AI consulting for CEOs and boards, without the consulting firm.
SmartCurrent is the AI consulting and advisory practice of Judah Phillips. CEOs, boards, and investors work with one senior operator from the first conversation to the final memo. There is no bench, no associate layer, and no implementation practice waiting behind the advice.
Senior judgment on a specific AI decision.
Most AI consulting is sold as a program: a team, a framework, and a statement of work that grows. The work here starts from the decision in front of you. What to fund. What to build, buy, or refuse. Whether the plan your team presented will hold up in front of the board.
The work covers AI strategy, governance, technology evaluation and selection, operating model, and diligence on AI claims. The deliverable is written judgment you can act on and defend.
Leaders who own the decision.
CEOs who need an outside read on the AI plan before the next board cycle. Boards and committee chairs who want an independent view alongside management's. Private equity and venture investors testing a target's AI claims before investment committee. For firms looking across the companies they own, see AI portfolio optimization for private equity.
It fits best when there is a real decision on the table and a small set of people who will make it.
A consulting firm scales through associates. This does not.
A consulting firm scales through associates, decks, and process. Here the person you speak with first is the person who does the work. The model has a name: a private AI office.
Judah Phillips co-founded, grew, and sold Squark AI to Market Holdings, where he is now Chief AI and Product Officer. He also founded Boston AI Week, America's largest AI festival, and is a Partner at 10X Venture Partners. His view comes from building and running AI inside companies, and from the capital side of the table.
Sized to the decision.
Some engagements are a single written memo. Others are a quarterly retainer with the CEO and chair. A few are multi-month embeds with the executive team ahead of a launch or a transaction. Diligence memos typically turn in one to two weeks from data-room access.
For a standing seat with the executive team, see fractional Chief AI Officer. For the board or the wider team, see AI training. The detail on memos and diligence is under Advisory.
- A consulting firm with a bench, account managers, or a sales team.
- Implementation, staffing, or managed services.
- Running an RFP or a procurement process.
- Generic AI awareness training.
What does an AI consultant do for a CEO or a board?
Reviews the AI plan, the roadmap, and the assumptions leadership will be asked to defend, then gives a written, independent view: what to fund, what to delay, and what to refuse. For a board, that includes the questions directors should be putting to management.
Should we hire an AI consulting firm or one senior advisor?
A firm suits work that needs many hands: large implementations, staffed programs, managed services. One senior advisor suits a decision that needs judgment: a strategy to pressure-test, a governance question, a deal to diligence. SmartCurrent does only the second kind.
How long does an AI consulting engagement take?
It depends on the decision. A diligence memo typically takes one to two weeks from data-room access. Advisory runs as a single memo, a quarterly retainer, or a multi-month embed ahead of a launch or a transaction.
How is the work priced?
By the shape of the engagement, which is set in the first conversation. Nothing is packaged, and nothing is sold from a menu.
Is the work confidential?
Yes. All work is private and in writing. There is no client roster, no logos, no case studies, and no public commentary on engagements.
Where is SmartCurrent based?
SmartCurrent is based in Boston, Massachusetts, and works with companies, investors, boards, founders, and executive teams across markets.
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