Tom Wala

About Tom Wala

Co-Founder & Board Member at ILLUMIFIED AI - we are building the world’s first Agentic AI “Monetization Engine” for Large Language Models (LLMs).ILLUMIFIED AI’s “Platform-for-Good” shares 10% of its revenues with global community initiatives, supporting the Age of Abundance for All program.Co-Founder & CEO at UkuMi - we built, deployed, and scaled the first Social-powered,\"Trust-based\" Display Advertising SaaS platform (Web 2.0).Proven expertise in developing and scaling transformative Business Models, including:1. AI-Native Business Models (ILLUMIFIED AI)- building “Monetization Engine” for LLMs that delivers hybrid of AI-Native “pull-model” display advertising, eCommerce, affiliate marketing, and next gen AI business models.2. “Pay-for-Engagement” model (UkuMi)- provided brands (P&G, Walmart, Allergan, Aston Martin) and largest ad agencies (WPP, Omnicom) with better alternative to Google’s “Pay-per-Click” model.3. Dell’s Direct Model4. VMware’s SaaS and SubscriptionPublished Generative AI (Gen AI) case study in The Journal of Business and Artificial Intelligence (JBAI) titled:\"Implementing Generative AI at Large Enterprises: The Technology is Not Where Big Companies Struggle\".Designed and delivered Dell\'s transformative \"Pull-to-Order\" manufacturing and supply chain solution - setting industry record of only 2-4 hours of inventory (HSI), reduced from 2 days (DSI). Business Week named this work “Dell\'s Second Web Revolution”.Built and deployed UkuMI\'s innovative,\"social media-powered\" Display Advertising SaaS platform. UkuMi delivered 10-20x higher engagement rates on direct-to-consumer (DTC) digital advertising campaigns for top Brands (P&G, Walmart, Aston Martin) and largest Ad Agencies (WPP, Omnicom). UkuMi deployed our disruptive \"Pay-for-Engagement\" business model which was preferred by Brands and Ad Agencies to Google\'s \"Pay-per-Click\" business model.

Experience

1. Lecturer in Operations Management

   Texas Mccombs School Of Business

   May 2024 — Present · Ausin, TX, US

   Thrilled to be teaching Operations Management (OM 235) class at UT McCombs in Spring of 2026.Lecture topics include: process analysis and re-design, supply chain management and optimization, Six Sigma quality management, project management, business model innovation, and Customer Experience.Previous lectures at UT Harkey Institute and Forty Acres Founders: Future of Enterprise AI, Business Model Innovation, Leading Digital Business Transformations, and Corporate & Startup Entrepreneurship.\"Mentor-in-Residence\" at UT Harkey Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.

Education

• MIT Sloan School of Management

  Master of Business Administration (MBA), Corporate Strategy, Digital Business & IT Transformation, Operations & Supply Chain Management

• MIT Sloan School of Management

  MS Mechanical Engineering, Leaders for Global Operations / Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT

  1997 — 1999

• University of Kentucky

  B.S. Mechanical Engineering and Minor in Business Administration

  1990 — 1995

Skills

• Start-Ups
• Business Strategy
• Technology Mergers & Acquisitions
• Strategic Planning
• Software as a Service (Saas)
• E-Commerce
• Cloud Computing
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Business Process Improvement
• Consulting
• Business Transformation
• Enterprise Software
• Program Management
• Leadership