The Catalyst: Beyond the Demo Hype
My journey with applied AI started early. At McDonald's, I tested voice and generative AI in what we called the Voice-Activated Drive-Thru Order Taker. It was an unforgiving proving ground: roaring diesel engines, ambient outdoor noise, regional accents, sub-second latency requirements, and zero room for order errors. That experience taught me an indelible lesson: happy-path demos in a clean boardroom mean nothing; real AI lives and dies in the unproven edge cases.
In December 2022, as Innovation Director for Scooter's Coffee, I harnessed the emerging power of generative AI to create operational simulation tools and IoT test suites. Later at a regulated insurance carrier, I watched the industry's vaporware hype cycle explode - countless point solutions that promised magic but collapsed under enterprise regulatory rules and fragmented data silos.
My Core Philosophy: Elevating Human Purpose
I have never viewed AI as a tool to displace human workers. Rather, it is the ultimate lever to eliminate routine drudgery - freeing cross-functional teams to do their best work with greater creativity, purpose, and empathy. The best way to prove or disprove how generative AI truly works is not through abstract slide decks, but by rolling up your sleeves and building reliable, secure solutions that teams love using.
The Pragmatic Approach
"Today, everyone can build with AI. The real question is: What should you build, and how do you design it so teams adopt it safely and reliably?"
Generating simple code with an LLM is easy. Designing hybrid Azure vector search, deterministic $0 cost fast-paths, self-healing test harnesses, and continuous evaluation systems that protect data and budgets is what separates dependable solutions from sandbox experiments.
The Midwest Anchor
My focus on Chicago, IL, Milwaukee, WI, and Indianapolis, IN is deeply personal. My extended family is aging and located across the Midwest, and being close to them is a vital priority for my family. Combining Midwestern work ethic with multi-industry experience at enterprise scale, I am committed to helping organizations in this corridor adopt AI responsibly and effectively.