Meet Melissa McGinty

I build the foundation founders grow on.

I've lived three software acquisitions from the buyer's side and worked with their founders through integration. I know what changes, what breaks, and what survives when a software company gets absorbed into a bigger one. Most operators who help founders get ready for an exit have never been inside the acquirer. I have.

Where it comes from.

For six years I was chief of staff for a 400-person, nine-country AI software organization, built from three software acquisitions and run as one. I ran its $55M annual budget to under 3% variance. More to the point: I sat on the buyer's side of those integrations and worked with their founders as their companies became part of something larger. I saw what made an acquired company easy to absorb, and what made it a problem the buyer regretted paying for. That's the lens I bring to every engagement.

The rest of a 27-year career at Intel filled in the range:

  • Caught an $800M capacity crisis before it landed, and recovered the production.

  • Relocated 100 engineers, half the team we had in Russia, during wartime without losing a billion-dollar program.

  • Broke a 12-month product stalemate in five weeks.

  • Ran a multi-billion-dollar capital program.

Different problems, same discipline: find what's actually breaking, sequence the fix, and get it done with the people you have.

How I work.

I'm an operator, not a consultant. I don't hand you a deck and leave. I work alongside your team, find what's real, and stay to fix it if you want it fixed.

I tell you the truth. The whole value of an outside operator is that I'll say the thing your team can't or won't. If you want someone to validate decisions you've already made, I'm the wrong call.

I build foundations, not constraints. A stable operational foundation is what lets a founder take bigger swings, not smaller ones. The point is room to grow.

I stay in my lane. I assess how your company runs, operational AI included. How your product works, and what AI belongs inside it, stays with your CTO.

What People Say

VP, AI Products

"Mel functioned essentially as a COO for our organization. She knew how to get teams working together who weren't naturally aligned, and she was a key problem solver for any bottleneck we hit. I would hire her again in a minute."

Senior Director, Global Construction

“Mel is able to step into any situation, size it up, and quickly impact/lead. Any situation. She outlines her understanding, her plan, and speaks her mind.”

Founder, COSMONiO (AI SaaS, Acquired)

“Working with Mel was one of the most effective partnerships I’ve had as a founder. She has a rare ability to cut through noise, surface what’s actually happening inside an organization, and help you confront the hard stuff without ever making it feel heavy. Mel consistently removed roadblocks before they became real problems and kept our team focused and aligned.”