--- title: Ivan Thibodeaux date: 2026-09-10T15:31:00+01:00 author: Sarah Zia canonical_url: "https://www.connectd.com/us/stories/ivan-thibodeaux" section: Success Stories --- # Ivan Thibodeaux Ivan Thibodeaux is the CEO and founder of Thibodeaux Advisory Group, a governance and organisation boutique focused on CEOs, private equity-backed corporations, and startups launching or integrating new technology. After more than two decades with Fortune 10 companies and major retailers like Samsung, Apple, and Costco, he turned to Connectd to build his advisory business. Paired with a consumer cosmetics startup run entirely by one person, he used AI, governance, and distribution strategy to bring an invisible brand into the marketplace. Thibodeaux Advisory Group Fractional *"Connectd provided me with a structure to grow, to invest, to have fun in the journey. It's fast, it's flexible, it's meaningful. You're in total control, and it's a freedom that's hard to describe."* ## Contents [Share via Social ↗](#share) - [LinkedIn](https://linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.connectd.com/us/stories/ivan-thibodeaux.md&title=Ivan%20Thibodeaux) - [X](https://x.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.connectd.com/us/stories/ivan-thibodeaux.md&text=Ivan%20Thibodeaux) - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.connectd.com/us/stories/ivan-thibodeaux.md) ### **What was it about Connectd that made you want to get involved?** **Ivan Thibodeaux, CEO & Founder, Thibodeaux Advisory Group:** Connectd actually reached out to me via LinkedIn, and I was already looking for platforms or organisations to help me build my advisory business by pairing up with companies that were starting out. Startups, new technology, and new operations are areas I'm very comfortable with. When you work with a small organisation versus a Fortune 10 company, you can move a lot faster and make decisions quicker. You're not limited by the bureaucracy that comes with large corporations. That's what attracted me to Connectd. It would help me leverage and build my business on a platform that provides a steady feed of small businesses I could engage with, create strategies around, and take to market. ### **How did the Academy help you sharpen and articulate your USP as an advisor?** **Ivan Thibodeaux:** The Academy was very informative. The onboarding process is clean and thorough, and it provides a lot of information to help, especially someone who has never done advisory or consulting work before. Someone who may have a business background but lacks the structure of knowing what to focus on when engaging with an account. All of that was available in the tools and resources during onboarding. The tools combined with the mentor were the best combination for me. They complemented what the mentor was reinforcing, and the mentor gave me the opportunity to exchange ideas about the right approach, making sure I was getting the right advice to ensure my journey with a new assignment would be successful. ### **How did you use the platform to navigate your next steps?** **Ivan Thibodeaux:** Once I got paired onto an assignment, it became a matter of referencing the tools available on the platform to ensure I was on the right path, and then leaning on my mentor to make sure the way forward and the relationship with my account were working well. Since then there have been a lot of improvements and enhancements to the tools and resources available. It worked best for me, and it was a successful engagement. ### **What was it about the company that made it feel like the right fit for you to bring value?** **Ivan Thibodeaux:** My experience was in technology, large distribution, and business strategy, and I got paired with a consumer cosmetics company, which I knew very little about. To date I've learned a lot. But what I did know when we connected was that there was just one employee, the CEO and owner, in charge of all operations in a very small business, but with a great product and a strong brand on social media that appealed to a lot of people. So I used my skills and background in supply chain, organisation, and governance to figure out what operating capital we needed to expand, what our options were to grow on a limited budget, how to keep inventory on hand, and how to leverage AI to improve the product's search position when people were looking for that category. What we found in our deeper dive, from a governance perspective, was that outside of social media in some very segmented groups, this company was largely invisible in its product category. Our goal was to use tools like Google Search and agentic AI to bring it forward and continue to grow the business. ### **What did you prioritise in the first 30 days to shape the direction, and what trade-offs did you help the team make early on?** **Ivan Thibodeaux:** The first couple of meetings were really about establishing what we had, what we could leverage, and where we could grow most efficiently and effectively. In other words, bringing governance and organisational structure to a leadership position, while always respecting that the owner and CEO was the leader and decision-maker. My role was to provide clarity and direction so she could make good decisions. That was our most important first step. The owner had very set targets for income and revenue, so we backed into that number with a clear definition of what it would take to build towards it. That set us on a path we returned to every time we met, reviewing our goals and progress, working through our checklist, and identifying roadblocks and solutions. ### **How has your cadence with the company changed over time?** **Ivan Thibodeaux:** In the beginning we met once a week, because we needed a good start and to get to know each other's strengths and where we could contribute. Once we established that and the CEO felt she had direction, we could leverage technology, text, email, and social media, to communicate as things progressed and keep each other up to date. During our formal meetings, we'd review the progress made since we last met and set the agenda for the following week or two. It became biweekly afterwards, but if something came up, we'd pull together and meet briefly to make sure we were on target. ### **What are the outcomes you can directly attribute to your guidance or support?** **Ivan Thibodeaux:** Our biggest impact was agreeing to leverage current technology to improve the product's visibility in the marketplace and achieve broader reach. Tools like agentic AI, when you set up the search criteria and profile appropriately, will recommend that product alongside others and guide prospective buyers, which drove traffic into the website. That traffic, into both the website and social media, is incremental over and above what we were already doing through other sources. In parallel, we worked on specific specialty retailers we could deploy distribution into, building our network in places like New York City where there are boutique operations specialising in organic and holistic products. That allowed us to reach customers looking for that kind of unique product, and because it's different from anything else on offer, we had the opportunity to distribute in brick and mortar as well as online. The combination of search, AI, and physical distribution is improving our sell-through rate. ### **How can a member make the most of the platform and their journey?** **Ivan Thibodeaux:** You really need to leverage the tools and resources Connectd provides on the front end of an engagement. In many cases, you have two individuals coming together, a CEO who may be new to the role and an advisor who may also be new to it, and there are a lot of unknowns. To kickstart that conversation and make sure it's successful, use the tools and resources Connectd provides, and lean on the mentor to ensure you're asking the right questions, creating the right frameworks, and having productive discussions. That's particularly true in the first couple of meetings, because you want to do the discovery, understand their structure and business model, and identify where the gaps are and how to implement structure to grow. That's where advisory first comes in, and where driving productive activity matters most. Those tools and resources are very important for alignment. ### **What about Connectd makes it worth joining for someone considering a fractional journey?** **Ivan Thibodeaux:** I've advised others who've asked me about joining. When I came into this, I used it as a platform for business development. I was already growing an advisory organisation, I'd built my business, and I had existing clients. This was an opportunity to add an additional layer to that business. I would also counsel them that you are in this for the long game. There's no quick return, because you have to make an investment of time, energy, and effort. You have to be patient and see it through. There's a payout at the other end if you do it right, but the expectation of immediate gratification isn't there unless you do the work. That's the best advice I can give. *Ivan Thibodeaux, CEO & Founder, Thibodeaux Advisory Group* ## Related articles and resources [ For Experts### Can Retired Executives Become Independent Directors or Board Advisors? Retired executives filled 54% of new S&P 500 board seats in 2026. Here’s how to land yours. ![](/uploads/Images/_876x552_crop_center-center_90_none/pexels-vlada-karpovich-7433910-1.jpg) ](https://www.connectd.com/us/article/retired-executive-independent-director) [ For Experts### How to manage multiple clients as a fractional leader ![](/uploads/Images/_876x552_crop_center-center_90_none/blog2.10.26_3_1030-x-690-@-300dpi.webp) ](https://www.connectd.com/us/article/how-to-manage-multiple-clients-as-a-fractional-leader) [ For Startups### Go-to-Market Strategy for Startups: How to Turn Early Traction Into a Repeatable Growth Engine ![](/uploads/Images/_876x552_crop_center-center_90_none/Skills-you-need_1030-x-690.webp) ](https://www.connectd.com/us/article/go-to-market-strategy-for-startups) [ Go to the Knowledge Hub ](/learn) ## Be a part of the leading startup ecosystem. Ready to level up your business? [ Register for Free ](https://www.connectd.com/join-now) ![](/dist/images/blob-red.png) ![](/dist/images/blob-red.png) ![](/dist/images/blob-red.png)