Updated
From zero to a 120-strong delivery organization
Summary
A new line of business, built from scratch: a delivery organization of 120+ engineers, project managers and analysts, with its own P&L, a leadership layer, and a portfolio that no longer depended on a single partner.
Key figures
- 0 to 120+people
- Under 3 years
- €5M+portfolio of concurrent programs
- 11 of 19verified Clutch reviews relate to my portfolio
Context
CSHARK is a software company. The new line of business started around one key partner and had to grow into a sustainable delivery operation, serving several clients and offering more than project delivery.
Challenge
Grow the team fast without losing delivery quality or margin. Build a business that could survive losing its biggest partner. Make a growing portfolio visible to executives before problems became expensive.
Starting point
A new line of business with one key partner and no delivery organization of its own.
My role
I co-created the line of business with the company's leadership and owned its delivery: hiring plans, utilization and capacity, the leadership layer, delivery standards, project profitability and the portfolio of programs and clients. I worked with sales on pre-sales, solution shaping and account growth. The CEO and the company's leadership set the strategy. I was accountable for turning it into a working delivery organization.
What I did
Treat delivery as a business, not a cost center.
I introduced P&L analysis for projects, KPI and margin tracking, and regular utilization, capacity and recruitment planning, so that delivery decisions were made on profitability as well as on schedule.
Build the leadership layer as deliberately as the headcount.
I recruited, mentored and led project managers and delivery leaders, and acted as the final escalation point for complex delivery and stakeholder issues.
Reduce single-partner risk.
The client portfolio grew from one key partner to a company serving several clients. Beside the original delivery work (Build the Bank) we added Change the Bank and Run the Bank services.
Standardize how we deliver.
Governance models, KPI frameworks, RAID processes, Steering Committees, delivery standards and reusable operating models made the results repeatable and the risks visible.
Outcome and evidence
The organization reached 120+ people in under three years, with a leadership layer of project managers and delivery leaders, a portfolio of programs above €5M, and a client base that no longer rested on one partner.
| Measure | Value | Basis | Scope note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Organization size | 0 to 120+ | CSHARK employees: engineers, project managers and analysts | Headline figure, employees only |
| Time | Under three years | Growth phase, from the start of my work at CSHARK until the digital banking program began | Approximate |
| Portfolio | €5M+ | Concurrent programs | Not an annual revenue figure |
| Client feedback | 11 of 19 verified Clutch reviews relate to my portfolio | Public reviews | clutch.co/profile/cshark |
What the figures do not show
The headcount is a headline figure for CSHARK employees: engineers, project managers and analysts together. I co-created this with the company's leadership, and the growth also depended on an anchor client and on company-level decisions. The portfolio value describes concurrent programs, not annual revenue. Financial results of the line of business are not published here.
Learnings
- Build managers before headcount overwhelms them. Growth outruns the experience of the people leading it unless leadership development is planned as deliberately as hiring.
- Margin is a delivery discipline. It is protected by utilization, capacity planning and honest project P&L, not by pricing alone.
- Concentration risk is a delivery problem too. Winning the second and third client is part of delivering the first.
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