Chair and CEO
Neil O'Brien
Leads Proudfoot's transition into the AI era. Joined as CEO in October 2022.
About Proudfoot
Eighty years delivering operational transformation and installing it at the frontline, now AI-enabled at every step.
Founded in Chicago on 25 February 1946 by Alexander Proudfoot. Today Proudfoot delivers operational transformation end to end, across people, process, technology, engineering and the operating system, and installs it on the frontline until it holds. One method, refined across 20,000+ engagements, now run by a leadership team that has compounded 80 years of operational discipline into an AI-enabled practice.
01
A founder, a conviction, and a method that held.
Alexander Proudfoot opened his Chicago office on 25 February 1946. He had read deeply in psychology, in management science, and in the Socratic tradition that drives the client to the solution rather than handing it down. The conclusion was direct: performance is determined by behavior at the point of execution, and people are the most important and most overlooked ingredient in any operation.
The system rests on three founding principles, articulated in 1946 and held verbatim ever since.
Be there.
Proudfoot consultants are on the frontline for as long as the work takes, working side by side with workers and supervisors. The changes identified must be installed, not merely recommended. We stand where the work gets done, and we stay until it sticks.
Measure everything.
Whatever is done for a client must have a system of metrics agreed by both parties, evaluated on a short-interval basis, usually weekly. This was unusual in 1946 and uncommon today.
Guarantee results.
The original promise was a minimum 3:1 return on the client's investment. The verified record sits at 4.3:1 average ROI across 4,000+ engagements tracked since 2000, with $8bn in validated client value delivered for $1.8bn in fees.
02
80 years installed. Eleven waypoints.
The Proudfoot timeline is not a chronicle of acquisitions and rebrands. It is a record of method evolution. Eleven waypoints show how the discipline articulated in 1946 has compounded across every decade since.
- 1946
Founded in Chicago
Founded in Chicago by Alexander Proudfoot. 3 founding principles established: Be There, Measure Everything, Guarantee Results.
- 1968
London, and Europe
First international expansion: London opened, won through a client engagement, marking the start of Proudfoot’s growth across Europe.
- 1988
The System, codified
Canada opened. The Proudfoot System formally codified as a 4 stage methodology (analyse, design and develop, install, results).
- 1989
The Management Operating System
First documented client use of the term “Management Operating System” at Mount Isa, Queensland. Relationship Selling Skills developed, extending Proudfoot’s offer from cost reduction into revenue growth.
- 2001
People Solutions
People Solutions formally established as a discipline, codifying the behavioural and cultural dimension of operational change.
- 2002
The Perfect Day
The Perfect Day methodology documented. Proudfoot achieves 90% client reference rate.
- 2010
8 Active Management Behaviours
8 Active Management Behaviours (8AMBs) fully evolved and embedded. BlueGem Capital Partners becomes a key long-term investor.
- 2022
New leadership
Neil O’Brien appointed CEO.
- 2023
One method, modernised
The Proudfoot System codified, modernised, brought up to date with global consistency. The frontline as the unit of work, the management operating system as the discipline that holds it.
- 2025
Proudfoot AI
Proudfoot AI launches. The 6+4 Element Framework published. 86 steps codified across phases for AI consumption. First AI agent deployed. First AI-generated proposal won.
- 2026
AI Product Division
AI Product Division formally launched. Deployment of agentic AI across key workflows including sales and delivery.
03
The Proudfoot System. One method, 80 years compounded.
The Proudfoot System is the firm's one service and the codified residue of every wave of operational excellence since the firm was founded. The first documented client use of the term Management Operating System (Proudfoot MOS) came at Mount Isa, Queensland, in March 1989. The 6+4 Element Framework and the 8 Active Management Behaviours (8AMBs) define exactly what a high-performing management operating system looks like, and exactly how to build one. AFOR (Agentic AI Frontline Operating Report) closes the loop from operating data back to the daily and weekly reports the supervisor reads at the start of every shift.
The System runs end to end across five phases: Engage, Proudfoot BVCA (the Business Value Creation Assessment), New Ways of Working, Implementation, and Sustain. 86 steps, codified across phase bibles for AI consumption. Aerial Mapping structures the management interview cadence. Proudfoot AI reasons against 80 years of delivery experience.
The full methodology → 04
Board and Management Team.
The firm is run by a team that has compounded more than 450 years of operational consulting experience across mining, manufacturing, energy and utilities, aerospace, food and beverage, paper and packaging, automotive, and the cross-industry capability disciplines.
Board
CEO Americas
Chuck Reinighaus
Leads Proudfoot North America. 30 years in operational consulting across mining, oil and gas, aerospace and defence, and manufacturing.
CEO EMEAA
Trevor Jamieson
Leads Proudfoot Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Former Partner at MAC Consulting.
Chief Financial Officer
Kate Partridge
Leads Proudfoot finance, including capital structure and corporate development. 28 years across capital raising, acquisitions, and divestments.
Non-Executive Director
Graham Thomas
Independent governance and capital-allocation oversight. Brings broad board-level experience and independent strategic counsel.
Non-Executive Director
Marco Capello
Independent governance and capital-allocation oversight. Contributes international business expertise to the Proudfoot board.
Management Team
Regional Industry Lead (Americas)
Gregory Yeakle
38 years across operational leadership. Former chief executive and president roles in oil and gas operations.
Regional Industry Lead (Americas)
Derrick Gordon
Manufacturing transformation specialist across five continents. Former Vice President at Siemens.
Chief Delivery Officer (Americas)
Brian R. Olsaver
Leads Proudfoot delivery across the United States. 100 client engagements; specialist in cost and productivity.
Growth and Quality Lead
Bruce MacConnell
44 years in operational consulting. 400 client engagements.
Regional Industry Lead (Americas)
Callum Stewart
Leads Proudfoot delivery across mining and resources. Former EY mining operational excellence lead with global delivery experience.
Chief of Staff (Americas)
Lisa Craft
Leads operations and talent across Proudfoot North America. Former leadership roles at DSS+ and The Highland Group.
Chief Technology Officer
Mike Shuber
Leads Proudfoot AI infrastructure. 25 years as a Chief Technology Officer and technology leader.
Regional Industry Lead (Americas)
Mike Collins
Leads Proudfoot delivery across North American mining and metals engagements.
Regional Industry Lead (EMEAA)
Edward Cory
25 years at Proudfoot. Previously held multiple chief executive roles in operations-intensive businesses.
Market Lead DACH and Central Europe
Peter Damm
Leads Proudfoot delivery across DACH and Central Europe. Manufacturing specialist. 100 client engagements delivered.
Market Lead France
Angus Maclean
Leads Proudfoot delivery across France. 30 years of cross-industry engagements.
Transformation and Special Projects
Nikita Gupta
Leads operations across Proudfoot Europe. Digital subject matter expert. Former Accenture and technology start-up.
Regional Industry Lead (EMEAA)
St. John Cameron
Leads Proudfoot delivery across Europe and Asia. 200 client engagements over 34 years. Specialist in capital-intensive operations.
Chief Delivery Officer (EMEAA)
Peter Harker
Leads delivery across Proudfoot Europe. Over 75 engagements delivering more than $500m in sustainable bottom-line improvements globally.
Chief Knowledge Officer and TPS Product Owner
David Warren
Owns The Proudfoot System product across the firm. Leads the knowledge architecture, the methodology corpus, and a member of the AI Product Division.
Chief of Staff (EMEAA)
Greg Moore
Leads operations and strategic delivery for Proudfoot's European practice. Reports to the Europe CEO.
Regional Industry Lead, DACH and Central Europe
Dr. Sven Fries
Leads Proudfoot delivery across DACH and Central Europe in partnership with the Market Lead. Deep industrial expertise across manufacturing and process industries.
05
Why Proudfoot.
Most operational programs do not fail at the plan. They fail at installation, in the cadence of the day, once the work of changing how the operation runs actually begins. That gap is what Proudfoot was built to close.
We install. Proudfoot works in the installation gap, on the frontline, alongside your own people, for as long as the installation takes, until the change is the way the operation runs, every shift.
We make it hold. The 6+4 Element Framework gives the behavior somewhere to land, and the 8 Active Management Behaviours define what good supervision looks like. Together they keep the change in place after we leave.
We reason against 80 years of delivery. Proudfoot AI runs on 20,000+ engagements, reads the variance against benchmarks it already holds, and surfaces the action the supervisor needs before the shift starts. Where AI is woven through, 10:1 and beyond is achievable.
AI changes nothing on its own. Like any tool, it works when it is installed in the cadence of the day and owned by the people who run the line. Making change hold has been Proudfoot's work for 80 years. It is now Proudfoot's AI.
06
The firm today.
Headquartered in London, and with offices in Atlanta, Toronto, Paris, and Frankfurt. One service: The Proudfoot System. Proudfoot works at depth across all twelve industries.
80 yearsSince 1946
20,000+Engagements in 105 countries
$8bnValidated client value
4.3:1Average ROI since 2000
Alexander Proudfoot defined operational excellence in the twentieth century. Proudfoot AI will define it for the twenty-first.
Frequently asked questions about Proudfoot
Alexander Proudfoot founded the firm in Chicago on 25 February 1946. He had been a member of the faculty of the University of Chicago and a successful businessman at Montgomery Ward. The three founding principles (Be there, Measure everything, and Guarantee results) have been held verbatim since 1946.
The Proudfoot System is the firm's single service: a 5-phase, 86-step methodology for installing operational discipline at the frontline. Phases are Engage, Proudfoot BVCA (Business Value Creation Assessment), New Ways of Working, Implementation, and Sustain. The system has been refined across 20,000+ engagements since 1946.
Proudfoot is headquartered at 110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY, with offices in Atlanta, Toronto, Paris, and Frankfurt. Sales are contracted in five countries (USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany); delivery extends across 20,000+ engagements in 105 countries since 1946.
Proudfoot AI is the platform that reasons against the methodology, the benchmark set, and 20,000+ engagements. It reads variance against benchmarks it already holds and surfaces the action the supervisor needs before the shift. The discipline is the one Alexander Proudfoot articulated in 1946, now running as AI.