My Work Experience

I'm a Chief of Staff with extensive product, operations and entrepreneurial experience.

I specialize in bridging the gap between strategy and getting stuff done, building relationships, and operationalizing high-impact initiatives at scale with a perpetually positive attitude. With a background in consulting, I’m used to jumping in to ambiguous situations and figuring things out fast. My background in product makes me great at fostering team trust and aligning stakeholders. I’ve worked in many industries and company sizes from 3 to 85,000 and have a unique bag of tricks to prove it.

CoS

CATALYST OF SUCCESS
See what I did there? I make sure stuff gets done the right way.
Image of Kara holding a coffee mug that says Rise and Shine.

MBA

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
Specialization in Creative Innovation and Entrepreneurship
A student at the University of Illinois bookstore, pointing at the sign on the door

15

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
Across multiple industries, stages, sizes and maturity of companies.
Kara Skrip giving a talk about customer loyalty and its impact on revenue

My top skills

Supercharging and organizing the executive team

Connecting dots and finding patterns that others don’t see

Leading cross-functional teams, managing stakeholders, and building relationships

Communicating clearly and often across the org

Keeping teams productive, happy and efficient

Operating in scrappy and high-growth environments

Leveraging AI to work smarter, not harder

Maintaining positivity even in difficult scenarios

My education

University of Illinois

M.B.A., Specialization in Creative Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Purdue University

B.S., Double Major in Accounting and Management

M.I.T.

FinTech Future Commerce Certificate

Jul 2024 - Present

Chief of Staff,
Founding Member

The PMX Group

  • Partnered with the executive team to define and track key strategic priorities for the organization, ensuring alignment with long-term business goals and success of engagements.
  • Operationalized key business processes, including planning cycles, leadership meetings and KPI tracking (using Traction), ensuring accountability and streamlined communication.
  • Built out new product lines including SEO Product Marketing, Product Training and more.
  • Recruited, onboarded, and developed top-tier product consulting talent, ensuring smooth project execution and fostering a collaborative environment for growth.
AUG 2021 - JUN 2024

Chief of Staff,
Founding Member

The Product Consult

  • Collaborated with the executive team to define and drive critical strategic initiatives, overseeing the execution of high-priority projects across consulting engagements.
  • Established internal processes, improving the efficiency of team communications, project tracking, and client delivery to ensure that operations were nimble and outcome-focused.
  • Facilitated alignment between product consultants, ensuring that cross-functional efforts were coordinated and drove tangible business results.
JUL 2020 - PRESENT

Executive Product Consultant

Clients Include: The Host Co., Groundswell, Clara for Daters, MilkStork, CFPB, Attendly, Blackline, Skypoint AI, and more

  • Provided strategic guidance to clients in building MVPs, finding product-market fit, and optimizing product processes, directly influencing client growth.
  • Led client projects, working cross-functionally to define product strategy and ensure timely execution of complex product initiatives.
  • Built product strategies leveraging NoCode and AI solutions to rapidly scale clients’ MVPs and early-stage products.
  • Trained organizations and product teams to level up their product skills and processes in way that was tailored to their needs.
FEB 2021 - DEC 2021

Product Coach & Mentor

Maven

Mentor and Coach for Lenny Rachitsky's first and second PM Fundamentals course. Led weekly discussions and provided one-on-one mentorship to aspiring product managers. I helped guide students through the challenges of leveling up their product management careers, sharing my expertise in strategy, execution, and cross-functional leadership to help them build high-impact products.

MAR 2021 - OCT 2021

Product Executive in Residence

Mighty Capital

Founding member of the program until its close. Sourced 25 investment leads and mentored early-stage founders on product strategy and development. Contributed to the company’s investment process by identifying high-potential opportunities and providing hands-on support to help startups navigate their product journeys, resulting in one startup receiving the Rising Star Award.

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DEC 2019 - JUL 2020

Director of Product & Design, Founding Member

Mina

  • Defined and executed the product strategy for a marketplace aimed at connecting families with birth and postpartum professionals.
  • Supported the CEO & COO in preparing pitch decks for investor meetings, ensuring clear, actionable messaging about strategic priorities to drive investor confidence and pave the path for business growth.
  • Successfully launched the product, achieving hundreds of sign-ups within a week and securing a key brand partnership with Medela, the company’s largest revenue source.
JAN 2019 - AUG 2019

Director of Product, Retail & Customer Support

True Botanicals

  • Led product, retail, and customer support team, balancing visionary leadership with hands-on execution.
  • Championed customer-centric discovery efforts while building the product roadmap, translating insights into intuitive product features that increased repeat purchases and conversion rates.
  • Led the successful overhaul of the customer support process, improving response times and increasing customer satisfaction.
NOV 2015 - JUN 2018

Head of Product

ModCloth

  • Defined and executed the product vision across all of ModCloth’s channels - ecommerce and physical stores.
  • Built and operationalized the product process from the ground up, ensuring alignment between business objectives and customer needs that enhanced team efficiency and execution speed during high-growth periods.
  • Owned the product roadmap, integrating customer feedback, market insights, and competitive data to deliver high-impact features.
  • Managed a complex replatforming project, balancing competing stakeholder demands with technological and budget constraints while positioning the company strategically for acquisition by Walmart.
aug 2014 - mar 2015

Senior Product Manager

Gild

  • Spearheaded the strategy and development of Source, the primary product and revenue driver for the company.
  • Led the company transition from selling a single application to an entire hiring platform, including building new product lines and integrating acquisitions by defining a holistic product strategy and product launch approach.
  • Launched a real-time search experience, improving user experience and driving over 5,000 searches within the first two weeks.
oct 2012 - jul 2014

Product/Project Manager

ModCloth

  • Managed key optimization projects, such as a navigation redesign and improved filters, driving a 5% increase in revenue and conversion across platforms.
  • Built innovative features like Style Gallery and Fit for Me as well as the first social shopping mobile app.
  • Organized and led biannual hackathons, resulting in over five projects being released to the site and mobile app.
jun 2010 - sep 2011

Product/Project Management Consultant

Clients Include: Best Buy & Boston Scientific

  • Consulted for multiple clients primarily focused on platform transformation and emerging technologies.
  • Built strong cross-functional relationships and executed strategic initiatives that balanced business goals with customer-centric solutions.
  • Streamlined delivery process by identifying roadblocks and found creative solutions despite bureaucratic challenges and complicated stakeholder hierarchy of larger organizations.
i'm available for fractional, remote engagements

Need a kickass Chief of Staff?

My passion lies in fostering environments where teams can thrive, delivering meaningful business value quickly and keeping customers at the heart of what we do. I bring a unique blend of strategic vision and hands-on leadership, allowing me to translate complex challenges into actionable outcomes. Looking for someone to catalyze innovation, streamline operations and build teams that excel?

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