SVP Engineering · Forward-Deployed AI Executive
Steve Bakanov, MS, PhD
Engineering organizations that ship AI to production look different from ones that ship demos: different reporting lines, different review cadences, different definitions of "done." I have built and led teams of 50 → 250 → 300+ across AWS, Accenture, and Deloitte — 50% promotion increase, 40% turnover reduction, 60+ production AI systems, and a 15-person cross-geography agentic-AI platform team with monthly CIO-level steering.
For Fortune 500 boards and CEOs hiring an SVP Engineering who has built the operating model — not just the team chart.
CAIO · CIO · CTO roles at Fortune 50Targeting Chief AI Officer · Chief Information Officer · Chief Technology Officer roles at Fortune 50
Trusted at the Highest Level
Applied AI Leadership
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 delivery items formally accepted on schedule across a two-track Fortune 500 engagement
improvement in customer query resolution via LLM-powered conversational AI
better data categorization with multimodal AI (NLP + computer vision)
reduction in AI model deployment times via MLOps frameworks
uptime for production AI systems through robust monitoring infrastructure
Operating-model and control framework alignment for high-risk AI systems in regulated enterprises
AI governance committee design — charter, RACI, model-risk lifecycle, agent-level controls, and human-in-the-loop oversight
additional revenue from predictive analytics AI architecture
increase in data scalability across cloud and on-premise systems
reduction in data processing times enabling real-time business insights
improvement in forecasting accuracy via AI-powered analytics models
Career
Forward-Deployed Engineering Director
Current Engagements
Senior Vice President, App Innovation & AI
Global Technology, Strategy & Applications Leader
Global Technology Applications | DevOps SRE | Automation Leader
Principal | Chief Technologist, Emerging Technologies
Proof Points
Anonymized snapshots. Sector + scale + outcomes only
2025 — Present
Agentic AI Industrialization
2023 — 2025
MLOps & Production AI Delivery
Skills
AI & Agentic Systems
Enterprise Architecture & Cloud
Executive Leadership & Governance
Industry Domain & Delivery
Recognition
Certifications
Speaking Topics
Affiliations & Boards
Testimonials
“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
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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