The Goal: Secure a senior leadership position (e.g., “Head of AI Digital Innovation” or equivalent) where you lead the company’s digital transformation in sustainability compliance — with your proprietary SAAS platform as the foundation.
The Asset: A fully functional compliance management
SAAS built over 1 year of thinking and 2 weeks of coding: - 11-table
database schema - 40+ API endpoints
- 5+ frameworks already extracted and loaded - Complete PDF →
Requirements → Tracking → Verification pipeline - Working extraction
methodology (v1.9)
The Challenge: You were hired to build a verification/consulting business line, not to drive digital innovation. The CTIO (Keith Zecchini) owns the “innovation” mandate and doesn’t know you exist.
The Strategy: A disciplined 12-18 month campaign to (1) deliver on your current mandate, (2) build strategic visibility, (3) cultivate Keith as an executive sponsor, and (4) position your SAAS as the digital backbone of the verification practice you’re building.
| Factor | Status |
|---|---|
| Current Role | Building verification/consulting business line |
| Reporting Level | Unknown to senior leadership |
| Time at Company | New employee (< 6 months) |
| Credibility | Not yet established |
| Political Capital | Zero |
| Visibility to Keith | None |
Background: - 30+ years global technology leadership in AEC industry - Led enterprise-wide digital transformations - Responsible for: AI-powered process automation, digital field operations, ERP transformation, M&A technology integration - New to company (also establishing himself)
His Mandate: - Modernize IT infrastructure - Drive AI-powered process automation - Enable digital field operations - Foster “culture of collaborative innovation”
Psychology Assessment: - He needs wins to prove himself - He’s stretched thin across massive scope - Sustainability/verification is likely NOT his focus area - He has budget and authority you don’t have - He probably welcomes innovation that makes him look good without requiring his effort
Risk Profile: - Type A (Danger): Claims credit, blocks threats, territorial - Type B (Ally): Sponsors good ideas, elevates people, shares credit
Your Intelligence Mission: Determine which type Keith is before approaching him.
Your SAAS directly enables Keith’s stated mandate: “AI-powered process automation.”
But you can’t give it to him. You must make him want it, sponsor it, and champion it — while you retain IP ownership and operational control.
Do not deploy, demo, or discuss your SAAS until you have written IP protection in place.
Once the tool touches company work without an agreement: - They can claim it was “developed during employment” - They can argue it was “created for company purposes” - Your leverage disappears
Company acknowledges: - The tool existed before your employment - You retain full ownership - You are choosing to deploy it at the company
Must be signed by someone with authority (General Counsel, HR Director, or Keith himself).
Amendment to employment contract stating: - You will operate your proprietary system to deliver digital compliance services - Ownership of the system remains with you - Critical: Improvements made during employment remain your property
If you leave: - The tool leaves with you - Reasonable transition period (30-60 days) - No non-compete on the tool itself
“Employee has developed a proprietary compliance management system (the ‘System’) prior to employment with Company. Employee agrees to utilize the System in performing services for Company. Company acknowledges that the System, including all intellectual property rights therein, is and shall remain the sole property of Employee. Any enhancements, modifications, or improvements to the System made during employment shall remain Employee’s property. Upon termination of employment for any reason, Employee shall retain all rights to the System. Company data processed through the System shall remain Company property.”
Maintain strict separation to protect your IP claim:
| Company Resources | Your SAAS Development |
|---|---|
| Company laptop | Personal laptop |
| Work hours | Weekends / personal time |
| Company data | Synthetic/demo data only |
| Company email/Slack | Personal communication |
| Company GitHub | Personal GitHub |
| Billable hours | Non-billable hours |
Every commit timestamped outside work hours. Every file on personal machine. No company resources used.
Primary Objective: Become known as someone who delivers results and “gets” digital.
Actions:
Deliver on Your Mandate
Ask Smart Questions
These plant seeds without revealing your hand.
Build Relationships
Develop Your Reputation
What NOT To Do: - Don’t mention your SAAS - Don’t demo anything - Don’t say “I built something” - Don’t discuss AI/digital as if you have special knowledge - Don’t go over your boss’s head
Primary Objective: Get on Keith’s radar as “the verification person who thinks about digital.”
The Visibility Ladder:
| Level | Status | How to Advance |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Keith doesn’t know you exist | ← Start here |
| 1 | Keith has heard your name (positive context) | Your boss mentions you; you’re on a project report |
| 2 | Keith knows what you do, vaguely | You present at a meeting he attends |
| 3 | Keith sees you as competent in your domain | Your work is cited positively |
| 4 | Keith sees you as someone who “gets” digital/AI | You contribute a digital initiative |
| 5 | Keith sees you as someone who could help him | He reaches out or accepts your meeting request |
| 6 | Keith sponsors you | ← Goal |
Tactics to Climb the Ladder:
Primary Objective: Position Keith to champion your SAAS and your expanded role.
Understanding Executive Sponsorship:
A sponsor is different from a mentor: - A mentor gives advice - A sponsor uses their power to advance your career - Sponsors advocate for you in rooms you’re not in - Sponsors take risks on you
What Makes Keith Want to Sponsor You:
| Keith’s Need | How You Fulfill It |
|---|---|
| Needs wins to show the board | Your SAAS is a ready-made “AI-powered process automation” win |
| Stretched thin across huge scope | You execute; he takes credit at exec level |
| Needs innovation happening in the business | You provide it without requiring his effort |
| Needs to show “collaborative innovation” | You’re proof the culture works |
| Needs tangible results, not just strategy | You have working software with clients |
Psychology of Getting Sponsored:
The Approach to Keith:
When you finally have the meeting (after months of groundwork):
“Keith, I’ve been building out the verification practice and I keep hitting the same problem — compliance tracking is manual, evidence is scattered, frameworks are locked in PDFs.
I’ve developed a solution. Built it before I joined, on my own time. It digitizes compliance management — extracts requirements, tracks evidence, creates audit trails.
I wanted to bring it to you first. This could be a win for your innovation strategy. I’m not looking to build an empire — I want to deploy this in my practice and prove it works. If it succeeds, it’s a story you can tell about AI-powered transformation actually shipping.
Before I deploy it, I need us to agree on IP terms. I own the tool, the company benefits from it, and we document that clearly. Then I’m ready to pilot with our first client.”
Primary Objective: Deploy the SAAS with IP protection and demonstrate undeniable value.
Pre-Pilot Requirements: - [ ] IP acknowledgment letter signed - [ ] Client identified for pilot - [ ] Success metrics defined - [ ] Keith’s sponsorship secured
Pilot Execution: 1. Deploy SAAS for one client engagement 2. Document everything: - Time saved (manual vs. digital) - Requirements coverage (20-30 vs. 153) - Client feedback - Evidence trail quality 3. Report results to Keith 4. Get testimonial / case study
Post-Pilot Leverage:
You’re no longer “the new hire with an idea.” You’re “the person with the platform that works.”
| Before Pilot | After Pilot |
|---|---|
| Theoretical value | Proven ROI |
| Asking for trust | Showing results |
| Keith takes a risk | Keith claims a win |
| IP is negotiable | IP is established |
Primary Objective: Formalize your role as digital compliance leader.
The Conversation:
“We’ve now deployed the platform on [X] engagements. Results are [specific metrics]. Clients are asking if this is standard for all our verification work.
I think we need to formalize this. I’m proposing an expanded role where I lead digital compliance delivery — not replacing what I do, but adding this capability. The title might be something like ‘Director of Digital Compliance Solutions’ or ‘Head of AI-Powered Verification.’
I’d report to you or maintain dual reporting. The platform remains my IP as we agreed, and I continue to operate it for the practice.”
Alternative Outcome:
If the company won’t create the role, you now have: - Proven deployment experience - Client case studies - Executive sponsor relationship - A portable asset
You can approach other companies with: > “I built a digital compliance platform. I piloted it at [Company], processed X frameworks, served Y clients. I’m looking for a role where I lead this capability, not just operate it.”
When dealing with organizational politics, assess two dimensions: 1. Power balance — who has more ability to get things done? 2. Goal alignment — are your objectives aligned or opposed?
| Situation | Strategy |
|---|---|
| Goals aligned, you have less power | Influence — help them succeed, make them look good |
| Goals aligned, power is balanced | Collaboration — work together openly |
| Goals opposed, power is balanced | Negotiation — find common ground |
| Goals opposed, they have more power | Avoidance — don’t engage until conditions change |
Your situation with Keith: Goals aligned (you both want innovation wins), he has more power. Strategy = Influence.
Signals Keith is Type B (Potential Ally): - Talks about “we” not “I” - Credits his team publicly - Asks questions rather than making declarations - Has promoted people who weren’t in his direct org - Is curious about ideas from outside IT
Signals Keith is Type A (Danger): - Takes credit for others’ work - Redirects ideas to “his team to evaluate” - Responds to new ideas with “let me think about that” (then nothing) - Has absorbed or killed initiatives that weren’t his - Is defensive when expertise emerges outside his org
Intelligence Gathering Questions: - Ask peers: “What’s Keith like to work with?” - Ask his team: “How does Keith handle ideas from the business?” - Ask veterans: “Has anyone proposed innovation from outside IT? What happened?”
Your boss is a critical variable. They can: - Help: Advocate for you, mention you to Keith, support your visibility - Block: Feel threatened, withhold credit, prevent you from accessing Keith
Tactics:
Use these casually in meetings, conversations, and 1:1s:
| Seed | What It Does |
|---|---|
| “How are we tracking client requirements currently?” | Exposes the gap |
| “What happens when CSRD v2 comes out? We redo everything?” | Highlights the update problem |
| “Are other firms going digital with compliance?” | Creates competitive pressure |
| “How do verifiers actually check 150 requirements in 2 days?” | Names the verification theater |
| “This spreadsheet has 500 rows… there has to be a better way” | Voices pain everyone feels |
| “I keep hearing about AI in verification — anyone looking at that?” | Opens door without walking through |
| Don’t Say | Why |
|---|---|
| “I have a tool that does this” | Reveals your hand too early |
| “I built something” | Creates suspicion |
| “I’ve been thinking about this for a year” | Sounds like you have an agenda |
| “Let me show you something” | Death sentence for IP |
| “My SAAS can solve this” | You’ll never get it back |
All SAAS development must happen: - On personal time (weekends, evenings) - On personal equipment - With personal accounts - Documented with timestamps
| Priority | Item | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | More frameworks (target: 10+) | 5 is good, 10 is undeniable |
| 2 | UI/UX polish | First impressions matter for pilot |
| 3 | Demo environment | Sanitized data, ready to show |
| 4 | Extraction methodology refinement | What we built today → production quality |
| 5 | Client-facing reports | Export capabilities for verification |
| 6 | Single sign-on / security features | Enterprise requirements |
Every weekend session: 1. Git commit with timestamp 2. Brief note of what was built 3. Screenshot of the work 4. All on personal repo
This creates an unbroken chain of evidence: “Built continuously, on my own time, before and during employment.”
Mitigation: - Don’t reveal until you have IP protection in writing - Position it as helping him, not competing with him - Frame as business line tool, not IT initiative - Keep operational control (you run it, not his team)
Mitigation: - Make them look good first - Include them in everything - Position digital as making the team stand out - Share credit generously
Mitigation: - Document pre-employment creation (timestamps, conversations like this one) - Get written acknowledgment before deployment - Maintain strict separation (personal time, personal equipment) - If they won’t acknowledge IP, don’t deploy
Mitigation: - Choose pilot client carefully (friendly, simple use case) - Define success metrics upfront - Have fallback explanations - One failed pilot isn’t fatal; learn and iterate
Mitigation: - Set calendar reminders of the timeline - Have a trusted person (outside company) hold you accountable - Remember: 4-8 months of waiting beats losing your IP forever
In all scenarios, you retain your asset and grow your expertise.
| Month | Phase | Key Actions |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | Establish | Deliver on mandate, build relationships, ask smart questions |
| 4-6 | Build Visibility | Propose small initiatives, write internal brief, get boss advocating |
| 6-8 | Connect to Keith | Get in his orbit, request meeting, listen and learn |
| 8-10 | Cultivate Sponsorship | Position SAAS as his win, negotiate IP terms |
| 10-14 | Pilot | Deploy with protection, document results, prove value |
| 14-18 | Formalize | Propose expanded role, cement position |
To be signed before any deployment.
For internal socialization — highlights the problem and market opportunity without revealing you have the solution.
For Keith — defines scope, success metrics, timeline, and IP terms.
For post-pilot — documents results for internal and external use.
For the formalization conversation — defines title, scope, reporting, and terms.
You built something real. You want to talk about it. You want recognition. You want to deploy it.
And you have to sit on it for months.
But the alternative — revealing too early, losing IP, getting it entangled — is worse.
You’re not starting from zero. You have: - A working product - A year of domain thinking - The ability to execute (you + Claude) - Time to prepare - Patience to play the long game
Most people who want “Head of Innovation” roles have slide decks. You have software.
You’re not waiting. You’re preparing.
Every month of “patience” is: - Another framework added - More UI polish - Deeper domain expertise - More political capital accumulated - Better positioning for the moment
When you surface this, you won’t be asking permission. You’ll be offering a solution they can’t refuse, from someone they already trust.
Document created: January 21, 2026 Status: Strategy defined, execution pending Next review: Monthly check-in against timeline