Most executives leave behind memos.
I leave behind machines.
Two decades of building operational systems that outlast the people who created them. This is the unvarnished story—what worked, what didn't, and why I'm still building.
"In 2009, I built an enterprise platform for a 3,000-person company. It's still running today—15 years later. The things I build tend to stick around."
Chapter One
The Foundation
Before I learned to build systems at scale, I spent a decade learning how organizations break.
Six companies across telecom, healthcare, and enterprise software. Quality engineering. Process optimization. From engineer to senior manager. By 2008, I understood why organizations fail—inconsistent processes, tribal knowledge, no single source of truth.
What I didn't know yet was how to build systems that prevent failure at scale. That lesson came next.
Chapter Two
The System Builder
Building the operational backbone of a 3,000-person tech company.
The Chaos I Walked Into
November 2008. Global financial crisis. I joined a fast-growing mobile tech company as Head of Quality. 1,600 employees running projects on spreadsheets, emails, and tribal knowledge. Quality team? Two people. Standardized methodology? None. When project managers left, the project history left with them.
What I Built
Enterprise Project Management Platform
Not a tool purchase—a complete reimagining of how 1,650+ users manage projects. Standardized methodology embedded in the system. Automated metrics. Cross-project visibility. Still running 15 years later.
Quality Organization
Scaled from 2 to 12 specialists. ISO 9001, ISO 27001, TL-9000 certified. Industry average for TL-9000: 4 years. We did it in 2.
"A system that survives isn't the most sophisticated. It's the one that matches how people actually work."
Chapter Three
The Venture Years
Running governance for 7 internal startups from the CEO's office.
The Mandate
The CEO was seeding internal startups—new product initiatives that would operate like ventures with investment gates, product-market fit milestones, and kill decisions. I was pulled into the CEO's office to run governance. My chair was next to his.
The Portfolio
Digital Payments (Nigeria)
Central bank licensed, 60+ policies
Cross-Border Remittance
Multi-country corridors
Enterprise Learning
Mobile-first SaaS platform
+ 4 More Ventures
Wallet, payments, discovery
"Some worked, some didn't. That's not failure—that's portfolio management."
Chapter Four
The Fixer
The person they called when enterprise programs went red.
The Pattern
Every large enterprise has them—strategic programs that have turned "red." Customers escalating to the C-suite. Deadlines missed repeatedly. Teams demoralized. Executives nervous about renewals. I became the person they called. Not because I had magic. Because I had method.
The Turnarounds
Mobile Money Platform — Africa
+27% CSAT14 countries. No governance cadence. Integration backlogs piling up. Built the first formal governance structure and performance certification program.
Latin America Deployment
7 Delays → ShippedUAT at 68% success rate. 7 postponements from original go-live. Single resource handling everything. Fixed it.
The Method
1. Establish Visibility
Dashboards for operators, not just executives
2. Create Cadence
Weekly calls. Monthly reviews. Rhythm = accountability
3. Categorize Problems
Delivery vs support vs relationship issues
4. Track Everything
Every commitment. Every miss. Every resolution.
"Turnarounds aren't about heroics. They're about systems that survive without me."
Chapter Five
The Collections War
Building a $150M recovery function from scratch.
The Problem
No collections function existed. $60+ million in aged receivables across 20+ enterprise accounts spanning every region. Finance tracked invoices. Sales tracked relationships. Nobody owned collections.
What I Built From Zero
Collections Function — Hired team, designed KPI system with weighted metrics
Statement of Account System — Single source of truth for every customer
Categorization Framework — Different root causes, different playbooks
Multi-Country Deep Dive — One key account across 14 African countries. Systematic approach.
"The $150M recovery was the outcome. The function I built was the real deliverable."
Chapter Six
The Customer Office
Building enterprise customer governance for a $152M portfolio.
The Challenge
Multiple product lines, regional teams, delivery functions—all touching the same enterprise accounts. But no unified view of customer health. When problems surfaced, everyone had a different story. No early warning system.
What I Built
360-Degree Customer Health Dashboard
Delivery status, support metrics, revenue health, relationship temperature—one unified view.
Customer Success Office
Formal governance framework with escalation paths, SLAs, and cross-functional accountability.
"Customer success at scale isn't about heroic saves. It's about catching problems before they become crises."
Chapter Seven
The Pivot
Learning to build AI systems from scratch.
The Choice
After 17 years building operational systems for others, I spotted something bigger. AI wasn't just another enterprise tool—it was a chance to build differently. Not to advise from the sidelines, but to create from the ground up.
What I'm Building
Professional services firms—consultants, advisors, specialists—waste hours on repetitive personalization that AI can handle. Perfect opportunity. I didn't hire a developer. I decided to build it myself.
AI-Powered Professional Services Platform
Full-stack application: Next.js, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Claude API integration. Production deployment on AWS.
In production. Real users. Real business impact.
The Differentiation
Most executives are recommending AI strategies in boardrooms. I'm writing code, debugging production issues, and shipping features. This isn't about becoming a developer. It's about understanding the medium well enough to know what's possible, spot what's hype, and build prototypes when needed.
Reinvention isn't about age.It's about action.
The executives who will thrive in the AI era aren't the ones taking courses. They're the ones building things.
Five patterns across two decades.
I Build Systems, Not Fixes
When I solve a problem, I build something that keeps solving it after I'm gone.
I Compress Timelines
Certification in 2 years (expected: 4). 48-hour hiring (expected: 4-6 weeks). I don't accept "that's how long it takes."
I Track Everything
The documentation becomes the proof and the leverage. Every number in this story has a source.
I Learn in Public
Some ventures worked, some didn't. Honesty builds more trust than polish.
I'm Still Building
Learning new tech stacks, building production systems, shipping code. The day I stop building is the day I stop being useful.
Looking for my next chapter.
Fractional COO roles. Collections consulting. Program turnarounds.
Organizations that need operational systems built, not just optimized. Problems where the solution is a machine, not a memo.
Let's Talk