Skip to content Appointing a COO to Drive Vision into Execution
Crucible, a mission-driven education startup, was preparing to scale rapidly, aiming to launch up to 10 new schools annually across Africa. To support this ambitious growth, Millar Cameron was engaged to identify and recruit their first Chief Operating Officer: a leader capable of translating vision into disciplined execution while building scalable systems across multiple, decentralised geographies.
- Location: Africa
- Sector: Education
- Services: Executive Search
ABOUT
Crucible is a dynamic, not-for-profit startup with a bold vision: to catalyse the creation of 100 world-class secondary schools across Sub-Saharan Africa by 2045.
Its mission is to expand the pipeline of exceptional African leaders, equipping a new generation to shape the continent’s future through transformative, locally grounded education.
THE CHALLENGE
Crucible’s ambitious growth plans came with a significant challenge: how to scale operational excellence across multiple, decentralised geographies - without any existing infrastructure to build on. This wasn’t simply about filling a senior leadership role; it was about designing an operational ecosystem from the ground up - one capable of flexing across diverse regulatory, cultural, and logistical contexts throughout Africa. As such, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) role demanded a rare blend of strategic systems thinking and hands-on startup execution.
The ideal candidate needed to be more than operationally strong, they had to be a builder. Someone with deep familiarity with African contexts, a track record of leading complex delivery across borders, and the credibility to navigate ecosystem dynamics with confidence. A trusted regional network and the ability to broker relationships across sectors and stakeholders were essential. This was not a profile that could be sourced through passive outreach or internal networks alone.
To meet this challenge, Crucible partnered with Millar Cameron to lead a rigorous executive search. Through in-depth market mapping and proactive engagement across the region (including the diaspora), we ensured that every relevant candidate was surfaced. This gave Crucible confidence that the process was exhaustive and that their hiring decision reflected a complete, well-informed view of the talent landscape. The result: a COO equipped to lead scalable, sustainable growth across the continent.
Two things differentiated Millar Cameron from other search firms. First, from the outset they invested time to deeply understand our organisation and our needs. These conversations helped shape our own thinking, and the resulting brief for the role was better than anything we could have written ourselves. Second, their candidate research and due diligence was exceptional. We were expecting a list of great candidates with CVs. What we received was a detailed, comprehensive summary of each candidate that aided and accelerated our search process.
OUR APPROACH
This mandate combined several strands of Millar Cameron’s integrated service model: Executive Search, Employer Brand Advisory, and Market Intelligence, all tailored to the needs of a visionary organisation on the cusp of scale.
Executive Search
At the heart of the engagement was a pan-African retained search to identify Crucible’s first COO. With only one full-time employee at the time, this hire would serve as a co-architect of the organisation’s next chapter. We leveraged our borderless recruitment approach, including outreach to top-tier diaspora talent, and delivered:
- Bespoke headhunting focused on mission alignment and adaptive leadership
- A structured assessment framework balancing strategy, execution, and cultural fit
- Rigorous referencing and scenario testing in high-autonomy contexts
The final appointment brought deep operational experience, regional fluency, and a “builder’s mindset” - precisely the profile Crucible needed to scale sustainably.
Strategic Positioning & Employer Brand Advisory
With limited visibility beyond the education sector, Crucible needed to tell a compelling story to attract senior talent. We worked closely with the leadership team to shape impactful messaging around:
- The organisation’s systems-level ambition and pan-African impact
- The opportunity to shape operational cadence and culture from day one
- The generational potential of the role within a values-driven, high-growth venture
This positioning enabled Crucible to engage candidates who were not actively job-seeking but were inspired by purpose and long-term impact.
Market Insights & Intelligence
With flexibility on candidate location (anywhere in Africa or the diaspora), we conducted extensive market mapping across geographies and sectors. Our research and advisory support included:
- A refined longlisting strategy aligned to experience, location, and cultural context
- Honest conversations around trade-offs, motivations, and leadership readiness
- Candidate engagement rooted in trust, transparency, and long-view opportunity framing
THE OUTCOME
The COO appointment marked a pivotal step in Crucible’s growth journey. We placed a mission-aligned leader with the operational depth, regional fluency, and cultural adaptability needed to build systems and scale from the ground up. Their prior experience in a comparable education context allowed them to contribute from day one - shaping structure, cadence, and team culture.
What made this search stand out was the weight of responsibility: with only one team member in place, the COO would be both operational lead and cultural architect. Millar Cameron’s deep understanding of the founder’s leadership style, built through a previous collaboration, enabled us to move with trust, speed, and clarity.
Beyond the hire, we helped elevate Crucible’s profile, engaging senior talent across Africa and the diaspora. The client valued our tailored approach, thought partnership, and ability to position the opportunity with credibility in a market unfamiliar with the brand.
GET IN TOUCH WITH MILLAR CAMERON
If you would like to find out more about our specific expertise, or talk to a member of our team about your next senior hire, please contact us.
