About Dr. Phillip Hearn
Dr. Phillip Hearn
Partner, The Proper Group
Dr. Phillip Hearn is a private equity operator, multi-unit CEO, and strategic advisor with over two decades of experience spanning acquisitions, infrastructure, civic innovation, and leadership development.
He is the CEO of Helix Management Group and Family Business Properties, where he has led 30+ M&A transactions, post-merger integration strategies, and public-private infrastructure projects. As a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and doctoral graduate in organizational leadership, he brings rigorous systems thinking to every engagement.
Dr. Hearn is also a trusted civic advisor, nonprofit board leader, and former adjunct professor of strategic management at St. Louis University. At The Proper Group, he serves as a Fractional Chief Strategy, Growth & Civic Innovation Officer—helping clients scale with purpose across sectors.
Comprehensive Offerings
Dr. Phillip Hearn: Strategic Growth, Civic Innovation & M&A Leadership
Fractional Chief Executive, Strategy, Growth & Civic Innovation Officer | The Proper Group Partner
Strategic. Scalable. Systemic.
Strategy by Design
- Business model design + market differentiation
- C-Suite advisory for strategic alignment + innovation
- PE-backed integration and leadership design
CEO by Design
- Interim/Embedded CEO leadership
- Founder transitions and integration architecture
- Executive coaching and growth culture building
Civic by Design
- Grant development + administration
- RFP navigation and public procurement strategy
- Government partnership and community economic growth
Revenue by Design
- Sales system mapping + CRM optimization
- New market entry and revenue modeling
- Cross-departmental revenue integration
People by Design
- DEI strategy + inclusive hiring models
- Executive coaching and change readiness
- Talent design aligned to strategy
Voice + Marketing by Design
- Brand voice, narrative, and positioning
- Communication strategy + stakeholder engagement
- Cross-channel brand consistency
Experienced Leadership Your Organization Needs to Grow
Is your organization at an inflection point where, if leveraged well, you unlock new opportunities, exponential growth, sustainability, and/or further your mission—but if mishandled, risk the opposite?
Opportunity moments like:
- Leadership gaps during scale or transition
- Operational complexity outpacing organizational capacity
- Misalignment between strategy and execution
Your organization has inflection points all the time. Unfortunately, the traditional ways of meeting that moment have broken down.
Ways to meet the moment are broken:
- Executive hiring takes 6–9+ months
- Consulting firms deliver strategy but rarely own execution
- Fractional leaders operate in isolation
Build Smarter. Lead Bolder. Move Faster.
Work With Us as a Client: Need Leadership That Moves the Needle?
Whether you need embedded leadership or you’re ready to lead inside the Collective, The Proper Group is built for momentum-makers.
When you're scaling fast, launching something new, or stuck at a critical inflection point, you don’t just need advice.
You need embedded leaders who can align strategy, people, and systems, and execute with precision.
The Proper Group places experienced operators directly inside your business to deliver clarity, capacity, and results without the cost or complexity of full-time hires.
Ideal if you are:
- Launching, pivoting, scaling, or recalibrating
- Under-resourced in leadership bandwidth
- Facing operational complexity or strategic misalignment
Work With Us as an Executive: Want Freedom Without Isolation?
If you’re an experienced operator who’s led companies, built teams, and delivered impact—you belong here.
At The Proper Group, you’ll have the infrastructure, brand credibility, peer community, and tools to build a thriving portfolio—on your terms.
You’ll embed inside companies that need real leadership, not just advice—and you’ll collaborate with a Collective designed for shared success.
Ideal if you:
- Have 15+ years of executive leadership experience
- Thrive leading from within, not advising from the sidelines
- Believe in sharing IP, frameworks, and momentum
- Want freedom without feeling like a solo act
How Fractional Works
We embed experienced operators directly into your business—without the delays, overhead, or handoffs of traditional consulting or full-time hiring.
Whether you need a Fractional CMO, COO, CFO, CHRO, CSO, CTO, or a cross-functional pod, we act as your leadership team on day one—focused on alignment, execution, and scale
Discover → Align → Execute → Scale
We embed executive leaders inside businesses to create clarity, momentum, and sustainable growth— fast.
At The Proper Group, we are revolutionizing how businesses scale by combining world-class fractional leadership with a strategy-first, execution-driven approach. Our mission is simple: to empower organizations to achieve transformative growth while minimizing risk and maximizing value.
We embed seasoned executives, experts with proven track records in building, leading, and transforming businesses, into your organization. From aligning your vision with actionable strategies to delivering measurable outcomes, we provide the leadership you need to scale smarter, faster, and stronger.
Why We Built The Proper Group
We’ve worked inside companies navigating rapid change, and we saw a pattern:
The leadership team was stretched. The strategy was stuck. The need was urgent. But the resources? Scarce.
- Traditional consulting was too slow.
- Full-time hires were too expensive. And no one had time for a six-month ramp-up.
So, we built something better—a new model of embedded leadership that acts fast, executes deeply, and builds systems that last.
We call it Collective Leadership-as-a-Service.
Clarity Is Our Currency. Trust Is Our Trade.
Our best engagements start when a leader says:
“I don’t know exactly what I need, but I know I can’t do it alone.”
We meet that moment with empathy, experience, and action.
We don’t consult—we lead.
We embed inside teams. We align people, systems, and strategy.
We build capability. Then we hand off and step out.
We don’t create dependency. We create momentum.
A Network of Embedded Executives
The Proper Group isn’t a single partner—it’s a collective of seasoned leaders across disciplines who support one another and share strategic IP.
That means when you work with us, you’re tapping into:
- A bench of embedded operators with deep vertical expertise
- Playbooks and frameworks proven across industries
- A high-trust community designed for speed and results
CMOs. COOs. CFOs. CIOs. CHROs. CSOs. And beyond.