Melissa Hendry
Leeds,UK
Summary
Strategic COO and Operations Director with 20+ years experience scaling technology, SaaS and regulated digital businesses from early-stage growth to multi-million-pound revenue operations. Proven track record in operating model design, P&L and EBITDA management, post-acquisition integration, and building high-performing multi-
country teams. Known for translating founder and board vision into scalable operational execution, embedding governance, financial rigour and people-focused culture that sustains aggressive growth without margin erosion. Board-level operator with full P&L accountability, investor engagement experience, and expertise across ISO27001, regulated and high-growth environments.
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work history
Owner & Fractional COO
The Operating Co
Leeds
2026.03 - Current
- Fractional COO support for scaling businesses
- Designed KPI dashboard and board packs for scaling leadership decisions.
- Built 12-24 year business growth plans for fractional COO support.
- Defined performance metrics to drive quality improvements and customer satisfaction levels.
- Streamlined operations by implementing standard operating procedures for consistent delivery.
- Supported SaaS platform scaling through day-to-day operational planning and coordination.
- Supported senior management team objectives and reviewed job descriptions documentation.
- Reviewed financial budgets and created planning updates for scaling initiatives.
Co-founder & COO
Yellowgrid International
Cluj-Napoca, Romania
2024.01 - 2026.05
- Built the commercial, regulatory and operational foundations of a new AI-driven energy supplier in Romania, supporting launch, funding and early-stage scale in a licensed trading environment, establishing the commercial, regulatory and operating foundations required for launch and early growth. Directed investment fund and working-capital management to optimise liquidity to support rapid growth and operational stability. Oversaw daily energy trading team operations, identifying anomalies and implementing corrective actions to maintain margin integrity. Track operational KPIs, analysing trends to proactively address bottlenecks and scale processes sustainably.
- Secured full Romanian Government energy supplier and OPCOM Wholesale Electricity Markets trading licences, enabling legal trading operations and operational legitimacy from day one.
- Engineered financial models, scaling strategies, and investor decks that facilitated €600K funding at a €6M valuation, followed by €300K at an €8M valuation.
- Designed and implemented the company’s commercial and operational framework, including governance cadence, operating model, and cross-functional stakeholder alignment.
- Developed and automated customer onboarding, partner integration, and energy trading workflows.
- Partnered with marketing and product teams to launch campaigns that generated 1,000 wait list sign-ups in one month and achieved 260 live clients by month six post-launch.
- Established predictive AI-driven energy optimisation for a virtual power-plant via Yellowbox, delivering off-peak charging schedules and surplus energy trading that generates passive income for homeowners.
Co-founder, UK Managing Director
ddroidd Limited / ddroidd Limited S.R.L
, UK & Romania
2020.01 - 2024.01
- A J-V acquisition from Delete Agency, and new company formation. and scale-up of a new international technology consultancy, building the commercial, operational and leadership foundations of the business from the ground up across the UK and Romania.
- Scaled international technology consultancy to £10M turnover and £1.2M EBITDA within five years, establishing multi-country delivery across 160+ employees and 45 consultants.
- Rebuilt operational model to support 4× revenue growth, embedding KPI dashboards, board reporting cadence, and margin governance.
- Led business restructuring in year 3, aligned with growth strategy, realigning teams and outcomes within three months to maximise efficiency and accountability.
- Developed and executed people and culture initiatives, reducing employee turnover by 35% and achieving an ENPS of 66% during high-demand scaling.
- Implemented financial reporting systems, governance frameworks, and R&D tax strategies to optimise performance and regulatory compliance.
- Prepared board-packs, and chaired monthly board meetings with senior leadership team.
- Delivered enterprise architecture review for key million-pound client, integrating hardware, firmware, software, data structures and monetisation, and business processes to reduce risk and operational complexity.
Operations Director
Delete Agency (Now UNRVLD)
Leeds & London
2019.01 - 2020.01
- Brought in as a broad operational leader across delivery, HR, managed services, and security, a remit that spanned Operations Director, Head of Delivery, and Head of Managed Services & Security simultaneously. Headed client onboarding processes, ensuring seamless integration with internal teams and service-level commitments. Streamlined daily workflows across creative, account management, and technical teams to reduce operational friction.
- Directed operational due diligence for Kagool’s £6M BGF-backed acquisition, evaluating people, HR, delivery, and processes; developed SOPs, KPI frameworks, and reporting structures that enabled deal closure within five months.
- Launched/scaled a new Application Management service under ITIL framework, generating £600K in ARR.
- Appointed Head of Managed Services & Security under ISO27001 compliance, establishing governance and operational standards across the organisation.
- Strengthened cross-functional governance between account management and delivery teams, driving a 5% increase in profitability.
- Promoted to Operations Director within four months, reflecting impact on operational efficiency/revenue generation.
Operations Director
VST Enterprises
Manchester
2018.01 - 2019.01
- Directed technical audit and full rebuild of platform and mobile applications, achieving ISO27001 and GDPR compliance. Oversaw daily operations for platform and mobile services, ensuring uptime and continuity. Coordinated cross-functional teams to maintain project schedules and deliverables. Developed training programmes to upskill staff and standardise service delivery.
- Designed and implemented 3-tier support structure, SLAs, and KPI frameworks, improving service governance and operational control.
- Reduced supplier operating costs by £40K per month through comprehensive audit/operating model redesign.
- Secured G-Cloud 10 approval and developed reseller portal with Stripe, Xero, and integrated AML/KYC compliance for secure payment and onboarding workflows.
Operations Director
ZiMovi
Leeds
2016.01 - 2018.01
- Delivered platform expansion for a leading UK airline and oversaw end-to-end product build for the U-Explore careers platform. Managed enterprise accounts, including BT and Comic Relief, whilst enforcing supplier governance and release management standards. Facilitated continuous improvement initiatives to enhance team efficiency, reduce errors, and optimise resource utilisation.
- Reduced deployment time by 18% and improved cross-team efficiency by efficiently co-ordinating technical roadmap and product delivery.
- Redesigned CRM, sales commission, and pipeline structures, increasing commercial visibility and driving measurable sales performance improvements.
Operations Manager (5yrs) Operations Director (5yrs)
(aq) Limited t/a aql
Leeds
2005.01 - 2015.01
- Directed major government and infrastructure programmes, including a multi-million-pound secure platform build for the UK Home Office.
- Acted as operational right hand to the CEO across a decade of transformation, translating vision into strategy and strategy into scalable delivery across six service lines in a regulated, government-grade environment.
- Scaled organisation from 4 to 64 employees over 7 years, supporting rapid growth and operational capacity.
- Improved final-year performance to £10.6m revenue, £990k operating profit, and £1.32m EBITDA, leading budget ownership and board finance reporting.
- Defined and launched 6 new service lines, including MVNE capability, wholesale VoIP and SMS aggregation, and established three IL5 Tier 3 data centres.
- Developed and implemented ITIL-aligned service governance framework, establishing SLAs, KPIs, and CAB structures.
- Led ISO27001 certification and HMG-INFSEC alignment throughout the business through new service
Education
BSc (Hons) - Business & Events Management
Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds, UK07.2004
Skills
- High-growth Strategies & Execution
- Strategic Operational Planning
- Multi-Country Team Leadership
- P&L and EBITDA management
- Governance & Compliance Frameworks
- Organisational Restructuring
- Investor Funding, Due Diligence & Financial Modelling
- Operational Risk Mitigation
- Vendor & Partner Management
- AI & Process Automation Design
- Enterprise Systems Integration
- Commercial Negotiations
- Business development
- Budget management and forecasting
- Shareholder reporting
Certification
- ISO27001 – BSI Internal Auditor
- BCS ITIL v4 Foundation
Awards & Recognition
Computer Weekly – Most Influential Women in UK Tech list (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025), Prolific North Champions Awards 2023 – Made in the North & Making Global Waves, Global Business Tech Awards 2022 – Most Impressive Growth (ddroidd), Insider Media – 42 Under 42 (Personal), Prolific North Tech Awards 2022 – Tech Startup of the Year (ddroidd), UK Start-Up Awards 2022 – Digital Startup of the Year (ddroidd), National Startup Awards 2022 – Digital Startup of the Year North (ddroidd), We Are Tech Women 2021 – Inspirational Woman (Personal)
Additional Experience
Founder (Fractional COO services) | The Operating Co, Leeds, UK, 2026 – Present
Accomplishments
- Computer Weekly – Most Influential Women in UK Tech list (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
- Prolific North Champions Awards 2023 – Made in the North & Making Global Waves
- Global Business Tech Awards 2022 – Most Impressive Growth (ddroidd)
- Insider Media – 42 Under 42 (Personal)
- Prolific North Tech Awards 2022 – Tech Startup of the Year (ddroidd)
- UK Start-Up Awards 2022 – Digital Startup of the Year (ddroidd)
- National Startup Awards 2022 – Digital Startup of the Year North (ddroidd)
- We Are Tech Women 2021 – Inspirational Woman (Personal)
Timeline
Owner & Fractional COO
The Operating Co
2026.03 - Current
Co-founder & COO
Yellowgrid International
2024.01 - 2026.05
Co-founder, UK Managing Director
ddroidd Limited / ddroidd Limited S.R.L
2020.01 - 2024.01
Operations Director
Delete Agency (Now UNRVLD)
2019.01 - 2020.01
Operations Director
VST Enterprises
2018.01 - 2019.01
Operations Director
ZiMovi
2016.01 - 2018.01
Operations Manager (5yrs) Operations Director (5yrs)
(aq) Limited t/a aql
2005.01 - 2015.01
BSc (Hons) - Business & Events Management
Leeds Metropolitan University