Brent Smolinski

About Brent Smolinski

As the North America AI Lead for Kearney, I help senior executives leverage the power of AI and modern technologies to transform their businesses and create \"stock moving\" value. My work has enabled some of the most impactful and transformative programs across many industries, such as shaping a comprehensive AI strategy for the CEO of a global hospitality firm, helping a leading cloud provider optimize their data center designs and strategy, reshaping a major auto manufacturer supply and demand management function using AI, and transforming the operations and pricing functions at a major airline leveraging forecasting and pricing techniques that leverage cutting edge AI. My teams have also advised CEOs, Boards, and Private Equity firms on some of the largest transactions in their industries across the complete deal lifecycle, from up-front market & operations diligence through post merger integration and value capture. I have over 25 years of experience in the technology sector, spanning consulting, product engineering, and entrepreneurship. I have a passion for strategy, AI, & technology and enjoy solving complex problems that require deep technical knowledge, structured thinking, stakeholder management, and executive communication. I also love developing and mentoring the next generation of technology strategists and have seen many of my mentees become industry leaders. Before joining Kearney, I was the Global Leader for Tech/Data and AI at IBM, the North America Head of Cloud Strategy and Advisory at Accenture and a Partner at McKinsey and Company, where I led the IT Infrastructure practice for many years. I also founded and served as the CTO of Natural Messaging, a tech startup that that was a pioneer in natural language processing, and I stay active in the venture community as a Venture Partner at Oregon Venture Fund.

Experience

1. Venture Partner

   Oregon Venture Fund

   Dec 2023 — Present · Portland, OR, US

   Active investor, helping with diligence on AI and technology companies, advising portfolio companies on broad go-to-market and operations.

Education

• California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

  BS, MS, Economics, Computer Science

• UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School

  MBA, emphasis Finance

• University of California, Berkeley

  Ph.D. Student, Operations Research