Rich is a Chief AI Officer and seasoned full-stack architect with 25+ years building enterprise systems, leading development teams, and pioneering AI-driven solutions. As Chief AI Officer at bsquared.ai and Lead Consultant for multiple AI-focused firms, he specializes in AI strategy, conversational architectures, and SaaS development that bridges cutting-edge technology with real-world business impact.
His career spans leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies including EY, CBS Corporation, Cisco, The Home Depot, and entertainment giants like Walt Disney Imagineering and Universal Pictures. At CBS, he managed a 22-person hybrid team delivering a $10M+ greenfield ERP system while achieving 200%+ productivity gains through Agile transformation. At EY, he led 10-person teams building mobile survey engines and rehabilitated flagship platforms, improving performance by 90% through architectural refactoring.
Rich's technical expertise spans the full stack: React, Vue, Nuxt, Node.js, OpenAI integration, bi-directional conversational architectures, C#, Azure, and embedded systems. He has architected cloud migrations, OAuth/OKTA security implementations, and complex ALM strategies using VSTS and TFS. His work includes building cashless arcade systems for Disney properties generating $10M annual revenue, big data analytics for Universal Studios' release pipeline, and embedded IoT controllers for Mitsubishi.
As Founder of EString Software, Rich grew a full-service consulting practice serving 50+ customers across telecom, healthcare, entertainment, professional sports, and retail in multiple countries. He excels at wearing multiple hats—executive management, sales, architecture, product ownership—and brings a creative, goals-oriented approach to every engagement. Rich's unique blend of AI strategy, systems thinking, and hands-on development makes him invaluable for organizations seeking to harness AI for sustainable competitive advantage.
