Applied AI Leadership

Practical AI Deployment for PE-Backed & Growth Businesses

I use AI as a management and value creation tool, not as a technology experiment. In PE-backed and founder-led environments where speed, focus, and ROI matter, I have personally designed, built, and deployed applied AI programs that improve operating leverage, customer responsiveness, and decision quality, without adding headcount or complexity.

My approach blends hands-on technical execution with executive judgment: knowing where AI creates value, where it does not, and how to deploy it in ways that scale inside lower-middle-market organizations.

Where I Deploy AI

  • Revenue Acceleration: Faster quote-to-order cycles through automated intake, classification, and vendor coordination

  • Commercial Workflow Automation: AI-driven email triage, CRM management, and customer response systems that reduce manual handling

  • Operating Leverage: Scalable execution across commercial and administrative workflows without incremental staffing

  • Hiring & Talent Evaluation: AI-assisted resume screening, candidate scoring, and interview preparation to improve hiring rigor and speed

  • Customer & Prospect Engagement: AI-powered chatbots and website engagement tools that improve responsiveness around the clock

  • Executive Communication & Brand: AI tools that scale company-specific content creation while preserving leadership voice and brand consistency

Select an initiative for details:

PE-Backed Operating Cadence
PE-Backed AI Tools
PE-Backed Speaking Leadership
PE-Backed Agentic AI
PE-Backed Leadership

Intelligent Email Classification & Commercial Workflow Automation

Data Display Systems and Gemtech Electronics  |  2024

Designed and deployed an end-to-end AI program combining ChatGPT and Zapier to automate the classification and response workflow for all inbound customer emails.

How it works:

  • AI reviews every incoming email and classifies the sender as Customer, Vendor, or Other

  • Customer emails are further classified by intent: Pricing Request, Order Placement, or Support

  • Based on classification, the system automatically triggers the appropriate commercial action:

Pricing Requests

  • Identifies the correct electronics vendors for the specific items requested

  • Drafts and sends vendor quote requests with item and quantity details

  • Creates a new Opportunity in HubSpot CRM

  • Drafts a confirmation email to the customer with a two-business-day response commitment

Order Placement

  • Drafts an order confirmation email to the customer with expected delivery timeline

  • Moves the HubSpot CRM Opportunity from Open to Won

Support Requests

  • Further categorizes into four support types: delivery status, product performance, shipping damage, or incorrect shipment

  • Drafts the appropriate customer response based on the specific issue category

Integration architecture

  • Zapier orchestrates the workflow across ChatGPT (classification and drafting), Microsoft Outlook (email), and HubSpot (CRM pipeline management). ChatGPT handles all classification logic, email composition, and CRM trigger decisions.

Custom GPT Development — Brand-Aligned Content & Engagement

Data Display Systems, Gemtech Electronics, TechVetta Solutions |  2024

Built and deployed multiple custom GPTs to extend AI into marketing, customer engagement, and commercial operations:

  • Social Media Content Engine (January 2024): Developed a GPT for Data Display Systems, and Gemtech Electronics that generates platform-specific social media posts for LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook — built on a company-specific knowledge base, with AI-generated images tailored to each platform's format and audience.

  • Website Chatbot — TechVetta Solutions (April 2024): Deployed an AI-powered chatbot using Zapier to handle inbound customer and prospect inquiries on the TechVetta Solutions website.

  • Website Chatbot — Gemtech Electronics (June 2024): Built and deployed a second AI chatbot for Gemtech Electronics (the company that acquired Data Display Systems), extending the engagement model to the acquiring entity.

AI Initiatives — Independent Consulting

Starting in May 2024, I extended my applied AI work into independent consulting engagements, building AI tools for clients across private equity, legal services, and technology.

Private Equity Content Automation

Nadia Partners  |  May 2024

Developed a custom GPT for a private equity firm's Managing Partner that generates LinkedIn posts written in the partner's personal voice and style. Built a dedicated knowledge base covering portfolio companies and their industries so that every post is relevant, specific, and on-brand. 

AI-Powered Call Center Scripting & Agent Deployment

AB Data (via Hatz AI)  |  June–July 2024

Developed a GPT that reviews the details of Class Action legal judgments and generates accurate, compliant call scripts for AB Data's call center team — ensuring awardees receive consistent, reliable information. The scripted framework was subsequently adapted for deployment as an AI Agent, enabling automated response to awardee inquiries without human involvement.

AI-Assisted Hiring & Candidate Evaluation

Hatz AI  |  June–July 2024

Built a GPT-based hiring tool that evaluates incoming resumes against a posted job description and delivers:

  • A scored rating for each candidate across five evaluation criteria, with a written justification for each score

  • A customized set of ten interview questions for the hiring manager, generated from the intersection of the candidate's experience and the role's requirements

Custom GPT Development — Brand-Aligned Content & Engagement

Gemtech Electronics & TechVetta Solutions |  June - August 2024

Built and deployed multiple custom GPTs to extend AI into marketing, customer engagement, and commercial operations:

  • Social Media Content Engine (June 2024): Developed a GPT for Gemtech Electronics that generates platform-specific social media posts for LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook — built on a company-specific knowledge base, with AI-generated images tailored to each platform's format and audience.

  • Website Chatbot — TechVetta Solutions (April 2024): Deployed an AI-powered chatbot using Zapier to handle inbound customer and prospect inquiries on the TechVetta Solutions website.

  • Website Chatbot — Gemtech Electronics (June 2024): Built and deployed a second AI chatbot for Gemtech Electronics (the company that acquired Data Display Systems), extending the engagement model to the acquiring entity.

Speaking & Thought Leadership

I have presented on applied AI in business settings and produced content to share practical frameworks with executive audiences.

Business Leadership Forum — The Union League of Philadelphia  |  March 2024

Presented the email classification and commercial workflow automation program to a business leadership audience at The Union League of Philadelphia.

Watch the presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1SNSzKOv5o

 "The Future of Work" Video Series  |  January 2024

Produced two YouTube videos walking through the design and build of the AI-powered email classification and commercial workflow system.

Part 1 — System Design & Classification Logic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ymUDWgZMhw

Part 2 — Workflow Integration & CRM Automation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4IYAQo5_OA

See additional Speaking and Thought Leadership at:

Media
Media

Leadership Approach

  • Treat AI as an operating discipline: similar to Lean, pricing strategy, or M&A integration, not a technology initiative

  • Personally lead use-case identification, system design, and deployment: hands-on with internal teams and external resources

  • Maintain focus on ROI, simplicity, adoption, and scalability: not novelty or complexity

  • Build AI tools that compound operating leverage: over time without requiring specialized technical staff to maintain

 Governance & Risk

  • Human-in-the-loop: AI supports decisions, it does not make them. Every automated workflow includes human review checkpoints.

  • Data discipline: No sensitive customer data in public models. Documented controls and access protocols.

  • Measurement rigor: Baseline → Pilot → KPI impact → Scale or stop. Every initiative is measured against defined business outcomes.