Fractional CTO · AI Implementation · Operational Excellence
Modernize how your company runs — without the hype, headcount, or risk.
I help 20–200 person industrial and mid-market companies turn manual, fragmented operations into measurable, systemized performance — using AI, automation, and executive-level judgment.
Working with operators in manufacturing, logistics, construction, and specialty services across Northern California.
- 25+ yrs
- technology leadership
- Six Sigma
- Black Belt (DMAIC)
- 24,000+
- systems led at national scale
- AWS
- Certified · cloud practitioner
A career spent building and running systems at scale
You don’t have a technology problem. You have an operations problem.
Most mid-market companies aren’t held back by a lack of tools. They’re held back by work that lives in people’s heads, spreadsheets that don’t talk to each other, and software nobody fully adopted.
Tribal knowledge, not systems
The business runs because a few key people remember how everything works. That’s a ceiling — and a risk.
Shelfware you already paid for
You’ve bought the ERP, the CRM, the tools. Half of it goes unused because it was never fit to how you actually operate.
Everything is still manual
Quotes, orders, scheduling, and handoffs move by email and re-keying. Every step is a place for delay and error.
AI feels urgent but shapeless
You know it matters. What you don’t have is a clear, prioritized view of where it actually pays off in your operation.
Offers
Three ways to work together
A clear path from “where are we losing time and money?” to systems that run without you — and steady hands to keep improving them.
AI & Operational Assessment
fixed-scope engagement
A diagnostic of how your operation actually runs, and a prioritized roadmap of where AI and automation pay off first.
- Operational map: where time, money, and risk accumulate
- Ranked opportunities with expected ROI and effort
- A concrete 90-day and 12-month modernization roadmap
Implementation Sprint
scoped build, weeks not quarters
We build the systems from the roadmap — AI workflows, automation, and integrations wired into how your team already works.
- Automated workflows that remove manual, repetitive steps
- AI applied where it measurably saves time or reduces error
- Dashboards and integrations that connect your existing tools
- Handoff your team can actually run and maintain
Fractional CTO / Advisory Retainer
monthly, cancel anytime
Executive technology ownership without a full-time hire. I own the roadmap and keep your systems compounding in value.
- A technology roadmap that’s owned, not just written
- Vendor, build-vs-buy, and AI decisions made with judgment
- Continuous operational and systems improvement
- A senior technical partner in the room for the big calls
Most engagements begin with an Assessment, then move into a Sprint, then an ongoing retainer. Start wherever fits — a single call sets the direction.
Approach
A simple, low-risk path to a modern operation
No rip-and-replace. No year-long transformation program. We start small, prove value, and expand from there.
- 01
Discovery call
A short, no-pressure conversation to understand your operation, your pain, and whether this is a fit. If it isn’t, I’ll tell you.
- 02
Assessment
A fixed-scope diagnostic that maps how you run today and returns a prioritized, ROI-ranked modernization roadmap.
- 03
Implementation
We build the highest-value systems first — AI workflows, automation, integrations — proven on real work, not slideware.
- 04
Ongoing advisory
Once value is proven, a Fractional CTO retainer keeps the roadmap moving and your systems compounding.
Why me
Executive judgment, not execution labor
You’re not hiring a developer or an agency. You’re hiring a senior technology leader with 25+ years running systems at national scale — accountable for business outcomes, not billable hours.
Enterprise-scale operator
As a Senior Director at Comcast I ran the core streaming video platform — 24,000+ systems across regional and national data centers, 26M+ weekly streams. I know what it takes to keep complex operations reliable — and how to simplify them.
Operational excellence, formalized
A Six Sigma Black Belt, I apply DMAIC, value-stream mapping, and root-cause analysis to find where your operation actually leaks time and money — before adding a single tool.
AI and automation that ship
Through M-LAB I design and ship the real thing — bespoke IoT devices, automation, and real-time monitoring for the factory floor. On one production line, that combination brought defects down 23%. I recommend AI only where it moves a number like that.
Brian Valle
Founder, M-LAB · Fractional CTO
Sacramento · Northern California
About
About Brian Valle
I’m a senior technology executive with 25+ years leading engineering and operations — most recently as a Senior Director at Comcast, responsible for running the core streaming video platform across regional and national data centers: 24,000+ systems serving tens of millions of weekly streams — while partnering with executive leadership on strategy and capital planning.
Today I bring that enterprise discipline to industrial and mid-market companies through M-LAB, my innovation and prototyping lab. I’m a Six Sigma Black Belt and AWS-certified, and I pair formal process improvement with hands-on AI, automation, and bespoke IoT devices to reduce production defects.
I work with a small number of companies at a time so every engagement gets executive attention. If your operation has outgrown spreadsheets and tribal knowledge, that’s exactly the kind of problem I take on.
Common questions
Who is this for?+
Industrial and mid-market companies, roughly 20–200 employees and $5M–$100M in revenue — manufacturing, logistics, construction, and specialty operations businesses. If your growth is capped by manual work and tribal knowledge, you’re the fit.
Do I have to start with the Assessment?+
It’s the recommended first step because it de-risks everything after it — you get a clear, ROI-ranked roadmap before committing to a build. But if you already know the problem, we can scope a Sprint directly.
Are you going to try to replace all our software?+
No. The goal is to make what you have work — connecting tools, automating the manual steps between them, and adding AI only where it earns its place. Rip-and-replace is the last resort, not the plan.
How is this different from hiring a developer or an agency?+
You’re buying executive judgment and ownership of outcomes, not execution hours. I decide what should be built and why, keep it aligned to the business, and stay accountable for the result.
What is M-LAB?+
M-LAB is my innovation and prototyping lab — where AI workflows and automation concepts get validated before they reach your operation. It backs delivery and credibility; you engage me, not the lab.
Prefer to write first?
Tell me about your operation
Not ready to book? Send a note and I’ll reply personally. The more you share about where things are getting stuck, the more useful my first reply will be.
Or email directly: email@brianvalle.com
Find the highest-ROI place to modernize — in one call.
A 30-minute discovery call. We’ll pinpoint where your operation is leaking time and money, and whether AI and automation are the right fix. No pitch, no obligation.