Tarra Thomas Sharp

80Twenty is a 15-year-old GTM and creative recruiting and staffing firm. Our mission is to find and place exceptional talent — powering the growth ambitions of our partners and the career dreams of the people we place. We place go-to-market roles: Sales, Marketing, Account Management, Customer Success, and Creative at growth and scaling-stage companies with depth in B2B SaaS, AI, Consumer, Marketing and Creative Agencies, and B2B Services industries. I lead the team, set the strategy, and run the day-to-day. We're building a place where people can thrive and excellence in service to every client and candidate is the standard.

I am the President & Chief Steward of Sharp Legacy Endeavors, where we buy and operate service businesses for the long term. My focus is on building on what’s already working, strengthening operations, and scaling the business thoughtfully while creating meaningful growth opportunities for employees.

I support small business owners in turning strategy into action and operations into advantage. Through hands-on consulting, I help leaders improve customer experience, streamline processes, and scale sustainably. My focus areas include operations transformation, lean process improvement, team and talent development, and strategic implementation—especially in B2B and B2C service-based businesses.

As an Adjunct Faculty at Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management, I had the privilege of working with small business owners and entrepreneurs in the Ascend Executive Education Program. I facilitated engaging sessions focused on problem-solving frameworks and strategic development, helping participants build valuable tools to approach their business problems more efficiently and creatively.

Adjunct professor of Marketing at Stuart School of Business at Illinois Institute of Technology.

Adjunct professor of Problem Solving Frameworks in Executive Education Program.

In my consulting role at GCM Grosvenor, I developed strategic support programs for investment firm infrastructure and operations advisory for Emerging Manager teams that were seeded by GCM Grosvenor. Leading cross-functional teams, I ensured successful implementation of tailored support programs and built strategic partnerships with third-party vendors to provide value-added services to managers.

Founder of a small investment fund to acquire and operate one great business, building on a founder/owners' legacy. Raised equity capital from institutional and individual investors, sourced and evaluated SMB deals, conducted due diligence for six deals under LOI and created/managed intern program for undergraduate and graduate interns.

Leader of Account Management, Events Management, Sales, and Customer Service in the Chicago market. Leading an awesome team of 60+ passionate, hard-working folks! My focus is driving retention and growth with our existing clients, as well as identifying and implementing initiatives that streamline our field operations and improve our exceptional client experience. Lead program and services growth that is used as the foundation of our national expansion

I work closely with bright stars at the beginning of their career to help them identify, plan and achieve their personal and professional goals, and ultimately take the world by storm!

Project leader focused on serving retail clients across various operations topics, including strategic sourcing, store and lean operations and customer experience.