CIO · Forward-Deployed AI Executive

Chief Information Officer — Production-Grade AI in the Enterprise Stack

Steve Bakanov, MS, PhD

Enterprise AI does not ship through pilots — it ships through the same architecture, governance, and operating model that runs ERP and CRM. I have led $120M+ in measured value across 60+ production AI systems, integrated agentic AI into Oracle, SAP, Salesforce, and ServiceNow at Fortune 50 scale, and put EU AI Act / NIST AI RMF posture in front of executive sponsors as practiced policy.

For Fortune 50 boards and CEOs hiring a CIO who will own AI as part of the operating model — not as a separate experimental track.

CAIO · CIO · CTO roles at Fortune 50Targeting Chief AI Officer · Chief Information Officer · Chief Technology Officer roles at Fortune 50

Let's Connect View Experience

$0M+

Enterprise Cost Savings

Professionals Led

Faster AI Deployment

Countries Served

Production AI Systems

Trusted at the Highest Level

Accenture

AWS

Deloitte

Also

Premier Global Cloud & AI ConsultancyROI / SAP

Applied AI Leadership

AI That Ships

Fewer than 10% of enterprise AI programs reach scale. This portfolio is built from the ones that did — agentic systems, LLMOps, and production architectures with measured business value.

Agentic AI & LLMs

17 of 17

agentic-AI delivery items formally accepted on schedule across a two-track Fortune 500 engagement

25%

improvement in customer query resolution via LLM-powered conversational AI

20%

better data categorization with multimodal AI (NLP + computer vision)

MLOps & LLMOps

45%

reduction in AI model deployment times via MLOps frameworks

99.9%

uptime for production AI systems through robust monitoring infrastructure

AI Governance & Responsible AI

EU AI Act + NIST AI RMF

Operating-model and control framework alignment for high-risk AI systems in regulated enterprises

Enterprise-wide

AI governance committee design — charter, RACI, model-risk lifecycle, agent-level controls, and human-in-the-loop oversight

AI Architecture

$10M

additional revenue from predictive analytics AI architecture

60%

increase in data scalability across cloud and on-premise systems

Data Science & Pipelines

50%

reduction in data processing times enabling real-time business insights

35%

improvement in forecasting accuracy via AI-powered analytics models

Career

Experience

Current

Accenture

Forward-Deployed Engineering Director

Nov 2025 — Present

—Architect and deliver enterprise agentic AI solutions end-to-end — from problem framing through production deployment and organizational adoption
—Lead cross-functional teams across business, product, engineering, and C-suite on Fortune 50 AI reinvention programs
—Design AI operating models and governance frameworks that bridge executive strategy and engineering reality

Current Engagements

Fortune 100 Global Insurance LeaderGlobal Professional Network PlatformHyperscale Cloud & AI PlatformGlobal Engineering & Professional Services FirmFortune 500 Consumer Goods Company

Premier Global Cloud & AI Consultancy

Senior Vice President, App Innovation & AI

2024 — Nov 2025

—Spearheaded AI/ML integration across cloud platforms, contributing to a $20M revenue increase and 45% improved customer experience
—Reduced legacy system dependencies by 50% and improved external application integration by 90%
—Optimized cloud infrastructure achieving 20% decrease in IT operating costs and 25% reduction in overall IT expenditures

Amazon Web Services

Global Technology, Strategy & Applications Leader

Jan 2022 — 2024

—Led development of scalable AI platforms improving time-to-market by 30% for AI-driven products; drove $15M revenue increase
—Built high-performing teams of 50+ engineers; mentored leaders resulting in 50% increase in internal promotions and 40% reduction in turnover
—Implemented self-service AI capabilities driving 40% efficiency gain and reducing operational dependency across enterprise accounts

Deloitte

Global Technology Applications | DevOps SRE | Automation Leader

Jan 2017 — Jan 2022

—Administered $50M budget, led 250-member team — pioneered cloud AI/ML solutions improving customer experience 40%
—Established Global DevOps teams; enhanced deployment efficiency 15%, reduced security vulnerabilities 25%
—Drove 70% reduction in manual interventions and 80% increase in operational reliability through automation

ROI / SAP

Principal | Chief Technologist, Emerging Technologies

Jan 2013 — Jan 2017

—Guided technical direction through explosive growth from 120 to 1,500 employees; delivered 50+ engagements each valued at $1M+
—Orchestrated design and delivery across 6 countries with clients in 65+ countries across SA, Asia, Europe, NA, and APMEA
—Turned around failing UI/UX practice from persistent losses to multi-million dollar profitable revenue in 90 days

Proof Points

Selected Engagements

Anonymized snapshots. Sector + scale + outcomes only

2025 — Present

Fortune 500 North American Manufacturer

Agentic AI Industrialization

17 of 17 deliverables formally accepted by sponsor
$357K/yr sponsor-accepted value case documented and approved
22-candidate Phase-2 expansion thesis developed and presented to executive leadership

2023 — 2025

Large-Scale Enterprise AI Program (60+ Production Systems)

MLOps & Production AI Delivery

$120M+ in AWS-validated business value across the production AI portfolio
45% reduction in AI model deployment times via standardized MLOps frameworks
99.9% availability SLO enforced as a hard production gate across all systems

Skills

Expertise

AI & Agentic Systems

Agentic AILarge Language ModelsGenerative AIMLOpsLLMOpsAI ArchitectureProduction AI DeliveryAzureMLVertex AIBedrock

Enterprise Architecture & Cloud

AWSAzureGoogle CloudHybrid & Multi-CloudMicroservicesAPI ManagementEvent-Driven ArchitectureLegacy ModernizationM&A IntegrationData Platforms

Executive Leadership & Governance

P&L OwnershipBoard & C-Suite AlignmentAI Operating ModelEU AI Act / NIST AI RMFModel Risk ManagementCyber & Information SecuritySOX · HIPAA · PCI/DSSVendor & Contract NegotiationTalent Strategy

Industry Domain & Delivery

Financial ServicesInsuranceHealthcare & Life SciencesPublic SectorManufacturingRetail & ConsumerAgile / SAFe / Scrum at ScaleProgram & Portfolio ManagementExecutive Communication

Recognition

Credentials

Certifications

◆Reinvention with Agentic AI · Stanford University
◆AWS Cloud Architect
◆AWS Cloud Practitioner
◆Microsoft Azure AI
◆SAFe Agilist
◆Business Chemistry Certified Presenter

Speaking Topics

◆2026 · Agentic AI in Regulated Industries
◆2026 · AI Governance & Operating Models
◆2026 · Production-Grade LLMOps
◆Generative AI in Customer-Centric Businesses
◆Cloud Modernization in Healthcare
◆MLOps, Data Analytics & Generative AI

Affiliations & Boards

◆Society for Information Management (SIM)
◆Executive Leadership IT (ELIT)
◆Greater Philadelphia Senior Executives Group
◆CIO Round Table
◆Cloud Computing Consortium
◆GGGIT CIO Advisory Board Member
◆UPA Advisory Board Member

Testimonials

What Leaders Say

“

“From my very first interaction with him, I was impressed with his professional maturity and business maturity. He demonstrated fantastic ability to build trust with customer executives at various levels and deliver substantial business outcomes, beyond the desirable technology outcomes. He was recognized by customers and partners as a strong leader and collaborator, bringing the ability to manifest how technology transforms business outcomes through innovation.”

Robert R.

Former VP / GM, Cloud & Industry Solutions

Amazon Web Services · Microsoft · March 2024

“

“I wholeheartedly recommend Steve for positions requiring a mix of business and technical skills, in particular for any company looking for a trusted advisor in their adoption of cloud technologies. Steve is able to navigate complex situations and concurrently manage multiple complex programs.”

Laurent V.

Senior Technology Services Leader

Amazon Web Services · May 2023

Get In Touch

Let's build AI that actually ships.

CIO · CTO · Chief AI Officer · SVP of Engineering roles at Fortune 50 organizations. Open to conversations about transformative AI initiatives and executive leadership opportunities.

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