Maile Lesica has been in the field of operations for over 15 years, during which she has worked for several companies, including Caribou, Gilt, DoorDash, and Fellow. Her career has been defined by her willingness to take on new challenges and build things from scratch. She has held a variety of roles, including Chief Commercial Officer, Director of Merchant Strategy, and Head of International Logistics and Management.
We sat down with Maile to discuss her work as a startup advisor and fractional executive and how she helps startups scale their operations with intention. Highlights from our conversation include:
Why it’s never too early to create a dashboard
How she uses her expertise to guide startups through early growth stages
Lesica’s management philosophy and how she develops talent on her teams
Her dream job growing up
How she sees technology and AI playing a huge role in the future of operations
Check out the full interview for Maile’s must-read book recommendation for all operations leaders, biggest career mistakes and lessons, and more.