Yusef Khan - Fractional Chief Operating Officer Chief Transformation Officer NED

WHAT I DO FOR FOUNDERS / LEADER

Revenue Growth & Retention

  • Predicable Growth: Install disciplined forecasting, pipeline management, and operating cadence to create repeatable revenue engine

  • Churn Mitigation: Diagnose and reduce churn, revenue leakage, and downsell across the customer lifecycle

  • Functional Scaling: Build and scale Sales, Customer Success, Channel, Sales Ops, and Support functions as needed

  • Transformation: Apply technology and AI to improve funnel conversion, sales productivity, and operating efficiency

Cost Reduction & Margin Improvement

  • OPEX Optimization: Assess the cost base and operating expenditure end to end and deliver reduced spend

  • TOM Design: Design and implement more effective target operating models across people, process, and systems

  • Change Management: Scope and lead organizational and people change programs

  • Global Resourcing: Evaluate and execute right-shoring across operations and technology teams

Scale-Up & Exit Readiness

  • Operating Discipline: Professionalise reporting and operational cadences to meet the scrutiny of investors and buyers

  • Leadership Mentoring: Mentor C-Suite and key functional leaders using my experience leading operations, sales, strategy, etc. in multiple sectors

  • Due Diligence Stewardship: Prepare the business and the data for the rigor of due diligence

  • Transaction Leadership: Manage the "business side" of divestments and act as the strategic bridge between the board, financial advisors, and buyers

EXECUTIVE POSITIONING

I work across multiple sectors with founder led and PE-backed scale-ups to drive business transformation, optimize sales and customer retention, and restructure operations for maximum efficiency and scaling / exit readiness.

25+ years experience building, scaling, and transforming operations and revenue-led businesses globally with teams typically based in the US, UK, India, Portugal, France, and Spain.  UK and French nationality and fluent French speaker.

Specialist in:

  • Business Transformation & Restructuring: Quickly diagnosing "stuck" situations and executing rigorous turnaround plans.

  • Operating Model Design: Harmonizing people, process, and technology to land sustainable change.

  • Interim Operations Leadership: Leading teams from 10 FTE to multi-site environments of 1,500+ FTE.

  • M&A, Carve-outs, and Integrations: Evaluating business viability and leading pre- or post-acquisition alignment.

 

I operate on a fractional basis e.g., 5 days per month or via defined project scope for several months.

BOARD & GOVERNANCE / CREDENTIALS

  • C1 level French: Compréhension orale / Expression orale

  • Politics Degree from Durham University (2:1)

  • Certified Scrum Master training

SELECTED IMPACT

  • Led successful divestment of 250 person, $50M revenue Data Software business from Hitachi

  • Built a 20-person global Data Services department from scratch at Io-Tahoe, leading to a successful sale to Hitachi Vantara

  • Best-ever Sales week, month, and year for P/E-backed Iglu.com cruise and ski travel agent through management restructuring and performance optimization

  • Founding member of new Paris office for Afiniti AI scale up, full time sales and customer facing role in French

  • Led operations of 1,500+ FTE across multi-site environments for a £1.2bn Telefonica O2 / Capita contract, delivering best sales and revenue results to date

  • Designed and implemented new organization structure and delivered best B2B sales conversion and retention results to date at TalkTalk Business

  • Consolidated 8 call centers down to 2 at TalkTalk Consumer, overseeing complex site closures and large-scale outsourcing transitions

 

CURRENT & RECENT ENGAGEMENTS

  • Pentaho Software – COO / VP Strategy & Operations: Leading organizational restructuring, carve-out and divestment

  • Hitachi Vantara – Strategy & Transformation Senior Director: Delivering multiple successful strategies and programs across SaaS, Managed Services, Sustainability, M&A, CEO advisory

  • Io-Tahoe (Centrica) – Head of Data Services: Built global Forward Deployed Engineering, Customer Success, Professional Services, and Partner teams from scratch, successful divestment to Hitachi

  • Iglu.com – Operations Director: Leading 300 Sales and Customer Service staff, restructured team and delivered best ever revenue results

  • Previous Senior Roles: Held leadership positions with Capita, TalkTalk, and Virgin Media

Available for

  • Fractional COO / Chief Transformation Officer mandates

  • Growth and Revenue / Cost Transformation projects

  • NED / Advisory roles for founder-led or P/E-backed scale-ups

Work With Us