AI Program Leadership for Financial Services

Your AI pilot worked. Getting it to production is the hard part.

I help mid-market banks, insurers, and asset managers move AI from promising experiments into operational systems that hold up to governance, regulators, and reality. Most of my clients aren't stuck because the technology doesn't work — they're stuck because moving anything through a regulated institution is genuinely difficult. I've spent twenty years doing exactly that.

What I see in the market

Most clients are in one of three places

The AI conversation has matured. Boards are no longer asking "should we explore this?" — they're asking "why isn't it in production yet?" Here's where most institutions actually are:

Scenario A

The pilot worked, but nothing's in production

The model performs fine. The vendor demo was great. But integration with legacy systems, model risk approval, change management, and operational readiness have all stalled out — usually in different directions at once. The board is asking pointed questions about the budget.

Scenario B

Leadership has a mandate, but no clear plan

"We need an AI strategy" came down from the top. There's no roadmap, no prioritized use cases, no governance framework, and no obvious vendor to call. Someone has to figure it out — and the clock is ticking.

Scenario C

Governance is saying no to everything

Risk, compliance, and model governance teams are doing exactly what they're supposed to do — and the result is that nothing is moving. Threading this needle takes someone who understands both sides of the conversation.

If any of that sounds familiar, we should talk.

Twenty years inside

The institutions you're trying to move

Before I started this practice, I spent two decades leading large-scale programs at Citi, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and BNY Mellon — across retail, commercial, investment banking, and asset management. I've run multi-team programs through M&A integrations, served as Chief of Staff to C-suite executives, and navigated the kind of cross-functional dysfunction that only large regulated institutions can produce.

That background matters because the people I'm now helping are dealing with the same kind of complexity I spent twenty years inside. I'm not learning the regulatory environment from a McKinsey deck. I lived it.

Citi JPMorgan Wells Fargo BNY Mellon
How I help

Three engagement models, each for a specific situation

AI Readiness Assessment

3–4 weeks · $20,000

A focused diagnostic for institutions that need a credible, defensible plan — not another vendor pitch deck. You'll get a written assessment of where you actually are, a prioritized roadmap of what to do next, and the governance framework you need to move forward.

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AI Program Rescue

2–4 months · Fixed scope, fixed fee

For when a specific AI initiative has stalled and needs to get unstuck. I come in, diagnose what's actually blocking production (it's usually not the model), and lead the work to get it across the finish line.

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Fractional AI Program Lead

6–12 months · Monthly retainer

Embedded part-time leadership for institutions that need senior judgment running their AI program but aren't ready to hire a full-time Chief AI Officer. I run the steering committee, manage vendors, navigate governance, and report to executive sponsors.

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Ready to talk?

The first conversation is free, and it's not a sales call. Tell me what you're working on, and I'll tell you honestly whether I can help — and if not, who might.

Schedule a call