CASON OPERATIONAL ADVISORY
Restoring Operational Ownership. Strengthening Execution.
When operations are in distress, customers are escalating, the floor and the boardroom are speaking different languages, and leadership has lost visibility into what's actually happening, that is exactly when we do our best work. Cason Operational Advisory exists for manufacturers when the stakes are highest.
Specialists in operational turnaround, stabilization, and performance recovery for manufacturers under pressure.
WHO WE SERVE
We work with manufacturers when the stakes are highest
Manufacturing organizations facing operational pressure, leadership transitions, or customer escalation need more than a consultant. They need an experienced operational leader who has lived the job.
CUSTOMER PRESSURE
Escalating customer complaints, quality issues, or delivery failures that threaten your most important relationships.
LEADERSHIP TRANSITIONS
New operational leadership, restructuring, or gaps in accountability that leave performance uncertain and teams unanchored.
MARGIN EROSION
Operational costs climbing without clear cause, or financial results that don't match what the floor is reporting.
OPERATIONAL INSTABILITY
Throughput inconsistency, execution failures, or a culture where accountability has eroded over time.
TURNAROUND & DISTRESSED OPERATIONS
PE portfolio company underperforming. A facility that has missed targets for months. A leadership team that has lost sight of the floor.
PE PORTFOLIO SUPPORT
Acquisition integration, post-close operational assessment, or a portfolio company that needs senior ops leadership fast.
CORE SERVICES
What we deliver
Every engagement at Cason Operational Advisory is grounded in what actually happens on the floor, not in reports, not in assumptions.
What we diagnose, what we build, and how we stabilize it, all follow a single sequential framework: OPERATE™. The services below are how that framework is delivered.
01
Operational Diagnostics & Stabilization
On-site assessment of operational health, leadership visibility gaps, and execution failures. Delivered as an actionable 30-day plan with clear ownership.
Fractional VP Operations / COO Support
02
Senior operational leadership on a retained basis, for organizations that need VP-level expertise without a full-time hire.
Leadership & Execution Infrastructure
03
Building the systems, rhythms, and accountability structures that keep performance consistent, even when leadership changes.
Organizational Alignment & Accountability
04
Closing the gap between what leadership believes is happening and what is actually happening, with clear ownership at every level.
Operational-Financial Alignment
05
Connecting floor performance to financial outcomes, so operational improvements show up on the P&L, not just on a production board.
Workflow Enablement & AI Readiness
06
Preparing organizations operationally and culturally to absorb automation and AI, so technology investments actually perform in the real world.
See how the OPERATE™ framework structures every engagement
Cason Operational Advisory — Methodology
OPERATE™
A sequential engagement model for manufacturing operational recovery, leadership development, and sustainable growth. Every Cason Advisory engagement follows this framework, from the first diagnostic conversation through the moment the organization performs independently. Click any phase to expand.
Operational Health Assessment Operational Ecosystem Assessment Supply Base Health Assessment Program Health Assessment
Program Health Assessment findings drive this phase
Ecosystem Assessment findings drive this phase Supply Base Health findings drive this phase
AI & Automation Readiness Assessment
Leadership Transition Readiness Checklist
↑ Click any phase to expand
Diagnostic tools that power the Observe phase
Every engagement begins with honest diagnosis. These four assessments are deployed in the Observe phase to establish what is actually happening across the organization, the supply base, and active programs. Each assessment result connects directly to the phase where the work goes next.
Operational Health Self-Assessment
Leadership visibility, accountability systems, execution discipline, operational-financial alignment, customer confidence, and KPI portfolio health.
Download ↓Operational Ecosystem Assessment
Evaluates whether every function is pulling for the same customer outcome. Measures cross-functional system coherence from customer input to operational output.
Download ↓Supply Base Health Assessment
For OEM and Tier 1 supplier quality managers. Identifies supplier fragility through leading indicators before it shows in PPM or on-time delivery data.
Download ↓Program Health Assessment
Schedule integrity, BOM accuracy, engineering change control, and governance discipline. Surfaces structural program risk before it becomes a delivery failure.
Download ↓Tools used in later phases
AI & Automation Readiness Assessment
Before investing in automation or AI: is your organization operationally and culturally ready to absorb it? Evaluates the prerequisites for technology implementation that actually holds.
Download ↓Leadership Transition Readiness Checklist
For organizations navigating a VP Operations, COO, or senior leadership transition. Use 60 to 90 days before or during a leadership change to surface the gaps before they become crises.
Download ↓How Cason Operational Advisory supports further
Every assessment result points to where the work goes next inside the OPERATE™ framework. These are the engagement models for turning diagnostic findings into operational change that lasts.
30-Day Operational Diagnostic
Flat fee, quoted by scope • Entry point
On-site assessment across all six diagnostic domains. Prioritized action plan with clear ownership. Where most engagements begin.
Fractional COO or VP Operations
Starts at $6,000/month • 15–40 hrs/month
Senior operational leadership on retainer. One to two clients at a time. The urgency of a full-time executive, not the pace of a consultant.
Program Management Support
Starts at $6,000/month • Retained or project
Fractional or retained program management for active launches, inherited programs, or NPI environments. Governance, BOM accountability, and launch execution discipline.
Supplier Development Advisory
Quoted by scope
Working with manufacturers and their supply base together to identify fragility, improve communication cadence, and build supplier relationships that hold under pressure.
Interim Executive Coverage
Quoted by scope • Available on short notice
Full-time interim COO or VP of Operations during a planned or unplanned leadership transition. Continuity and accountability during the gap.
Executive Advisory
Quoted by scope
Strategic thought partner to the CEO, COO, or board. Market intelligence, organizational assessment, and decision support.
Most conversations start with 30 minutes and a specific problem. Schedule a call →
ABOUT
"Most organizations don't fail because of bad strategy. They fail because leadership loses sight of what's actually happening, and nobody builds the systems to restore it."
Principal Advisor
Anya Cason
Cornell University · PMP Certified · Bilingual EN/RU
Anya Cason is the principal of Cason Operational Advisory. She has spent 12+ years walking into manufacturing organizations under pressure, distressed operations, broken customer relationships, leadership voids, and PE-backed environments where results are non-negotiable, and building the systems, cadence, and accountability structures that restore performance and hold it.
Her career spans multi-site plastics manufacturing, EV and emerging mobility programs, federal transit electrification, and automotive OEM and Tier 1/2 environments. Most recently, she served as Vice President of Operations and corporate officer across a seven-facility, injection molding-intensive network representing $250M+ in annual revenue and 1,400 employees, delivering +12% EBITDA improvement year-over-year in a private-equity-backed turnaround environment.
She has rebuilt broken customer relationships, including a critically distressed warranty situation with a major public transit agency, restored delivery performance at chronically underperforming facilities, and developed plant leadership teams that continued to perform after she left. That last part matters. She doesn't create dependency. She builds capability.
Anya holds a PMP certification, graduate certificates from Cornell University in Project Leadership and Financial Management. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Automotive Women's Alliance Foundation and was nominated for the 2025 Women's Automotive Network Influential Women in Automotive award. She is bilingual in English and Russian.
"Most organizations don't fail because of bad strategy. They fail because leadership loses sight of what's actually happening on the floor, and nobody builds the systems to restore it.”
Built on two decades of doing the job
VP Level
Operations Leadership
Cornell
Graduate Certificate
OEM
Tier 1 · Tier 2
AWAF
Engaged Leader
TOOLS & RESOURCES
Assessments & Checklists
Practical diagnostic tools developed from two decades of operational leadership. Each resource is designed to help you identify gaps, strengthen accountability, and start the right conversations inside your organization.
DOWNLOAD
Operational Health Self-Assessment
A structured checklist to evaluate leadership visibility, accountability systems, and execution discipline inside your manufacturing operation. Identify your highest-risk gaps before they become crises.
DOWNLOAD
AI Automation & Readiness Assessment
Before you invest in automation or AI, is your organization actually ready to absorb it? This assessment evaluates the operational and cultural prerequisites for technology implementation that holds.
DOWNLOAD
Leadership Transition & Readiness Checklist
A practical guide for organizations navigating VP or COO transitions. Covers accountability handoffs, institutional knowledge transfer, and the early warning signs that performance is at risk.
GET IN TOUCH
Let’s talk about what’s at risk
LOCATION
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Serving manufacturers across the Midwest and nationally
WEB
FIRST ENGAGEMENT
Most clients start with a 30-day Operational Diagnostic, a site assessment, leadership review, and action plan delivered in 30 days.