AI Strategy & Advisory
Summary
I help leadership teams get a real return from AI. That means choosing where to invest, with growth weighed as heavily as efficiency, defining what to build and getting it working with your team, and governing it so the new fits with what you already run. I've spent 20+ years running product and technology, most recently as VP of Innovation and Head of Technology at IGN Entertainment, and I build with these tools every day.
What I usually see
In most of the organizations I talk to, people are already using AI. A few teams are saving time, someone has built something clever, and it hasn't added up to anything the business can count.
The reasons tend to repeat. Nobody owns the direction. The groundwork, like data and security, isn't in place. Or it never gets broad adoption beyond the people closest to the work. Meanwhile, boards and investors want a real return on what's been spent.
What I do
First, I help you choose where to invest. AI is an investment, and it should be managed like one. Most organizations have a long list of possible bets, and most of them lean toward saving time and cutting cost. Those returns are real, but they rarely move the business. I work with leadership to decide which bets get funded, which wait, and which get stopped, with growth weighed as heavily as efficiency.
Next, I help you figure out what to build, and why. Once a bet is funded, someone has to define exactly what gets built, keep it tied to the return it was chosen for, and get it working with your team. That's the work I've done as an executive and still do as a builder.
Finally, I help you govern it, so the new fits with what you already run. The hard part is running both at once: keeping today's systems dependable while making room for what's next. Most mid-size organizations have no security team and no AI policy, which means shared logins, data going places it shouldn't, and no clear rules on who can use what. I put practical governance in place, sized to your organization, so the work you choose doesn't open a risk you didn't know you had.
Who I work best with
I work with mid-size organizations of all kinds, from firms and associations to product companies. The common thread is that AI is already in use, and the leadership team wants more from it than saved time.
I do my best work with leaders who:
Want AI to grow the business, not just trim costs
Are willing to fund a few bets and stop the rest
Want working software, not another strategy deck
Are honest about the gaps, like security or data, and want them fixed rather than worked around
Want someone who will build alongside their team, not just advise from the side
How it works
The goal of every engagement is one AI investment producing a return within 90 days, measured by a number the leadership team already tracks.
Take stock (weeks 1 to 3). Talk to leaders and frontline teams, see where AI is already being used, and check the groundwork: data, security, access.
Choose the bets (weeks 3 to 4). Work with leadership to rank the options by return, fund one or two, and set the rest aside or stop them.
Build (weeks 5 to 10). Define what gets built, build it with your team, and close the security and governance gaps along the way, with weekly progress against the agreed number.
Review the return (weeks 11 to 13). Look at what the investment delivered, decide where to put more, and set the plan for the next six months.
You get working software, written decisions, and plain updates your board can follow, not slide decks.
Ways to work together
A focused project. Two to six weeks on an assessment, a leadership workshop, or a roadmap.
An advisory retainer. Six months of leadership check-ins, operational guidance, pilot support, and roadmap architecting.
Fractional CPTO or Head of AI. Ongoing, embedded product and technology leadership.
Most clients start with a leadership workshop and a retainer built around clearly prioritized initiatives. Everything starts with a short call and a written scope.
Background
I've spent 20+ years leading product and technology. Most recently I was VP of Innovation and Head of Technology at IGN Entertainment, where I led engineering, business intelligence, product, and ad operations and sat on the executive team through three M&A deals. Before that I was CPO at Xclaim, where we took a distressed-asset marketplace from zero to $4 trillion in assets under management.
Right now I'm advising an engineering and architecture firm on using AI to win more proposals, and for fun, I built Alto.golf, a golf platform live on web and iOS, end to end with AI tools.
MS, Business Technology Management, Columbia University.
Currently pursuing the IAPP AI Governance Professional (AIGP) certification.
Let's talk
If your organization is spending on AI and not yet seeing the return, or you know someone in that spot, I'd be glad to hear about it. A 30-minute call is usually enough to tell whether I can help.