Fractional COO and operations team
We’re on it. Robert Rippberger runs your operations as a fractional or interim COO. A team behind him does the work: process improvement, cost reduction, AI implementation and the follow-up.
- Walk the operation and read twelve months of numbers Robert, with your managers Done
- List every contract, vendor and renewal date On It team Done
- Fix the bottleneck that costs the most Robert, with plant and office leads Done
- Put AI on one task your team repeats On It team Done
- Hand over a 90-day operating plan Robert Done
How a fractional COO engagement usually opens.
Organizations we’ve worked with
The problems we get called in for
Each of these has a fix we have run before. On the left, what you’re living with. On the right, what changes.
- The COO seat is empty, and the search will take months.
- What changes: Robert runs operations while you search, and helps you hire the right person.
- Every order needs someone to chase it.
- What changes: One map of how the work moves, with the waits taken out and one owner per handoff.
- Nobody can say who owns vendor spend.
- What changes: A single list of contracts, owners and renewal dates, with savings counted against it.
- The AI pilot never left the pilot.
- What changes: One repetitive job automated inside your systems, and the hours it saves counted monthly.
- The big project is late, and nobody wants to say so.
- What changes: A named project manager, one honest plan and a one-page status every week.
- The conference is in four months, and the team is already stretched.
- What changes: We take the operations: AV, speakers, sessions, schedule and the video library afterwards.
Senior operating judgment, and the people to carry it out
Robert leads the operation. Our project managers, coordinators and administrators do the work that needs extra hands.
Leading the operation
- Fractional and interim COO Robert runs operations for you, a few days a week or full time, until the seat is filled or the job is done.
- Operations and process improvement We map how work really moves, find the steps that cost the most, and change them with the people who do the work.
- Cost reduction and contract negotiation A baseline of what you spend and with whom, then renegotiation, consolidation or cuts, line by line.
- AI implementation and automation We pick the repetitive jobs worth automating, set up the tools inside your systems, and measure the time saved.
Doing the work
- Project and program management A named project manager who runs the plan, chases the dependencies and reports to you weekly on one page.
- Staffing and administrative support Coordinators, administrators and project staff who work in your systems for as long as you need them.
- Events, conferences and AV Conference operations from the AV plan and the speaker portal to the webinar edit and the sponsor desk.
- Web, content and digital operations Websites, content, design and social channels, kept current by people who own them.
Hire Robert, and the firm comes with him
Bring Robert in through On It Service as a fractional or interim COO, or hire him into the role directly. Either way you get one accountable operator and a team that handles the project work, the admin and the follow-up.
2,400
CLOC members, up from 300, while we supported their operations
From one AV job to running day-to-day operations
In 2016 we ran the AV for the first CLOC conference in San Francisco. CLOC then asked us to help its leadership with growth and daily operations: member support, webinars, the content of more than 200 sessions, a speaker portal and the vendor negotiations. Over the years we supported them, membership grew from 300 to 2,400.
- Countries represented
- 47
- Member companies
- 1,200
- Share of the Fortune 100
- 70%
- Saved through negotiation
- $150,000+
- Speaker videos produced
- 180+
- Conference sessions managed
- 200+
Figures as published in our 2019 case study.
Where operations decide the margin
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Manufacturing and industrial
Scrap, overtime, purchasing and the ERP data nobody trusts.
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Distribution and logistics
Freight rates, warehouse flow, order accuracy and peak-season staffing.
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Public companies
Cost targets promised to investors, integrations and interim leadership.
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Private equity portfolio companies
100-day plans, sponsor reporting and the hands to deliver them.
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Healthcare services
Scheduling, billing handoffs, vendor contracts and administrative load.
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Associations and member organizations
Member operations, conferences, portals and content libraries.
Robert Rippberger leads every engagement
Robert has spent his career starting and running organizations that had to deliver on a fixed date: film productions, a studio, an industry association with its annual conference, and a software company.
He co-founded a film studio in North Carolina in 2023, built SIE Society into an association of more than 1,700 members, and was lead producer of The Inventor, an animated feature that competed at the Annecy festival in 2023.
Questions buyers ask before the first call
What does On It Service do?
On It Service is an operations firm based in Los Angeles. Robert Rippberger works as a fractional or interim COO, and the team handles process improvement, cost reduction and contract negotiation, AI implementation, project management, administrative support, event operations and digital operations for companies across the United States.
What is a fractional COO?
A fractional COO is an experienced chief operating officer who works for a company part time, usually one to three days a week, under a monthly retainer. The role covers operating priorities, the weekly management rhythm, processes and the managers who run them, without the cost of a full-time executive.
How much does a fractional COO cost?
Published 2026 rate guides put typical fractional COO retainers in the US between about $8,000 and $20,000 a month for one to three days a week (Fractional Pulse and Fractionus). Our fee depends on scope and days per week, and we quote a fixed monthly amount after a first call.
Can we hire Robert directly?
Yes. Robert can join as your COO or VP of Operations, or you can engage him through On It Service. In both cases the On It team can work behind him on project work, administration and events, with your written approval of who does what.
How does an engagement start?
With a 30-minute call about what is stuck and what it costs you. If we can help, you get a short written proposal with the scope, the timing, the people involved and a fixed fee. Work starts once you sign it.