Prathima Kapa

Background

About Prathima Kapa

I am a growth-focused operations executive with a unique track record of scaling high-reliability manufacturing businesses from early-stage innovation to private equity-backed transformation. With 20+ years across precision manufacturing, new product development, and cross-functional leadership, I bring deep technical rigor, financial discipline, and an execution mindset to fast-moving environments. My leadership journey started at The Partner Companies (TPC), where I rose from Process Engineer to General Manager of Elcon Precision Inc, and later to President of E-Fab Inc. leading strategic turnarounds, new product launches, and ERP/Lean system overhauls. At E-Fab, I drove 25% EBITDA growth, repositioned the company’s value proposition, and strengthened its delivery performance to serve demanding end markets like aerospace, defense, medical devices and electronics. Today, I lead process engineering at Frore Systems, a venture-backed solid-state thermal cooling chip startup. I’ve built scalable manufacturing platforms from R&D to production, onboarded critical vendors, and helped convert edge IP into a manufacturable product all within a high-velocity startup environment. My Leadership Philosophy: I lead with clarity, purpose, and accountability. I build high-impact teams that thrive on ownership and mutual trust, and I invest deeply in people, process, and communication. I believe great leadership means bringing structure to ambiguity, aligning execution with vision, and creating space for innovation without losing sight of results. My approach balances empathy with high standards, and systems thinking with tactical urgency. Core Capabilities: Manufacturing scale-up and NPI for hardware and industrial tech Cross-functional leadership across ops, product, engineering, and supply chain Cost modeling, capital planning, and full P&L management Post-acquisition transformation and PE-backed value creation ERP/Lean systems, KPI dashboards, vendor onboarding & ops control Building execution-focused, mission-aligned teams With a foundation in chemical engineering and an EMBA from Kellogg, I combine technical depth with business strategy. I partner well with founders, investors, and product teams to accelerate growth, scale responsibly, and build operational strength for the long term. Let’s connect if you’re building something ambitious and need a leader who turns vision into execution with resilience, discipline, and heart.