That's the short version. Here's the longer one.
I've spent most of my career in PE-backed technology companies — first as an engineer, then as CTO, then as CEO. I've built engineering teams, shipped products, raised and deployed capital, and navigated the full M&A lifecycle from every seat at the table: as the target company executive being acquired, as the integration lead post-deal, and now as the advisor helping PE firms evaluate their next investment.
That range of experience shapes how I work. When I conduct technology due diligence, I'm not just reviewing documentation and interviewing leadership. I'm reading code, assessing architecture decisions, and forming a view on whether the engineering team can deliver what the investment thesis requires. I've been in their position. I know what good looks like — and I know what "good enough for a slide deck" looks like.
After years of executive leadership, I made a deliberate choice: I went back to building. I wanted my advisory work to be grounded in current, hands-on experience with the technologies I advise on — not knowledge that's five years out of date.
Today I write production Rust, build AI agent systems, run my own mail server and infrastructure, and maintain several open-source projects. I built Mailbuttons — an AI-powered email automation platform — from architecture through to production deployment. I've worked extensively with LLM integration, prompt engineering, and agent architectures. When portfolio companies tell me they're "implementing AI," I can assess whether their plans are realistic because I've done the same work myself.
Codecutter is my full-time technology advisory practice. I work with PE firms and portfolio company boards on technology due diligence, AI strategy, and value creation. I also take on fractional CTO engagements where companies need a technology perspective at the board level but aren't ready for a full-time hire.
If you're looking for an advisor who can speak fluently to both your investment committee and your engineering team, I'd be happy to have a conversation.