Most AI decisions are made a year too late — after the money's spent.
I'm the conversation that happens before that.
You have the capacity to build, hire, and execute. What you don't have is someone at your altitude who'll tell you the truth about the decision in front of you — with no stake in what you choose.
Most people arrive at AI the same way: something is coming, everyone says move fast, and there's a builder ready to build you whatever you point at. So you point at something. A year later you're maintaining a tool you half-needed, wondering where the return went, and quietly deciding AI doesn't work for companies like yours.
I don't build. I don't sell a platform, a methodology, or a roadmap I'll install. What I do is sit with you and the thing you're actually deciding — and make sure you're deciding the right question before you spend a dollar or a quarter on the wrong answer.
Who This Is For
You've probably already been burned once, or watched someone near you get burned. You don't want another vendor. You want someone in the room who has no stake in what you choose — who will ask the question your team can't ask you, tell you what you actually need to hear, and leave the decision where it belongs: with you.
You have capacity. You can execute, hire, build, ship. What you don't have is a peer at your altitude who will think with you without wanting something from the outcome. That's the gap I fill.
If you already suspect you're about to buy the wrong thing — that's exactly what I'm for.
What This Is Not
This isn't coaching, and it isn't consulting. I won't bring an agenda; you bring the tangle. I won't hand you a deck of recommendations to implement; the value is the clarity you leave with, and the better question you didn't have when you walked in.
I don't make your decisions. I make sure you're deciding on the right thing. That distinction is the whole point.
And if what you actually want is someone to build the tool — that's real, legitimate work, and it's not mine. I'll happily point you to the people who do it well.
How I Work
The Advisory Room — an ongoing thinking partnership. We meet twice a month; I hold your context between sessions so you're never starting from scratch and never deciding alone. Bounded access in between. Monthly, three-month minimum, because judgment compounds when someone actually knows your situation over time.
A single bounded engagement — when you have one decision in front of you, not an ongoing need. We take it apart together, I help you see it clearly, and you leave knowing what you're actually choosing between. No retainer, no strings.
Either way, the starting point is the same: a short conversation about where you are and what you're trying to figure out. If it's a fit, you'll feel it. If it isn't, I'll tell you, and point you somewhere better.
Why Me
I've operated, not just advised. I co-founded the first Arizona Innovation Challenge grant winner and took that technology-manufacturing company to customers in 40 countries. I've held C-suite roles across advanced technology, medtech, manufacturing, and services, and built the AI governance framework for Arizona's State enterprise IT organization. I was named a Tech Titan the same year as Intel's former CEO Craig Barrett — and spent part of that evening on stage disagreeing with him, in front of an audience, about whether the Valley was actually backing its entrepreneurs. It made a few headlines.
That last part is closer to why people keep me in the room than any of the rest. They keep me there because I notice what isn't being said, I ask the question everyone was avoiding, and I'll tell you the truth whether or not it's the comfortable one. It's the one thing I've done in every role I've ever held. Now it's the only thing I do.
“ While others are playing checkers, Wendy plays multi-dimensional chess, thinking through how the smallest detail can drive everything from strategy to operations. ”
Zachary S. Brooks, PhD, EMBA
Founder & CEO, UGenome Biotech