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Live webinar July 28: Hear how a CEO saved $180K and led a successful AI culture shift.

Live webinar · July 28, 11AM PDT · 30 min

Advice from a CEO
who successfully launched agentic AI

How automating a simple accounting task resulted in $180K savings

Join Mike Stone, CEO of BD Performing Arts (BDPA), a 68-year-old nonprofit on track for $180K in annual savings from a production AI agent launched in weeks — no platform purchase, no new hire, no seven-figure budget. Mike isn’t a technical CEO; he has an IT team he trusts, clear priorities, and an organization where everyone wears three hats. That combination gave Mike confidence that this project would be a success.

Aaron Suzuki (CEO, Prowess Consulting) sits down with Mike for a candid conversation about executive sponsorship of agentic AI, joined by Julian Lancaster (CISO, Prowess) for the technical questions.

Interested but can’t attend live?

Register anyway for a link to the recording.

You’ll hear a candid CEO’s-eye view including:
  • Why a performing arts nonprofit became an early adopter when you’d least expect it
  • The executive decision that got the agent funded, and the risks Mike weighed
  • The “digestible first problem” they chose (automating transaction data from Excel into QuickBooks) and the ones they passed on
  • What the workflow looked like before, what changed, and the path to $180K in annual savings
  • The operational realities of running an agent in production at a lean nonprofit
Bring your questions

Whether you are an executive considering agentic AI for your organization or a technical sponsor wondering how to get executive support, this is your opportunity to ask questions of a CEO who has successfully implemented AI agents at their organization.

This session is for you if you:
  • Lead operations, IT, or digital at a midsize organization
  • Struggled to move an AI pilot into production
  • Need a clear answer to “What’s our AI plan?”
  • Want practical advice from a CEO who’s done it

Save your seat

Speakers

Mike Stone

Mike Stone is CEO of BD Performing Arts, where he leads the organization's strategy, operations, and growth. In this session, he'll share how his team implemented AI agents, the lessons learned, the cultural changes required, and how the initiative led to approximately $180,000 in annual cost recovery, offering practical insights for leaders looking to move AI from pilot to production.

Aaron Suzuki

Aaron Suzuki

Aaron Suzuki is the Founder and CEO of Prowess Consulting, where he helps organizations implement agentic AI to improve operations and deliver measurable business results. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience building and scaling technology companies, Aaron will share practical strategies for moving AI initiatives from experimentation to real-world impact.

Julian Lancaster

Julian leads Prowess Consulting’s agentic AI practice. Over the last year, he has guided the AI readiness work for organizations ranging from a 68-year-old performing arts nonprofit to a family-owned importer running a 20-year-old ERP. He brings a security-first lens to every engagement, which is the lens most agentic AI conversations are missing.

Aaron Suzuki

Aaron Suzuki

CEO

As founder and CEO of Prowess, Aaron Suzuki has led the organization to become a thriving business filling the important space between technology development and marketing teams with technology, applications, content, and analytics.

Aaron was also the founder and CEO of SmartDeploy, a Seattle-based IT management software company. SmartDeploy simplified the secure configuration and management of business computing endpoints for thousands of customers globally.

Earlier in his career, Aaron served as Director of Business Development at Entirenet, a Seattle-based technical services firm. Before moving to Seattle, Aaron was President of Inetz Media Group, a web application development company based in Salt Lake City.

Aaron holds a B.S. from Brigham Young University and a M.S. from the University of Iowa. An avid cyclist and passionate skier, he also serves on the Board of Directors of Blue Devils Performing Arts, a youth performing arts non-profit.