Open to opportunities

Maria Ines Arriaza

@mariainesarriaza

Message

Chief of Staff building execution infrastructure for founders and CEOs.

Spain

Message

What I'm looking for

I’m looking for a role where I can embed with founders or CEOs, build execution/OKR operating cadence, remove operational load, and keep high-stakes initiatives moving—so leadership can stay focused on strategy, clients, and growth.

I sit between the CEO and everything that pulls them away from growth, and my mission is to understand leadership goals better than anyone else—then build the accountability and execution infrastructure around the team. I don’t wait for a playbook; I build the structure, hold the line on execution, and detect competing interests and risks early.

I’m a PMP-certified operator who has built without a manual across Latin America and Europe, leading cross-functional and cross-cultural work in both languages. From creating OKR-driven operating cadence for a 400-person organization as Chief of Staff to leading full-cycle consulting engagements and founding a consumer beverage business from product to operations, I turn ambiguity into crisp plans, milestones, and follow-through.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Strategic Advisor

Current

Tack Room Capital

Apr 2025 - Present (1 year 1 month)

Defined the firm’s end-to-end strategic and commercial foundation, including market positioning, service design, GTM strategy, and operating system. Built and executed an investor outreach operation that successfully closed a fintech pre-seed round.

Strategic Planning GTM Strategy Client Engagement Positioning Bilingual Pitching Pipeline Management

Founder & Operator

Coktí

Feb 2023 - Dec 2024 (1 year 10 months)

Built and operated a consumer beverage business as a solo founder across product development, brand, operations, and vendor management. Scaled a new home cocktail format to 400+ units per month through independently built production, logistics, and client delivery systems.

Product Development Vendor Management Scaling

Project Lead

U Plus

Mar 2021 - Feb 2023 (1 year 11 months)

Led full-cycle delivery of high-stakes consulting engagements, building project frameworks and managing scope, timelines, and dependencies across global teams. Delivered a patent commercialization engagement for Khalifa University by evaluating hundreds of dormant patents and producing a final report identifying the top 20 candidates.

Project Leadership Consulting Delivery Stakeholder Management Research & Evaluation Framework

Senior Consultant

Novartis

Aug 2020 - Mar 2021 (7 months)

Managed deliverables, timelines, and stakeholders within Novartis’s internal consulting function across global and regional workstreams. Co-led deployment of a global internal survey for 100,000+ employees, coordinating HR and regional teams to achieve a record 78% participation rate.

Consulting Execution Stakeholder Management Program Management Project Planning

Chief of Staff

Agexport

Dec 2016 - Feb 2018 (1 year 2 months)

Built the executive operating infrastructure for a 400-person organization undergoing structural and cultural change with 16 senior leaders and a diverse board. Revamped KPI frameworks, established weekly/monthly/quarterly cadence and a centralized tracking system, and held directors accountable to organizational OKRs to close open actions before slippage.

Stakeholder Management Cross Team Unblocking

HNW Client Service Manager

Banco G&T Continental

Jan 2012 - Jul 2015 (3 years 6 months)

Built a premium high-net-worth client service line from scratch, owning research, design, launch, and scaling. Won board approval after field and competitor research identified an unserved segment, deployed a replicable model across six branches, and led a 20-person team while re-engineering workflows for adoption.

Client Servicing Market Research Business Case Development Service Design Team Leadership Stakeholder Management