Dena Neek

AI Strategy & Embedded Intelligence

Practical AI, Aligned with Your Business

Led by Dena Neek — AI Strategist, Engineer & Entrepreneur
23 years building and exiting companies.
AI Engineer & MBA in Organizational Behavior.
🏆 Judges’ Choice Winner – Chicago AI Innovation Summit 2024
📈 Top 5 Leadership Development Startups in Washington (Ranked #3, March 2025)
💡 3 successful exits. Featured by Techstars. Trusted by founders and PE teams across sectors.

AI isn’t a tool you plug in.
It’s a capability you build—across systems, workflows, and decisions.

But let’s be honest: Most AI conversations today are either too abstract, too technical, or too trend-driven to move the needle. That’s where I come in.

I help growth-stage businesses, operational leaders, and PE-backed firms make AI work in practice—not just in theory.

My approach combines technical depth, business fluency, and two proprietary frameworks—STRATA™ and the Clarity Map™—to turn AI confusion into real capability.

Book a Free Discovery Call

Start With a Strategic Assessment

1-hour private session – $250
Credited toward any future engagement.

This isn’t a sales call—it’s a working session designed to unlock immediate value:

✔️ Clarity Map Alignment
Pinpoint whether your team needs automation, prediction, or augmentation—and how you’ll interact with it (chat, voice, dashboards, or something else).

✔️ Friction & Artifact Scan (from STRATA Layer 1)
Uncover hidden inefficiencies, manual workarounds, outdated processes, and tribal knowledge.

✔️ AI Opportunity Matrix
Identify your top areas for fast, focused wins—based on pain, resistance, trust, and feasibility.

✔️ Use Case Prioritization Plan
Pick the first project with the highest ROI potential—and a clear execution path.

✔️ Build Path Recommendations
Get expert advice on whether to go no-code, low-code, or custom—based on your real capacity.

✔️ Tech Stack Leverage Report
See what you’re already using that can accelerate implementation—and what’s getting in the way.

Book Your Assessment → Here

What I Help With:

  • AI opportunity discovery & roadmap design
  • Workflow and process automation planning
  • Knowledge capture and operational intelligence systems
  • AI team literacy and executive alignment
  • Fractional AI strategy support (non-vendor, non-buzzword)

Services & Ways to Work Together

✔️AI Strategy Sprint (2 Weeks)
Quick clarity. Focused plan. Actionable path.
A time-boxed engagement to identify your best use cases, audit current systems, and build a 90-day AI execution plan.

✔️Fractional AI Strategy
Executive-level guidance, embedded in your ops.
Work with me as your AI strategist-in-residence—supporting you through strategy, build, and change management.

✔️Custom Workshops
Half-day or full-day sessions to align your team, sharpen your strategy, and translate potential into practice. Fully customized using STRATA™ and Clarity Map™.

✔️Implementation Support
When needed, I also serve as an AI Enabler or Fractional CTO, designing and implementing intelligent systems tailored to your ops.
Think: automation flows, knowledge assistants, copilots, and prediction engines.

My Approach The STRATA™ Framework

A six-layer implementation framework for embedding AI in real operations—not as a patch, but as a structural shift.

STRATA guides you from surfacing friction to building intelligent systems into the heartbeat of your business.
It’s not a theoretical model. It’s a scaffold—designed to build, not just brainstorm.

Learn more about STRATA™ → Here

The Clarity Map™

Before you implement anything, you need to decide what kind of intelligence your business actually needs.

The Clarity Map helps you align on:

  • Core Mode (Automation, Prediction, Augmentation)
  • Interaction Type (Chat, Voice, Dashboards, Embedded)
  • Capability Level (From triggers to autonomy)

This is how you skip the fluff and build exactly what fits your team and goals.

Learn more about the Clarity Map™ → Here

Who This Is For:

  • Growth-stage businesses exploring AI for the first time
  • Leadership teams wanting to align AI with strategy
  • Organizations facing knowledge loss, scaling pain, or operational bottlenecks
  • Teams stuck in pilot purgatory or vendor confusion

Ways We Can Work Together:

🟦 AI Strategy Sprint (2 Weeks)
A fast, focused engagement to assess your readiness, define your top use cases, and build a 90-day execution plan.

🟦 Fractional AI Strategy (Ongoing Advisory)
Ongoing support as your AI strategist-in-residence—guiding your team from roadmap to implementation with structured, executive-level insight.

🟦 Custom Workshop (Half-Day or Full-Day)
Hands-on session for your team or leadership group to gain clarity on AI adoption, aligned with the PRISM™ model.

Client Outcomes Include:

  • Reduced chaos through smart automation
  • Clear internal alignment on AI direction
  • Documented systems and operational knowledge retention
  • Focused pilots that lead to measurable ROI

What People Say

Bobby M.

Director of Operations, Mid-Size Transportation Company – Texas

“I used to be deeply skeptical of AI—especially around privacy. Dena broke it down in a way that was clear, respectful, and practical. She helped us understand how to stay in control of our data while using AI tools effectively. It completely changed how we approach tech decisions as a team.”

Ben S.

VP of Strategy, Hospitality Group – Texas

“Before working with Dena, our AI use was limited to writing blog posts and emails. We didn’t realize how much groundwork needed to happen before applying real AI across our organization. Dena helped us get clarity, build readiness, and use xBlock to align our team and processes. Our people are more productive—and actually excited about what’s next.”

Rachel T.

COO, B2B Services Firm – Illinois

“Dena doesn’t just advise on AI—she designs strategy that fits your business. In just a few weeks, she helped us uncover use cases we’d never considered and built a roadmap that made sense for our team and data maturity. We finally had a direction—and avoided wasting months on the wrong tools.”

Let’s Talk

Want to explore what AI could do for your team—without the jargon, overwhelm, or endless vendors?

Send a Message
Book a Free Discovery Call
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