Strategic Program Leadership for a Technology Infrastructure Services Company

INDUSTRY
COMPANY SIZE
10K+
PROJECT TYPE
Operational Governance and Execution Program

Rapid growth is a good problem to have — until it isn’t.

A fast-growing technology infrastructure services company found itself at a familiar inflection point. Demand was strong. The business was winning. But the internal systems designed for an earlier stage of growth were starting to strain under the weight of success.

Purchase-to-pay cycles were slow and inconsistent. Product offerings had expanded without clear structure. Quoting processes varied by team, creating friction for both customers and internal stakeholders.

The challenge

Rapid Growth Brings Complexity—And Opportunity

Like many high-growth technology companies, complexity had crept in quietly. Processes evolved organically. Teams solved problems locally. Over time, that created fragmentation.

This isn’t unusual. Research shows that:

  • 70% of transformation initiatives fail largely due to execution and governance breakdowns
  • Poor process integration costs organizations up to 20–30% in efficiency loss
  • Companies with inconsistent program ownership are 2x more likely to miss strategic outcomes

The challenge wasn’t a lack of talent or intent. It was the absence of a unifying program structure that connected strategy to execution.

Rapid growth has a way of exposing every little crack in your operation. Our goal isn’t to patch those cracks — it’s to help clients build something that can support what’s coming next.
— Sara Gallagher, President, The Persimmon Group

Our Approach

Strategic Program Leadership to Streamline, Standardize, and Scale

Persimmon embedded an experienced Program Manager with both program leadership and business analysis expertise — someone who could operate comfortably at the executive level and inside the work.

Rather than chasing disconnected improvements, the focus was on building a program that balanced momentum with sustainability.

Key elements of the approach included:

  • Designing a clear program roadmap that delivers early wins while reinforcing long-term operational goals
  • Engaging C-level leaders as focus-area owners, creating real accountability instead of passive sponsorship
  • Standardizing metrics and reporting, giving teams a shared language for progress and decision-making
  • Actively adjusting priorities based on market signals and operational insight
  • Partnering with internal teams, not working around them, to ensure changes would hold

Building Capability, Not Dependency

The Program Manager worked across sales, operations, and finance, helping teams connect the dots between their day-to-day work and broader organizational outcomes.

Just as important, knowledge transfer was built into the engagement from day one. Persimmon partnered closely with the client’s internal process improvement team, sharing tools, decision frameworks, and program practices that would outlast the engagement.

This matters to us because, over more than 20 years of helping organizations execute their most important work, we’ve seen a clear pattern: when teams build real capability and transfer that knowledge internally, progress is far more likely to stick long after our external support is gone.

88%
of workers in high-performing teams stated that their teams are very effective at sharing information across departments.

– Aquent, 2024

results & impact

The impact of this work showed up not as a single metric, but as meaningful, visible shifts in how the organization operated day to day. By establishing clearer ownership, shared processes, and a common language for decision-making, the organization was better positioned to scale without adding unnecessary friction.

Specifically, the engagement resulted in:

  • A more streamlined purchase-to-pay process, reducing unnecessary handoffs and clarifying accountability across teams
  • Simplified and more clearly defined product offerings, making it easier for both internal teams and customers to navigate complexity
  • Standardized quoting practices across teams, replacing variation with consistency and confidence
  • Stronger cross-department collaboration, supported by shared metrics and clearer executive ownership
  • Scalable program structures and practices, enabling the organization to continue improving without reliance on external support

Just as important, the work built internal capability alongside operational improvement. By partnering closely with the client’s internal teams throughout the engagement, the organization left with not only better processes, but the skills and confidence to sustain and extend those improvements over time.

Why It Matters

Building Capabilities That Last

At Persimmon, we understand that cookie-cutter approaches don’t deliver transformative results. While we know industry best practices inside and out, our strength lies in combining proven methodologies with innovative solutions tailored to each client’s unique needs. When clients engage Persimmon for program management expertise, they aren’t just getting a skilled project manager—they’re getting a strategic partner committed to delivering real business value.

Our consultants focus on practical solutions that move businesses forward efficiently and effectively while building internal capabilities that ensure lasting success. This approach, combined with our commitment to consistent excellence across our entire team, is why organizations trust Persimmon to lead their most strategically crucial programs.

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