Protiviti’s UK COO Community: Practical Insights. Real Impact. COOs must act decisively to transform operations amid global volatility, supply chain disruptions, and rapid AI advancements. Long-term success depends on agility, resilience, and strategic investment in talent and technology. The priority is clear: build resilient operations and leverage technology to secure long-term growth. Join Protiviti's growing UK COO Community and hear about upcoming community events and thought leadership. Register here Protiviti’s COO Horizon: Insights for Tomorrow. Explore Scott Bolderson’s insightful blog series, where he tackles real-world challenges and practical solutions shaping the role of today’s COO. Navigating Innovation and the Board’s Balancing Act The COO’s Firefighting Mandate: Extinguishing Costs While Igniting Growth Bridging Generational Productivity AI Adoption in PE Owned Businesses AI in Financial Services Navigating Innovation and the Board’s Balancing Act Navigating Innovation and the Board’s Balancing Act February 2026 To unlock its full potential, and to understand the risks and opportunities it presents, leaders must articulate what innovation truly means for their business. They must establish a clear, consistent definition that is tailored to their organisation to guide strategic decision-making around systems, people, organisational structure and culture.Read more The COO’s Firefighting Mandate: Extinguishing Costs While Igniting Growth The COO’s Firefighting Mandate: Extinguishing Costs While Igniting Growth January 2026 Our survey participants shared their views through an online survey conducted from early September through mid-October 2025. This paper offers specific insights into these issues from the perspective of the Chief Operating Officer (COO).Read more Bridging Generational Productivity Bridging Generational Productivity: A COO’s Pragmatic Playbook November 2025 According to new research from the London School of Economics Inclusion Initiative (TII), conducted in collaboration with Protiviti, teams with higher generational diversity report higher productivity (77% vs. 66%) and greater commitment and belonging.Read more AI Adoption in PE Owned Businesses AI Adoption in PE Owned Businesses: A COO’s Playbook for Realistic Value October 2025 This is a pragmatic playbook for COOs leading PE owned companies across sectors. It’s about being optimistic on AI’s transformative potential while staying grounded in realistic, value focused execution.Read more AI in Financial Services AI in Financial Services: A COO’s Practical Playbook for Real-World AI Adoption September 2025 This playbook is designed for COOs in financial services who need to deploy AI in a way that delivers real, tangible outcomes while strengthening compliance and enhancing operational controls. Let’s take a hard look at how you can turn AI into a competitive advantage, using actual FSI credentials to guide you.Read more Get in touch Image Scott Bolderson, Managing DirectorConnect on LinkedInScott has nearly 30 years in Management Consulting, starting at Arthur Andersen before helping launch Protiviti UK in 2004. His expertise spans Transformation across Operations, Technology, and Finance, with significant experience in Financial Services, particularly post-2008 regulatory-driven change in Front and Middle Office. Over the past five years, Scott has worked across industries with Private Equity portfolio companies, driving growth and financial control. He has built his practice around technology partnerships, focusing on automation and AI to deliver impactful operational solutions. Scott will lead the newly established Protiviti UK COO Community. Image Laura Moore, Managing DirectorConnect on LinkedInLaura is a Managing Director in Protiviti’s Risk and Compliance (R&C) practice with over 20 years financial services experience. She is the lead for the UK’s Operational Resilience team and has a deep understanding of the key operational resilience concepts and challenges faced by organisations seeking to strengthen their resiliency. Image Paul Middleton, Managing DirectorConnect on LinkedInPaul joined Protiviti in August 2018 and leads our capital markets business in London. Paul was COO for the European credit derivatives trading and CDO business at Barclays, and brings a deep understanding of traded products, structured products, front to back controls, trading infrastructure and reg tech / fintech solutions. He qualified as an ACA with PwC, where he delivered audit and business advisory services to banking and capital markets clients. Image Nicola Dolman, Senior ManagerConnect on LinkedInNicola Dolman is a Senior Manager at Protiviti who works closely with leading financial services clients to support their change, transformation, and operations agendas. She also oversees Protiviti’s engagement with a UK industry body and the associated UK COO Forum. Additional Featured Insights Reimagining a New COO-Board Dynamic In 2025, COOs are not only operational leaders of the organisation but also strategic partners of the board, navigating volatility, global challenges, workforce shifts, customer experience (CX) and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Read more Prioritise Cost Optimisation Over Cost Cutting to Achieve Meaningful Results As pressure to reduce costs increases, CFOs have an opportunity to deepen their cross-functional influence and fortify their advisory role to the CEO and other C-suite leaders. Read more Transforming the Enterprise: How to Guide an ERP Implementation to Success ERP systems are the backbone of enterprise operations, supporting critical functions like finance, operations and HR. But they are more than that — modern, cloud-based ERP systems can be truly transformational to business, allowing it to work in ways that are leaner, faster, more intelligent, more integrated and more effective. Read more Podcast | Navigating Blind Spots: Supply Chain Considerations for Boards Explore the critical supply chain considerations that corporate boards must address as the new administration takes office. This podcast discuss the potential impacts on business operations and strategies to mitigate risks amidst political changes. Read more Transforming Procurement: A Source-to-Pay Assessment Protiviti worked with finance, accounting, sourcing and procurement, and enterprise application leaders to develop end-to-end source-to-pay assessment and design and deliver a future-state implementation roadmap for sourcing and spend, procure-to-pay operations, performance and reporting, and governance and enablement. Read more From Automation to Autonomy - The Capabilities and Complexities of AI Agents Protiviti's AI Survey 3.0 reveals organisations are using Agentic AI to enhance decisions, improve efficiency and shape the future. Read more
