Operations • Finance • AI Consulting • Fractional Executive Leadership

Executive Leadership for Transition, Turnaround & Growth

Yellig Advisory brings 25+ years of operating leadership to small and mid-size businesses — as consulting in operations, finance, and AI, or as a fractional or interim executive when you need someone in the seat.

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Joe Yellig

What I Bring to the Table

A rare combination of executive operating experience and hands-on AI expertise

Operations Leadership

VP/GM experience leading 80+ person organizations across five states, managing $10M+ P&Ls, and executing complex merger integrations. I've run the operations, not just advised on them.

AI Strategy

Wharton and Kellogg-trained in AI strategy, with real-world experience designing custom AI tools, building operational GPTs, and implementing automation that drives measurable business outcomes.

Business Transformation

From launching $5M eCommerce platforms to growing nonprofit revenue 40%, I bring a track record of taking organizations from where they are to where they need to be.

Education MBA — Rice University
Education BS Mechanical Engineering — The University of Texas at Austin
Executive Education Wharton — AI-Powered Future
Executive Education Kellogg — AI Business Transformation
AI Training DeepLearning.AI • MCP for Leaders

About Joe

An Operator Who Builds, Not Just Advises

Joe Yellig

Quick Facts

Based in: Issaquah, WA

Experience: 25+ years

Education: Rice MBA, The University of Texas at Austin BSME

Focus: Operations + AI

Background & Experience

I'm a mechanical engineer by training, an MBA by education, and an operations executive by experience. Over 25 years, I've led organizations ranging from 20 to 80+ people, owned P&Ls to $10M and budgets to $30M, and consistently delivered results that matter, revenue growth, operational efficiency, and teams that perform.

My career started in the oilfield services industry, where I spent a decade at a global technology company progressing from analyst to regional manager. From there, I moved to the corporate headquarters of a Fortune 250 waste services company, where I founded their digital marketing department, secured a $20M investment for digital transformation, and launched eCommerce platforms generating $5M+ in annual revenue.

I then took on the challenge of leading a $2.5M nonprofit sports organization as Executive Director, growing revenue 40% and player enrollment 60% over four years. Most recently, I served as VP of Operations and General Manager for a national industrial services company, running an 80-person operation across five states with full P&L accountability.

Today I lead Yellig Advisory, an operations, finance, and AI consulting practice for small and mid-size businesses. Alongside client work I completed executive education in AI strategy at Wharton and Kellogg and hands-on training in prompt engineering, AI agents, and generative AI. The result is a practice that brings something most consultants can't: deep operational and financial leadership paired with real AI fluency.

I don't just understand the technology, I understand the businesses it's meant to serve.

Career Timeline

2025 – Present

Yellig Advisory

Founder & Principal

Operations, finance & AI consulting; fractional and interim executive leadership

2019 – 2024

Applied Control

VP of Operations / General Manager — Pacific Region

Led 80+ employees across 5 states, $10M P&L, full merger integration

2014 – 2019

ISC Gunners FC

Executive Director

Grew revenue 40%, enrollment 60%, 94% employee retention

2007 – 2013

Waste Management, Inc.

Director of Digital Marketing

Founded department, $30M budget, $20M digital investment, $5M eCommerce revenue

1997 – 2007

FMC Technologies (now TechnipFMC)

Progressive leadership roles over 10 years

Applications management, program management, planning & procurement

Portfolio

Representative Engagements

Consulting engagements spanning AI implementation, strategic advisory, and operational transformation. Client identities are kept confidential.

Chemical Manufacturing

Global Catalyst Manufacturer

Custom AI Operations Knowledge Management

The Challenge

A global industrial chemicals company needed to capture decades of institutional troubleshooting knowledge across complex catalyst manufacturing processes, from precipitation to calcination, and make it accessible to plant operators in real time.

The Solution

Designed and built a custom GPT-powered diagnostic system with a structured five-step troubleshooting workflow, decision trees covering 9 symptom categories, and a memory engine for institutional knowledge retention. Created both manager-level and simplified operator versions for maximum adoption.

Additionally, led an in-person AI workshop with the client's leadership and operations teams, training them on practical AI adoption strategies and demonstrating real-world use cases for integrating AI into their daily workflows, from process optimization to knowledge management.

30+
Issues Covered
6
Unit Operations
9
Diagnostic Categories
Live
AI Training Workshop

Petroleum Distribution

Regional Fuel Distributor

Strategy Org Design Pricing & Regulatory

The Challenge

A Pacific Northwest fuel distribution and cardlock operator had grown rapidly but lacked organizational alignment with its strategic priorities. Functional responsibilities were unclear, pricing and margin visibility was limited, and new state carbon regulation raised questions about fuel-supplier obligations.

The Solution

Advised ownership and leadership on strategy and planning; delivered an organizational design framework with benchmarking against peer companies and role/accountability mapping across the leadership structure; performed fuel pricing and margin analysis; and completed a regulatory analysis of Washington's Climate Commitment Act fuel-supplier thresholds.

Strategy
Planning & Org Design
Pricing
Margin Analysis
CCA
Regulatory Analysis

Hospitality

Luxury Vacation Rental Operator

Fractional Advisor Due Diligence Marketing

The Challenge

A luxury vacation rental franchise operator needed strategic support across the business — organizational design, marketing execution, pricing, and partnership governance — and then a clear-eyed evaluation of a proposed acquisition of a 200+ unit rental portfolio.

The Solution

Served as fractional strategic advisor: delivered an organizational design for multi-property management, multi-channel marketing campaigns, property-level pricing research, and partnership operating agreements. Led financial and operational due diligence on the proposed acquisition, advised the owner against the purchase at the asking price, and supported the negotiated exit from the franchise agreement, including recovery of evaluation-stage costs.

Org & Mktg
Design & Campaigns
200+
Unit Portfolio Evaluated
Exit
Franchise Agreement Negotiated

Services

Operations, Finance, and AI

Consulting and fractional executive leadership grounded in 25 years of operating experience, with a practical view of where AI can support the solution.

Operations & Finance Consulting

Project-based advisory for businesses and nonprofits navigating growth, change, or complexity

01

Operations Consulting

Organizational and operational work informed by decades of running multi-site operations: how the business is structured, how work flows, and how it performs.

  • Organizational design and restructuring
  • Process and performance improvement
  • Competitive benchmarking and market analysis
  • Merger integration planning
  • Vendor evaluation and change management
02

Finance Consulting

Financial analysis and decision support for owners and leadership teams, from the annual plan to the acquisition you are weighing.

  • Financial modeling and valuation
  • M&A due diligence and integration planning
  • Budgeting and multi-year financial planning
  • Pricing and margin analysis
  • Board and investor reporting

AI Consulting

Helping businesses adopt AI with purpose — where it can actually support a solution, whether the challenge sits in finance, operations, or anywhere else

03

AI Readiness Assessment

A structured evaluation of where your business stands today and where AI can deliver the highest-impact returns. No commitment required, just clarity.

  • Current workflow and process mapping
  • AI opportunity identification and prioritization
  • Technology stack evaluation
  • Implementation roadmap with ROI estimates
  • Executive summary with recommended next steps
04

Custom AI Tool Design

Purpose-built AI tools tailored to your specific workflows and domain expertise. From custom GPTs to automated reporting systems, designed to solve your actual problems.

  • Custom GPT/AI assistant development
  • Domain-specific knowledge base design
  • Workflow automation architecture
  • User adoption planning and training
  • Iterative refinement and optimization
05

AI Training & Workshops

Hands-on training sessions for leadership teams and staff, showing your people how to use AI effectively in their daily work. Practical, role-specific, and immediately applicable.

  • Executive AI literacy and strategy sessions
  • Team-level hands-on AI workshops
  • Role-specific use case development
  • AI tool selection and best practices
  • Ongoing adoption support and coaching

Fractional & Interim Executive Leadership

Experienced executive leadership in the seat, without a full-time hire

06

Fractional & Interim Executive Leadership

For businesses and nonprofits that need experienced executive guidance without a full-time hire. I embed with your leadership team to drive operations, finance, and strategy from the inside.

  • Interim or part-time COO, CFO, VP of Operations, GM, or Executive Director
  • P&L management, financial oversight, and board reporting
  • Team building and performance management
  • AI strategy integration and governance
  • Vendor evaluation and change management

Not Sure Where to Start?

Every engagement begins with a conversation. Let's talk about your business and figure out where I can make the biggest difference.

Book a Free Consultation

Get in Touch

Let's Start a Conversation

Reach Out

I typically respond within 24 hours. For a deeper conversation about your business needs, feel free to book a time directly.

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Location
Issaquah, WA — Available Nationwide

Ideal For

Small and mid-size businesses, nonprofits and mission-driven organizations, companies needing operational strategy or interim executive leadership, executives evaluating M&A opportunities, and organizations exploring practical AI adoption.