Joanne Lacey
Senior Operator (aka DO-ER)
I don’t just advise what needs to happen. I help make it happen and fix things.
Someone recently asked me what my superpower is. I was tempted to answer ‘being real and not using AI-slop in everyday vernacular’. But I paused and remembered something a former colleague once said: your biggest strength is the ability to rapidly understand context and connect the dots.
I’ve been a COO, CMO and CCO. My experience makes me a generalist by design, but a specialist by company type and stage. I love the ambiguity of early-stage building and even more so if there is impact.
My superpower means I’m good at thinking ahead. Spotting risks before they become painful. Nurturing teams and building processes that keep everyone and everything on track, Adjusting plans (and readjusting) when it makes sense.
My commercial background means I always consider the intended audience in communications, have lots of stakeholder engagement experience and build fair partnerships. I’m also a pretty good diplomat, despite being known for saying it how it is.
STARTUPS & SMES
What I’ve done / what I do
- Fundraise
- Co-led $10m raise across seed and pre-Series A rounds; help early stage start-ups get investment ready; develop grant applications; pitch deck and data rooms; support due diligence.
- Build
- Hired and led cross-functional teams; created operational infrastructure; design playbooks and reporting frameworks; shape and challenge business plans.
- Scale
- Helped scale a business from 15 to 150 people and led post-acquisition integration; manage restructures and pivots.
- Exit
- Led positioning and rebrand that supported fundraising and $50m+ acquisition.
When I can help
- You've raised and now need to build the organisation behind the plan.
- You're growing and need someone to reduce the chaos or own a new project.
- You've hit an organisational roadblock and something fundamental needs to change.
IMPACT-LED ORGANISATIONS
What I’ve done / what I do
- Lead
- Stepped into interim CEO roles; work with boards through periods of organisational change or crisis.
- Govern
- Experienced in board reporting, audits and governance reviews; develop policies and data management frameworks.
- Engage
- Led cross-stakeholder initiatives involving industry, government and public bodies; design programmes from concept through to implementation.
- Influence
- Co-chaired industry committees leading to parliamentary debate, new standard adoption and regulatory change; facilitate collaboration, change and innovation.
When I can help
- You're a Board embarking on leadership or organisational change.
- You need commercial thinking without losing sight of impact.
- You're launching a new programme, event or income stream and need someone to own it.