Propel Operator Membership
Senior Operators. Real Accountability.
Who We Are
Propel is a selective affiliation for experienced operators who want to work fractionally without surrendering economics, integrity, or professional standards in an era where AI and structural change are reshaping enterprise leadership.
We are not a consulting firm.
We do not pyramid junior staff beneath you.
We do not centralize revenue and redistribute it.
We are a governed guild of senior professionals built for meaningful enterprise work.
Why Propel
AI is reshaping the enterprise.
Leadership structures are evolving.
Traditional institutional paths no longer provide continuity.
Propel exists for operators who want to work inside meaningful enterprises without surrendering economics or standards.
We are building an institutional bench capable of operating at enterprise scale.
This is not a network. It is a professional order.
An Operating Institution for the AI Age
What Propel Is
Propel is a professional institution designed for operators who:
Have held real mandate authority.
Have carried material economic exposure.
Have scaled organizations through inflection.
Want flexibility without reputational drift.
Value standards over scale.
Prefer transparent economics to political allocation.
Membership is earned and renewed. Affiliation signals seriousness.
Leadership is Fragmenting. Institutional Continuity Matters.
Who We Work With
Our primary focus:
Propel operators are typically deployed into established companies with real operating complexity and meaninful economic exposure.
Privately held or sponsor-backed companies typically between $50 million and $2 billion in annual revenue, where operating complexity, capital discipline, and high-stakes execution mandates intersect.
Successful organizations confronting the next growth chasm.
Businesses transitioning from strong execution to durable enterprise scale.
Leadership teams navigating integration, margin pressure, operating redesign, or AI-driven change.
We are not primarily built for:
Early-stage venture plays.
Sub-scale companies dependent on equity-heavy compensation substitutes.
Advisory layers competing over financial engineering.
Situations where deferred upside replaces operating authority.
We will not ignore compelling opportunities outside this range. However, our institutional identity is oriented toward companies that are already successful and now face the discipline of scale.
We Work Where Scale Is Real And Consequences Are Material
Operator Economics
Propel operators are typically deployed into established companies with real operating complexity and meaninful economic exposure.
Propel is built on a clear economic principle:
The majority of mandate economics accrue directly to the operator.
There is no revenue pooling.
There are no discretionary allocations.
There is no perpetual platform override.
Retainer Only Structure
All Propel mandates are structured as retainers.
We do not support hourly contracting.
Operators set their own pricing, subject to a minimum floor of $250 per hour equivalent.
Most mandates begin at approximately $15,000 per month and scale materially with scope, authority, and enterprise complexity.
A single mandate represents meaningful executive responsibility.
Most operators maintain one to two concurrent mandates depending on capacity and mandate depth.
A steady operator maintaining two moderate mandates typically operates in the $275,000 to $350,000 annual income range, before personal expenses, without heroic assumptions or speculative upside.
Platform Participation
For mandates sourced through Propel:
Single-operator mandate: 10% platform participation
Multi-operator mandate (two or more Active Members): 7.5% platform participation on the total mandate revenue
This reduced rate on collaborative mandates is designed to expand overall mandate scope and client impact, enabling stronger outcomes and greater total value creation.
Recruiter Participation
Recruiters who originate a mandate receive 15% of collected revenue for the first six months only.
This participation is per mandate (not per operator placed) and ends after six months.
Not Built On Extraction. Built on Execution.
Operater Referred Mandates
When a Member introduces a new client relationship (new company or previously unengaged division) that results in a mandate executed by another Propel operator, the originating Member receives 7.5% of the first six months of collected revenue.
This referral fee does not apply to expansions or additional operators added to an existing mandate already affiliated with Propel. In those cases the multi-operator incentive applies instead.
Independently Sourced Work:
• No platform participation
• 100% retained by the operator
Propel does not restrict independent mandate development. The institution participates only where it creates value.
Recruiter Alignment and Mandate Origination
Enterprise inflection points are often first visible to trusted retained recruiters.
Propel formalizes that insight into an institutional sourcing layer.
We partner with high-quality independent and small-team retained recruiters who require a credible fractional capability inside their portfolio.
Recruiter partners:
Originate fractional and transformation mandates.
Receive 15% of collected revenue for the first six months of a mandate they originate.
Do not participate in ongoing economics beyond that period.
We do not compete with our recruiters.
We do not build internal placement teams to displace them.
Full-time retained placement of Propel operators is considered a successful outcome.
Mandates are sourced professionally.
Execution remains operator-led.
Economics remain transparent and time-bound.
Operating Depth Aligned With Institutional Distribution
Independently Sourced Work
Independently Sourced Work
No platform participation.
100% retained by the operator.
Propel does not restrict independent mandate development.
The institution participates only where it creates value.
Membership Fee
Active membership carries a fixed annual fee of $5,000.
The fee funds:
Institutional infrastructure
Proposal and billing coordination
Insurance support
Governance and quality assurance oversight
Brand development and institutional signal
The fee is fixed.
It is not scaled to income.
It is not a revenue share.
It is a commitment mechanism, not an extraction layer.
Founding-cohort members receive their first 12 months of membership fee-free. The standard $5,000 annual fee activates thereafter.
Commitment Creates Signal. Reputation Compounds.
Institutional Stewardship and Accountability
Propel owns the client relationship as institutional steward.
Every active mandate is subject to periodic quality assurance conversations led by nominated senior operators. These reviews are non-negotiable.
They exist to:
Protect client outcomes.
Preserve institutional standards.
Safeguard the Propel signal.
Ensure continuity beyond any single engagement.
Stewardship does not reduce operator autonomy. It ensures professional accountability.
As The Enterprise Evolves, Standards Must Not Erode.
Affiliation and Institutional Continuity:
Propel owns the client relationship as institutional steward.
Every active mandate is subject to periodic quality assurance conversations led by nominated senior operators. These reviews are non-negotiable.
They exist to:
Protect client outcomes.
Preserve institutional standards.
Safeguard the Propel signal.
Ensure continuity beyond any single engagement.
Stewardship does not reduce operator autonomy. It ensures professional accountability.
Standards Define Who We Are.
Propel does not tolerate conduct that undermines institutional integrity.
Revenue contribution does not exempt a member from review.
Ethical breach is disqualifying. Career volatility is not.
Standards supersede economics.
Full terms of membership are governed by the Propel Strategy Operating Covenant, the binding agreement that codifies these economics, standards, and institutional continuity.
Take The Next Step.
The Application Process:
Initial conversation
Reference validation
Governance review
Admission decision
The admission process typically takes 30 to 45 days to complete.
Admission is selective. Affiliation is meaningful.
Apply for Membership.
If you believe you meet the standard, begin a conversation.
