & Fractional COO Services
In LA, creative industries meet tech—and fractional COOs bring the operational clarity these hybrid teams need.
New York City, NY - Part-Time COOs & Fractional COO Services
NYC’s pace demands results. These operators know how to navigate fast-moving startups and scaling giants alike.
Philadelphia, PA - Part-Time COOs & Fractional COO Services
Fractional COO Services in Philly are ensuring East Coast startups and high growth companies have the right structure to survive.
Phoenix, AZ - Part-Time COOs & Fractional COO Services
Phoenix-based COOs help founders transition from hustle to structured scale with systems that grow.
San Francisco, CA - Part-Time COOs & Fractional COO Services
Bay Area COOs are stepping in to help tech companies streamline, automate, and stabilize post-funding growth.
Seattle, WA - Part-Time COOs & Fractional COO Services
In Seattle’s product-driven landscape, ops leaders drive alignment between engineering, GTM, and finance.
Sydney, Australia - Part-Time COOs & Fractional COO Services
Home to Canva, growing base of purpose-led enterprises, and increasing demand for agile executive leadership, Sydney has become a hotbed for operational talent that doesn’t require a full-time seat.
Toronto, Canada - Part-Time COOs & Fractional COO Services
Toronto doesn’t just build startups—it builds systems. It’s a city where public meets private, where the startup ecosystem is growing alongside government programs, universities, and a rising impact economy. But for all its innovation, hiring executive talent in Toronto has always come with nuance.
Washington, DC (DMV Area) - Part-Time COOs & Fractional COO Services
DC-area operators bring rigor and regulatory awareness—perfect for mission-driven orgs and gov-adjacent teams.
This piece was curated and written by the editorial team at Digital Reference. All profiles were independently selected. If we missed somebody, please reach out to hello@digitalreference.co to have them included.
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