Sarah Brownell
Strategy & Operations Advisor | Fractional Chief of Staff
She/her
Make your organization easier to lead
Capable people can put enormous effort into their work and still struggle to move an organization forward. Priorities compete, decisions take too long, and important initiatives lose momentum between teams.
Sarah Brownell helps CEOs and leadership teams understand what is getting in the way and make practical changes to how their organizations plan, make decisions, work together, and get things done.
She brings experience in strategy, operations, and executive leadership support, with a particular focus on connecting organizational priorities with the structures and practices needed to deliver them.
Experience from inside complex organizations
Sarah’s background spans technology and professional services, including leadership roles at Nintex, PitchBook, and Milliman, and earlier experience at Microsoft and AT&T.
At Milliman, she served as Chief of Staff to Health Research leadership and built and led a global Marketing Technology & Operations function. At PitchBook, she worked within the CMO’s office to connect planning, performance reviews, and coordination across functions. At Nintex, she worked closely with executive leadership on planning, governance, and the management practices supporting company-wide execution.
Across these roles, she has built teams and functions, supported senior executives, and helped organizations adapt as their needs became more complex.
Sarah holds an Executive MBA in Leadership from Seattle University’s Albers School of Business.
How Sarah can help
Leadership and organizational effectiveness
When something is not working as well as it should, the underlying cause is not always obvious.
Sarah works with leaders to untangle competing priorities, unclear accountability, slow decisions, and friction between teams. She helps develop and implement improvements that fit the people, responsibilities, and realities of the organization.
Planning and execution
A useful strategy needs realistic commitments and a way to sustain progress.
Sarah helps leadership teams make choices about what matters, connect priorities across functions, and establish practical ways to review progress, address obstacles, and adjust as circumstances change.
Executive advisory and fractional Chief of Staff
For CEOs and senior executives managing competing demands, Sarah provides an experienced partner who can bring perspective, structure, and follow-through.
Her support can include executive decision preparation, leadership team coordination, strategic initiatives, and the planning and management practices that keep important work moving. She can work as an ongoing advisor, fractional Chief of Staff, or interim executive operations partner.
Curious, candid, and collaborative
Sarah asks questions and listens carefully before recommending change. She looks at both the formal organization and the relationships, expectations, and everyday practices shaping how it works.
Her approach is structured and flexible, moving between the bigger picture and the practical details. She believes most people want to do good work, and that organizations have a responsibility to create the conditions that help them succeed.
The aim is straightforward: make the business easier to run and give people a clearer path to doing their best work.
What is getting in your organization’s way?
Start a conversation about your priorities, the challenges you are navigating, and where Sarah and the Rysing Tide team could help.
