The 5.3× Problem
The research on why digital transformations fail is damning, consistent, and almost entirely about people. Why isn't anyone acting on it?
READ →Transformation succeeds or fails on the people-and-process layer, not the technology — and I've spent twenty years leading the hard part.
The thesis
70%
of digital transformations fail to meet their objectives
— McKinsey, BCG, Bain · consistent for 20 years
It's not the technology that fails. McKinsey's research shows organizations that invest in people and culture change see 5.3× higher success rates than those focused on technology alone. The transformations I've led have worked because I led that part — not because the tech was clever.
I'm a senior digital, data, and AI executive with more than twenty years driving enterprise transformation inside Fortune 500 enterprises in regulated industries — financial services, healthcare, and insurance. Currently leading enterprise data and analytics product management at Wells Fargo. Before that, nearly a decade at UnitedHealth Group / Optum — progressing from Manager to Senior Director — leading product strategy across digital, technology, and data, including a real-time AI/ML fraud detection platform and M&A technology integration within a $180B business segment.
I came up from the business side — digital marketing, customer experience, measurement — and moved into technology leadership because I kept seeing the same problem: the tech teams and the business teams could not communicate, so neither could deliver what the other needed. That bridge is what I build. Trusted by CIOs, CTOs, CMOs, and senior engineering leaders because I came up through both worlds.
I've built and scaled teams across the spectrum — from focused product organizations to matrixed groups of forty-plus running enterprise transformation programs. Leading people is what I'm passionate about. The platform wins follow the team wins — never the other way around.
My work spans enterprise transformation; digital, data, and AI strategy; AI and machine learning in production; customer data platforms and journey analytics; marketing technology; cloud modernization; and M&A technology integration. I've done this work in the most regulated industries in the country — where the margin for error is low and the stakes are real. I also teach data analytics and business intelligence at the graduate level at St. Mary's University of Minnesota and serve on the Graduate Business School Alumni Board at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business.
What I care about is the unglamorous work most leaders skip: building adoption alongside the platform, measuring value rigorously enough that the number still holds up three years later, and leading the humans who have to change the way they work. That's what separates transformations that deliver from the ones that quietly fade.
/ 01 People
Twenty years of hiring, developing, and retaining high-performing technical and business talent. Built and led teams ranging from focused product groups to matrixed organizations of forty-plus across enterprise transformation programs in financial services and healthcare.
/ 02 Bridge
I came up through digital, marketing, and measurement before moving into technology leadership — so I speak both languages natively. Trusted by CIOs, CTOs, CMOs, and senior engineering leaders because I don't pick a side. I can sit with leadership on strategy in the morning and with an architect on a data model in the afternoon.
/ 03 Vision to Value
Strategic clarity paired with operator detail — turning ambiguous executive direction into a prioritized roadmap, a measurable outcome, and a team that knows what to do on Monday morning.
A sampling of the projects I've led, organized by the kind of transformation. Each one required building or leading a multi-disciplinary team, bridging business and technology, and shipping something that had to actually perform inside a regulated environment.
/ Chapter 01
Wells Fargo
AI agents and orchestrators embedded in the analytics platform to automate analytical workflows and accelerate time-to-insight across enterprise data products.
UnitedHealth Group / Optum
Real-time fraud detection platform with AI/ML models embedded in production. Built and led a six-person cross-functional team across engineering, product management, and architecture — surfacing anomalies at transaction scale and saving the organization millions in fraud losses.
UnitedHealth Group / Optum
Recommendation engine and ML-powered personalization for consumer-facing digital experiences — early production ML work, a decade before "AI" was a boardroom conversation.
/ Chapter 02
Wells Fargo
Built an enterprise real-time customer data and journey analytics platform from scratch, unifying disparate customer data sources across the enterprise into a single cloud-based platform that enables real-time customer data decisions for marketing teams, data analysts, and data scientists in business units across the organization.
UnitedHealth Group / Optum
Enterprise martech transformation across the marketing technology stack — customer data platform, journey optimization, journey analytics, optimization, and personalization — connecting marketing, product, and analytics into one operating model.
3M
Customer journey maps, personas, and personalization strategy that informed enterprise customer experience priorities; optimization and A/B testing program that drove conversion rate increases of up to 170%.
/ Chapter 03
UnitedHealth Group / Optum
Led enterprise cloud migration to Microsoft Azure, democratizing access to analytics, ML, and AI capabilities across the enterprise while establishing data governance, lineage, and trust standards that enabled compliant, quality experiences.
UnitedHealth Group / Optum
Governed data products, self-service analytics, and a shared model catalog — the building blocks downstream product teams depended on to deliver compliant, quality experiences.
/ Chapter 04
3M
Global rollout of a new digital experience platform as part of 3M's Digital Transformation Center of Excellence — operating across business units and regions in a globally matrixed organization. Drove adoption through product launches, training, and change management.
UnitedHealth Group / Optum
Large-scale technology transformation program with three direct reports and a matrixed organization of forty-plus across technology, architecture, marketing, and product management.
Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
Integrated digital, marketing automation, and attribution strategy that drove 200%+ improvements in marketing ROI and reshaped how the business measured digital contribution to revenue.
/ Chapter 05
UnitedHealth Group / Optum
Led technology integration within a $180B business segment as part of M&A activity. Managed a team of five Director- and Senior Director-level leaders and served as trusted advisor to C-suite leadership on aligning technical execution with business goals.
/ Chapter 06
Wells Fargo
Built a product organization from the ground up — full-cycle hiring, structured onboarding, and ongoing talent development for a team of technical product owners aligned to enterprise priorities.
UnitedHealth Group / Optum
Scaled a marketing analytics organization from four to fourteen across analytics, business intelligence, and data science — hiring and developing talent at every level while driving measurable value in digital acquisition growth. Founded the Digital Analytics Advisory Board. Nominated into the Executive Leadership Program.
Twenty years of progressive leadership inside Fortune 500 enterprises in regulated industries.
Wells Fargo · Minneapolis, MN
Lead the enterprise customer data and analytics product organization. Own product vision, roadmap, and go-to-market for the platforms that marketing teams, analysts, and data scientists across business units depend on for real-time customer data decisions and journey analytics. Built the platform from scratch, deployed AI agents into production analytical workflows, and built the product organization from the ground up.
UnitedHealth Group / Optum · Minneapolis, MN
Nine years of progressive leadership, Manager through Senior Director. Led marketing analytics teams from four to fourteen; a six-person cross-functional team on a real-time AI/ML fraud detection platform; a large-scale technology transformation program with a matrixed organization of forty-plus; and M&A technology integration within a $180B business segment. Founded the Digital Analytics Advisory Board. Nominated into the Executive Leadership Program.
3M Company · St. Paul, MN
Led digital transformations as part of the 3M Digital Transformation Center of Excellence for Customer Experience, operating across a globally matrixed organization in 70+ countries. Led global rollout of a new digital experience platform and drove adoption through product launches, training, and change management. Launched optimization and A/B testing program that drove conversion rate increases of up to 170%.
Wolters Kluwer Financial Services · Minneapolis, MN
Led digital strategy and execution as part of the Digital Marketing Center of Excellence. Increased marketing ROI 200%+ through an integrated digital strategy spanning marketing automation, performance analytics, lead generation, and attribution. Owned Eloqua-Salesforce integration. Launched a mobile app and marketing strategy that doubled product sales within one month.
Jostens · Digital River · BI Worldwide · Target Corporation
The foundation years — product management, digital analytics, eCommerce, loyalty marketing, and retail merchandising roles across Minneapolis-area enterprises. Work at Jostens recognized as "Best Of" by Good Housekeeping Magazine and featured on The Today Show.
Essays on the people-and-process side of digital and AI transformation. Drawn from twenty years inside Fortune 500 enterprises, the classroom at St. Mary's University of Minnesota, and the rooms where transformations either deliver or quietly fade. No hype, no vendor pitches. New essays roughly every other week.
The research on why digital transformations fail is damning, consistent, and almost entirely about people. Why isn't anyone acting on it?
READ →Most transformations fund the technology and treat adoption as an afterthought. The teams that succeed flip that ratio. What it actually takes to move users from ticket-and-wait to self-service.
READ →Why business teams and technology teams still can't talk to each other — and what kind of leader actually closes the gap.
READ →Subscribe to read the essays as they publish.
Subscribe on Substack →St. Mary's University of Minnesota
Adjunct Professor, Graduate Programs in Business
2017 — Present
Develop and teach graduate-level courses for MBA and Business Intelligence & Data Analytics students, including Human Resource Analytics; Communication & Content Strategies for Data & Analytics; Business Statistics; and Computer Applications. Curriculum integrates enterprise data platforms, analytics frameworks, responsible AI, and real-world case studies.
University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business
Board Member, Graduate Business School Alumni Board
2025 — Present
Serve on the Graduate Business School Alumni Board, supporting strategic priorities of the Opus College of Business and contributing to alumni engagement, programming, and the advancement of the graduate business community.