Chief of Staff Resume Examples & Format
A chief of staff works for a CEO, founder or senior executive and takes on the cross-functional work no single team owns: running the operating rhythm of leadership meetings, goals and quarterly reviews; preparing board and investor materials; leading strategic projects from brief to delivery; managing reorganizations, planning cycles and executive hiring; and following decisions through until they are done. A chief of staff resume should prove skills such as OKRs and operating cadence, board and investor materials, and strategic and annual planning with numbers from your own work. Below are three samples, early-career to senior, with summaries, bullets and skills.
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Chief of Staff resume examples by experience level
All three samples are illustrative: the people, employers and every figure are made up.
Early-career sample
Adrian Velasquez-Moore
Consultant moving to Chief of Staff · 4 years in strategy consulting · operating models and cost programs · MBA
Chicago, IL · (312) 555-0103 · adrian.velasquezmoore@example.com
Summary
- Strategy consultant with four years of operating-model and cost work for consumer and industrial clients, most recently running the program office for a $40M cost program. Looking for a chief of staff role to a CEO or COO at a growth-stage company.
Experience
- Senior Consultant, a strategy consulting firm, Chicago, IL · 2022 – present · Ran the program office for a manufacturer's $40M cost program: weekly steering committee, 14 workstreams, savings tracker signed off by finance; built the operating model for a 2,000-person reorganization.
- Business Analyst, same firm · 2022 · Market sizing and due diligence for 3 private equity deals.
Education
- MBA, a business school in Illinois · 2022
- BA in Economics · 2018
Skills
- Program management, board-ready slides, financial modeling, operating models, stakeholder management, Excel, PowerPoint
Mid-level sample
Imogen Pritchard
Chief of Staff to the CEO · 7 years · B2B SaaS · Series B to D · OKRs, board, planning
San Francisco, CA · (415) 555-0169 · imogen.pritchard@example.com
Summary
- Chief of staff to the CEO of a 600-person SaaS company, running the operating rhythm, board preparation and annual planning through growth from $40M to $110M ARR. Led the integration of a $25M acquisition and the company's first OKR system.
Experience
- Chief of Staff to the CEO, a B2B SaaS company, San Francisco, CA · 2022 – present · Run weekly leadership meetings, quarterly business reviews and OKRs for 9 executives; prepare 4 board meetings a year; led integration of a $25M acquisition (120 people, systems merged in 5 months); annual planning cycle cut from 10 weeks to 6.
- Business Operations Manager, same company · 2019 – 2022 · Built the company's first headcount plan and pricing analysis; supported the Series C raise.
Education
- BA in Political Economy, a university in California · 2019
Skills
- OKRs and operating cadence, board decks, annual planning, M&A integration, executive communication, SQL and Excel, Notion and Asana
Senior sample
Bernadette Kilgallen
Chief of Staff to the President and CEO · 14 years · 6-hospital health system · strategy office of 5
Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 555-0187 · bernadette.kilgallen@example.com
Summary
- Chief of staff with 14 years in health care operations and strategy, now leading the CEO's office and a strategy team of 5 for a 6-hospital system. Ran the 5-year strategic plan, the board's governance calendar and a margin program that recovered $48M.
Experience
- Chief of Staff to the President and CEO, a 6-hospital health system, Pittsburgh, PA · 2019 – present · Lead a strategy office of 5; ran the 5-year strategic plan with 200 leaders; manage the board's governance calendar and committee materials; led a margin program that recovered $48M in two years.
- Director of Operations, a regional hospital, Pittsburgh, PA · 2012 – 2019 · Ran 6 clinical support departments; cut emergency department boarding time by 30%.
Education
- Master of Health Administration, a university in Pennsylvania · 2012
Skills
- Strategic planning, board governance, executive communications, margin improvement, change management, team leadership
Related resume examples
- Executive Assistant resume
- Consultant resume
- Program Manager resume
- Operations Manager resume
- Director of Operations resume
- Business Analyst resume
- Product Manager resume
- General Manager resume
- Chief Technology Officer resume
- Project Manager resume
- Executive resume
What does a chief of staff do?
The title is common in venture-backed companies, large corporations, hospitals, universities, nonprofits and government offices. People usually arrive from management consulting, operations, finance or product roles. A resume should show projects driven, decisions made faster and business outcomes, not calendar management, which belongs on an executive assistant resume.
Chief of Staff duties to put on a resume
- Run the leadership team's operating rhythm: meetings, goals, reviews and follow-ups.
- Prepare board, investor and all-company materials for the executive.
- Lead strategic and cross-functional projects from scope to delivery.
- Manage annual planning, budgets and reorganizations with finance and HR.
- Represent the executive in meetings and decide on their behalf where agreed.
- Track decisions and commitments until they are complete.
Best resume format for a chief of staff
- Name who you work for (CEO, COO, founder) and the company size in the headline.
- Show the outcomes of projects you drove, with dollars, time or headcount.
- Keep confidential deal names out; describe them by size and type.
The section order and what goes in each are on the how to write a resume guide; the resume format guide covers every format by type and country.
Summary examples by level
- Early-career: Strategy consultant who ran the program office for a $40M cost program and a 2,000-person reorganization, ready for a first chief of staff role.
- Mid-level: Chief of staff to a SaaS CEO through growth from $40M to $110M ARR, who led a $25M acquisition integration and cut planning from 10 weeks to 6.
- Senior: Chief of staff to a health system CEO, leading a strategy office of 5, who ran the 5-year plan and a margin program that recovered $48M.
Work experience bullet points
- Ran weekly leadership meetings, quarterly reviews and OKRs for 9 executives.
- Prepared 4 board meetings a year, including the deck, pre-reads and follow-up actions.
- Led the integration of a $25M acquisition, merging 120 people and systems in 5 months.
- Cut the annual planning cycle from 10 weeks to 6 with one template and fixed decision dates.
- Ran the program office for a $40M cost program across 14 workstreams.
- Led a margin improvement program that recovered $48M in two years.
- Ran a 5-year strategic plan with input from 200 leaders and board approval on the first vote.
Key skills to list
Hard skills: OKRs and operating cadence, Board and investor materials, Strategic and annual planning, Program and project management, Financial modeling, M&A integration, Org design and reorganizations, Executive communications, Excel, PowerPoint or Google Slides.
Soft skills: Judgment and discretion, Influence without authority, Clear writing, Prioritization, Trust with the executive team.
Education and certifications
- No set degree is required. Many chiefs of staff hold an MBA or a master's in a field such as health administration or public policy, and many come from consulting.
- Operations, finance, product and business operations roles are common routes in; list the projects that look most like chief of staff work.
- No license applies to the role.
What are strong chief of staff resume bullets?
Each names a project and its outcome: "Led the integration of a $25M acquisition, merging 120 people and systems in 5 months" or "Cut the annual planning cycle from 10 weeks to 6". Avoid lines that only say you supported the CEO.
Which chief of staff resume keywords matter?
Use the terms in the posting that match your work: operating cadence, OKRs, board preparation, strategic planning, cross-functional programs, M&A integration, org design and executive communications. Put each inside a bullet with a result rather than a skills list.
How is a chief of staff different from an executive assistant?
An executive assistant manages the executive's time, travel and correspondence. A chief of staff manages priorities and projects across the leadership team, often with a small team, and may decide on the executive's behalf. Show the difference on the resume.
How do I move from consulting to a chief of staff role?
Lead with program offices, operating models and reorganizations you ran, especially where you worked directly with a CEO or COO. Show the business result and how you got leaders to agree. Name the industries you served, since sector knowledge is part of what you bring.