Holly Hess Groos has extensive experience as a key advisor and influencer on corporate and non-profit boards as well as a senior financial executive and a trusted business partner focused on growth, operational excellence, competitive advantage, and strong team culture.
A respected industry thought leader, Holly serves as a Board and Audit Committee Chair for Digital Turbine; Board member and Vice Chair of the Board for Guiding Eyes for the Blind; and Board member for Shy Wolf Sanctuary. Previously, she was Board Member and Treasurer for Council for Economic Education. Holly is currently a Senior Advisor for AlixPartners’ Performance and Technology, and the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications practices. She held a similar role prior as an External Advisor for Bain & Company’s Performance Improvement, Telecommunication, and Media practices.
Prior, Holly spent 30 years with Verizon, providing executive leadership across various businesses and operational and financial objectives. Most recently, serving as SVP of Business Excellence and Zero Based Budgeting, she led and accelerated Verizon’s $10B Business Excellence cash cost reduction initiative by identifying areas to become more efficient and effective, including leveraging opportunities for scale, driving process improvement initiatives and implementing best practices. Her career at Verizon also included serving as SVP & CFO of Verizon Media (AOL & Yahoo!), SVP & Head of Internal Audit, SVP & CFO of Verizon Wireless, SVP & Treasurer, SVP & CFO of Verizon Global Enterprise Business and VP & CFO of Verizon Shared Services. She also created and ran an Operational Excellence organization, Verizon Lean Six Sigma, to implement process improvement, transform cost structure and redefine standards of operational excellence.
Earlier in her career, Holly was a Senior Accountant for Deloitte & Touche, and Staff Accountant for PricewaterhouseCoopers.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting from Miami University, is a Lean Six Sigma Blackbelt, and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Ohio.