Abi Menon
Operations Transformation & M&A Integration | PE Portfolio Companies
I walk into messy post-acquisition and PE-backed businesses, find what’s actually broken, and fix it.
How I actually work:
- Work the frontline jobs until I find what’s actually broken, not what’s on the org chart
- Not a hatchet man: I find what’s blocking performance and unlock it
- Treat capital like it’s the investor’s money
- Install the operating rhythm: cadence, KPIs, SLAs, accountability
Operator Snapshot
-
~15 Years
Experience -
Purdue University
Mechanical Engineering -
University of Toronto
MBA -
Lean 6 Sigma
Black Belt -
AI Practitioner
Workflow Automation -
Vancouver, Canada
Open to U.S. roles & relocation -
Seeking
Full-time PE portfolio ops role Also open to fractional or interim for the right mandate
TRANSFORMED
($M)
LED
(MAX)
TURNAROUNDS
DELIVERED
WITHIN
1 YR
MARKETS
SERVED
AUTOMATIONS
SHIPPED
When to bring me in
When the business is under pressure, these are the calls I get.
Integration that needs running, not planning
Day 1 through stabilization. Someone who executes the integration — ERPs, people, operations — not someone who hands you another checklist.
Behind plan, exit clock ticking
The value-creation timeline is slipping. You need someone embedded who closes the gap before the deadline does.
Scaling fast, but execution keeps breaking
Growth has outrun the operating system. The team is firefighting, not running the business. Install the discipline before it breaks further.
You need a straight answer
Symptoms everywhere, leadership managing optics. You need the truth — and someone willing to push back on the sponsor when the plan is wrong.
The culture has to move, without breaking
A sleepy company, a stuck team, or a fragile culture after a deal. Change at the right pace, keep the good people, earn trust before demanding results.
One operator, not a consulting army
No budget for twenty. Parachute in one person who gets hands dirty, handles the mess, and fixes it — fast.
Selected Operating Work
I do whatever it takes to get it done. I’m the operator you call when something’s broken.
- As GM of a distressed plant, I learned the business by running the machines myself. Two years in a Minnesota town of 2,000.
- Led an M&A integration through peak COVID. When the border closed, I lived in a quarantine hotel until the deal closed.
- Took over a property business I knew nothing about. As VP I didn’t need the license, but I earned it in 4 months and worked the properties myself to win the team’s respect.
Asset Portfolio Recovery | $25M P&L
Regional turnaround · Property management · ~70 FTE, 70K units
Distressed multi-site region: high churn, leadership turnover, weak execution cadence, and trust broken with client councils. Brought in with full P&L ownership to stabilize fast.
- Stabilized within 90 days
- Weekly cadence, KPI scorecards, SLAs installed
- Consolidated 4 director roles to 2
Doubled EBITDA within 12 months. Retention 90% → 96%. NPS detractors cut ~50%.
Industrial Turnaround | $25M Manufacturing Site
Post-acquisition · GM · Chisholm, Minnesota (pop. 2,000)
Distressed plant mid-COVID. Owner exit Day 1, labor attrition, paper scheduling. Relocated to a town of 2,000 as GM.
- ERP/MRP replaced paper scheduling
- Training: 18 → 8 weeks · SG&A cut ~$500K
- Leadership bench rebuilt
Distressed to profitable within year one. Inventory turns 5.8x → 8.8x.
Saving the Integration | Covid
M&A integration · COVID disruption · Built the function from zero
Founder exited Day 1. No BOM data. Border closed mid-deal. No integration function existed — I built it from zero.
- Built integration governance, playbook & cadence from scratch
- Dropped the 500-item checklist · focused on what mattered
- Stayed in a quarantine hotel until the deal closed
3 months early. No disruption. Playbook used for 4 more acquisitions.
AI Tools I Build
Built for real use. Each one is live.
Reporting dashboards
Company-wide reporting. Clean data, fast. Usually my first move at a portco — high visibility, low effort, immediate credibility.
Workflow automation
Targeting a specific business process — data collection, approvals, reporting loops. Removes the recurring drag.
My “Today” checklist
Personal agents and custom tools built for my own workflows. I build what I use.
How I work
Looking for my next full-time home in PE portfolio operations. For the right situation, also available on a fractional or interim basis.
Full-Time Operator
This is the priority. Portfolio Ops Director, VP Operations, or embedded GM at a PE firm or PE-backed company. A real mandate, real authority, and a sponsor who won’t get confused when existing managers push back.
- Full ownership of operations from day one
- Built to improve and exit, not to maintain
- Right fit means a real mandate, not a reporting role
Turnaround & Transformation
You give me the brief and the authority. I own the outcome. For businesses under pressure that need an operator embedded for the duration.
- Full P&L and operational accountability
- Lean operating system and KPI governance installed
- EBITDA-focused, defined timeline and mandate
M&A Integration Execution
I bring a proprietary integration playbook built from five real acquisitions and customize it to your business. Embedded from Day 1, no large team required.
- Post-acquisition Day 1 through 100-day stabilization
- ERP/MRP, operating cadence, accountability structures
- Proprietary playbook, customized to your business
Interim Operator
Embedded with a defined mandate and a clear end-state. I run the operating rhythm, own the execution, and build the capability to sustain it after I leave.
- Installed operating cadence the team can run without me
- I don’t need a big team to deliver results
- Manufacturing, distribution, industrial, B2B services
Operating Diagnostic
A focused conversation. I ask the right questions and give you an honest read on your top operating constraints — no pitch, no agenda.
- Structured diagnostic, not a sales call
- Walk away with the 2–3 constraints I’d address first
- No obligation — just a straight conversation
Not sure which fits? Book a 20-minute call and I’ll tell you.
Asked before, answered straight.
Questions I get asked before we work together.
How much of your time do I actually get?
It depends on the engagement. I don’t bill by the hour — I work to outcomes. For fractional and interim work, we agree on scope and cadence upfront. For a full-time mandate, it’s full-time.
Will you replace my existing team?
No. I work with what’s there — figure out who’s capable and what’s blocking them, develop the ones worth developing, and address the ones who aren’t. I build the team to sustain results after I leave.
What industries do you work in?
B2B industrial — manufacturing, distribution, services. Deliberately industry-agnostic within that world. No legacy assumptions, no sector baggage. I find what works in one industry and apply it to the next.
How long does a typical engagement run?
Diagnostic: 20 minutes. Integration: 90 days to 6 months. Turnaround or interim: 6–18 months. I build toward a clear exit — the goal is that you don’t need me anymore.
What do you need from leadership to be effective?
A real mandate and real authority. And a sponsor who won’t get confused when existing managers push back.
Do you need a large team to deliver results?
No. I run lean and frugal. One operator who gets close to the work delivers faster than a consulting team, without the overhead.
How I operate — in my own words
I was interviewed about what it actually takes to stabilize a distressed manufacturing business. How I diagnose fast, why I work the floor before I touch the org chart, and what separates operators who fix things from ones who manage the problem.
“I’m the operator you call when something’s broken and you need it fixed, not managed.”
Personal
A few interests outside of work.
Let's Talk.
I'm actively exploring full-time portfolio ops roles at PE firms and PE-backed companies. If you're building something that needs an operator with a track record of turning assets around, drop me a note.