Most AI pilots never make it to production. Mine ship.
As a fractional Head of AI, I help companies figure out where AI actually moves their business, where it honestly doesn't — and how to get the useful parts out of the demo and into production.
A small, honest first step: you get a clear picture before committing to anything bigger.
Sound familiar?
The board keeps asking about our AI plan, and we don't really have one.
Our pilot looked great in the demo. Six months later it's still not in front of customers.
Every vendor says their thing is AI now. We can't tell what's real.
Nobody on the team has actually shipped AI at production quality — and we can't hire a full-time Head of AI we're not even sure we need yet.
None of these are technology problems at the root — they're leadership and judgment problems. My work is turning that chaos into clarity: a short list of places AI genuinely helps your business, a plan to ship the first one, and a plain-spoken no for everything else.
I've been building software for 27+ years — it's still as much fun as building sand castles on the beach, and getting paid for it is a wonderful side-effect. These days a lot of my work is getting AI out of the demo and into production — and just as often, honestly telling a company where AI won't help. Demos are easy to love. I like the parts that ship.
Is this right for you?
You’re probably a good fit if…
- You're under real pressure to "do AI" but have no senior person who's shipped it to production.
- You have a pilot (or three) that stalls every time production gets close.
- You're staring at a build-vs-buy or on-prem-vs-API decision — and every vendor's answer is "buy ours".
- You want someone who will honestly tell you where AI won't help — even when that shortens the engagement.
Probably not a fit (yet) if…
- You want a hype deck for investors, or someone who'll say yes to every AI idea. Part of what you're paying for is the no.
- You need a team of rented developers. I don't rent you developers — I make sure the right ones get hired and actually deliver.
How I help — roles I flex into
Fractional Head of AI is the anchor; the rest is the range that makes it work.
Fractional Head of AI / CAIO
Own AI strategy, vendor evaluation, governance, and the path from pilot to production.
9 months stalled → shipped in 2
AI Readiness Sprint
A fixed-scope map of where AI realistically helps, the build-vs-buy and on-prem-vs-API calls, plus one quick win. The front door — start here.
Head of Data
The pipelines, attribution, and dashboards AI actually needs underneath it.
Technical hiring partner
When the need becomes durable, I help hire your permanent AI lead — then step back to oversight. I make myself replaceable; that's the point.
The fastest way to tell a real AI plan from a hype deck is whether anyone is asking the boring questions. Where does the data actually come from — and are we allowed to use it? What happens when the model is wrong? (It will be.) Who reviews the output before a customer sees it? What does each call cost, and what does that do to margins at scale? Who maintains it six months from now, when the novelty has worn off? If nobody in your AI conversations is asking these, that's the gap I fill. Demos are easy. Production is where these questions live.
AI that's actually in production
9 months stalled → shipped in 2
A US VoIP company's self-hosted AI project — on-prem call transcription + LLM summarization (Whisper / Vosk / Llama) — had been stuck for nine months. I recruited the right specialist team, drove GPU batch-processing optimizations for production throughput, and we shipped it in two.
Realtime AI chat, in customers' hands
For an early-stage consumer AI startup, engineered realtime AI chat with sub-10-second first response — not a lab demo, a live product feature.
Vibe-coded → App Store
Took over a consumer AI app entirely "vibe-coded" by non-technical founders, led the human review and hardening of front-end and back-end, and shipped it to the App Store — auth, subscriptions, encryption, tests and all. I've spent a lot of my career as a team's last line of defense; lately that includes cleaning up what AI ships.
Underneath it all: 27+ years of deep technical work — computer vision, GPGPU optimization, audio and signal processing — long before it was called "AI". Engineering heritage, not a pivot.
A small, honest first step: you get a clear picture before committing to anything bigger.
Start with an AI Readiness Sprint →How we work together
Four phases — and the last one is me helping hire my replacement.
- 1
Discovery & Assessment
The AI Readiness Sprint
Where AI genuinely helps your business, what it costs, and what to skip. You get a prioritized roadmap either way.
- 2
Quick Wins & Foundation
Ship the first real thing — with testing, review, and cost guardrails in place from day one.
- 3
Scale & Optimize
Production hardening, latency and cost optimization, and the data foundations underneath.
- 4
Transition & Hand-off
Transfer knowledge, help hire the permanent person who replaces me, and step back to oversight.
I make myself replaceable — that's the point.
I bill only the exact time I work — rarely more than 15–25 hours a week even on an intensive engagement, never a flat monthly block of hours.
Book a short call. We'll talk through where you're stuck — the board, the pilots, the vendor noise — and whether the AI Readiness Sprint is the right first step. No pitch, no pressure.
Start with an AI Readiness Sprint →One front door. No hype.
AI Readiness Sprint
$6–12K fixed
A fixed-scope map of where AI realistically helps your business — the build-vs-buy and on-prem-vs-API calls, a prioritized roadmap, plus one quick win. A small, honest first step: a clear picture before you commit to anything bigger.
Book itFractional Head of AI retainer
Scoped on a call
If the Sprint shows ongoing AI leadership is what you need: strategy, vendor evaluation, governance, and the path from pilot to production — owned week after week. Shaped and priced together on a call.
If the honest answer is "not yet — fix your data first", the Sprint will tell you that too, with a plan.
Fair questions
Everyone says they do AI now. Why you?
Ask them the boring questions — where the data comes from, what happens when the model is wrong, who maintains it in six months. Then ask what they have in production. I'll show you on-prem transcription and realtime chat that real customers use — and I'll tell you where AI won't help you, which usually saves more than the engagement costs.
Should we just hire a full-time Head of AI?
If you're sure you need one, yes — and I'll help you hire them. Most companies at this stage aren't sure yet. The Sprint answers that question before you commit to a full-time salary.
Won't a consultant just stick around forever?
No — the engagement is designed to end. Phase four is hiring the permanent person who replaces me. I make myself replaceable — that's the point.
We're not sure we're ready for this.
That's exactly what the Sprint answers. If the honest answer is "not yet — fix your data first", you'll hear that, with a plan.
Find out where AI actually helps your business
Book a short call. We'll talk through where you're stuck — the board, the pilots, the vendor noise — and whether the AI Readiness Sprint is the right first step. No pitch, no pressure.
Email works best right now — write a couple of lines about where things stand and you’ll get a real reply from a real person, usually within a day.