About

How I Got Here

I didn’t set out to become a strategist. I started my career as a chemical engineer, deep in the trenches of hard science and emerging technologies, before earning a JD and MBA and moving into roles that blended technology, markets, and policy. I worked with startups, growth-stage companies, and global enterprises working to commercialize breakthrough technologies and I noticed the same thing over and over again: brilliant executive making reactive decisions, not because they lacked capability, but because they lacked strategic clarity.

Over more than a decade working with dozens of cleantech and hardtech companies, I saw the same pattern repeat: leaders drowning in market noise, pouring scarce resources into urgent decisions that lacked strategic intent. They didn’t need more analysis — these were incredibly capable teams. What they needed was a way to cut through complexity to see the signal clearly. The reality is that strategic questions take time to answer, and in high-pressure environments, strategy almost always takes a backseat to day-to-day urgency.

The turning point for me wasn’t a single moment—it was the accumulation of watching brilliant founders trapped in a maze of noise, pressure, and advice that wasn’t built for their world. Then AI hit, and the internet was flooded with “10 frameworks every CEO uses,” “plug-and-play strategy templates,” and polished decks that said a lot but lacked substance. That doesn't work for cleantech or hardtech — it doesn't reflect the reality of capital intensity, technical validation, policy dependencies, long sales cycles, or multi-actor markets. That’s when it clicked: the problem wasn’t that founders lacked frameworks. It was that they lacked a way to cut through the noise to find clarity fast. Real strategy isn’t built on templates; it is guided by purpose and crafted through asking the right questions. AI accelerated the work, but experience and judgment shape the direction. That blend is what AC Strategy Group was built on.

At AC Strategy Group, we help cleantech and hardtech leaders navigate complex, unforgiving markets without the overhead of traditional consulting. We don’t force-fit generic frameworks or produce theoretical roadmaps that gather dust. We use the right tools at the right moments, asking the right questions in the right order to uncover what actually drives leverage in your market. Our work centers on what matters most: clarity of direction, coherence of choices, and decision frameworks that turn strategy into execution. When AI can accelerate the analysis, we use it as a force multiplier; but never a substitute for real strategic judgment.

Today, I work exclusively with growth-stage leaders in cleantech and hardtech — companies with real traction, real customers, and real stakes. I’ve lived the pressure of raising capital, building first-of-a-kind technologies, and selling to skeptical buyers in industries where timelines are long and markets are unforgiving. My goal is simple: to help founders find clarity faster, move with confidence, and lead with conviction as they scale. If you’re at a strategic inflection point, I’ve likely helped someone navigate a similar path — and I’d be honored to help you do the same.

My approach is different by design: no generic consulting frameworks, no six-month strategy projects that slow you down. Instead, I focus on rapid strategic diagnostics, validated 90-day roadmaps, and decision frameworks you can use from day one. And where it accelerates the work, I integrate AI-enabled analysis and automation — not as a gimmick, but as a force multiplier that helps you think faster and execute with confidence. Because strategy shouldn’t take longer than execution. It should clear the path for you to lead.

Our Philosophy

Strategy begins with purpose. Purpose is your why, your intended destination — the port you choose, not the one circumstances push you toward.

"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there."

Purpose is what keeps leaders from wandering. It transforms noise into direction, options into choices, and uncertainty into possibility.

But purpose alone doesn't create strategy. That requires principles — the truths, constraints, and rules of motion that guide how you move when conditions change. Principles govern trade-offs, define priorities, and anchor decisions when the terrain grows unfamiliar.

Together, purpose and principles form the backbone of real strategy.

Most “strategists” never even make it this far. They get trapped in frameworks, mistaking the tool for the strategy.

The Strategy Game

Strategy is not a neutral exercise. It is, by nature, adversarial — not combative or acrimonious, but honest about the world as it is:

You are competing for customers.
You are competing for capital.
You are competing for attention, talent, trust, and time.

Scarcity is real, especially in cleantech and hardtech. When resources are limited, choices matter — and every choice has an opportunity cost.

This is why strategy can't be reduced to a menu of frameworks, useful only when applied in the right context with sound judgment and an understanding of how others will react to your moves.

A strategy that doesn't consider the actions of others is not strategy. It's a wish.

"In a competitive world, the worst mistake is assuming the opposition will stand still."

At AC Strategy Group, we help founders see the system, not just the plan:

how competitors will respond
where incentives misalign
where the leverage points are
where the constraints bind
how to win despite them

Real strategy lives in this tension.

From Strategy to Action

Clarity. Confidence. Conviction.

Purpose + principles + adversarial realism give you the foundation.

But great strategy requires three capabilities to come alive:

Clarity

See the Path

Clarity isn't about consuming more information. It's about knowing what matters because you know where you're going. Purpose focuses your attention; principles filter noise from signal. Clarity is directional: the moment the path ahead stops looking like fog and starts looking like a route.

Confidence

Plan the Route

Once the direction is clear, execution demands prioritization. Confidence comes from sequencing—what to do first, what to defer, and what will create momentum. A validated roadmap turns direction into motion.

Conviction

Stay the Course

Markets shift. Competitors react. Resources tighten. Conviction is what keeps you from veering off the path at the first sign of friction. It comes from decision frameworks grounded in purpose and principles, so you can say yes with intent and no without hesitation. Conviction is the difference between reacting to the market and shaping it.

"A goal without a plan is just a wish."

Our Core Belief

Strategy is purpose guided by principles — shaped by adversarial reality — brought to life through clarity, confidence, and conviction.

This is the foundation of Pathfinding, Pathtaking, and Pathbreaking.

It's what differentiates strategic leadership from strategic noise. It's what accelerates commercialization in complex markets.

And it's what we help you master.

The PathFinding Process

Most consultants start with frameworks. I start with first principles, pattern recognition, and strategic judgment. Frameworks are tools — useful when applied sparingly and in the right context — but they are never the strategy. My method is built specifically for growth-stage cleantech and hardtech companies navigating complex, adversarial markets.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Strategic Diagnosis

Focused questions. Zero generic discovery.

Before we meet, you complete a targeted diagnostic designed to surface the forces shaping your market — customer pull, competitor pressure, structural constraints, and the assumptions driving your current decisions. This isn’t intake for intake’s sake; it’s a way to remove the noise so we can immediately focus on what matters.

By the time we enter the live session, we’re not collecting information — we’re interrogating direction.

Step 2: Pattern Recognition

Find the signal hiding in the noise.

Our 60–minute session is fast, deep, and analytical. I’m not just listening — I’m mapping patterns across dozens of tough-tech commercialization journeys: where decisions compound, where teams get misaligned, and where opportunities reliably emerge.

Because markets aren’t static and strategy is adversarial, we evaluate your position relative to others — competitors, substitutes, adjacent players — to understand where advantage can actually be built. This is where clarity shows up: not from frameworks, but from seeing the landscape for what it is.

Step 3: Validated Direction

Actionable. Concrete. Built for execution.

Instead of a hundred-page slide deck, you get a crisp strategic brief with everything tied to your market reality, your constraints, and your objectives:

2–3 insights that matter
the direction your strategy must take
immediate decisions that unlock momentum

Everything is tied to your market reality, your constraints, and your objectives.

The output isn’t theoretical. It’s the first step on your path — clear, grounded, and ready to execute.

PathTaking: From Direction to a 90-Day Plan

PathFinding gives you clarity — the truth of where you stand, where you’re positioned to go, and what truly matters in the market you’re playing in.

But clarity alone doesn’t move you forward.

The next step is PathTaking: turning direction into momentum.

Pathtaking is where insight becomes motion — where a validated strategy becomes a 90-day plan your team can execute with confidence. It’s not a traditional consulting project, and it’s not a theoretical roadmap. It’s a structured sprint designed for growth-stage realities: limited resources, adversarial markets, shifting incentives, and the constant pressure to move fast without breaking trust, capital, or credibility.

In Pathtaking, we translate purpose and principles into coherent choices, sequence those choices into an executable route, and build the decision frameworks that guide your next 90 days. The result is alignment, prioritization, and momentum — the foundations of strategic leadership.

If Pathfinding shows the path, PathTaking helps you walk it.

Beyond PathTaking: PathBreaking

Some teams want more than a roadmap — they want a strategic partner as they scale. Pathbreaking provides ongoing guidance, decision support, and strategic systems that evolve with your market. It’s long-term, hands-on, and reserved for teams who’ve completed Pathfinding and Pathtaking. If Pathfinding shows the path, and Pathtaking helps you walk it, Pathbreaking helps you stay ahead as the terrain shifts.

Strategic Clarity for Growth-Stage Leaders