Open to opportunities

Makenah Tippets

@makenahtippets

Message

Program Operations and PMO leader who builds regulated, data-driven operating systems to accelerate SaaS delivery.

United States

Message

What I'm looking for

I’m looking to lead program operations/PMO delivery in regulated or high-stakes environments—building operating systems, aligning exec stakeholders, and using AI/automation to compress cycles while maintaining compliance and measurable KPIs.

I’m a Program Operations and Program Management leader with 8+ years scaling SaaS, FinTech, EdTech, and commercial banking through PMO buildouts, portfolio management, and cross-functional execution. I’ve founded PMOs twice and am currently the sole program operations manager at a national commercial bank—standing up new Asset-Based Lending and custodial deposits lines while partnering directly with the CEO and executive team.

Previously, I doubled sprint throughput as a Scrum Master and directed a $7M+ portfolio with 95% on-time delivery. I’m comfortable operating in regulated environments alongside compliance and risk partners, and I’m AI-savvy—leveraging AI and automation to compress delivery cycles through disciplined intake-to-delivery workflows, KPI/dashboard design, and governance that teams actually follow.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Program Operations Manager

Current

FDIC-Insured Commercial Bank

Dec 2025 - Present (6 months)

Sole program operations manager partnering with the CEO and executive team to stand up new Asset-Based Lending and custodial deposits lines. Built end-to-end ABL workflows and systems with first deal funded 5 months from inception and cut team cycle time ~50% using a Jira-based operating system.

Program Operations PMO Leadership Asset Based Lending Jira Operating System Intake To Delivery Workflow

Current

Fractional Product Operations Lead

Current

Independent Consulting

Jul 2022 - Present (3 years 11 months)

Built and scaled two PMOs from scratch, standardizing KPIs, intake, and delivery cadence to reduce delivery variance by 20%. Recovered a stalled ERP rollout on the original schedule and improved resourcing accuracy by 32% while reducing delays by 28%.

PMO KPI Design Resource Planning Go To Market Operations Change Management

Scrum Master / Product Owner

Tecuity

Mar 2024 - Sep 2025 (1 year 6 months)

Doubled sprint throughput from 50 to 102 tickets by re-architecting backlog refinement, sizing, and acceptance-criteria practices. Led an Azure DevOps to Jira migration and partnered with 14 state agencies to deliver compliant integrations, reducing regulatory delays on multi-state rollouts.

Agile Scrum Acceptance Criteria Jira Azure Migrate Stakeholder Management Delivery Analytics

Portfolio Manager / Senior PM

Reading Horizons

Mar 2018 - Dec 2023 (5 years 9 months)

Directed a $7M+ program portfolio delivering 20+ projects annually with 95% on-time completion. Designed processes and agile conventions for 45 developers and 10+ product owners, and drove SaaS rollouts to 200+ school sites with 100% adoption by year one.

Portfolio Management Program Delivery Agile Coaching Executive Reporting Risk Mitigation

Project Coordinator / Office Mgr

WebBank

Mar 2016 - Mar 2018 (2 years)

Progressed from receptionist to office manager and project coordinator in under 24 months. Coordinated a call center launch to expand customer service capacity and improve response time while supporting compliance and financial governance in a regulated, FDIC-insured banking environment.

Project Coordination Office Management Call Center Operations Compliance Operations FDIC Regulated Processes