Fractional COO.CFO · Interim & transition management
From strategy and operating model to finance, systems and teams.
Start a confidential conversationIs this you?
Your financial or operational reporting lacks the information that supports what you suspect. You need covenants issued on time — and in the green.
Talk about thisThe business lives in a few heads. As it grows, founders need time away from operations. The company needs a model, a system and roles everyone understands.
Talk about thisAn acquisition, reorganisation or new system needs someone who drives it from model to execution.
Talk about thisRecognise yourself in one of these? A first conversation costs nothing and clarifies a lot.
Get in touchMy story
I am an executive with twenty years of experience building and transforming sizeable companies in rail, infrastructure and public transport, many of them asset-heavy and PE-backed.
I work at two altitudes: with boards and CEOs setting the strategic direction and designing the adequate organization. Then I go hands-on with the teams who bring it to life. I stay close to the facts, listening closely to people’s feedback and structuring efficient IT solutions, to get proof by results & data.
After completing my last mandate in 2026 building a successful scale-up in Luxembourg, I am keeping my base here and reopening my advisory services business, Pilango, the one through which I led complex transformation programmes, notably for RATP.
Today I work with funds, family offices and founders, helping them reach their goals by structuring their operations and finance.
WHAT I DO: BUILD STRONG FOUNDATIONS WHILE SEEKING IMMEDIATE IMPACT ON EBITDA
The asset acquisition had just been signed and funded, the company was legally formed. I joined with a mandate to launch finance and operations in Luxembourg.
Fully internalised with 2 people, for direct control of analytical accounts.
Complete reporting with financial and operational KPIs and covenants.
Recruited 1 FTE to stay on top of the fleet, lease contracts and revenue collection.
Accounts audited without reservation. Maintenance reserves model approved.
saved on one supplier contract in year one — a substantial share of OPEX, with the company's number-one supplier.
How
One IT and BI choice, set up properly.
One IT hire, very good providers.
WHAT I DO: LEAD TEAMS WITH A SENSE OF THE MISSION
Nexrail, PE-backed rail asset lessor
Back-office functions, a team and a network built from zero
12 people, one team
RATP, French public transport operator
Teams carried through change — 12 years of trust
12 years leading transformation programmes
« Through her power of conviction, Sophie drove a lasting transformation of our processes together with her team, bringing a different way of looking at problems and reconciling everyone's interests. »
The method
A model reflecting the complexity of the business, making managerial drivers visible and actionable — in charts, a financial spreadsheet or a database — to support performance and communication.
A strategy is best executed with the right org chart, and the adequate operational workbook. Once clear, I build or adapt the information system (ERP, CRM, data lake, BI, AI agents…) to support processes and relevant KPIs.
I carry teams through change, promoting a culture of purpose: everyone sees their contribution and their impact on others. Together we build a path with minimal impact on operations.
My credo: listen to everyone, most of all to the market.
Track record
Steering the business in ways that significantly impact EBITDA
As COO of a rail lessor, I steered operations to maximize EBITDA, eg. keeping availability high while orchestrating heavy maintenance with clients and suppliers, negotiating a new fleet insurance contract matched to our clients' needs, or using telematics data to help finance refine the maintenance reserves model, etc.
CREATING VALUE THROUGH RECOGNIZED STANDARDS
I designed a CO2 reduction roadmap aligned with SBTi standards, and built the ESG team and organization that raised our EcoVadis score by 18 points in two years.
IMPLEMENT A CARVE-OUT WITH MINIMUM IMPACT & ON THE DUE DATE
Based on the framework I designed addressing the operational impacts of the carve-out of the infrastructure manager, I was named in charge of change management for this program. Our team delivered on the due date with minimal operational impact.
An engineering division becomes a profit centre
An organization decided to turn from a cost center to a profit center, charging their services internally. I was mandated to lead this cultural change, supporting it with a new model and a new system. This got them to win bids and plan for the 10-year activity peak related to the Grand Paris.
From a 20-page printout to dashboards at every level
I sat down with maintenance teams from management to the floor to understand their performance drivers, ploughed through their systems and designed a BI solution usable at every level of the organization. New KPIs were defined, properly calculated thanks to a indicator register and a system map. Statistical performance was introduced.
Engagements
Part-time executive mandate, embedded in the leadership team.
Best fit — A business that needs COO or CFO leadership without a full-time hire.
Temporary leadership to deliver a transformation or take operational responsibility.
Best fit — An integration, or a need for structure before or after fundraising.
« If you're starting something ambitious, and need an executive who has built something successfully from scratch — reach out to her. »
Based in Luxembourg & Paris, working across Europe.
