EPISODE · Jan 28, 2026 · 22 MIN
The COO Playbook for Scale | With Parisa Naseralavi, COO at XOPS
from Mala's Podcast · host Mala Ramakrishnan
Parisa Naseralavi, COO of XOPS, joins Mala Ramakrishnan for a candid conversation on operations, leadership, and what it really takes to scale companies from early traction to enterprise adoption.Starting her career as a chemical engineer, Parisa shares how thinking in process and scale shaped her journey across Monsanto, Cisco, VMware, ServiceNow, and now a fast-growing startup. She explains why operations is the operating system of a company, why startups underestimate go-to-market discipline, and how autonomous workflows can remove human friction across IT, HR, and finance.The episode also dives into selling to Fortune 100 companies, achieving fast time-to-value, building trust early with customers, and why founders must obsess over outcomes, not just features. A practical, no-hype conversation for founders, operators, and executives building enterprise software.____________________________________________________________Timestamps00:00 Intro and Parisa’s journey to COO01:00 From chemical engineering to operations02:20 Learning scale and quality at Monsanto03:30 Joining Cisco during hypergrowth04:40 Why operations is the company’s operating system05:50 Moving from hardware to software leadership07:00 Scaling global operations at VMware08:10 Lessons from ServiceNow’s growth phase09:30 Why Parisa joined an early-stage startup10:50 The reality of building from Series A to B12:10 What XOps does and autonomous workflows13:30 Outcome-driven automation vs task automation14:50 Removing humans from broken workflows16:10 How startups land Fortune 100 customers17:40 Fast deployment and time-to-value19:10 Why early customers take bets on people20:40 Founder involvement in early enterprise deals22:00 AI adoption: cost, productivity, and revenue23:30 Advice for women leaders and sponsors25:00 Mentorship, giving back, and leadership values26:40 Books, travel, and closing reflections____________________________________________________________🔗 Connect with Parisa Naseralavi → https://www.linkedin.com/in/parisanaseralavi/🔗 Connect with Mala Ramakrishnan → https://www.linkedin.com/in/malaramakrishnan🎧 Subscribe to the podcastYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnL3D6aI60R-cCvypFIkh4ASpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NIDE4cT5fuVjC3HaGbCDK?si=eoSTNmhqQNKHQl9d1Jx0UQApple Podcast: https://podcastsconnect.apple.com/my-podcasts/show/talking-to-the-leaders-of-ai-the-ceo-series-with-mala/22ad2bae-502b-4eb1-aa74-53bc79754db7Visit our Website: www.malaramakrishnan.com | www.founderscreative.ai
What this episode covers
Parisa Naseralavi, COO of XOPS, joins Mala Ramakrishnan for a candid conversation on operations, leadership, and what it really takes to scale companies from early traction to enterprise adoption.Starting her career as a chemical engineer, Parisa shares how thinking in process and scale shaped her journey across Monsanto, Cisco, VMware, ServiceNow, and now a fast-growing startup. She explains why operations is the operating system of a company, why startups underestimate go-to-market discipline, and how autonomous workflows can remove human friction across IT, HR, and finance.The episode also dives into selling to Fortune 100 companies, achieving fast time-to-value, building trust early with customers, and why founders must obsess over outcomes, not just features. A practical, no-hype conversation for founders, operators, and executives building enterprise software.____________________________________________________________Timestamps00:00 Intro and Parisa’s journey to COO01:00 From chemical engineering to operations02:20 Learning scale and quality at Monsanto03:30 Joining Cisco during hypergrowth04:40 Why operations is the company’s operating system05:50 Moving from hardware to software leadership07:00 Scaling global operations at VMware08:10 Lessons from ServiceNow’s growth phase09:30 Why Parisa joined an early-stage startup10:50 The reality of building from Series A to B12:10 What XOps does and autonomous workflows13:30 Outcome-driven automation vs task automation14:50 Removing humans from broken workflows16:10 How startups land Fortune 100 customers17:40 Fast deployment and time-to-value19:10 Why early customers take bets on people20:40 Founder involvement in early enterprise deals22:00 AI adoption: cost, productivity, and revenue23:30 Advice for women leaders and sponsors25:00 Mentorship, giving back, and leadership values26:40 Books, travel, and closing reflections____________________________________________________________🔗 Connect with Parisa Naseralavi → https://www.linkedin.com/in/parisanaseralavi/🔗 Connect with Mala Ramakrishnan → https://www.linkedin.com/in/malaramakrishnan🎧 Subscribe to the podcastYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnL3D6aI60R-cCvypFIkh4ASpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NIDE4cT5fuVjC3HaGbCDK?si=eoSTNmhqQNKHQl9d1Jx0UQApple Podcast: https://podcastsconnect.apple.com/my-podcasts/show/talking-to-the-leaders-of-ai-the-ceo-series-with-mala/22ad2bae-502b-4eb1-aa74-53bc79754db7Visit our Website: www.malaramakrishnan.com | www.founderscreative.ai
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The COO Playbook for Scale | With Parisa Naseralavi, COO at XOPS
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