From Survival to COO: How One Man Turned Adversity Into an International Mission to Empower Leaders

By the time many teenagers are just beginning to dream about the future, I was already surviving it. Growing up in a tumultuous home, my childhood was marked by instability and hardship. At just 15, I found himself navigating life on my own, learning lessons far beyond my years about resilience, responsibility, and self-reliance.

But even hardship couldn’t extinguish my drive. My athletic talents earned me a college football scholarship, and with determination, I completed a degree in natural resources management . I had envisioned a life of public service and set my sights on becoming a forest ranger. Yet, as I awaited placement during an era of affirmative action policies, life handed me a delay—and an unexpected detour.

That detour became a new beginning. Rather than waiting, I  pivoted into education, becoming a seventh-grade special education teacher. It was a role that deepened my empathy and sharpened my leadership skills. But just as I began to find purpose in teaching, life struck again. A horrific personal event threatened to derail my hard-fought progress.

Instead, it became the crucible that forged my next evolution. I stepped into the business world, entering the medical and dental industries. What began as a career shift soon became a meteoric rise. My natural leadership, honed by years of overcoming adversity, propelled me into executive roles where I turned challenges into opportunities and teams into high-performing units.

But I wasn’t done yet. Recognizing the need for authentic, growth-minded leadership in the business world, I  launched my own consulting firm. I founded Simplified COO LLC, with a mission to help business owners not just survive but thrive—by growing organically, acquiring new opportunities, and executing seamless mergers. My strategic insights and hands-on approach earned me a reputation as the go-to fractional COO for businesses aiming to scale sustainably.

My  journey didn’t stop at boardrooms and balance sheets. I became an international bestselling author, writing candidly about overcoming life’s toughest challenges and the unique art of fractional leadership. My story resonated not just because of my business acumen but because of my lived experience—the authenticity of someone who had faced adversity head-on and emerged stronger each time.

Today, I work with leaders across industries and around the world. My clients don’t just gain a business strategist—they gain a mentor who has walked through fire and learned to build from the ashes.

“Success isn’t about avoiding hardship,” Wheeler often says. “It’s about using those moments as the foundation for your next breakthrough.”

I hope my life is a testament to that belief. From a youth marked by instability to a career marked by impact, my story continues to inspire anyone facing the long road from adversity to achievement. And I’m not just building businesses—my goal is to be building leaders

Kevin Wheeler is the founder of Simplified COO LLC, where he helps business leaders grow organically, scale through acquisition and mergers, and build resilient organizations. Raised in a challenging environment, Kevin became self-sufficient at age 15 and overcame personal and professional obstacles to earn a college football scholarship and a degree in natural resources management. After starting his career as a special education teacher, he rose to leadership roles in the medical and dental industries before launching his own consultancy.

Today, Kevin is an internationally recognized fractional COO and bestselling author, known for his transparent leadership, innovative growth strategies, and his mission to empower leaders facing complex challenges.

Specialties: Business growth, M&A strategy, operational leadership, resilient leadership coaching