Chief of Staff · Strategic Business & Product Operations

Florence Brock

Helping leaders thrive in an AI-first era of business.

For two decades I have been the trusted right hand to founders, CEOs, and diplomats — turning executive intent into strategic operations that move. Across biotech, venture capital, luxury bespoke fashion, and government, on two continents and in three languages.

Berkeley, CA Open to travel English · French · Italian
Portrait of Florence Brock
Profile

The person who keeps the whole thing moving.

I partner closely with the people who run things — setting priorities, clearing obstacles, and making sure the right work happens before it ever reaches the principal's desk.

My background spans more than fifteen years in Italy working alongside C-level executives and government representatives, and the years since building strategic business operations for fast-moving companies in California. I move comfortably between a boardroom in Rome and a product review in San Francisco — and I keep a solid pulse on strategy while the details get handled.

Today I sit in the office of the Chief Product Officer, where I run betas end to end and liaise with Product Marketing for our Product Advisory Boards, the customer-feedback engines. I handle team budgets, internal communications | publications and lead steering committees, as well as cross-functional quarterly planning and deck presentations. I have also made AI part of the daily operating system — from automated workflows to advanced tools that quietly extend what a small team can do.

Experience

Right hand to the people who run things.

One continuous thread — from a consul's office to a CEO's, and now to the office of a Chief Product Officer. Every role, the same job done differently: make the leader more effective.

2024 — Present · Redwood City, CA

Strategic Business Operations Manager

Box Inc. — Intelligent Content Management (ICM) platform

  • Run 14+ Betas end to end, coordinating across Customer Success, CSMs, Account Executives, Release Management, GTM, Product Marketing, and Legal.
  • Lead steering committees for quarterly planning, the Product All-Hands, and the Product Culture Committee.
  • Handle backend product-feedback engine (Pulse on UserVoice), translating customer signal into prioritised product and GTM action.
  • Manage the Product budget with Finance across quarterly planning, investment, and spend; own T&E approvals for CPO direct reports and reconciliation of CPO expenses.
  • Editor-in-Chief of the bi-monthly product newsletter and lead for internal communications.
  • Drive Onboarding for new hires — logistics through program overview, using AI tools for deck asset enhancement — and act as point of contact for product & design reviews.
  • Liaison to Product Marketing for the Global Product Advisory Boards.
  • Own Product Strategy and leadership offsite programs end to end.
  • Automated recurring workflows with Box AI — headcount and beta programs among them — cutting manual coordination overhead.
Claude CoworkFable 5ChatGPT GeminiGrokBox AI GitHubCursorConduit

Previously at Box Inc. · Redwood City, CA

Strategic Executive Assistant | Business Ops 2022 — 2024

2022 · Menlo Park, CA

Chief of Staff to the CEO

Social Capital — secondment

  • Led the Office of the CEO — priorities, briefings, scheduling, travel, security, and engagements.
  • Served as thought partner ahead of review and planning meetings; planned QBRs and retreats.
  • Cultivated relationships with board members, investors, and staff; owned escalation and follow-through.
  • Drafted correspondence and orchestrated information flow to maximize the CEO's impact.

2022 · San Mateo, CA

Chief of Staff to the co-CEO

Dompé — international pharma & biotech

  • Trusted partner to the co-CEO across an international US–Europe operation.
  • Shaped strategic communication between the US and Europe; ghost-wrote memos and executive correspondence.
  • Built a business model that cut payroll administration costs by 30% and recovered over $20,000 in lost funds.
  • Led performance management and career development for direct reports; ran HR from recruitment to separation.
  • Coordinated with tax attorneys, accountants, and private bankers; oversaw contracts and payment approvals.

2019 — 2022 · San Francisco, CA

Strategic Executive Assistant to the CRO

DNAnexus — biotech

  • Right hand to the CRO and liaison across all six revenue departments in the US and Europe.
  • Resolved organizational issues before they reached the CRO; drove cross-team visibility and alignment.
  • Led and edited the weekly Revenue Report for executive review, keeping leadership aligned on performance against targets.
  • Executive business partner to the CCO on a $6M agreement closed with the FDA; cultivated external stakeholder relationships that generated multiple million-dollar deals.
  • Executed QBRs and off-sites for a 50+ person revenue organization, with control of $100K budgets.
  • Drove the recruitment process behind a 40% increase in revenue roles across the US and Europe.

2015 — 2019 · Italy

Chief of Staff to the CEO

Dalcuore — Italian luxury bespoke fashion house

  • Active member of the executive strategic team; tracked OKRs across teams.
  • Prepared board decks and investor presentations with high-value collateral.
  • Drove business development and global market expansion — a 20% increase in Asian partnerships and successful entry into the US market.
  • Supported M&A strategy for a stealth-mode merger.
  • Recruited and developed 30+ employees; ran events and off-sites for 100+ attendees.
  • Traveled with the CEO as simultaneous English–Italian interpreter.

Earlier — journalism, academia & diplomacy

2016 — 2019 · Rome

Journalist | Foreign Correspondent

Italian Insider — John Phillips, Editor in Chief

Conducted interviews in Italian and wrote in English for a daily English-language paper; research, fact-checking, and translation to deadline. Portfolio ↗

2013 — 2016 · Naples

English Language Reader & TA

L'Università Orientale

Taught English, planned lessons, and administered exams as a language expert.

2013 · Italy

Community Liaison Officer

Consulate General of the USA

Administered portfolio programs, held high-level contacts with diplomacy, ran events for 200+, and launched the consulate newsletter.

2005 — 2012 · Italy

Chief of Staff & Public Affairs to the Consul

Consulate of Canada

Executive support with full discretion and confidentiality; program management, internal & external communications, and HR for seasonal staff.

Capabilities

What I bring to the office.

Executive partnership one

  • Thought partnership & advising
  • Priorities & decision-making
  • Briefings & board prep
  • Discretion & confidentiality
  • High EQ

Operations & programs two

  • Program & project leadership
  • Cross-functional coordination
  • Annual & quarterly planning
  • QBRs, off-sites & events
  • Budget management & KPI reporting
  • Process & workflow design
  • Beta & feedback programs

People & culture three

  • HR recruitment, full cycle
  • Onboarding & development
  • Performance management
  • Team building
  • Culture-building

Communications & AI four

  • Executive & ghost-writing
  • Internal comms & newsletters
  • Board, investor & stakeholder relations
  • AI-enabled workflows
  • Box · G-Suite · MS Office · Slack
  • SAP Concur · NAVAN · ATS · UserVoice
Credentials

Education, languages & training.

Education

Master of Journalism

Università Telematica Internazionale Uninettuno — Rome, Italy

Internship at the Foreign Press · "Special Recognition of Excellence" recipient.

Business Administration & Management

Università Parthenope — Naples, Italy

B.A., Political Science

University of California, Berkeley — Berkeley, CA

Certifications

Cursor 101 — Box2025
Management 201 — Catapult Management Group2021
Management 101 — Catapult Management Group2020
Get in touch

Let's talk.

Whether it's strategic operations, product, or a conversation across continents — I'm always glad to connect. The fastest way to reach me is email.