Celebrating Over 20 years of Serving Operations Executives
2025 was a year that tested operations leaders in new ways - and elevated the role of the COO in the process. As organizations navigated economic uncertainty, accelerating AI adoption, shifting workforce dynamics, and increasing pressure to do more with less, one thing became clear: strong operations leadership mattered more than ever.
At COO Forum, this year was defined by candid conversations, practical insights, and a growing community of COOs committed to learning from one another. From in-person chapter sessions to national discussions and shared resources, 2025 reinforced why peer-based perspective is such a powerful advantage for operations leaders. This year-in-review looks back at the moments, themes, and progress that shaped our community - and sets the stage for what’s ahead.
Yet alongside that progress, the year also carried a bittersweet note for COO Forum. While we celebrate our member successes, we also mourn the loss of our founder and Director Emeritus, William E. "Bill" Shepard.
Bill founded COO Forum more than 21 years ago, driven by a simple but powerful insight, that chief operating officers lacked a peer-based community where they could connect in confidence and learn from one another. Drawing on more than three decades of executive leadership experience, including roles as CEO, Divisional President, and COO, Bill created a trusted space for operations executives to grow, share, and lead more effectively.
Bill’s vision continues to live on in the COO Forum community he built—one that remains committed to the spirit of connection, learning, and support he embodied so well.
We miss you and will forever be thankful for all you have done.
Bill's spirit of operational excellence and supporting others can be found in the actions of each of our members, Directors and staff here at COO Forum. Let's take a moment to look back at a year of accomplishments and more importantly, giving back to the community.
Member Accomplishments:
Named as one of The Change Makers 2025 by Austin Woman Magazine
- Featured in an article by Pulse 2
- Ranked on the Inc. Magazine 2025 Female Founders 500 list
- Spotlighted on a podcast
- Listed as a Distinguished Engineer by The University of Texas at Austin
- Interviewed on a LinkedIn Live event
- Served as a mentor at at the Kansas City Business Journal's 12th Annual Mentoring Monday event
- Recognized by the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Business Journal, and the San Diego Business Journal for leadership and impact across Southern California communities
- Named a qualified nominee for the LA Times Studios 2025 Inspirational Women Forum & Leadership Award
- Moderated a discussion focused on employee advocacy in recruitment practices alongside leaders from various industries
- Highlighted by Women We Admire as one of The Top 50 Women Chief Operating Officers of 2025
- Recognized as a 2025 Woman You Need to Know
- Selected to Chair the E2D - Eliminate the Digital Divide Board
- Participated in The Torchbearers Event
- Named one of Albany Business Review’s 40 Under 40 honorees
- Honored for 35 years at their company
- Promoted to CEO at American Red Cross of Wisconsin
- Recognized by Computerworld as one of the Best Places to Work in IT
- Ranked #7 among large organizations on the new list of top ten employers for retention and engagement
- Named an Achievers on the Rise by NGLCC and Partners in the National Business Inclusion Consortium
- Honored as one of Built In’s 2025 Best Places to Work
- Celebrated their 10th anniversary
- Acquired 33 additional pharmacies across Canada in multiple transactions, expanding their national footprint to 325+ locations
- Named one of Canada’s Top Growing Companies by The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business for the sixth consecutive year
- Recognized as one of Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures in the prestigious enterprise category for 2025
- Celebrated their 60th anniversary
- Earned the "IoT Security Product of the Year" in the 9th annual IoT Breakthrough Awards
- Certified by Great Place To Work US for the seventh year in a row
- Recognized by the Georgia Department of Education as a CSI Progress School
- Completed their 500th transaction
- Played a key role in advancing the data center industry on a groundbreaking hyperscale project
- Honored at the 2025 NECA Project Excellence Awards for their work on the SCB Headquarters project
- Named a World's Most Admired Company by Fortune
- Featured on the premiere episode of The Fixer a new reality series
- Recognized as a Global Winner for Small Office: PepsiCo Africa; Global Winner for Large Office: FWD Bangkok in the SBID International Design Awards 2025
- Named Mid-Atlantic Partner of the Year by Juniper Networks
- Recognized as the OutSystems Partner 2024 of the Year in the New Logo ARR AMER category
Selected as a USA TODAY TopWorkplace for 2025, for the third consecutive year
Honored as one of The Washington Post Top Workplaces for the third year in a row
Obtained the Department of Defense Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Level 2
Named one of the Vet100 - a list celebrating the fastest-growing veteran-owned businesses
Designated a Data Privacy Week 2025 Champion by the National Cybersecurity Alliance
Voted Large Business of the Year by The Chamber of the Iowa Great Lakes
Named Partner of the Year at the AHLA HotelPAC Luncheon
Featured on an episode of The American Dream
Recognized as one of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2025
Earned a Silver Stevie Award in the 2025 International Business Awards for Achievement in Customer Satisfaction
Received the Best Customer Experience Insight award at the 2025 Esomar Awards
Celebrated their 7th anniversary
Inaugurated their new Bangalore office
Recognized as a USA Today Top Workplace
Made the 2025 Inc Regionals Midwest list for the 4th year in a row
Named Snowflake's 2025 Americas Data Cloud Services Growth Partner of the Year
Celebrated as one of Consulting Magazine's 2025 Best Firms to Work For for the seventh year in a row
Ranked as one of Crain's Best Places to Work in Chicago 2025
Recognized as one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers for the third year in a row
Highlighted on the 2025 Inc. 5000 list for America’s fastest-growing companies
Recognized 25 attorneys as Super Lawyers or Rising Stars in Thomson Reuters 2025 list of Illinois Super Lawyers
Named three practice groups and twelve attorneys in the Chambers and Partners Global 2025 rankings
Made The Legal 500 United States 2025 list
Named 47 attorneys to the 2026 edition of the Best Lawyers in America
Selected for inclusion in the International Employment Lawyer’s 2026 IEL Elite list
Celebrated 25 years
Made the USA Today 2025 Top Workplace list
Participated in the Crain’s Chicago Business webcast, "Keeping Current: How to Stay Compliant in Maintaining Existing and New Electrical Technologies”
Recognized as one of the Top 100 Staffing Companies to Work For at the 2025 World Staffing Summit
Named one of Staffing Industry Analysts' 2025 Best Staffing Firms to Work For
Appointed to the Inc. Regionals Southwest list
Named one of Austin Business Journal’s Fastest Growing Companies of 2025 for the third year in a row
Recognized by the National Association for Business Resources as one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in multiple categories, including Iconic, Brilliance, and Top 101 in the Nation
Acknowledged at the 2025 Nonprofit and Corporate Citizenship awards for introducing The Achievery, an online learning platform offering curricula in STEM, digital literacy, social-emotional learning, college and career readiness
Won an Emmy for Outstanding Interactive for Cousin Hodie Playdate
Nominated for TCA Awards in “Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Programming” for Odd Squad, Donkey Hodie, and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood
Recognized with awards at the Serious Play Conference for four games
Received NINE Children’s & Family Emmy Awards nominations
Named one of the Best Places to Work in Virginia for the 12th time
Acknowledged by Inc. Magazine as one of the Fastest-Growing Companies in the Mid-Atlantic for 2025
Celebrated 25 years
Attained the Workplace Culture Leader Award at the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 We Mean Business Awards
Achieved the Department of Defense’s CMMC Level 2 Certification
Recognized for several Partner Awards: 2024 Rising Star Partner of the Year; Vendor Award; 2024 Q4 Gold Partner; 2025 Rising Star Partner
Celebrated their 6 year anniversary
Highlighted by The Channel Company on the 2025 MES Midmarket 100 List
Recognized as a 2025 Top Workplace by the Albany Times Union, marking the eighth consecutive year receiving this award
Celebrated 9 years
Achieved ISO 13485:2016 certification
Received 16 Telly Awards across a variety of categories, including Education, Animation, Editing, Social Impact, and Not-for-Profit
Earned the title Best and Brightest Company to Work For in Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, and across the Nation
Named the “The Best of the Best Medium Business” at the 2025 Metropolitan Detroit’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For awards
Won an AI Breakthrough Award - for the third year running
Opened an office in New York City to better serve their growing East Coast customer base
Received the Auto Sensor Innovation of the Year award from the 2025 Merit Automotive Awards
Named to TIME's list of America's best midsize companies for the second year in a row
Voted 2025’s Best Mobile Phone Company in Avery County
Moved up the Qualified Remodeler Top 500 list - from #399 to #307 in just one year
Recognized as a 2025 best practices agency
Celebrated their 7 year anniversary
Earned the 56th spot on the 2025 MEP Giants list
Named one of the Best Places to Work by the North Bay Business Journal for the 7th year in a row
Received the Best of Bloomingdale Community Choice Award in Banking Services
Recognized as one of the Best Banks to Work For in the entire country by American Banker Magazine
Announced the opening of their new headquarters and manufacturing facility in the heart of Silicon Valley
Earned two Silver wins at the 2025 The Stevie Awards for Women in Business: Achievement in Developing and Promoting Women; Achievement in Customer Satisfaction
Awarded CyberVadis Gold 2025 for cybersecurity and data protection
Celebrated 30 years
Named a 2025 Iowa Top Workplace by the The Des Moines Register
- Helped California residents fleeing from the massive and fast-moving wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes
- Supported families displaced by home fires
- Collected 2,800 units of blood in the 2025 Greater Chicago Blood Drive
- Provided critical relief and recovery/clean-up assistance to those affected by wildfires, severe weather and floods
- Supported an Honor Flight in Quincy, Illinois
- Collected and delivered over 1,500 pairs of socks to the Marion VA Medical Center
- Cleaned cots used at a shelter welcoming residents impacted by a home fire
Worked with Rise Against Hunger to fight hunger and package food for those in need
Organized initiatives to raise funds and collect food donations for the Okoboji and Spirit Lake Schools Backpack Programs
Delivered trays of fruit, vegetables, meat, and cheese to show appreciation to the Spencer Fire Department and Clay County Sheriff's Office
Raised funds and collected food and personal care item donations to benefit the Estherville Lincoln Central Community School's Backpack Program
Donated $1,042 to People for Pets, a local animal rescue that provides food, medical care, and shelter for animals in need
Raised $1,036 to support the families caring for community youths
Delivered 88 fully-stocked backpacks to Abide
Contributed $500 each to the Le Mars and ELC Backpack Programs, helping provide food to local youth and families in need
Awarded $12,000 to the Le Mars Community Music Boosters in support of local music education and student opportunities
Donated $500 to the Sioux City Public School System to help fund: STEM, Arts, and Career Education as well as essential needs like warm coats, school supplies, and graduation gowns
Provided $995 of “Jeans Day” money raised throughout the year to the Emmet County Community Christmas Project
Supported Iowa Lakes Community College with a $12,000 donation to enhance fine arts and culture experiences for students
Championed two Giving Tree programs
Hosted a blood drive, collecting 38 units of blood helping save up to 114 lives
Delivered care baskets and donated hats and gloves to support local programs
Packed meals for Families Forward Charlotte
Organized Tiger Town Takeover, volunteering at THOMPSON Child & Family Focus
Volunteered for a variety of activities - from building houses in Uruguay to organizing food donations in Atlanta
Supported the planting of 1,000 trees at BAIF’s Wagholi campus, promoting community well-being
Processed thrift store donations, stocked shelves at a food pantry
Partnered with the non-profit organization Helping Mamas to support their Mommy & Baby Supply Drive, packing nearly 400 essential kits for families in need
Collaborated with the Saratoga Senior Center to assist with spring lawn care for local seniors
Gave time to fight hunger and care for the planet - volunteering with DC Central Kitchen, Greater Chicago Food Depository, Second Harvest Food Bank, and joining Gaylord Opryland for an Earth Day clean-up in Nashville
Packed school supply kits
Supported Wreaths Across America by sponsoring more than 270 wreaths to honor fallen U.S. veterans
Assisted homeowners in need by tackling everything from repairing code violations and correcting faulty electrical installs to lighting upgrades, fixture replacements, and garage and porch work in Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago for National Rebuilding Day
Volunteered for the 2025 Illinois Prairie Path Annual Trail Cleanup
Raised $45,000 to support the American Cancer Society
Provided bags of rice, warm packed lunches, backpacks with school supplies to support the children’s learning, and pre-loved clothes and toys for Unified Gives Back outreach program
Celebrated its 11th Annual Day of Service across Virginia - volunteering to support local nonprofits
Volunteered at Feed My Starving Children, packing 306 boxes, bagged 66,096 meals, and provided 181 children meals for an entire year
Packed meal bags for 100 Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Iowa families
Filled 2,000 bags and sorted 10,000 pounds of red potatoes in a single shift, setting a new record at Food Bank of Iowa
Assisted Polk County veterans at the Food Bank of Iowa veterans’ mobile food pantry
Participated in holiday food distribution, home repairs, Habitat builds, gift wrapping and hands-on volunteering across the country
Adopted holiday families through Children & Family Urban Movement and Volunteers of America Michigan
Supported local communities and holiday programs by sorting clothing, stocking food shelves and packaging groceries
Provided free breast cancer screenings through the partnership between the Kentucky Primary Care Association and United Healthcare
Teamed up with Secret Santa, Inc to give a classroom of students some holiday magic
Partnered with CityTeam to help provide meals for individuals and families in need
Supported the YMCA of San Diego County Giving Tree by adopting 41 angels and providing gifts for children and families in need
Volunteered time at the Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child donation center, helping pack and scan donation boxes
Collaborated with Atrium Health’s Project Pink, raising over $2,100 for breast cancer awareness screenings in our community
