Where vision becomes execution.
Two seasoned pros, one from the boardroom and one from the battlefield, helping businesses run smarter and lead stronger.
Two seasoned pros, one from the boardroom and one from the battlefield, helping businesses run smarter and lead stronger.
For consumer brands and growing businesses that need structured operations to scale, navigate a transition, or integrate after an acquisition.
About Penny →
For organizations preparing to work across borders and cultures, building leadership teams that hold under pressure, or navigating crisis and uncertainty.
About General Brand →Most founders reach a point where the business they built starts to outgrow the way it runs. Stepping back feels risky, like losing control, or losing the vision that made it work in the first place.
A well-constructed operation isn't just a management fix. It's a competitive advantage. And it should be built around your vision, not a generic playbook.
That's the idea behind VIBE, Vision Into Business Execution. VIBE is not a fixed methodology. It's a system custom-designed around each company's unique environment, resources, and vision. That's the benefit of working with someone who has spent decades both in the consulting room and in the executive seat.
From early-stage startups to global acquisitions, the work spans the full range of operational leadership: assessment and roadmapping, embedded fractional COO engagements, complex project execution, M&A transitions, and board-level strategy. Every engagement is different. The approach is always the same: diagnose clearly, plan carefully, execute well.
See the Case Studies →Penny co-hosts this weekly podcast with fellow fractional COO Sarah Wilson. Every episode delivers three practical insights drawn from decades of hands-on operational leadership, for leaders who sit between strategy and execution.
Check It Out →Most growing companies have more data than ever and fewer decisions to show for it. This episode breaks down how to choose the right metrics, define them precisely, and set guardrails that tell you when to pay attention.
General Brand has spent a career navigating exactly that, at the highest levels of government and military service.
Whether you're ready to get to work, have a question, or just want to explore what's possible, we'd love to hear from you.
Penny Cook is a fractional COO and operational consultant who helps growing companies turn ambition into execution. She specializes in building the systems, teams, and processes that enable businesses to scale with clarity and control.
Penny is the founder of Cook&Brand and has spent her career working across technology, telecommunications, and consumer goods. She has completed both the startup-to-IPO and startup-to-sale journeys, and knows firsthand what it takes to build a business that performs at every stage.
She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Naturally Seattle, supporting and connecting consumer brands in the evolving CPG landscape. She is also the co-host of Operating on Purpose, a weekly podcast for operations leaders and founders.
Based in the Seattle area, she is a longtime advisor to startups and community organizations, an avid runner with three marathons to her credit, and most proud of the three boys who call her mom.
Brigadier General Matt Brand (USA, Retired) is a specialist in foreign and national security policy with two decades in senior policy positions with the US Department of Defense. Most recently he served as the lead of Strategic Plans and Policy for NATO's Allied Command-Transformation.
One of the Army's most accomplished Foreign Area Officers, General Brand led America's military activities in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and Pakistan. He was DOD's eyes on the ground during the Russo-Georgian War in 2008 and currently serves as Lead Foreign Affairs Subject Matter Expert for developing threat campaign plans for the Threat Emulation Force in support of US Army experimentation.
General Brand has a proven record of managing multi-million dollar projects in high-stakes environments with diverse teams. He is an accomplished public speaker with exceptional skill at assessing situations and navigating communications across different cultures.
He served in the Infantry for the first half of his career and was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in Operation Desert Storm. He holds a B.S. in Engineering from the US Military Academy, a Master's in Russian from Stanford University, and a Master's in International Security Policy from the US National War College. General Brand lives in Seattle, WA.