Chris McGrath
About
I help organizations identify and capitalize on major technology shifts before they become obvious.
I have led product strategy, platform development, and AI-driven software initiatives spanning workforce technology, CRM, marketplaces, operational intelligence, analytics, and enterprise SaaS platforms. During my time at AT&T, I identified Amazon and Akamai as hypergrowth opportunities before those categories were widely understood assembling top partners to enable growth. I recognized the Acquia model years before its $1B acquisition and positioned my organization accordingly. Today, my focus is on operational intelligence, AI-native organizations, and autonomous systems.
We are entering one of the most significant organizational transitions since the rise of the internet.
The question is not how AI will change work, it's how organizations adapt when intelligent systems become participants in work.
At Esteemed, I'm building platforms that explore that future directly, including HCMGPT, operational intelligence systems, workforce technologies, and AI-native organizational infrastructure.
My perspective is grounded in both enterprise operating experience and hands-on system building:
• Architecting and leading workforce and talent platforms connecting more than 1 million IT professionals.
• Senior architect and technology leader on Fortune 500 platforms across hospitality, media, utilities, and financial services, including Marriott, Disney, Entergy, and Voya, as well as mission-critical systems supporting Defense, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, the National Archives, and the Department of the Interior.
• Recruited technical leaders who have helped scale $100B+ systems and executive teams from some of the world's largest enterprises.
• Structuring partnerships, acquisitions, and transformation initiatives designed to evolve traditional service organizations into AI-enabled platforms.
I currently serve as Board Advisor and Talent Initiative Lead for the Agentic Foundation, a global engineering organization focused on the future of agentic systems.
Areas of focus:
• Future of Work
• Operational Intelligence
• Enterprise Intelligence
• AI-Native Organizations
• Agentic Systems
• AI Governance & Risk
• Enterprise AI Infrastructure
• Workforce Transformation
I'm interested in board, advisory, and executive leadership opportunities where Product Development, AI governance, operational intelligence, and enterprise transformation create strategic advantages. I enjoy helping companies learn and adapt faster, while leveraging compound intelligence over time.
I have built and supported some of the largest and most complex websites and applications in existence starting my career in 1994 at the State of Washington. I now lead an innovative technology and staffing company, Esteemed, that I founded in 2011 here in Olympia. I also serve as a Board Advisor to the Agentic Foundation centered around advancing AI Agent technology.