Neil Scholten

Most AI strategies die in the gap between the slide deck and production. I close that gap. As a fractional Chief AI Officer I take an AI strategy that already exists and turn it into systems that run in the business, then I hand it over so the team keeps going without me. Enabling, not dependency. I work as an individual contributor at C-level. I build with my own hands instead of directing from a distance. Since the ChatGPT launch in October 2022 I have been hands-on with LLMs and agents about 40 hours a month, across OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI and Perplexity: multi-agent orchestration, memory, evaluation, governance. That is what lets me tell you what is actually buildable, and in what order. The evidence behind it: VP (IT-)Operations at Statista digesting hyper-growth from 250 to 1,400 people, responsible for AI's effect on product and operations from the first hour after ChatGPT, before it was a broader market topic. Before that, the Digital-First program at Fielmann and IT-Operations plus post-merger integration at SinnerSchrader/Accenture. My stance on AI agents: they have a lifecycle. Prototype, improvement, graduation, replacement. Most roadmaps never plan the graduation, which is why proofs of concept never reach production. I plan it from the start. Fractional, remote-first, based in Hamburg (CET). A Xennial who worked through analog, internet, mobile and AI from the inside, in operating roles. That is the difference between reading the shift and having steered it.