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Best Fractional COO Services in Toronto
Top Outsourced COO Services & Fractional COO in Toronto
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. Salaries are high, full-time expectations are even higher, and for small but scaling orgs—especially in education, health, and nonprofit sectors—hiring a full-time Chief Operating Officer (COO) can feel like a stretch.
That’s why more Toronto-based companies are turning to fractional COOs than ever before.
And we’re here for it.
At Digital Reference, we believe in cutting through the noise of titles, resumes, and glossy bios to uncover the real operators—the ones doing the work, building the systems, and helping teams scale with clarity. This list is our latest curation: a group of Toronto-based fractional COOs who are showing up and making things happen.
Methodology - How We Built This List of Toronto Interim COOs & Fractional COO Service Providers
We’ve talked to founders, reviewed portfolios, stalked LinkedIn timelines, and looked for more than just buzzwords.
To be included here, a fractional COO must:
- Be based in or work primarily in Toronto and the GTA
- Be actively engaged in fractional, interim, or embedded operational leadership
- Have experience working with early to mid-stage orgs, especially in education, tech, and social impact
- Align with our values of Radical Authenticity and Radical Transparency
This isn’t a list of execs who used to run ops 10 years ago. It’s a list of people doing the work right now.
(If you want to learn more about how we vet operators, check out: Replacing the Resume and What Is Radical Transparency?)
Let’s get into it.
Meet The Best Fractional COOs in Toronto
Nana Obeng
Founder, HIGHPOINT Consulting
Nana Obeng is a Toronto-based operational transformation expert who helps women-led organizations gain clarity on what’s working and what needs change. She brings experience across regulated industries, nonprofits, and startups, making her a versatile operator who drives meaningful results across sectors.
Highlights:
🏢 Change management and systems leadership
📑 Trusted by founders and CEOs for execution with clarity
💬 Strategic thinker with strong tactical impact
Nana enables leaders to move forward with purpose while maintaining operational momentum.
Jennifer Mitchell
Jennifer Mitchell helps Toronto-based organizations scale sustainably. She excels in environments where leadership teams are stretched and operational systems are fraying, providing thoughtful, people-centered guidance grounded in real-world ops experience.
Highlights:
🏢 Strengthening operations for scaling teams
📑 Organizational design and systems optimization
💬 Building processes that support sustainable growth
Jennifer helps organizations transition from reactive mode to scalable, structured operations.
Beau Scott
Founder, Forgexity
Beau Scott leads Forgexity, helping mid-stage teams forge clarity from operational complexity. He focuses on workflow redesign, internal alignment, and creating scalable rhythms that balance strategy and humanity.
Highlights:
🏢 Operational design for creative and product-focused teams
📑 Emphasizing team-building and operational empathy
💬 Strategic, human-centered systems implementation
Beau equips teams to scale with clarity while keeping their culture intact.
Crystal Eva
Founder, Crystal Eva Consulting
Crystal Eva helps businesses navigate operational challenges with confidence and clarity. She blends data-driven insights with people-focused solutions, designing scalable systems that strengthen alignment and enable growth without losing organizational culture.
Highlights:
🏢 Change management and business transformation
📑 Process optimization and workflow automation
💬 Balancing operational structure with human collaboration
Crystal empowers teams to operate efficiently while preserving culture and purpose.
Karan Ramchandani
Founder, Your CxO
Karan Ramchandani is a seasoned business leader, investor, and Fractional C-Suite consultant with over 15 years of experience driving growth for startups from ideation to Series X. As the Founder and CEO of Your CxO Online, Karan has empowered 10,000+ startups with strategic leadership, operational excellence, and fundraising solutions.
His expertise spans revenue growth, market expansion, and building scalable operations.Previously, Karan held leadership roles at Builder.ai, contributing to its global expansion and achieving significant revenue milestones. Now, he’s launching the world’s first C-SaaS AI platform, offering on-demand C-Suite leadership to accelerate startup success. Whether leading fundraising rounds, forming strategic partnerships, or driving operational transformation, Karan’s hands-on leadership makes him a trusted partner for founders navigating complex growth challenges.
Highlights:
🏢 Fractional C-Suite leadership for startups
📑 Revenue growth, market expansion, and scalable operations
💬 Tailored engagement models for each business stage
Karan equips founders with the strategic and operational support they need to accelerate growth.
Michael DiPasquale
Founder, Simply Solutions
Michael DiPasquale provides fractional COO support to founder-led organizations, helping simplify complex systems and enable cleaner execution. His focus on small businesses and community-based organizations combines empathy with operational rigor.
Highlights:
🏢 Streamlining operations for founder-led teams
📑 Simplifying complex workflows into repeatable systems
💬 Trusted in education-tech and nonprofit sectors
Michael helps teams move from reactive chaos to calm, structured operations.
Tara Stubensey
Tara Stubensey excels in diagnosing operational gaps and rebuilding systems while keeping the business running. She combines tech and education experience to deliver fast, thoughtful solutions in high-stakes, ambiguous environments.
Highlights:
🏢 Scaling systems for small, agile teams
📑 Calm execution during growth transitions
💬 Product-first operational thinking
Tara ensures startups scale efficiently without losing momentum or focus.
Alia Lachana
Alia Lachana brings equity-centered operations thinking to startups and nonprofits. She designs processes that function effectively and feel right for teams, with particular expertise in hybrid and remote models.
Highlights:
🏢 Equity-informed operational systems
📑 Redesigning team norms and internal culture
💬 Trusted fractional leader in education and workforce development
Alia helps organizations scale operationally while prioritizing fairness, inclusivity, and team well-being.
Kevin Lau
Kevin Lau supports high-growth organizations in building scalable systems that keep pace with fast-moving teams. His experience spans venture-backed tech and organizational design, helping founders transition from hands-on doers to strategic leaders.
Highlights:
🏢 Building operational discipline for Series A–C companies
📑 Data-driven process improvement
💬 Helping founders shift from execution to leadership
Kevin equips leaders to scale without slowing down operations.
Suzanne Dixon
Suzanne Dixon leads operational turnarounds during transformation, leadership gaps, or growth transitions. She quickly assesses challenges and implements structure without bureaucracy, enabling teams to operate efficiently under pressure.
Highlights:
🏢 Operational leadership during transitions and crises
📑 People-first systems implementation
💬 Expertise in education management and nonprofit operations
Suzanne brings calm, structured guidance to organizations navigating change.
Barbara Hopper
Barbara Hopper combines decades of leadership experience with systems and storytelling expertise. She aligns operations, internal communications, and stakeholder engagement for mission-driven organizations.
Highlights:
🏢 Internal alignment and team communication
📑 Operations for impact-driven and educational organizations
💬 Executive presence without ego
Barbara helps organizations operate strategically while staying mission-focused.
Donn Whitehall
Donn Whitehall delivers structured operational support, specializing in financial operations, systems integration, and strategic planning. He helps teams at inflection points scale confidently with calm, clear guidance.
Highlights:
🏢 Finance-backed operational strategy
📑 Scaling operations at critical growth stages
💬 Clear, execution-ready leadership
Donn enables companies to navigate rapid growth with operational confidence.
Michelina DiNunno
Michelina DiNunno helps startups and nonprofits move from scattered to streamlined operations. She integrates HR, systems design, and operations leadership to align people and processes effectively.
Highlights:
🏢 People ops and execution system integration
📑 High-impact fractional support for small organizations
💬 Strong cultural stewardship and operational coaching
Michelina ensures teams operate efficiently while maintaining a collaborative culture.
Kate Rootman
Kate Rootman specializes in growth operations for scaling startups. She breaks down silos, creates operational rhythm, and ensures cross-departmental alignment, helping teams scale with efficiency and cohesion.
Highlights:
🏢 Creating operational flow across teams
📑 Scaling systems without dedicated internal ops leads
💬 Coaching mindset with strong execution focus
Kate helps organizations navigate growth while keeping teams aligned and productive.
Toronto: A City That Demands Smart Operators
Whether it’s a school network in Scarborough, a nonprofit in Parkdale, or a fintech startup in Liberty Village, Toronto organizations face unique operational complexity. Hiring full-time leaders is expensive. Building internal systems is slow. And the talent market is crowded.
Fractional COOs are emerging as the bridge between today’s challenges and tomorrow’s scale—and this list represents some of the best in the game.
A Note from Digital Reference
At Digital Reference, we’re not here to sell you hype. We’re here to help you find the people doing the real work—especially the ones who aren’t shouting about it on LinkedIn. Whether you’re a founder, board member, or nonprofit leader, we’re building tools, lists, and insights to help you hire better, faster, and more honestly.
Want to know more about how fractional COOs work? Here’s a few more from Digital Reference:
- What to Look for When Hiring an fCOO
- Outsourced COO Services in Canada
- Replacing the Resume - Digital Reference’s Aspirational Target
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.
London, United Kingdom - Part-Time COOs & Fractional COO Services
Fractional COO Services are sky-rocketing in popularity in London as labor costs go up and time to market is accelerating.
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.
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.
And if you’ve got a name we missed—or you’re a fractional COO looking to be featured—reach out (hello@digitalreference.co). The list is just getting started.
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