AI Strategy & Execution for the Middle Market

Forge clear, actionable
AI strategies — and
execute them.

Vector Foundry helps mid-market CEOs decide what to build, what to buy, and what to ignore — so leaders spend their time and money on the things that actually move the business.

Book the hour →What we do
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“You take the complex and make it simple — with sophistication.”
Executive Director, national manufacturing research institute
The Big Idea

Buy the commodity.
Build the differentiator.
Know the difference.

Buy

Most of what you need is available off the shelf, configured well. Don't pay to rebuild it.

Build

Build only when the capability is genuinely strategic and unique to your business.

Know

This is the entire job. Most "AI strategy" conversations skip it. Ours start with it.

What We Do

Six ways to engage.

Most clients enter at one stage and grow into the next. Pick the entry point that fits — or book the hour to find it.

Frame→Plan→Execute→Sustain
01 / 06
On-Ramp

Executive Briefings & Training

Start Here

Onsite or virtual sessions for leadership teams on the art of the possible — what AI tools can actually do, where peers are using them, what's real versus hype.

Half-day or full-dayOnsite or virtualLeadership + team formats
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02 / 06
Foundation

AI Policy, Frameworks & Governance

Foundational

The unglamorous but essential layer. Acceptable-use policies, data-handling guidelines, vendor evaluation frameworks, and the governance that lets your team move fast without breaking things.

Acceptable-use policyData handling guidelinesVendor eval framework
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03 / 06
Keystone

AI Roadmap

Most Requested

The flagship engagement. We work with your leadership team to identify the AI use cases that matter most, assess each for impact and effort, and prioritize ruthlessly.

12–18 month planBuy / build / ignore callsSequenced & owned
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04 / 06
Execution

AI Implementation

Where Impact Happens

Roadmaps without execution are expensive PowerPoints. We help you do the work — without trying to be your build shop.

Software selectionPartner managementTargeted prototyping
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05 / 06
Ongoing

AI Operating Partner

Stay Current

A productized ongoing relationship for leaders who've moved past the initial roadmap and want to stay sharp — curated intelligence and decision support specific to your business.

Custom AI advisorPriority-tied briefingsProductized — not hourly
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06 / 06
Long Game

Fractional CAIO / CTO

Retained

For companies that need ongoing AI and technology leadership but don't yet need — or can't yet justify — a full-time executive.

Roadmap stewardshipImplementation oversightExecutive partnership
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About

Houston Slatton.

Vector Foundry pairs the pattern recognition of someone who has led a prior technology transformation with the operating experience of someone who has shipped AI inside a real business at the executive level.

“You really know how to operate at the intersection of business and technology.”
Senior ML Engineer, former direct report
Career Arc · 19 years
IBM
2007
North Highland
Bush
BluWave
8 yrs
Vector Foundry
Now
Columbia MBAVanderbilt Engineering
Pattern recognition

Led the prior wave.

At North Highland, ran the end-to-end digital transformation of a media ad broker — moving a legacy mainframe to a web-based architecture and leading organizational change management alongside it. The technology is exciting; the harder problem is always the people, processes, and operating model around it.

Operator credentials

Shipped real AI in a real business.

Eight-plus years on the executive team at BluWave responsible for AI/ML strategy, enterprise technology, and the transition from manual to tech-enabled operations. Led development of a proprietary AI/ML recommendation engine that exceeded human performance and meaningfully expanded delivery capacity without proportional headcount growth.

PE fluency

Speak the sponsor's language.

Subject matter expert on AI adoption for BluWave's private equity clients — mapping the GenAI and ML market, vetting tools, and advising firms on integrating AI into value creation strategies. When a PE-backed company calls Vector Foundry, the sponsor conversation is already familiar territory.

A 19-year arc

Not a pivot.

Working at the intersection of business and technology since 2007 — IBM Global Business Services, North Highland, Bush Consulting, BluWave. Columbia MBA, Vanderbilt engineering. Vector Foundry is the next chapter of the same career, not a rebrand on top of last year's headlines.

Start a Conversation

Forge a real plan.

One useful hour with you and any leaders you'd like to include. No deck, no pitch. We'll tell you honestly if we can help — and what would be most valuable if we can.

01A 60-minute working session.
02We diagnose where you are and where the leverage is.
03You leave with a concrete recommendation — roadmap, briefing, governance, or "you don't need us yet."
Book the hour →

60-minute working session. Opens our scheduling page.

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Founder-led response within one business day. No spam, no third-party sharing.