MELANIE “MIKAN” PULI
International operations professional with an MBA degree and more than 7 years of
experience building and leading highly-productive, customer-obsessed teams in tech
startups and online marketplaces.
WORK EXPERIENCE
+33.633297308
mikan.puli@edhec.com
fr.linkedin.com/in/mikanpuli
Obtained the European
passport talent work visa
(CBE) in 2017
Directrice des Opérations | Global Operations Manager, StarOfService, Aug 2016 – Present Paris, France
• Reduced customer support operations' first response time by 98% in France and 99% in international as ticket volume rose by
112% and 98%, respectively, within months of joining
• Boosted customer satisfaction rating by 48% both in France and in international; highest achieved scores are 97% and 80%
• Managed relationships with AI third-party vendors, negotiated pricing and contract terms (lessened the cost to up to 53%)
• Spearheaded the implementation of artificial intelligence technology that maximized productivity by 18% and lowered average
handling time by 14%
• Implemented strategies to increase management's visibility towards real customer needs and pain points by turning data gathered
from Aircall and Zendesk to reports and presentations
• Designed straightforward back-office pages and Zendesk dashboards for the operations team to enhance employees’ performance
+ speed, and improve quality checking for the appointed leaders
• Streamlined the remote team's function, responsibility, impact, tasks and reporting style to strengthen the flow of coordination and
communication within the sub-teams (org chart)
• Initiated the formal employee engagement survey to feel the pulse of the team and ensure that they are aligned and satisfied,
particularly with the company’s chosen direction and goals
• Drove hiring decisions (recruitment) in France (Madagascar) and international work-from-home teams and administered
onboarding and training (and retention) of the new hires
General Manager, Thumbtack, 2009-2015 (5 ½ years) Manila, Philippines/San Francisco, CA
• Grew and led a remote team from 1 to 500; this team handles customer support, content management, research, proofreading and
other back-office moderation activities
• Increased tasks completed by 1000 fold from 48K in 2010 to 3.2 million in 2014
• Grew the revenue run rate from zero to $30 million+; provided investor confidence in operations that helped increase funding to
$270 million (investors include Google Capital, Tiger Global, Sequoia, and Javelin Ventures)
• Organized management infrastructure: managed, promoted and mentored five deputy managers and 18 department leaders to
optimize team performance
• Played a key role in creating and revising HR policies and procedures, including new-hire orientation and on-boarding,
performance review, conflict resolution, mentoring and employee engagement programs
• Achieved the highest employee happiness rating measured by CultureAmp (98.9%)
• Built and developed a lasting business culture and company core values that were cited as the driving force behind the employee-
retention rate of 98%
• Pioneered an innovative work-from-home model that enabled the employment and retention of >500 staff in 5 years
• Assisted and coached at least five startup entrepreneurs on how to successfully build, scale and organize remote teams
EDUCATION
Master of Business Administration (Global MBA), EDHEC Business School, 2015-2016 Nice, France
Marketing Research Consultant: Team Leader
Pearson English Business Solutions
Global MBA Consulting Project, May – June 2016
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, General Management, 2003-2007 Manila, Philippines
Dr. Filemon C. Aguilar Memorial College, under a scholarship program
INTERESTS
I am passionate about innovation, artificial intelligence, digital automation, international culture, project management and development,
outsourcing, diversity and kaizen. I love mountaineering, traveling, reading and yoga. I am currently looking for (people) operations,
customer success, strategy and project management opportunities.

Mikan puli

  • 1.
    MELANIE “MIKAN” PULI Internationaloperations professional with an MBA degree and more than 7 years of experience building and leading highly-productive, customer-obsessed teams in tech startups and online marketplaces. WORK EXPERIENCE +33.633297308 mikan.puli@edhec.com fr.linkedin.com/in/mikanpuli Obtained the European passport talent work visa (CBE) in 2017 Directrice des Opérations | Global Operations Manager, StarOfService, Aug 2016 – Present Paris, France • Reduced customer support operations' first response time by 98% in France and 99% in international as ticket volume rose by 112% and 98%, respectively, within months of joining • Boosted customer satisfaction rating by 48% both in France and in international; highest achieved scores are 97% and 80% • Managed relationships with AI third-party vendors, negotiated pricing and contract terms (lessened the cost to up to 53%) • Spearheaded the implementation of artificial intelligence technology that maximized productivity by 18% and lowered average handling time by 14% • Implemented strategies to increase management's visibility towards real customer needs and pain points by turning data gathered from Aircall and Zendesk to reports and presentations • Designed straightforward back-office pages and Zendesk dashboards for the operations team to enhance employees’ performance + speed, and improve quality checking for the appointed leaders • Streamlined the remote team's function, responsibility, impact, tasks and reporting style to strengthen the flow of coordination and communication within the sub-teams (org chart) • Initiated the formal employee engagement survey to feel the pulse of the team and ensure that they are aligned and satisfied, particularly with the company’s chosen direction and goals • Drove hiring decisions (recruitment) in France (Madagascar) and international work-from-home teams and administered onboarding and training (and retention) of the new hires General Manager, Thumbtack, 2009-2015 (5 ½ years) Manila, Philippines/San Francisco, CA • Grew and led a remote team from 1 to 500; this team handles customer support, content management, research, proofreading and other back-office moderation activities • Increased tasks completed by 1000 fold from 48K in 2010 to 3.2 million in 2014 • Grew the revenue run rate from zero to $30 million+; provided investor confidence in operations that helped increase funding to $270 million (investors include Google Capital, Tiger Global, Sequoia, and Javelin Ventures) • Organized management infrastructure: managed, promoted and mentored five deputy managers and 18 department leaders to optimize team performance • Played a key role in creating and revising HR policies and procedures, including new-hire orientation and on-boarding, performance review, conflict resolution, mentoring and employee engagement programs • Achieved the highest employee happiness rating measured by CultureAmp (98.9%) • Built and developed a lasting business culture and company core values that were cited as the driving force behind the employee- retention rate of 98% • Pioneered an innovative work-from-home model that enabled the employment and retention of >500 staff in 5 years • Assisted and coached at least five startup entrepreneurs on how to successfully build, scale and organize remote teams EDUCATION Master of Business Administration (Global MBA), EDHEC Business School, 2015-2016 Nice, France Marketing Research Consultant: Team Leader Pearson English Business Solutions Global MBA Consulting Project, May – June 2016 Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, General Management, 2003-2007 Manila, Philippines Dr. Filemon C. Aguilar Memorial College, under a scholarship program INTERESTS I am passionate about innovation, artificial intelligence, digital automation, international culture, project management and development, outsourcing, diversity and kaizen. I love mountaineering, traveling, reading and yoga. I am currently looking for (people) operations, customer success, strategy and project management opportunities.