5 Operations Leaders to Watch in 2022
Learn how these leaders are making an impact in the operations community by sharing their success, knowledge, and mentorship.
An ops leader who is also the author of an upcoming book on RevOps.
An ops pro who doubles as a mentor for the next generation of ops professionals.
A “superhero” COO who understands the problems vexing ops teams working inside organizations today — and solves those problems with an approach that’s not only creative and collaborative but thoroughly compassionate.
These are just a few examples of the kind of professionals who populate the large and ever-evolving community of business operations: the dexterous and dynamic unsung stars of their organizations and fields, the ones on the frontline of the effort to find a better, more efficient, and more enjoyable way to work.
This effort has never been more important. Ops professionals are execution experts. They’re crucial to the growth and success of every kind of business. But market dynamics and unforeseen social disruption have over the last several years thrust an even greater level of importance onto ops professionals.
For their organizations, the work these folks are doing could mean the difference between survival and long-term success. For society writ large, it could mean the difference between properly equipping our organizations to effectively tackle the world’s biggest and most crucial challenges, or not.
Ask someone within the ops community, and they’ll tell you that this is all pretty well established and understood. Yet more broadly, ops teams still somehow don’t seem to receive the recognition they deserve.
And that’s why this year we launched our first ever AdaptivOps Top Ops Superstar Awards. We asked the greater operations community to tell us who in their world is doing the most innovative and influential work within the operations space. The nominations poured in, and from them, five finalists were selected.
We’ve provided a preview of who these Ops Superstars are below. Read on to learn more about who they are, what they’re doing, why they were nominated — with words directly from the nominators themselves — and why these folks are such important and inspiring leaders to watch in 2022 and beyond.
Check out the 5 Operations Leaders Who Are Making an Impact in 2022
Penny Penati, Head of Operations at Helm
“Penny is an active mentor, helping the younger generation into the ops world and teaching them how to navigate their careers. She is always around when you need help, will never ask for a favor in return, and genuinely wants to help people.”
What They’ve Accomplished
Penny Penati started out her career as an Operations Specialist at Apple. Then, she delved into the world of startups, where she quickly worked her way up to Head of Operations at Helm. She has held multiple Chief of Staff positions, and is now a mentor to several startups.
Here’s what her nominator had to say about her.
How They Help the Operations Community
“I couldn’t think of a better person to nominate than Penny. Penny is an active mentor, helping the younger generation into the ops world and how to navigate their career: from upward managing C-suite and founders, progressing to the next step, tips and tricks on how to always be ahead of the game, and leveling up in their career. She is always around when you need help, will never ask for a favor in return, and genuinely wants to help people.”
How They Serve as a Mentor for fellow Operations Professionals
Penny demonstrates that no matter how busy you are, she will always make time for someone in need, because she knows the importance of having a mentor to hear your thinking, bounce ideas off, and otherwise help you progress in your next career stage. She understands that mentoring is so important and so crucial because mentors can give you those tips and guidance that they won’t give you in an academic lesson, or that people might be reluctant to give you at work, for fear of you stepping on their toes and taking their job. I can’t thank her enough for all the help she’s given me, and would love for her to be repaid with an award.”
Anne Pao, Vice President of Revenue Operations & Enablement at Maven Clinic
“Anne created the RevOpsVillage jobs board, which helps hundreds of ops professionals who got laid off or are looking for their next challenge find a new role. The impact she has had in the space is unquantifiable.”
What They’ve Accomplished
As a 5X startup operator with 20+ years experience running revenue operations and managing big data, Anne is a force to be reckoned with. In addition to her current role as VP of RevOps at Maven Clinic, she runs a RevOps community to help those emerging in the field find their way through mentorship.
Here’s what her nominator had to say about her.
How They Help the Operations Community
“Anne created the RevOpsVillage jobs board, which helps hundreds of ops professionals who got laid off or are looking for their next challenge find a new role. The impact she has had in the space is unquantifiable. ”
How They Serve as a Mentor for fellow Operations Professionals
“Anne has created a community for RevOps professionals with office hours, weekly forecasts, job boards, etc. helping bring the RevOps community together.”
Patrick R. Krill, Founder and Principal at Krill Strategies
“Patrick is tackling a subject that is rarely talked about in Legal Ops but one that has led to severe burnout and depression among legal ops professionals and lawyers.”
What They’ve Accomplished
An academic turned founder, Patrick Krill founded Krill Strategies in 2016. Krill Strategies takes a systems approach to problem-solving that demonstrates an appreciation and understanding of the complex nature of behavioral health in the legal profession.
Here’s what his nominator had to say about him.
How They Help the Operations Community
“Patrick founded Krill Strategies out of the recognition that the legal profession needs help to improve the well-being of its members. Patrick’s research and strategies show what life would be like if Legal Ops aimed to enable lawyers to spend more time using their skills as opposed to being more productive.”
How They Serve as a Mentor for fellow Operations Professionals
“Patrick is tackling a subject that is rarely talked about in Legal Ops but one that has led to severe burnout and depression among legal ops professionals and lawyers.”
Aušrinė Keršanskaitė, Head of Operations at Reframe Technologies, Inc.
“By co-founding The Operations Nation community, Aušrinė provides members with opportunities to share experiences, expand knowledge and network in the operations space.”
What They’ve Accomplished
Aušrinė Keršanskaitė describes herself as an “ops person, always in startups” and her career backs that up. Her lengthy career showcases a history of operating as a COO for startups to get them off the ground successfully — whether that means getting them to an acquisition, a steady revenue stream, or both. In addition to her Head of Operations role, she currently runs a burgeoning community of operations professionals called Operations Nation.
Here’s what her nominator had to say about her.
How They Help the Operations Community
“By co-founding the Ops Stories/Operations Nation community, she provides members with opportunities to share experiences, expand knowledge and network. She is very dedicated and helpful in every project she is running.”
How They Serve as a Mentor for fellow Operations Professionals
Aušrinė has dedicated her hours outside of her Head of Ops role to running Operations Nation full time, which provides mentorship to hundreds of operations professionals daily. In addition to facilitating this, she is always open and willing to mentor and engage herself, no matter how busy she is.
Jen Bergren, Sr. Operations Manager at Remotish
“In addition to being a mentor, Jen is a contributor to the HubSpot RevOps certification, the first free RevOps certification to help elevate this newly defined area of ops, which makes it accessible and possible for others to improve their knowledge and grow their career.”
What They’ve Accomplished
In addition to writing a book on RevOps (coming this year!), Jen Bergren’s mission is to educate the world about Revenue Operations in order to pave the way for those looking to advance their careers in the emerging field. In her current role at Remotish, she aids B2B SaaS companies using Hubspot.
Here’s what her nominator had to say about her.
How They Help the Operations Community
“Contributing to the HubSpot RevOps certification as a guest professor, the first free RevOps certification to help elevate this newly defined area of ops, which makes it accessible and possible for others to improve their knowledge and grow their career.”
How They Serve as a Mentor for fellow Operations Professionals
“Aside from appearing in the certification, Jen has also been a mentor at Pavilion for several people, and writes about operations and career transitions into operations in order to inspire others to pursue this career earlier.”
How You Can Make an Impact in 2022
In operations and looking to make an impact in the operations community? Join AdaptivOps to give and receive mentorship from other ops professionals.
