Lauren St. James Independent Strategy & Operations Consultant | AI & Emerging

Strategic Growth and Operations Manager

Coda Payments

Jan 2022 - Jan 2024 (2 years 1 month)

Operator at fintech unicorn focused on gaming and entertainment and digital publishing payments, helped in fund- raising $690M equity round. Valued at $2.5B, Coda provides online payment solutions to digital content providers in more than 26 emerging markets and enables monetization of their products and services. Drove cross-functional alignment across strategy, product, operations, and finance to support a company-wide shift from B2C to B2B2C ecosystem play that transformed Coda into a global digital monetization platform. Orchestrated end-to-end collaboration across 17+ time zones to standardize tools, processes, and workflows, enabling 300%+ revenue growth and expansion to 5M+ monthly active users. Established strategic alliances with l

A

AI Strategy and Transformation Leader Independent Consultant

Jan 2019 - Current (7 years 4 months)

Guide Organizations on AI Transformation Initiatives: I develop embedded AI strategies and lead ent-to-end AI business and operating model transformations across financial services, media, retail, enterprise software, and emerging technologies. AI Strategy for Global Investment Bank Advised a global investment bank on integrating AI into diligence, compliance, and internal workflows. Accelerated diligence timelines and reduced compliance friction. AI Roadmap & Innovation Studio Launch Developed AI strategy and operating plan for a global entertainment conglomerate's new innovation studio. Facilitated use case workshops, talent model planning (role and capability gaps), and AI pipeline design. AI Use Case Strategy and Roadmap for Hedge Fund

s

Independent AI & Emerging Tech Consultant

self-emplyed

Jan 2019 - Current (7 years 4 months)

Management Consultant Lead, Digital Business Strategy

IBM

Jan 2017 - Jan 2022 (5 years 1 month)

Advised Fortune 100 clients from various industries (SaaS, Financial Services, Retail, Media) on AI-, Blockchain-, and IoT-driven digital reinvention, CX, data unification, and operation optimization programs and initiatives. Incubated and launched AI-enabled MVPs in 6-10 weeks across retail, financial services, and media, replacing legacy delivery models with Lean, test-and-learn approaches that accelerated time to value and improved process specifications. Advised executive stakeholders on GenAI roadmaps and implementation of best practices, accelerating adoption while ensuring ethical and scalable deployment of AI technologies for sales performance optimization. AI-Driven Content Innovation for a Global Sports Media Event Led the integra

O

Strategy and Operations Business Lead

Olivo Ventures - Geniac

Jan 2013 - Jan 2016 (3 years 1 month)

Employee number two and founding team business lead for Venture-backed fully integrated business management platform that automated and managed essential back-office operations for SMEs in the UK and Europe: so that founders could focus on growth not admin. Led strategic initiatives that propelled the business from a $1.5M seed investment to a $34.3M Series A, achieving the largest HR tech funding milestone in the UK for 2016, through effective data analysis and strategic thinking. Established key strategic alliances with industry leaders across BPO, Telecoms, Accounting, Law, and Accounting, as well as with the UK Government that enhanced service offerings and secured Scottish government grants through regional job creation. Worked closely

G

Senior Analyst, Investment Banking

GrowthPoint Technology Partners

Jan 2006 - Jan 2009 (3 years 1 month)

First hire at boutique investment bank founded by the former Alliant Partners team (acquired by Silicon Valley Bank), supporting M&A and strategic advisory for global technology clients and emerging tech start-ups. Assisted in 40+ M&A and capital raising transactions globally, with a total transaction value of $1.3 billion within a 3- years. Conducted in-depth analysis of emerging technology trends, and companies, and operating synergies with target buyers. Used advanced valuation methodologies to assess early-stage startups in sectors such as cloud computing, data infrastructure, and enterprise software, social media and Web 2.0.

Lauren St. James

About

Detail

Timeline

Résumé