Transportation, Logistics, Supply Chain and Storage
Retail
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Christie Rugh

Fractional Chief of Staff | Built 3 Commercial Organizations from Zero | 20+ Years Turning Executive

About Me

Christie Rugh is a senior commercial executive with 20+ years of experience operating as the strategic and operational right hand to executive leadership, even when the title on her business card said VP. Across SkyPostal, Aeropost, and Sears Holdings, she has repeatedly stepped into ambiguous, high-stakes mandates and built the structure, systems, and operating rhythm that let leadership teams move fast without losing accountability. At Aeropost, Christie built a commercial organization from a single person to 26 across 9 countries, designing the hiring plans, operating cadence, and decision-making frameworks from scratch while reporting directly into executive leadership and translating company-wide strategy into sequenced, owned, and measured execution. She built the business case and investment thesis that secured executive funding for a $42M marketplace platform, launched it in 10 months, and created the playbooks that let the organization scale beyond her own direct involvement. Christie's strength is turning strategic ambiguity into clear, decision-ready plans. She has prepared executive materials and performance reporting for senior leadership, built KPI and OKR-style tracking systems from the ground up, and served as the connective tissue between departments that don't share reporting lines but need to move in lockstep. She is equally comfortable being a thought partner in the room and the person who builds the system that makes the next version of that work take a fraction of the time. She holds an executive education credential in AI Business Strategies from UC Berkeley and uses AI tools daily to accelerate research, reporting, and operational workflows. Christie is now offering that same execution discipline as a fractional Chief of Staff, partnering with growing organizations that need more than strategy, they need someone who can make it real.

Jurisdiction

United States

Experience

Seniority LevelExecutive
Years of Experience20+ years
Current StatusActive
Vice President, Sales & MarketingSkyPosta;
2024 - Present

Serves as the commercial operating engine for a cross-border logistics company in a growth phase, functioning as the de facto Chief of Staff to commercial leadership while owning revenue strategy, pipeline execution, and organizational infrastructure end-to-end. Strategic Execution & Operating Infrastructure • Built the complete commercial operating system from zero: ICP segmentation, outbound cadences, discovery frameworks, CRM pipeline discipline (Salesforce), forecasting models, and weekly performance reporting, creating repeatable operating rhythm where none existed • Partnered with IT and Finance on deal structuring, contract terms, revenue recognition, and CRM integration, translating commercial requirements into executable operational plans across functions that did not share reporting lines • Implemented AI-powered tooling across lead generation, outbound sequencing, content production, and pipeline enrichment, materially improving team productivity and decision-making speed • Self-sourced 60%+ of pipeline through targeted outbound while simultaneously building the team, systems, and content infrastructure to scale beyond founder-led execution Revenue Performance • Exceeded 2025 annual revenue target by 7%, closing close to $20M in shipping revenue across 50 named accounts with deal sizes ranging from $50K to $2M+ • Reduced sales cycle by 50% through structured buyer education programs and pre-qualification content that compressed time from first contact to signed agreement • Closed multimillion-dollar enterprise partnerships including Walmart Mexico by conducting C-suite diagnostic conversations tied directly to P&L impact and contribution margin improvement

Vice President, CommercialAeropost
2021 - 2024

full P&L for a $275M+ GMV operation across 9 countries, ran the leadership operating cadence, led cross-functional execution, and built the team and infrastructure that made the business scalable. CEO & Leadership Operating Partner • Designed and ran the full leadership operating rhythm: weekly leadership reviews, cross-functional initiative tracking, goal-setting frameworks, board-ready performance reporting, and the decision-making architecture that kept a 9-country organization aligned and moving • Built the business case and secured executive buy-in for a $42M marketplace investment: diagnosed the core problem, developed the investment thesis, sized the market, designed the phased rollout, and sold it upward to leadership, then owned execution through to launch • Developed investor and board materials including performance narratives, market expansion rationale, and competitive positioning that supported strategic planning and stakeholder communications • Operated across every function simultaneously: technology, finance, operations, marketing, customer success, and logistics all connected through my organization, giving me direct experience in the cross-functional coordination that most commercial roles only influence indirectly Zero-to-One Build & Organizational Scaling • Built and launched Aeropost's first regional marketplace: concept to 10-country live in 10 months, with 1,000+ sellers and 2M+ SKUs, generating $42M in marketplace revenue in 2023 • Scaled commercial organization from 1 to 26 people across marketing, business development, marketplace, affiliate, and courier operations across 9 countries, designing team structure, hiring profiles, onboarding, and performance management from scratch • Developed 32-country market prioritization framework scoring GMV potential, regulatory environment, infrastructure readiness, and competitive positioning to sequence expansion and resource allocation decisions • Evaluated and managed 100+ Smart Locker locations as competitive infrastructure, drove adoption to 99%+ in key markets, and positioned the network as an incremental revenue stream in investor materials Performance & Operational Results • Exceeded annual revenue target by 8% in year two; built from zero in year one with no existing commercial infrastructure • Registrations +214% YoY, conversions +32% YoY, active customer base +56% YoY, acquisition cost CPR -57% and CPC -28% • Grew retention +25% and reduced churn double digits through structured lifecycle marketing and customer success programs

Senior Product ManagerAffinion Loyalty Group
2007 - 2007

• Led product and partnership programs across financial services and travel; grew weekly revenues +62% through targeted promotions and co-marketing strategy

BuyerCircuit City
1999 - 2007

Circuit City Stores, Inc. | Richmond, VA • Managed $1B television category to 27% market share; grew sales revenue $373M and gross margin $10.5M through competitive line reviews and strategic vendor negotiations

Education

Diploma of Executive Education: Artificial Intelligence, Business Strategies & ApplicationsUC Brekley
2023 - 2023
Degree of Bachelor of Science, Business Management — Summa Cum LaudeLynn University
1994 - 1998

Skills

Core skills10
Interests8
Languages1

Skills

Chief of Staff Operations
Cross-Functional Leadership
Zero-to-One Org Building
Executive Strategy Partner
P&L Ownership
GTM Strategy
Process & Systems Design
Team Scaling & Hiring
AI-Enabled Operations
Stakeholder Alignment

Interests

Organizational Scaling
AI in Business
eCommerce & Marketplace Strategy
Cross-Border Commerce
Executive Leadership
Operational Excellence
Startup & Growth-Stage Companies
Marketing

Languages

English