Mohan Rao
AI transformation for tech-enabled services, from a CPO/CTO who sets the AI strategy, builds it into delivery, and proves the result to the sponsor.
I help PE firms and their tech-enabled services businesses turn AI investment into EBITDA — setting the AI strategy, building it into delivery, and proving the result to the sponsor. From a CPO/CTO background, thirty years and five exits into PE-backed companies, with current and recent engagements in finance and accounting, commercial real estate, and technology services. I run my advisory practice as AImplified.
What I Work On
I work with PE operating partners, and the CEOs, COOs and CFOs of their tech-enabled services businesses:
- AI-native product strategy. Reconceiving product, process, and organization in light of what AI makes possible — not bolting AI onto existing ways of working, but asking what becomes possible when AI is the foundation.
- Executive technology oversight. Helping boards and CEOs understand technology as a competitive lever, not a cost center.
- Strategic and technology diligence. For sponsors and boards evaluating companies, assessing technology strategy, leadership capability, and organizational readiness.
- Fractional CPO and CTO leadership. Stepping in during platform transitions, AI transformation programs, or when the gap between product thesis and execution needs to close.
The Craft of Thinking Clearly
Underlying all of this is a discipline I call the craft of thinking clearly. It's not a new idea — it's been a requirement of effective leadership for centuries. But it feels more urgent now, in a world where the pace of change creates constant pressure to decide with incomplete information, where strong opinions backed by plausible reasoning are more common than evidence, and where the complexity of modern systems means our mental models break down more often.
Thinking clearly in these conditions is not natural. It requires discipline, frameworks, intellectual honesty, and the ability to revise your thinking when evidence contradicts it. This is what underpins both the advisory work and what I write about here.
Background
I currently serve as Interim Chief AI Officer at Consero Global, where I orchestrate and validate the company's shift to an agentic operating model. Before that, I co-founded Knownwell and served as Chief Product & Technology Officer, building an AI-native commercial intelligence platform from thesis to enterprise traction. Knownwell was acquired by 2X in 2026. Earlier, I led product and technology organizations at Stream (Wagestream Americas), StreetShares (acquired by MeridianLink), Hobsons (sold to PowerSchool and EAB), Wireless Matrix (acquired by CalAmp), and Career Rewards (acquired by Manpower). I served seven years on the board of Excella, a technology firm serving enterprise and federal clients, and co-hosted the AI Knowhow podcast on AI strategy, transformation, and executive leadership.
I hold an MBA from Pace University's Lubin School of Business and an MS in Computer Science from the University of Bridgeport, with executive programs at Cambridge's Møller Institute, Harvard Business School Online, and William & Mary's Mason School of Business. I'm based in the Washington DC–Baltimore area.
If you're a PE operating partner or the CEO, COO, or CFO of a tech-enabled services business navigating AI transformation, message me on LinkedIn.