Urlings Interim Management and Consultancy

Built for the operations
nobody else will touch.

When a company needs structure where there is none, or performance where it has stalled, it needs someone who diagnoses with precision and executes on Monday morning. Not a framework. Not a deck. An operator.

19+
Years in operational leadership
10x
Manufacturing output, battery technology scale-up
80%
Backlog reduction, VanMoof

Previous mandates

Tesla General Motors VanMoof Battery Tech Scale-up KPMG
The approach

Analytical discipline.
Monday morning instinct.

Eleven years in management consulting at KPMG builds one thing above all else: the ability to diagnose what is actually wrong, not what looks wrong from the outside.

Eight years running operations in high-growth tech scale-ups builds something else: the understanding that diagnosis is worthless unless someone can execute the fix in the actual organization, with the actual people, against the actual constraints.

Most operators can't see the system. Most consultants can't run it. This practice does both.

Diagnose before prescribing

Every engagement starts with operators, not documents. Signal from the people doing the work, pressure-tested against the data before a recommendation is made.

On-site, not remote

Operations don't fix themselves on a call. The work happens on the floor, in the team, in the room where the decisions land.

Data-driven by default

MSc Artificial Intelligence (2006). Every diagnosis is grounded in numbers. Gut alone isn't evidence.

Decisive when it counts

Scale-ups and downturns don't wait for perfect information. Clear calls, clear owners, clear timing. No hedging.

How I engage

Three ways to bring operational leadership in.

Each model fits a different phase and need. The right one depends on scope, urgency and the organization's capacity to absorb change.

Interim COO

Full-time operational leadership through a defined period: a scaling bottleneck, a performance downturn, a leadership gap or a high-stakes launch. Embedded in the organization, accountable for outcomes.

Full-time

Fractional COO

Part-time strategic operational guidance for scale-ups that need structure and executive oversight without the overhead of a full-time hire. Defined scope, fixed engagement cadence, measurable outcomes.

Part-time

Supervisory Board

Non-executive governance for engineering-intensive and mobility companies. Strategic oversight, risk management and the operational judgment that most boards are missing. Dutch RvC format.

Non-executive

Operational problems don't improve by waiting.

A 45-minute executive briefing to assess whether there is a fit. No pitch. No obligation.

Schedule an Operational Diagnostic
Services & Expertise

Operational scope.
No white space.

From supply chain to P&L, from engineering interfaces to customer operations. The full stack of what makes a complex company run.

Operational domains

What falls inside the scope.

Operational leadership means owning the interfaces, not just the departments. Every domain below has been executed, not just advised on.

Service Operations

Customer delivery, repair logistics, field operations, SLA architecture, service product design and the commercial layer sitting on top.

Technical Operations

Engineering-operations interfaces, tooling, test & diagnostics, escalation frameworks and technical workforce development.

Supply Chain & Logistics

End-to-end supply chain design, demand planning, parts and inventory management, inbound and outbound logistics and supplier performance.

Manufacturing & Production

Output scaling, throughput optimization, production system design, quality architecture and workforce capacity. From lean principles to live factory floor.

R&D Interface

Bringing new products into production: Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) input, NPI process ownership and the translation between engineering deliverables and operational reality.

Finance & Legal Operations

Operational P&L ownership, budget cadence, cost structure design, contract management and regulatory compliance as an operational function.

Organizational Design

Structuring teams for scale, defining roles and accountability, removing duplication and building operating models that don't need constant re-explanation.

Cross-functional Programs

Company-wide transformation programs, OKR architecture, operating rhythm design and large-scale change with full P&L and stakeholder accountability.

Data & Digital Operations

Operational analytics, KPI architecture, digital enablement programs and AI-adjacent tooling applied to operational decision-making.

Engagement models

Three models. Different scope, same standard.

Interim COO


Full-time / Fixed term

The Interim COO mandate is for companies with an operational crisis, a leadership gap or a scaling challenge that needs a full-time executive in the seat. Not a consultant with recommendations. An operator with accountability.

Typical triggers: CEO needs a right hand to run the organization while they focus externally. A COO departs during a critical phase. A company is doubling headcount and the operating model isn't keeping up. A new product line is launching and execution confidence is low.

Format: On-site, full-time, for an agreed term. Clear mandate, measurable outcomes and a defined transition plan built from day one. The goal is always to leave the organization more capable than when I arrived, not dependent on the engagement continuing.

  • Full operational authority and P&L accountability
  • Direct reports, hiring decisions and team structure in scope
  • Board-level reporting and stakeholder management
  • OKR architecture and operating rhythm design
  • Successor development and internal transition

Fractional COO


Part-time / Ongoing

Scale-ups at Series A/B frequently need C-suite operational thinking without the cost or complexity of a full-time hire. The Fractional COO model provides structured operational leadership on a defined weekly cadence.

Typical triggers: Founding team is running operations reactively and needs process. The company has 30 to 150 people and decisions are no longer flowing cleanly. An investor or board is flagging operational risk. A specific operational domain (supply chain, service, manufacturing) is the bottleneck.

Format: Fixed day commitment per week, defined scope, monthly reporting to CEO or board. Not advisory. Operational accountability within the agreed domain, with direct access to the team.

  • Defined operational domain ownership
  • Weekly cadence with leadership team
  • Process design and performance management
  • Hiring and org design input
  • Monthly board-ready operational reporting

Supervisory Board


Non-executive / RvC

Engineering-intensive companies and mobility scale-ups typically have boards with strong commercial or financial representation. What they are missing is someone who understands the operational reality: what the supply chain actually looks like, whether the manufacturing roadmap is credible and what it means when the service metrics diverge from the plan.

Typical fit: Companies in sustainable mobility, battery technology or high-complexity manufacturing. Boards where operational risk is material but operationally fluent governance is absent. Companies preparing for a capital raise or exit where operational credibility is under investor scrutiny.

Format: Dutch RvC structure. Regular board meeting attendance, audit committee participation where relevant, direct engagement with executive team on operational performance. Available for off-cycle consultation on operational decisions.

  • Operational risk oversight and challenge function
  • Supply chain and manufacturing strategy input
  • Executive team accountability and performance review
  • Capital allocation judgment on operational investments
  • M&A and integration operational due diligence

Not sure which model fits?

A brief conversation is usually enough to determine the right scope and structure.

Get in Touch
Track Record

The work. The numbers.
The outcomes.

Four organizations across three industries. Each mandate was different. The standard wasn't.

Tesla
Operations & Launch
EV / Automotive

Context

Two of the most operationally demanding programs in Tesla's European history: the Model 3 rollout across Europe and the standing-up of Gigafactory Berlin's operational infrastructure. Both required building at speed with minimal precedent and full accountability for outcomes.

Model 3 European Rollout

Designed and executed the service and customer operations infrastructure for a simultaneous multi-country launch. This included regional service capacity planning, technician readiness, parts supply positioning and the escalation architecture to handle volume spikes across markets with different regulatory and logistics conditions.

Gigafactory Berlin Operations

Cross-functional operational role in the establishment of Tesla's first European factory. Scope covered the non-manufacturing prerequisites for getting the site off the ground: land acquisition negotiations with Brandenburg authorities, permitting processes and the European regional aid application (a nine-figure investment incentive). The work that precedes a factory is as operationally demanding as running one.

Multi-country
simultaneous European launch coordinated
Giga Berlin
operations infrastructure built from ground up
Full stack
service, supply, workforce and escalation design
VanMoof
Service & Operations
Sustainable Mobility

Context

VanMoof was growing at exceptional speed with a service operation that had not kept pace. Backlog was the visible symptom. The underlying problem was structural: a service product, a workforce model and a supply chain that had been built for a smaller company and were breaking under scale.

What changed

VanMoof's bikes were technologically ambitious but demanding to service: the integrated design that made them distinctive also made repairs complex and parts-intensive. That product reality shaped everything. The service operation was rebuilt from the ground up around it: new service product architecture, a workforce redesign and productivity framework and supply chain repositioning to cut parts latency. A commercial layer was added to service that turned it from a cost centre into a revenue driver.

The results were real. They did not, however, change VanMoof's financial trajectory. The company entered bankruptcy in 2023. What the operational work demonstrated is that the service model could be fixed even when the broader business could not be saved.

After the acquisition by McLaren Applied and Greybull, the work continued in a different form. As fractional COO for the acquiring consortium, the task was to restart VanMoof 2.0: initiate operations, transition the business model from B2C to B2B and ensure the lessons from the bankruptcy were built into the new foundation rather than repeated.

80%
reduction in global service backlog
34%
global productivity improvement
350%
revenue growth in service operations
General Motors
European Operations
EV / Automotive

Context

Two mandates inside GM's European operations, both at the intersection of new product launches and the digitalization of customer and operational processes.

Cadillac LYRIQ European Delivery Launch

Led the operational design and execution of the LYRIQ's entry into the European market. Customer delivery operations, service readiness, parts positioning and the customer experience architecture for a brand entering a new region with no existing infrastructure.

GME Digital Excellence Program

Planning, execution and oversight of a digital transformation program focused on the procurement and implementation of key customer-facing and operational systems unique to GM's Direct-to-Consumer business model. Bridging US product and engineering teams, European business units and support functions to build GM Europe's operations backbone platform ahead of schedule.

EV Launch
Cadillac LYRIQ European market entry from zero
Multi-BU
digital program spanning multiple markets
Full stack
delivery ops, service, CX and digital systems
Battery Tech Scale-up
Interim COO
Manufacturing Tech

Context

A battery technology scale-up had the product and the market signal. What it did not have was the operational infrastructure to scale. Manufacturing output was the hard constraint. The organization had grown without the systems to support the growth. The COO mandate was full-spectrum: output, structure, culture and accountability.

What changed

Built the operating model from near-zero. Manufacturing output scaled by an order of magnitude. OKRs implemented company-wide: not as a performance management exercise, but as an operating tool with teeth. Organizational redesign to match the company's next stage. The way of working codified so it didn't depend on any single person to maintain.

10x
manufacturing output increase
OKRs
deployed company-wide as operational framework
Full org
redesign and operating model rebuilt for scale

Results like these start with a conversation.

A 45-minute diagnostic to assess scope, fit and timing.

Request Executive Briefing
About

The executive.
The operator.

Two decades at the intersection of analytical rigor and hands-on execution. Built for the work that others find uncomfortable.

Leadership philosophy.

The organizations that need an interim executive are not the ones running smoothly. They are in a growth phase that has outpaced their structure, a performance crisis that has outpaced their capacity to respond or a transition that needs someone to hold the organization together while the permanent picture takes shape.

Comfortable in explosive growth and in strategic downturns. These look like opposite problems. They are not. Both require the same underlying capability: reading an organization quickly, identifying the real constraint and mobilizing action without waiting for consensus.

The approach doesn't change by context. Start by talking to the people doing the work. Check the data. Name the real problem. Build the fix with the team, not around them. Leave before you become the dependency.

That last point matters. The measure of a good mandate is not how long it runs. It is whether the organization is more capable the day after it ends than the day before it started.

MSc Artificial Intelligence, 2006 Data-driven by foundation, not by habit. Quantitative reasoning is the default, not a tool applied selectively.
11 years, KPMG Management Consulting Structured diagnosis. Financial and operational rigor. Stakeholder management at board level across industries.
8 years, high-growth tech scale-ups Tesla, VanMoof, General Motors and a battery technology scale-up. Operations built from the ground up under conditions that don't forgive slow decisions.
Industries: Manufacturing, EV/Automotive, Sustainable Mobility, Battery Tech High-complexity operations with real engineering depth. Not generalist advisory.

Request a Briefing

For Board members, Founders and Investors. Treated as confidential. Response within one business day.

All inquiries are treated as confidential. No CRM, no marketing list. A direct response from Maurice Urlings.