Patrick Carney

Patrick Carney is an accomplished operations executive, strategic advisor, and transformation leader who serves as Managing Director, Industrial Operations & Transformation at Synova Talent Solutions. He specializes in helping industrial, manufacturing, infrastructure, and growth-oriented organizations identify leaders capable of solving complex challenges, improving performance, and translating strategy into execution.

Patrick brings an operator’s perspective to executive search and leadership assessment. Over more than two decades, he has served as a COO, project leader, labor negotiator, data analyst, and strategic advisor. His experience gives him firsthand insight into what it takes to lead through operational complexity, align competing stakeholders, and deliver results in demanding business environments.

Most recently, Patrick served as President and Chief Operating Officer of CerCo I, a specialized manufacturer serving aerospace, defense, energy, industrial, and advanced materials markets. He held responsibility across manufacturing, supply chain, finance, human resources, information technology, labor relations, customer management, and strategic growth initiatives.

Throughout his career, Patrick has led complex operational and transformation initiatives involving executive teams, employees, labor organizations, regulatory agencies, contractors, legal advisors, customers, and other stakeholders. His experience includes scaling production, improving manufacturing throughput and capacity utilization, leading infrastructure modernization, navigating labor negotiations, implementing business systems, and guiding organizations through significant market disruption and change.

At Synova, Patrick applies that experience to help clients look beyond a candidate’s resume and assess whether a leader can actually execute. He evaluates executives through the lens of someone who has personally faced many of the challenges they are being hired to solve, with particular attention to leadership effectiveness, decision-making, operational discipline, stakeholder alignment, adaptability, and the ability to turn strategy into measurable results.

Patrick works closely with manufacturing companies, industrial organizations, infrastructure businesses, private equity firms, and growth-oriented enterprises seeking leaders who can drive operational excellence, transformation, and sustainable growth.

Working alongside Synova’s team of former CEOs, operators, industry executives, and functional experts, Patrick brings clients a combination of real-world operating experience, strategic insight, and disciplined leadership assessment designed to help organizations identify leaders who can make a meaningful and lasting impact.

“The best leaders understand that execution is where strategy becomes reality. Sustainable success comes from aligning people, processes, data, and accountability around a common objective. Organizations achieve extraordinary results when leaders are willing to solve difficult problems, make informed decisions, and create an environment where teams can perform at their highest level.”