AI agents deserve the same discipline as any new hire: a job description, limited access, a person at the irreversible steps, and a named owner.
Read MoreTurnarounds & Growth | AI & Robotics Operations | Greater St. Louis + Remote
Steve Urban | CEO | COO | President
ABOUT
I am a senior operating executive, entrepreneur, and author with 20+ years of full P&L leadership across AI-enabled services, robotics and field service, retail, wholesale, consumer goods, and executive recruiting. I have led businesses up to $40M in revenue and teams of 200+, reporting to boards and ownership. Today I am COO of MPS Security / NBI, a multi-division security, investigations, and active shooter training enterprise, and Founder & Chairman of Robo Reliance, a national robotics maintenance and field service company.
When a business is struggling, I start with the people, the numbers, and the work. I look for unclear ownership, wasted effort, and decisions that never get made. I fix cash flow, cost structure, and operating cadence first, then put AI, automation, and robotics to work where they deliver measurable ROI.
Where I create value
For executive and board opportunities, email me or call 970-502-7437.
Explore my work
Resume
LinkedIn
My four books | Books on audio
steve.p.urban@gmail.com
When a business is struggling, I start with the people, the numbers, and the work. I look for unclear ownership, wasted effort, and decisions that never get made. I fix cash flow, cost structure, and operating cadence first, then put AI, automation, and robotics to work where they deliver measurable ROI.
Where I create value
- Turnarounds and crisis management: cash discipline, cost resets, restructuring, and execution under pressure.
- Growth to exit: scaling revenue and preparing companies for sale.
- Robotics and field service operations: technician networks, uptime, and scalable national delivery.
- AI adoption and governance that improve speed, quality, and accountability.
- Multi-site operating leadership focused on margin and execution cadence.
- Stabilized a $40M apparel brand through the 2008 recession as COO and acting CEO, lifting profitability 35% in two years.
- Grew a $40M omnichannel retailer 20%+ a year as President & COO and prepared it for its sale to Future Seating.
- Founded and scaled Riderflex to $3M+ in revenue and 4,000+ placements with no outside capital.
- Cut recruiting time-to-fill 40%+ and delivered 50%+ efficiency gains in legal document review through AI.
- Founded Robo Reliance, a national robotics maintenance and field service company, and landed its first contracted client, Chef Robotics.
For executive and board opportunities, email me or call 970-502-7437.
Explore my work
Resume
My four books | Books on audio
steve.p.urban@gmail.com
Testimonials
Steve played a key role in helping me develop a clearer, more strategic plan for Elevated Concrete Coatings.
Katie PolistenaElevated Concrete Coatings
Steve is a keen and insightful career consultant who provided excellent direction and the basis for new momentum when my career was stuck in the doldrums. I highly recommend Steve without reservation.
Thom Probus
Reviews from my Riderflex clients and candidates.
Reviews listed on Riderflex websiteRiderflex
Recommendations on LinkedIn about my leadership and management.
Written recommendations on LinkedIn.
Google reviews of Riderflex, the recruiting firm I co-founded.
Riderflex google reviews
Podcast / Book
Zero to Something, A Novel Inspired by True Events
A novel inspired by true events about a man who loses almost everything and fights his way back, holding a family together through divorce, blended parenting, and financial setbacks. Available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0vK4b8I
Stormwalker's Grit: A Memoir of Struggle and Strength
My memoir, from the poor side of Chickasha, Oklahoma, to the boardroom. It is for anyone who has ever felt behind, broken, or beaten down, and kept getting back up.
Learn MoreThe Riderflex Guide 2.0: Mastering Job Interviews
A practical guide to preparing for interviews, handling tough questions, and leaving a lasting impression, in person or virtual.
Learn MoreThe Riderflex Guide: Inspiring & Hiring
My first guide shares 85 of the most useful tips from my more than 30 years of combined experience in management, executive leadership, and recruiting.
Learn MoreRiderflex Podcast
On my Riderflex Podcast, I share career advice and job interview tips and interview successful entrepreneurs, CEOs, and business leaders about the real stories of starting and leading a business. Podcast inquiries: podcast@riderflex.com
Learn MoreBlog
Tracking AI usage is fine. Rewarding it is a mistake. What to measure instead.
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Judgment is only as good as the information behind it. Why bad news gets filtered on the way up, and how leaders can make it cheaper to deliver.
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The calendar is the real strategy. Fix the weekly rhythm before you rewrite the plan.
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A former AI safety researcher says AI could kill us all. I take the risk seriously, then explain why the doom framing is the wrong way to lead.
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Only about 14 percent of CFOs report measurable AI ROI. The tools made first drafts free. The verification work they created never got assigned to anyone.
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Everyone is chasing the new thing while service businesses quietly compound. Why unglamorous companies hold up, and where AI actually belongs in one.
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AI is flattening org charts, and a lot of the coordination work being cut genuinely should go. But the middle was also the training ground. If you delete the rung, you do not delete the need for the skill.
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AI is an amplifier, and amplifiers are honest. Most stalled AI programs fail on ownership, not technology. Why access is not adoption, why every workflow needs one name on it, and the sequence I use before automating anything.
Read More
After 400+ podcast interviews and more than a decade in executive search, here are the three tells that separate real leaders from people who just interview well.
Read More
McKinsey found 88% of companies use AI, but only 39% see real impact. Here's what actually separates AI that works from AI that just looks good on a slide.
Read MoreContact
For executive and board opportunities, reach out by phone, email, or the form below.
Common questions
Who is Steve Urban?
I'm a recruiter, COO and author with 30+ years in business. I started at KFC at 15, ran retail stores, became a COO, and in 2013 I started Riderflex with no outside money and an old laptop. Riderflex completed 4,000+ placements. I wrote The Riderflex Guide, The Riderflex Guide 2.0 and my memoir, Stormwalker's Grit.
How should I prepare for a job interview?
Do your freaking homework. Most people don't. Read the company website, including the mission, news and financials. Study their social accounts for culture. Look up the leadership team and the people interviewing you. Have a real reason you want the job beyond a paycheck, and bring good questions. Most candidates skip four of those five steps.
How do I answer "tell me about yourself"?
Most interviewers have only skimmed your resume. Have a short four-minute walk through your career ready for that opening question. Save the specific wins and numbers for the end, when they ask if there's anything else. Broad up front, specific at the close.
What if I don't meet every requirement in the job posting?
A perfect-match resume rarely exists. Name the gap yourself before they find it. If they want ten years and you have seven, say so, explain why you're still the right person, and show you're willing to learn what's missing. Bringing up your own weakness first keeps you in control.
Should I send a thank-you note after an interview?
Yes. The gurus who call it old school are wrong. Send a personal thank-you to each interviewer within 24 hours and mention something specific you talked about. If they didn't give you a timeline, follow up again in one to two weeks. If you act like you're okay falling off the face of the earth, some will let you.
Should I tell an employer my current salary?
That's the one question I'd avoid answering directly. Your current number becomes their ceiling, and it follows you into future jobs. Research the market range, steer the talk back to the value you bring, give a researched range of your own, and push salary talk until there's a written offer if you can.
How do I know if a job offer is actually good?
Base salary is one line item. Weigh the commute, benefits, work environment, the manager, vacation, growth, travel, remote options and whether you care about the product. Some people use a 20% rule: the new job should pay at least 20% more take-home after taxes to justify the move.
Is it okay to ghost a recruiter or employer?
No. Don't go dark on people. Ghosting wastes everyone's time and can quietly get you blacklisted through word of mouth. If you're declining, pick up the phone and tell them. Texting to avoid a hard conversation is hiding.
What should I do right after a layoff?
Feelings first, then process. Admit it hurts. File for unemployment right away, set a budget for the transition, and take a week or more to rethink what you want. Then fix your resume and LinkedIn, tell your network, and search every single day.
I'm over 50 and job hunting. What should I know?
Seriously consider a good offer instead of waiting for the perfect one. Searches take longer than you expect and severance goes faster than you think, and that leads to desperation later. You also don't have to list every job you've ever had on your resume. Good enough now often beats perfect later.
How do I make my LinkedIn profile work for recruiters?
Recruiters search with keywords, so give them the keywords. Put your expertise in the headline, name your industry and the size of the companies you worked for, call out leadership and revenue results, briefly explain frequent job changes, keep your photo current, and make it match your resume.
Should I quit my job to start a business?
Answer some honest questions first. Do you have a year of living expenses saved beyond your startup cash? Is your partner 100% on board? Can you handle stress and give up balance early on? Are you a captain, not someone waiting for orders? Is your health good? I started Riderflex with no outside money and didn't pay myself for months, so don't romanticize it.
Why should I network if I already have a good job?
You're always in the job market, whether you're looking or not. I saw a guy stop networking at a friend's company for 15 years. The company collapsed, and he was out of work for six months rebuilding from scratch. Keep your relationships warm.
What do you do when life knocks you down?
Life is hard. I've been fired more than once and I've slept on an old mattress dragged in from behind a shed. Getting fired turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me. Success limps. You're not broken. You're becoming. Make a decision and move on.
What is Ask Steve Urban?
It's a free AI career and life coach built on my Riderflex Guide books and the Riderflex video archive. Ask about interviews, offers, salary or career moves, get your resume roasted, or run a mock interview. You get 3 free questions, then sign in with your email.