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Who we are
The people who have already done this.
We staff engagements with operators who have held the job you are hiring for: VP of Engineering at Meta AI Infrastructure, Executive Director of Software at Ford, VP of Quality at Lucid, Interim COO at Rivian.
Between them, they have held senior roles at
- Microsoft
- Ford
- Disney
- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA)
- Meta
- Rivian
- Sony
- empwr.ai
- Tesla
- SpaceX
- eBay
- NYSE
- ExxonMobil
- Ford Credit
- PwC
- Xbox
- Aston Martin
- United States Army
- BT Group
- Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Land Rover
- Lockheed Martin
- HSBC
- NBC
- Expedia
- BlackBerry
- Harman
- Deloitte
- Honeywell
- AT&T Wireless
- Orange
- Atlassian
- Euronext
- Bankers Trust
- Northwestern University
- Continental Automotive
- Lucid Motors
- Lincoln
- Magic Leap
- OnStar
- Toyo Tires
- Daewoo
- VinFast
- Canoo
- Faraday Future
- Webasto
- Autel Energy
- Altia
- Pcubed
- UMT Consulting Group
- RealTruck
- Meyers Manx
- SAE International
- Lean Enterprise Institute
- Funko
- Chariot
- JustAnswer
- Ridemakerz
- Kugler Maag Cie
- NAVTEQ
Leadership
The people accountable for what Envorso delivers.
Adrian Balfour is a founder and investor who bootstrapped Pcubed from Detroit into an international program management consultancy of more than 3,000 consultants, serving 70 of the Fortune 100, before selling it in 2014. He founded Envorso, the applied AI and software modernization firm he leads today, and co-founded empwr.ai, an AI program management platform. Outside the boardroom, he co-founded Major League Rugby, founded the award-winning Seattle Seawolves, and helped bring the 2031 Rugby World Cup to America. He has invested in 18 technology startups and works with venture firms on technology strategy and delivery.
- Pcubed
- Ford
- Orange
Stuart Taylor is a software and electronics executive and Envorso’s chief executive. He was previously Deputy CEO for Electronics and Software Development at VinFast, after seventeen years at Ford Motor Company, latterly as Executive Director of Enterprise Connectivity, leading the embedded, cloud, and mobile software behind the digital cockpit, and before that as Director of Engineering for South America and for China. He began in electrical and electronics engineering at Aston Martin, Daewoo, and Land Rover.
- VinFast
- Ford
- Aston Martin
- Daewoo
- Land Rover
Kari Novatney is an operating executive who has launched and scaled mobility, connected vehicle, and consumer businesses. At Envorso, she leads business development and operations, from client partnerships and contracts through finance and people operations. Most recently, she was Vice President at Funko, running its Mondo and Digital Pop businesses. At Ford Motor Company, she was Chief Operating Officer of FordPass and General Manager of Connected Services. As Chief Operating Officer of Chariot, Ford’s shared-mobility startup, she expanded service to ten U.S. markets and London and doubled revenue in a year. Earlier, she ran operations at JustAnswer, was COO and CFO of Ridemakerz, and led Intelligent Transportation Systems projects for NAVTEQ. At Sony, she opened and ran Metreon, its San Francisco entertainment center, which drew 7 million visitors in its first year.
- Ford
- Chariot
- Sony
- Disney
- Funko
- Ridemakerz
- JustAnswer
- NAVTEQ
Scott Tobin is an automotive product development executive and chairman of Envorso’s board. He was Director of Product Development at Lincoln, Ford Motor Company’s luxury division, with program leadership across multiple automotive brands in the United States, Asia, and Europe.
- Lincoln
- Ford
Steve Tengler is a product development and connected vehicle executive with nearly 35 years in the field, including General Manager of Honeywell Automotive Cybersecurity, Senior Director of User Experience Services at Altia, and Emerging Services Manager at OnStar. He holds more than 50 patents and has published over 200 articles, most as a long-time senior contributor to Forbes and WardsAuto. At Envorso, he leads Sales & Marketing.
- Honeywell
- OnStar
- Altia
Florian Frischmuth is a vehicle software and electrical architecture executive who spent thirty-two years at Ford Motor Company, latterly as Executive Director of Vehicle Controls. He led the global teams responsible for vehicle software platforms, electrical architecture, and vehicle control systems across Ford’s entire product portfolio, work that helped define the software-defined vehicle architecture and large-scale embedded compute platforms behind modern connected vehicles.
- Ford
Todd Warren is a veteran software executive who spent 20 years at Microsoft, rising to Corporate Vice President and leading large-scale platforms including Windows Mobile, Windows CE, and Windows Embedded. Through Envorso, he led software for Ford’s Model e and connected vehicle organization, overseeing in-vehicle software, connected cloud services, and the FordPass app through launches including the F-150 Lightning. He was Managing Director of Seattle venture firm Divergent Ventures for 13 years and has taught software engineering and entrepreneurship at Northwestern University since 2009. At Envorso, Todd compiles and maintains the software recall dataset the firm publishes.
- Ford
- Microsoft
- Northwestern University
Ludo Hauduc is an engineering leader who was VP of Engineering for AI Infrastructure at Meta, after senior engineering roles across Microsoft Office 365 and Core Systems. He is founding CEO of empwr.ai, the AI program platform incubated inside Envorso and spun out in 2024, and serves as Envorso’s chief technology officer.
- Meta
- Microsoft
- empwr.ai
Brenda Zinkan is a human capital leader with more than 35 years of experience building high-performing technology organizations. During 21 years at Microsoft, she partnered with the CFO and division presidents on senior talent strategy, succession, and organizational design, and led HR for more than 100 acquisitions and the Expedia IPO. As an executive coach and consultant, she has advised leadership teams at Lockheed Martin, SpaceX, Ford, and Tesla. At Envorso, Brenda leads the Human Capital practice, including career ladders, leveling, and compensation for software organizations.
- Microsoft
- Lockheed Martin
- SpaceX
- Ford
- Tesla
Practice leads
Each practice is led by someone who has run it inside a large organization.
Sakis Kitsopanidis is an IT executive who spent twenty-eight years at Ford Motor Company and Ford Credit, latterly as Vice President of ERP and China IT and Interim Corporate CIO, directing a 10,000-person global technology organization with a budget above $3 billion. Earlier he was CTO of Ford Credit, leading a 1,500-person team across six countries, and ran IT centers in India, China, and Europe, and he led Ford’s SAP transformation, redesigning more than 400 business processes. At Envorso, he leads the CIO Practice: interim leadership, IT organization design, platform and M&A transformation, and AI-native engagements that bring agentic software development and coaching to client engineering teams.
- Ford
- Ford Credit
Michael Dennis is an enterprise software executive with more than three decades of experience building programs and the organizations that run them. At Envorso, he helps manufacturers move to software-defined products, realigning organization, development lifecycle, and tooling around a tech-enabled operating model, and leads Atlassian and ALM architecture at enterprise scale. Earlier, at Mobil, now ExxonMobil, he built the standard desktop environment that reached more than 130,000 workstations. At Microsoft, he led the creation of Group Policy, the major differentiator between Home and Pro editions of Windows, which is estimated to have driven $125 billion in revenue over its 26 years, and holds four patents, two in Group Policy and two in mobile device management. He also led product management for BlackBerry’s multi-device management tools and ran Atlassian enterprise services at Disney.
- Disney
- Microsoft
- BlackBerry
- ExxonMobil
J. Caldwell is an enterprise IT operations specialist with twenty years in environments where downtime is counted in minutes, across Disney, Expedia, and AT&T Wireless. He works with clients on Jira and Confluence delivery, ITSM implementation, and the licensing and migration decisions underneath them, and he is Atlassian-accredited.
- Disney
- Expedia
- AT&T Wireless
Keshav Puttaswamy is a product management leader with over twenty-five years across Microsoft, Atlassian, and Meta. He has led product strategy for billion-dollar platforms including Microsoft Project, SharePoint, Jira, and Confluence, and for communications products across Facebook, Instagram, and Meta AI, building and scaling the product teams behind them. He is a co-founder of empwr.ai, an AI project management product, and leads development of an AI-native platform for sports teams. At Envorso, he helps companies make the shift to hybrid teams of humans and AI agents.
- Microsoft
- Atlassian
- Meta
John McCauley is a portfolio management specialist with sixteen years in tech-enabled business transformation, at Deloitte and UMT Consulting Group. He works with clients on portfolio governance and investment prioritization: which programs get funded, which get stopped, and what the evidence for either looks like.
- UMT Consulting Group
- Deloitte
Deniz Culha-Booher is an engineering process specialist with thirty years in automotive product development, at Kugler Maag Cie, Harman International, and Continental Automotive. She assesses and improves engineering process maturity as an intacs-certified Provisional level Instructor and Principal Assessor, with TÜV certification in automotive cybersecurity.
- Harman
- Continental Automotive
- Kugler Maag Cie
Advisory Board
Our advisors form Envorso’s Advisory Board and join engagements where their experience is decisive.
Jeri Ford is an automotive quality executive who was VP of Quality at Lucid Motors and VP of the Manufacturing Business Office at Rivian, following senior roles at Ford. She advises on quality operating systems for organizations scaling into volume production.
- Lucid Motors
- Rivian
- Ford
Steven Guggenheimer is a seasoned technology executive and board director with deep expertise in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and digital transformation. During more than 25 years at Microsoft, he served over a decade as Corporate Vice President, leading the company’s AI and ISV Engagement, Developer Evangelism, and OEM divisions. Steve serves on the boards of HSBC Holdings, BT Group, Leupold & Stevens, and Forrit, and is an advisor to Tensility Venture Partners and AI company Quantexa. He holds a B.S. in Applied Physics from UC Davis and an M.S. in Engineering and Industrial Management from Stanford. He brings Envorso’s Advisory Board world-class insight into scaling technology platforms and partner ecosystems.
- Microsoft
- HSBC
- BT Group
Susan Dehne is an automotive engineering executive with more than 30 years of vehicle program leadership at Ford and Chrysler. At Ford, she served as Chief Engineer of Explorer vehicle programs and Chief Nameplate Engineer for Super Duty trucks. At Fiat Chrysler, she was Chief Engineer for SUV and sedan programs, leading early development of the Chrysler 200, and led advanced vehicle engineering. She later led technical services for the National Truck Equipment Association and now advises automotive clients through her own consulting firm.
- Ford
- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA)
Michael Angiulo is a technology executive and attorney who spent 25 years at Microsoft, including a decade as Corporate Vice President. He led the team that created Microsoft Surface, building it into a multibillion-dollar franchise, then led hardware engineering for Xbox, delivering the Xbox One S and Surface Hub. Earlier, he led Windows ecosystem partnerships with Intel, HP, Dell, and Lenovo that produced the Ultrabook category, and later drove Azure AI partnerships as Corporate Vice President of Cloud and AI. He went on to serve as Chief Revenue Officer of Magic Leap, and today he litigates complex technology and product failure cases as Of Counsel at Friedman | Rubin.
- Magic Leap
- Microsoft
- Xbox
Jack Jacobs is a retired U.S. Army colonel and Medal of Honor recipient, decorated for heroism in Vietnam, where he also earned two Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts. He taught international relations at West Point and the National War College before a career in finance, where as a Managing Director of Bankers Trust he led Global Investment Management to $2.2 billion in assets and later co-founded a similar business for Lehman Brothers. A longtime NBC and MSNBC military analyst, Jack is author of the memoir If Not Now, When? and a leader of the Medal of Honor Foundation.
- United States Army
- NBC
- Bankers Trust
James Morgan is a globally recognized authority on product development with more than 35 years of industry leadership. He advises leading companies through the Lean Enterprise Institute and serves on the board of Adrian Steel. Previously, he was Interim Chief Operating Officer of Rivian. At Ford Motor Company, he led global body exterior and SBU engineering and spearheaded development of Ford’s Global Product Development System during the company’s turnaround under Alan Mulally. Earlier, he led operations at Troy Design and Manufacturing. Jim holds a Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Michigan, where his research won two Shingo Prizes, and co-authored the award-winning books The Toyota Product Development System and Designing the Future. He brings Envorso’s Advisory Board unmatched insight into building world-class engineering organizations.
- Ford
- Rivian
- Lean Enterprise Institute
John Thomas is a 30-year automotive and electrification executive known for driving growth at global suppliers. As President and CEO of Webasto Charging Systems, he grew OEM booked business from $9 million to $500 million in two years. He has also served as President and CEO of Toyo Tires USA, Chief Operating Officer of Autel Energy North America, and Global Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer of Ampure Charging Systems, and earlier led Webasto’s worldwide Ford business. Today John leads OEM business for RealTruck, partnering with global vehicle manufacturers.
- Webasto
- Toyo Tires
- Autel Energy
- RealTruck
Bob Zito has spent 35 years shaping corporate brands across finance, pharmaceuticals, entertainment, and sport. As Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange, he built the NYSE into one of the world’s most respected brands, bringing television to the trading floor, making the opening and closing bells a daily newsmaker event, and leading communications for the reopening of U.S. markets after 9/11. He later served as Chief Communications Officer of Bristol-Myers Squibb and earlier led corporate communications for Sony Corporation of America. Bob is founder of brand consultancy Zito Partners and managing partner of sports management firm IPZ.
- NYSE
- Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Sony
Jeff Lemmer is a technology executive who spent more than 33 years at Ford Motor Company, culminating as Vice President and Chief Information Officer, responsible for the company’s global IT organization. He previously served as Ford’s Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of IT and as Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Ford Credit, after leading application development, e-commerce, architecture, and global infrastructure operations. Jeff serves on the Board of Trustees of Lawrence Technological University and the board of Junior Achievement of Southeastern Michigan.
- Ford
- Ford Credit
Will Semple is a veteran cybersecurity executive with more than 25 years of experience protecting global brands across finance, technology, and commerce in the US, UK, and Middle East. He leads cybercrime and abuse prevention at eBay and serves as Chair of the Board of eBay SARL, safeguarding millions of customers and preventing hundreds of millions of dollars in annual fraud losses. His career spans defense, Wall Street, Big Tech, and the City of London, including serving as Chief Information Security Officer of Euronext and leading security services at Alert Logic and software security across EMEA for PwC. Will has protected trillions of dollars in transactions from cybercrime and nation-state threats, testified before lawmakers on online safety, and completed INSEAD’s Accelerated Leadership Program. He brings Envorso’s Advisory Board a conviction that customer trust is the foundation of growth.
- eBay
- Euronext
- PwC
Bill Strickland is an automotive executive with 25 years of vehicle development and leadership experience at established automakers and EV startups. He led vehicle programs at Canoo from its earliest days, served as Vehicle Line Executive at Faraday Future, and spent more than a decade at Ford, where he was Chief Program Engineer and led launches of the Explorer, Taurus, and police vehicles. He later served as CEO of Meyers Manx and is now Chief Executive Officer of EV company NuEVion.
- Canoo
- Faraday Future
- Ford
- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA)
- Meyers Manx
Jim Buczkowski is an automotive technology leader who spent 42 years at Ford Motor Company, culminating as head of Research and Advanced Engineering, including advanced driver assistance. As a Henry Ford Technical Fellow, he led electrical and electronics systems research for a decade, directing global innovation and technology partnerships from Palo Alto to Israel, and earlier led global electrical and electronics engineering for infotainment, active safety, and vehicle systems. He chaired the board of Ford subsidiary SAIPS, is an SAE Fellow, and serves on the Consumer Technology Association’s Technology Advisory Council.
- Ford
- SAE International
Talk to one of them.
A discovery session is with the person who would run the work, not with a salesperson who would introduce you to them later.