smith.technology

About Me

I'm a technologist who works in private equity, not the other way around. The work I care most about is helping founder-led businesses treat technology as a genuine growth engine rather than a cost center or an afterthought.

Background

I've spent nearly two decades working at the intersection of infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud, and DevOps. My path has taken me from financial services to cleared national security environments, and now into the private markets, where I help a lower middle-market PE firm and its portfolio companies make better technology decisions.

Most of the companies I work with are founder-led, growth-oriented businesses at a point where technology can either become a real advantage or a very expensive constraint. The founders are usually excellent operators. What they often need is a technology partner who understands the business, the growth thesis, and the underlying stack well enough to connect the dots.

That is where I spend most of my time: evaluating technology during diligence, building platforms that help portfolio companies operate and scale, and leading embedded technology programs that create measurable business outcomes. AI is becoming a bigger part of that work, but I think about it less as a trend and more as infrastructure that needs to be built intentionally.

This site is an extension of that work, but intentionally outside any one company channel. It is a place for me to share what I am seeing across founders, operators, portfolio companies, and practitioners: what is working, what is not, and where I think the most interesting technology opportunities in private markets are starting to emerge.

Focus Areas

  • Technology as a Growth Engine

    Most founder-led businesses treat technology reactively. I'm focused on what it looks like when you flip that, using technology strategy as a proactive lever for growth rather than just operational support.

  • AI Infrastructure for Growing Businesses

    Building production-grade AI systems inside PE-backed companies. Not proofs of concept, but tooling that meaningfully changes how teams work, how decisions get made, and how value gets created.

  • The Enablement Gap in Private Markets

    There's a structural gap between the technology resources available to large enterprises and what most founder-led businesses in the private markets can access. That gap is closeable, and closing it is where the real return is.

Background

Currently

The Acacia Group

2022 – Present

Director, Platform Technology

I currently lead technology strategy for an independent-sponsor private equity group focused on digital transformation and national security. In practice, that means working across the portfolio as a fractional CTO: helping lower middle-market companies make better technology decisions, modernize core systems, and use technology as a practical lever for growth.

A lot of that work starts before a deal closes, through technical diligence and value-creation planning. After close, it becomes more hands-on: cloud migrations, data modernization, identity and access management, cybersecurity, DevOps, product strategy, and the selective use of AI to improve business operations or support new software and IP development. The goal is not technology for its own sake, but building the foundations, workflows, and platforms that help portfolio companies scale more efficiently and create durable enterprise value.

acaciagroup.com

Previously

Before Acacia, I built cloud products at Applied Insight for defense and intelligence programs, delivered applied R&D at MIT Lincoln Laboratory for national security missions, served nine years in the U.S. Army across intelligence, cyberspace, and infantry roles, and started my career in financial services at Merrill Lynch.

Education

  • Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland - College Park

    • Master of Business Administration

    • Graduate Certificate in Technology Management

  • Columbia Business School Executive Education

    • Venture Capital Private Equity Senior Executive Program

  • University of Illinois at Springfield

    • Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

  • Cochise College

    • Associate of Applied Science in Intelligence Operations Studies

Certifications
AWS Solutions Architect Professional AWS Security Specialty (ISC)² CISSP (ISC)² CCSP ISACA CISM ISACA CISA CSA CCSK CompTIA Cloud+ CompTIA Security+ CompTIA Network+ CompTIA A+
View all on Credly
Security Clearance

Details available upon request Current

U.S. Army Veteran

Outside Work

When I am off the clock, I am usually still building something. Tinkering with technology is how I relax. The rest of my time belongs to my family: camping, hiking, and chasing the next trip somewhere new. Good code, fresh air, and a packed bag is about as balanced as I get.