Strategic Operations & Project Lead

VanessaNomisaghan

I bring structure to chaos. I help founders, startups, and organizations bring structure to complex projects, align stakeholders, improve execution, and turn ideas into results.

View Selected Work→Download CV

About

Ibringstructure

tochaos.

I help founders, startups, communities, and innovation teams turn scattered ideas into organized execution by building systems, coordinating stakeholders, managing projects, and driving initiatives from concept to completion.

My work sits at the intersection of operations, project leadership, community building, events, user experience, and business execution.

Across events, products, operations, communities, and growth initiatives, my focus remains the same: creating clarity where there is complexity, building systems that improve execution, and helping teams move ideas into outcomes.

Snapshot

0+
Projects & Initiatives Supported
0
Simultaneous Projects Coordinated
0st
Place Innovation Challenge Winner
0+
Users Supported
0+
Events & Community Initiatives Executed
0+
Stakeholders Coordinated

Core Expertise

WhatIbring

tothetable

Project Leadership & ManagementOperations ManagementCross-Functional Team CoordinationStakeholder ManagementEvent Planning & ExecutionUser Operations & ExperienceProcess Design & DocumentationCommunity OperationsResearch & StrategyFounder SupportBusiness DevelopmentContent & CommunicationsAI Workflow Optimization

Selected Work

Turningideas

intoexecution

Featured EventLive Event

TEDxOgba

“From Where We Stand”

Ideas shaped by place, perspective, and purpose

Curator & Lead Project Coordinator

The TEDxOgba organizing team on stage, with Vanessa front and center

TEDxOgba is an independently organized TED event that brought the global TEDx format to the Ogba community in Lagos. Under the theme “From Where We Stand,” the event gathered local voices to share ideas shaped by place, perspective, and purpose.

As Curator and Lead Project Coordinator, I owned the event end-to-end within a one-month timeline — curating and preparing speakers, recruiting and managing volunteers, negotiating with vendors, directing the media crew, and overseeing logistics and the full attendee experience.

Despite last-minute logistical constraints and vendor delays, the event was delivered on schedule — a result of structured planning, clear ownership across every workstream, and tight cross-functional coordination from pre-event planning through live execution.

69
Attendees
9
Speakers
2
MCs
2
Performers
11
Volunteers
5
Media Crew

Vanessa with members of the TEDxOgba team on stage

Vanessa in front of the TEDxOgba “From Where We Stand” stage banner

Backstage at TEDxOgba beside the event banner

Scope

Coordinated the planning and execution of TEDxOgba within a one-month timeline, overseeing speaker management, volunteers, vendors, media, logistics, attendee and guest experience.
Managed cross-functional coordination across all event stakeholders, ensuring delivery from pre-event planning through live execution.

Results

Delivered event attended by 69 participants
Coordinated 9 speakers, 2 MCs, 2 performers, 11 volunteers, and 5 media crew members
Achieved 23 positive attendee feedback responses
Majority of attendees rated the experience 4/5–5/5

01Innovation Challenge1st Place

ExploreAfrica

Business & Project Lead

Winning cross-functional innovation project (1st place out of 10 teams).

ExploreAfrica is a tourism-focused digital platform concept — a one-stop destination for travel and discovery, designed to showcase Africa’s diverse beauty and make exploring the continent easy, seamless, and secure for travelers while giving local businesses a marketplace for global visibility.

Leading an 11-member cross-functional team through a two-week innovation challenge, I owned business strategy, product direction, market analysis, the revenue model, and the investor pitch — while coordinating execution across business, product, and technical workstreams under strict time constraints.

The project took first place among ten competing teams with the highest overall competition score, and the team was recognized for leadership, execution, and strategic clarity.

1st
Of 10 Competing Teams
11
Team Members Led
75/90
Highest Overall Score
$600+
In Prizes Secured

Still from the ExploreAfrica pitch presentation on market expansion

Scope

Led an 11-member cross-functional team to design and deliver a tourism-focused digital platform within a two-week innovation challenge.
Oversaw business strategy, product direction, market analysis, revenue model, investor pitch development, and team coordination across business, product, and technical functions.

Results

1st place among 10 competing teams
Led an 11-member multidisciplinary team
Achieved the highest overall competition score (75/90)
Secured approximately $600+ in prizes
Recognized for leadership, execution, and strategic thinking

02Fintech Operations

Yolat

Customer Operations & Systems Improvement

Improving visibility, customer engagement, and operational execution for a growing fintech platform.

Yolat is a growing fintech platform serving more than 10,000 users. I joined on the customer operations side with a clear mandate: improve visibility, customer engagement, and operational execution.

I redesigned the customer success reporting system and introduced structured frameworks that gave the team real visibility into user issues, escalations, retention opportunities, and operational performance — including a weekly success report that kept leadership aligned on what customers were experiencing.

The biggest shift was moving support from reactive to proactive: outbound customer calls introduced from a zero baseline, inactive users personally guided through KYC completion, and at-risk accounts saved through direct intervention.

55+
Outbound Calls Weekly
1,000+
Users Supported
40+
KYC Completions Guided
$1,000+
Reactivated-User Transactions

Weekly Success Report prepared by Vanessa for the Yolat customer team

Customer feedback: “It was smooth and efficient — thanks Vanessa, thanks Yolat”

Scope

Redesigned customer success reporting systems and proactive customer engagement processes.
Built structured reporting frameworks that improved visibility into customer issues, escalations, retention opportunities, and operational performance.

Results

Introduced 55+ outbound customer calls weekly
Supported 1,000+ users through customer channels
Guided 40+ inactive users through KYC completion
Prevented multiple account deletions through intervention
Re-engaged users who later completed $1,000+ in transactions

03Agency Operations

Kora & Hive Communications

Operations & Project Coordinator

Coordinating execution across multiple projects, stakeholders, and initiatives.

Kora & Hive Communications is a fast-paced communications agency running client projects, events, campaigns, and community initiatives — many of them simultaneously.

As Operations & Project Coordinator, I was the connective tissue across that portfolio: managing workflows, timelines, stakeholder communication, documentation, and accountability systems so that every project kept moving and nothing fell through the cracks.

I supported founders and clients with structured execution systems across marketing, branding, community, and experiential initiatives — from dinner-event productions to content shoots — improving delivery consistency through operational structure design.

24+
Projects & Initiatives
10
Active Projects at Once
20+
Stakeholders Coordinated
13+
Events & Initiatives Supported

Dinner-event production coordinated end to end — table styling, prints, and run of show

On-set during a client content production

With the Kora & Hive team at a client event

Scope

Managed workflows, timelines, stakeholder communication, documentation, accountability systems, and delivery coordination across projects, events, and community initiatives.

Results

Contributed to 24+ projects and initiatives
Managed up to 10 active projects simultaneously
Coordinated 20+ stakeholders, vendors, and collaborators
Supported execution of 13+ events and community initiatives

04Podcast & Media

Beyond Transactions Podcast

Operations & Content Coordinator

Supporting production workflows and content execution for a retail technology-focused podcast series.

Beyond Transactions is a podcast series focused on retail technology, business, and innovation — long-form conversations with industry leaders about building things that last.

I coordinated operations across the full content lifecycle: guest preparation, content planning, episode structuring, production support, and distribution. My job was making sure every episode moved from idea to published consistently, on a predictable cadence.

6
Industry Leaders Featured
S1
Full Season Produced

Beyond Transactions episode still — “Build for sustainability, build to last”

Beyond Transactions episode still on localizing for infrastructure

The Beyond Transactions podcast content feed

Scope

Coordinated guest preparation, content planning, production support, and distribution activities while maintaining execution consistency across the content lifecycle.

Results

Supported production of Season One featuring 6 industry leaders
Maintained structured workflows across planning, production, and distribution

Ecosystem & Industry Experience

Beyondthe

day-to-day

SheFi Scholar

Completed SheFi's global Web3 education program focused on blockchain, decentralized finance, ownership systems, digital identity, and emerging internet infrastructure.

Published ecosystem analysis and educational content exploring decentralization, crypto security, ownership economies, product adoption, and digital infrastructure.

Generated over 2,000 engagements across ecosystem discussions and thought leadership content.

Niva

Founder

Building a beauty-tech product designed to help people express identity, share information, and create memorable connections through NFC-enabled wearable experiences.

Combines customer experience, product thinking, brand strategy, and technology to reimagine how beauty and digital identity intersect.

“Products are not products — they are a sea of decisions, signals, and iteration” — one of Vanessa's published analyses

Product & Ecosystem Analysis

Published independent product and ecosystem analysis focused on user behavior, adoption, positioning, customer experience, product design, and emerging technology trends.

Topics explored include Notion, Trezor hardware wallets, the Base ecosystem creator economy, product adoption and customer behavior, decentralization and digital ownership, and product positioning and user experience.

How I Work

Clarity.Structure.

Ownership.

Clarity Before Execution

I believe successful projects start with clarity before execution. Understanding the objective, stakeholders, constraints, and desired outcomes always comes before building solutions.

Structure Before Scale

Projects move faster when expectations are aligned early. I focus on creating shared understanding, clear ownership, and accountability across teams before execution begins.

Ownership Through Delivery

Ideas create momentum. Execution creates results. My role is often bridging the gap between planning and delivery by building systems, coordinating stakeholders, and ensuring things move forward.

Tools I work with

Notion · Jira · Google Workspace · Microsoft Office · Canva · Mailchimp · Slack · ChatGPT · Claude · Perplexity

Contact

Let'sbuildsomething

thatmovesforward

Want to bring your amazing idea to life? I'd love to hear about it.

Email→LinkedIn→Download CV→

ugwanomisaghan@gmail.com