Hire a COO in Italy.
Six trigger points, cost ranges and the choice between permanent, interim and fractional. For scaling companies drowning in execution.
Direct answer
Hire a COO when the CEO spends more than half the week on operations, revenue crosses EUR 10M, or the company opens a second site or country. Permanent COO in Italy runs EUR 150k-280k RAL plus MBO. Interim or fractional runs EUR 15k-40k per month, starts in two weeks and unwinds cleanly.
Trigger points
When a company needs a COO.
- 01CEO spends more than half the week on operations instead of strategy and cash
- 02Revenue crossing EUR 10M with a founder-CEO still touching every function
- 03Second country, second site or second product line about to launch
- 04Post-acquisition integration and two operating systems to merge
- 05Quality, delivery or service SLAs slipping and no single owner
- 06Board pushing for a second name on the executive committee
FAQ
Hiring a COO. Common questions.
When does a company need a COO?
When the CEO is spending more than half their week on operations instead of strategy, sales or capital. Typical trigger points: revenue passing EUR 10M, headcount past 50, second country or second product line, or a founder-CEO who cannot delegate execution. Below that, a strong Head of Operations is usually enough.
What does a COO cost in Italy?
Permanent COO comp in Italian mid-market: EUR 150,000-280,000 RAL plus MBO. Interim or fractional COO: EUR 1,200-2,500 per day, or EUR 15,000-40,000 per month. Cost is driven by industrial complexity, number of sites and P&L scope, not headcount.
COO or second-in-command? Are they the same?
No. A second-in-command executes the CEO's decisions. A COO owns the operating machine (production, supply chain, quality, service delivery, sometimes technology and HR) and shares P&L accountability with the CEO. Give the title only if you give the authority.
Related: find a CEO, hire a CMO, and fractional CEO. Back to Hire Interim CEO.
Next step
A COO in the seat, without a permanent hire.
If operations are the CEO's bottleneck, an interim COO can run the machine while the permanent search runs in parallel. Two weeks to start.