⸻ ABOUT MATT GILLESPIE
The Operator’s Partner
I’ve run a company from the COO seat, another as president, and I’ve spent eight years working beside owners across more than a dozen others. Now I work alongside owner-led companies to build the version that runs without them — on their timeline, on their terms.
Former COO, 110+ people
Engineer by training
Family office CEO, 8 years
In person in the Ohio Valley
⸻ THE SHORT VERSION
Three seats. One way of working.
I've spent more of my career running companies than advising on them. What I learned in those seats is what I bring to owners now.
AS COO
On the floor, not from a deck.
I led the turnaround and growth of a 45-year-old engineered-products manufacturer that became a supplier to Tier 1 automotive customers. Making payroll, making the calls — including 2 a.m. forklift shifts when a shipment had to go out and there wasn’t anyone else.
Built the management team from scratch and continuously evolved it as the business grew
Redesigned the operating model, including a new production shift and compensation program
Re-engineered the supply chain and key supplier relationships
AS A FAMILY OFFICE CEO
Eight years on the owner’s side.
I oversaw a portfolio of more than a dozen operating companies and 100+ commercial properties across the U.S. and Canada — manufacturing, services, a national consumer brand, and commercial real estate.
Most of the time was spent next to owner-operators. It’s where I learned what makes a company valuable and durable when the owner is ready for what’s next — and what quietly erodes that value along the way.
AS AN ENGINEER
Distill it, cut what’s unnecessary, build on what’s strong.
I started on turboprop reliability programs for the Canadian Forces and U.S. Air Force at StandardAero. That way of breaking a problem down hasn’t left me — it’s how I approach every business I walk into.
⸻ WHY I STARTED RAWHIDE
The same pattern, across dozens of companies.
Owner-led businesses with real fundamentals — companies that build things, employ people, and anchor their communities. Owners who built them mostly without outside capital.
And in the years before the owner wanted to step back, the same gap kept showing up: the company had been built around them. That’s what made it work. It’s also what was likely to make it sell for less than the work had been worth.
I started Rawhide Executive Solutions to do for owner-led companies what a good family office does for the businesses it holds: build the senior layer, the decision rhythm, and financial discipline that let a company compound value — and let the owner step out when they choose, on their terms.
“
The best companies are the ones the owner can leave when they choose to. The best lives are the ones the company doesn't take over.
— Matt Gillespie
⸻ WHERE I FIT
Different help for different jobs.
Owners often ask how this differs from a coach, a fractional COO, or a consulting firm. Each has its place. Here’s the plain version:
CEO Coach
Regular sessions focused on you as a leader. Good questions, reflection, and accountability.
Fractional COO
A part-time executive who joins the org chart and runs a function, often for an open-ended period.
Consulting firm
A defined study or project, usually delivered as a report with recommendations.
Operator’s Partner
Someone who has run companies and spent years beside the owners of many more — working alongside you and your team to build a company that runs without you, with a defined finish line.
Running on EOS? Here’s how the two fit together →
⸻ HOW I SHOW UP
I come to you.
I work with owners in person — at their facilities, around their people. This kind of work can’t be done right over video calls alone.
I’m based in Cincinnati and fly myself to client sites, so a facility in Charleston or Pittsburgh is a morning trip, not an overnight.
I am as comfortable with the welder you’ve had for 30 years as with the CFO you hired last year — and as comfortable in a board or lender meeting as in your weekly ops meeting.
— At your location, in person by default
— All travel included in the flat fee
— Distance isn’t a barrier — it’s part of the commitment
Dayton, OH
Lexington, KY
Nashville, TN
Charleston, WV
Columbus, OH
Huntington, WV
Knoxville, TN
Evansville, IN
Indianapolis, IN
Parkersburg, WV
Fort Wayne, IN
Cleveland, OH
Louisville, KY
Pittsburgh, PA
Bowling Green, KY
Chattanooga, TN
A note on Rawhide Capital. I also run Rawhide Capital, which acquires much smaller businesses (roughly $2–8M in revenue). The two don’t overlap: companies I advise aren’t acquisition candidates and nothing learned in the advisory work is used for sourcing. That boundary is written into every engagement.
⸻ AFTER THE CONVERSATION ⸻
The next step is a Working Visit.
Ninety minutes on-site at your facility. $2,550 flat. Guaranteed and credited toward the Audit. No pitch. You walk away with a one-page Snapshot of where your company scores across the six dimensions — and a direct read on which two or three matter most for your situation. Yours either way.