Job Title: Chief Operations Officer (AV and Event Production Company)
Location: Cleveland, OH
Salary: $130,000-175,000.00
Position Type: Full time
Category: AV Live Events
Summary
The Chief Operating Officer will serve as the organization's senior operational leader, taking responsibility for day-to-day business performance, departmental execution, financial results, and organizational effectiveness. Reporting directly to the CEO, this individual will act as the operational counterpart to a growth-oriented executive leader, translating strategic ideas into practical plans, establishing priorities, and ensuring consistent execution across the business.
This is a hands-on turnaround and growth opportunity within an established audiovisual and event production business generating approximately $12 million in annual revenue. The organization has established industry relationships, an existing operating infrastructure, and opportunities to improve performance and scale the business toward $20 million or more in revenue over the next three to five years.
The COO will be expected to address existing operational challenges, strengthen management capabilities, improve systems and processes, and build the organizational foundation necessary for sustainable growth. This is not a maintenance-focused position; success requires the ability to identify problems, make decisive changes, establish accountability, and lead measurable improvements across multiple departments.
The CEO intends to transition away from daily operational management to concentrate on company leadership and sales development. Accordingly, the COO will assume broad operational authority while the CEO retains responsibility for major client relationships and serves as the organization's primary sales leader.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead day-to-day operations: Assume overall responsibility for daily business operations, ensuring departments function effectively and remain aligned with organizational priorities.
- Manage departmental leadership: Direct and oversee department heads across sales, technical operations, warehouse and logistics, and accounting. Establish clear expectations, strengthen accountability, and ensure consistent execution across the organization.
- Partner with the CEO: Serve as the operational counterpart to the CEO, evaluating new ideas, determining priorities, translating strategic objectives into actionable plans, and ensuring initiatives are realistic and executable.
- Oversee sales management and execution: Manage the day-to-day sales function and its execution while the CEO maintains primary responsibility for sales leadership and the organization's largest client relationships.
- Exercise personnel authority: Assume full hiring and termination authority across the organization following an initial 90-day transition and ramp-up period with the CEO.
- Improve operational execution: Oversee crew scheduling, event delivery, and operational quality. Ensure department managers execute schedules and deliver events effectively, meeting established quality and performance expectations.
- Maintain quality control: Conduct spot checks on large events to evaluate delivery quality and address issues when necessary. Be willing to engage directly in operational problem-solving when circumstances require it, while recognizing that this position is not scheduled to work events.
- Manage financial performance: Maintain accountability for financial results, including monthly financial reviews, gross margin performance, and overall profitability.
- Strengthen systems and processes: Identify operational weaknesses and implement the processes, systems, and management practices needed to improve efficiency, consistency, accountability, and profitability.
- Build organizational capacity: Develop the leadership team and operational infrastructure required to support significant business growth and scale the organization toward $20 million or more in annual revenue.
- Lead turnaround initiatives: Address existing operational challenges, improve underperforming areas, and establish a more stable, efficient, and profitable business.
- Monitor performance and outcomes: Evaluate progress using key business indicators, including gross margin percentage, overall profitability, the frequency of operational issues escalated to the CEO, client deliverable quality, refunds and client concessions, and progress toward revenue growth targets.
Required Qualifications
- At least 7 years of experience in senior operations leadership.
- At least 3 years of direct profit-and-loss (P&L) ownership.
- Demonstrated experience managing department heads and leading teams of 30 or more employees.
- Experience working in a business generating at least $8 million in annual revenue.
- A proven record of leading an organization through a period of growth, operational turnaround, or significant organizational improvement.
- Experience partnering with a visionary founder or CEO in an integrator capacity, translating strategic ideas into actionable plans and ensuring successful execution.
- Demonstrated ability to make independent decisions, establish priorities, and take decisive action without requiring constant direction.
- Ability to remain calm under pressure, communicate directly, and address complex operational challenges effectively.
Preferences
The following experience is strongly preferred and may distinguish candidates for the higher compensation:
- Industry experience: Background in live event production, the event industry, or hospitality. Direct production experience is a significant advantage but is not required.
- Turnaround leadership: Hands-on experience leading a business or division through a turnaround, particularly in an environment with underdeveloped systems, operational inefficiencies, or inconsistent financial performance.
- Operational transformation: Demonstrated success taking over an organization with significant operational challenges and leaving it better organized, more stable, and more profitable.
- Business growth: Experience scaling a business generating approximately $10 million in revenue toward $20 million.
- Margin improvement: A documented record of increasing gross margin by several percentage points and sustaining those improvements.
- Executive financial leadership: Experience owning a P&L and leading department heads in live events, production, or hospitality.
- Proven turnaround results: A track record of combining hands-on operational leadership with measurable improvements in business performance, organizational effectiveness, and profitability.