I started in Deloitte's PMO. The kind of environment where missed audit steps had real consequences and a $25M change pipeline doesn't manage itself. That's where rigorous process is non-negotiable.
Then I joined Zethic Technologies, a growing digital agency, as their first PM hire and built the delivery operations from scratch. Sprint cadence. Scoping frameworks. Project reporting. All of it. Over 4 years and 30+ client engagements across 7 sectors, I scaled that into a team of 7 PMs. I wrote the playbooks they still run on. I replaced the paid SaaS stack with self-hosted FOSS. I built n8n workflows that route, score, and file incoming leads without human input — and cut the time from brief to spec handoff.
Now I do the same thing for other companies. Set up or fix their delivery operations. Train their PMs to work with AI. Clean up their tooling. Then I hand it off.
IS THIS YOU?
- Your projects keep slipping, but you're not sure if it's the process or the people
- You're scaling fast and need a delivery framework before things break
- Your PMs aren't using AI in their workflows, and nobody knows where to start
- You need a PMO but hiring a full-time Head of PM feels premature
If any of those sound familiar, let's talk.
Building a PMO from scratch at a digital agency
Zethic Technologies · 2022–present · 7 sectors · 30+ client engagements
Before
- No PM function. Founders managing delivery ad hoc.
- No delivery standards, no estimation framework, no sprint cadence.
- Growing project count with no reporting layer.
- Paid SaaS tools with overlapping functions and no automation.
- No structured onboarding for new hires. Knowledge lived with individuals.
After
- 7-person PM practice running 20+ concurrent client engagements.
- 96% on-time delivery across 30+ projects and 7 sectors.
- Playbooks and delivery standards written and still in use.
- Full SaaS-to-FOSS migration: Coolify, Plane, Docker. Eliminated vendor lock-in.
- AI automation (n8n) eliminated manual lead triage and cut spec-writing time significantly.
What people say
Varun - you are one of the brightest hires we could expect to have in our PMO team. Your sense of responsibility to troubleshoot & find the best solution for our processes & the client is what keeps us a step ahead.
Varun has truly emerged as the cornerstone of our team, a pivotal asset who seamlessly integrates all facets of the development process with finesse and expertise. His exceptional communication skills serve as a beacon, illuminating the path to success as he adeptly navigates through various topics with clarity and precision.
What I help companies build
Each is a defined engagement, not an open-ended retainer.
Set up your delivery operations
You get a self-running delivery function. Playbooks. Delivery standards. Reporting layer. PM hiring criteria. Built around your team, not a generic template.
- Delivery framework + sprint cadence
- PM hiring and onboarding playbook
- Reporting dashboard
- Estimation and scoping framework
Your delivery operations run without me after handoff.
Train your PMs on AI
Your PMs write specs faster, spend less time on status reporting, and run AI-assisted workflows in their actual day-to-day. Hands-on, not slide decks.
- Custom training curriculum
- Hands-on workflow sessions
- Prompt library for common PM tasks
- n8n automation setup
Your PMs use AI in production, not just in demos.
Process & tooling audit
You'll know exactly what's broken and have a clear plan to fix it. Expensive SaaS flagged for FOSS replacements. AI automation mapped to the highest-ROI processes.
- Audit report
- Prioritised fix list
- Tooling recommendations
- FOSS migration plan
You know exactly what to fix and in what order.
Not sure what you need? Start with a Delivery Diagnostic. 2–3 weeks, fixed scope, clear findings. No commitment to what comes next.
Where I've worked
From a $25M pipeline at Deloitte to building an AI-native PM practice from zero.
Senior Project Manager Promoted Multi-client delivery · Digital agency · 7 sectors
- Scaled the PMO to a team of 7 project managers who collectively run 20+ concurrent engagements.
- Own the full delivery lifecycle across the portfolio: scoping, budgets, resource planning, execution, client-facing communication. 96% on-time delivery.
- Manage fixed-fee and T&M engagements, keeping scope tight and raising issues proactively, before they become margin problems.
- Created the onboarding playbooks and process guides. Wrote the delivery standards. Used all of it to onboard and train 7 PMs to run engagements independently.
- Eliminated vendor lock-in by replacing the paid SaaS stack with self-hosted FOSS infrastructure. Coolify, Plane, Docker in production across the entire client delivery environment.
- Built AI automation workflows with n8n that removed manual lead triage entirely and cut spec-to-handoff time. The pipeline now routes, scores, and files without human input.
- Contribute strategic insight on company direction: how the business is structured, what it builds, where it's headed.
Project Manager Founding PM hire · Digital agency
- Joined as the first PM hire.
- Built the foundational delivery pipeline from scratch: sprint cadence, project reporting, scoping and estimation frameworks. All adopted company-wide.
- Audited and fixed broken delivery workflows to run 5+ concurrent engagements spanning app development, product launches, third-party integrations.
- The structures built in that first year became the foundation I stepped into when promoted. I've since scaled it into a full PM practice.
Associate Analyst PMO Operations · $25M Change Pipeline · Big 4
- Managed 100+ change requests contributing $25M in revenue inside a PMO where audit accuracy and accountability were non-negotiable.
- Identified financial discrepancies across the change request pipeline, reducing tracked variances by $350,000.
- Owned the financial reporting layer that kept the change request pipeline auditable from start to finish.
- Redesigned 5 operational reports, cutting generation time by 50% in aggregate.
- Earned 2 internal recognition awards for performance beyond the scope of the role.
Skills, Tools & Recognition
The methods and tools I use, train teams to adopt, and the certifications that back it up.
What I Use
Tools and platforms I run in production and help teams adopt.
What I Do ● AI-native
The consulting capabilities I bring to engagements.
Certifications & Awards
