Erie, Pennsylvania · National Engagements
Fractional COO & Interim Operations Leadership
Experienced operating leadership for owners who need stronger execution, clearer accountability, and COO-level capability without immediately making a permanent full-time hire.
Who We Work With
When the Business Needs More Leadership Capacity
A fractional or interim leadership engagement may fit an owner-led transportation, industrial, or asset-based business whose operating needs have outgrown its current management capacity. It can also support a leadership vacancy, an underperforming operation, or a business transition that needs experienced attention.
- The owner remains the escalation point for too many daily operating decisions.
- Managers are working hard, but priorities, measures, and accountability are unclear.
- Growth or multiple locations have created inconsistent execution and reporting.
- A leadership gap, acquisition integration, or turnaround requires focused operating support.
Operating Focus
Leadership Tied to Execution
Fractional COO Leadership
Provide agreed, ongoing COO-level capacity alongside the owner and management team. Establish priorities, develop leaders, strengthen reporting, and follow operating decisions through to execution. Time commitment and decision authority are defined to fit the business.
Interim Operations Leadership
Step into a defined temporary operating role during a leadership gap or transition. Clarify responsibilities, stabilize management cadence, and support continuity while the business determines its longer-term leadership needs.
Turnaround & Stabilization
Address operating constraints through pricing discipline, cost control, asset utilization, customer execution, and management accountability. Identify near-term priorities while maintaining a practical view of the people and resources available.
Transition & Integration
Support leadership alignment, operating controls, reporting, and execution across people, systems, locations, and service lines. Coordinate agreed transition priorities with owners and their advisors without assuming every business needs the same integration model.
Founder-Led Operating Perspective
22 Years of Operating Experience
Jeff Hollenbeck brings hands-on operating experience and executive leadership across transportation, industrial, and asset-based operations. His documented background includes trucking, logistics, warehousing, brokerage, fleet maintenance, and complex multi-location operations.
His prior responsibilities include senior executive leadership within a nine-figure operating platform and multi-unit P&L responsibility across eight-figure business units. That experience informs the work; it describes prior operating responsibility, not Nellis Holdings’ current company size or a record of completed consulting engagements.
Based in Erie, Pennsylvania, Nellis Holdings provides operational consulting, fractional COO, and interim executive leadership services nationally. Onsite engagements are available, with travel, scope, and availability agreed in advance.
Engagement Structure
Scope the Need. Agree the Responsibilities.
Possible structures include a scoped assessment followed by fractional leadership, an ongoing agreed operating cadence, or a defined interim assignment. The owner and Nellis Holdings agree objectives, decision authority, reporting relationships, time commitment, onsite requirements, fees, and review points in writing. The engagement can evolve as the business's needs become clearer.
A Proposed First 90 Days
This is an adaptable approach, not a fixed schedule or guarantee. Urgency, information quality, and the agreed scope determine the sequence and timing.
Days 1–30
Assess & Establish Priorities
Understand the business, listen to owners and managers, review financial and operating information, and identify immediate constraints. Agree the most important priorities, baseline measures, and responsibilities.
Days 31–60
Build Cadence & Implement
Establish a useful management rhythm and reporting discipline. Work with leaders to carry out agreed priorities, clarify decision-making, and address the operating issues that require the most attention.
Days 61–90
Review & Set the Next Stage
Evaluate progress against agreed measures, identify unresolved constraints, and adjust the plan. Discuss continued leadership support, a handoff, or other next steps based on what the operation actually needs.
Common Questions
Before We Start
When should a business hire a fractional COO?
Consider fractional COO support when the owner is absorbed in daily operations, managers lack clear accountability, or growth has exceeded existing leadership capacity—but a permanent full-time COO is not yet the right commitment. The business should be willing to provide information, define decision authority, and support implementation. An initial conversation helps determine whether leadership support or a narrower consulting project is the better fit.
What is the difference between a fractional COO and an interim operations leader?
A fractional COO provides an agreed portion of ongoing operating leadership capacity. An interim operations leader fills a defined temporary leadership need, often during a vacancy, transition, or stabilization period. Neither label alone determines hours or authority; those responsibilities are set out in the engagement scope.
Are fractional COO and interim executive engagements available nationally?
Yes. Nellis Holdings is based in Erie, Pennsylvania and provides fractional COO and interim executive leadership services nationally, including onsite engagements. Location, travel, onsite presence, remote coordination, and availability are discussed before an assignment is agreed.
What should we expect in the first 90 days?
A proposed approach is to use the first 30 days to assess and prioritize, the next 30 to establish management cadence and implement agreed actions, and the following 30 to evaluate progress and plan the next stage. This is an adaptable framework, not a fixed timeline or a promise of results. Urgent operating conditions, information quality, and the agreed scope can change the sequence.
How are time commitment, fees, and engagement length determined?
They are agreed after discussing the operating problem, leadership responsibilities, business complexity, and onsite needs. The written scope defines expected time, fees, responsibilities, deliverables, and review points. Nellis Holdings does not assume a standard package, a minimum term, or the same staffing need for every client.
Qualified Operating Inquiries
Discuss What Your Business Needs Next
Tell us about your business, the operating challenge, your location, and the leadership support you are considering. We can discuss fit and a practical next step before defining an engagement.
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