Now accepting select engagements  ·  Advisory  ·  Fractional Leadership  ·  PE Portfolio Support

Enterprise depth.
Startup agility.
Strategy to execution.

I work with companies to determine where they need to be, and then get them there.

From global enterprises to PE-backed businesses to early-stage startups, I help leadership teams define the right digital and operational future, build the strategy to reach it, and execute all the way through.

Start a Conversation About Jeff
$360M+EBITDA captured across programs
20+Years driving transformation
7Major enterprise programs delivered
39Countries. One operating model.
$200MEBITDA from a single AI deployment
About
Jeff Barth
Jeff Barth Technology & Operations Executive
Transformation, AI, and Forward-Leading Strategy

Two-thirds big company.
One-third startup.

I’m a technology and operations executive who drives transformation, builds forward-leading capabilities, and leads the organizational change that makes both stick. I’ve spent over two decades doing exactly that at PepsiCo, CHANEL, and Gap Inc. My track record is in capturing value, $360M+ in EBITDA across programs, not just launching initiatives.

I founded InflectionPoint Strategic for two reasons. First, after over 20 years across large global companies, PE-backed businesses, and early-stage startups, I kept seeing the same problems repeat, regardless of industry, size, or how sophisticated the organization was. And I knew exactly how to fix them. Second, I wanted the variety of doing that across different companies and contexts rather than just one. The variety is what makes the work interesting, keeps me learning, and frankly makes me better at it.

My career has taken me across both ends of the spectrum. I began my career as a founder and entrepreneur. When the dot com bubble burst, I moved into large enterprise, PepsiCo, CHANEL, and Gap Inc., where I led major technology and operations programs across global functions. Over time I kept finding ways back to the startup world in between: co-founding Potomac Interactive, one of the early web strategy firms; launching Recommender/Verb, an AI-driven search company that raised $6.5M in venture capital; serving as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of Chicago’s ARCH Development Corporation; and building the complete technology and operations foundation for LifeLines, a wellness startup backed by the founders of Melissa & Doug. What started as circumstance turned out to be a superpower. Working at enterprise scale teaches you how to operate in complexity. Working at the early stage keeps you close to what’s coming next. Most executives have one. I’ve had both.

Today I am actively engaged in the world of AI startups and emerging platforms. I am advising YD3, a student-athlete advancement platform, on technology strategy and operations as their fractional CTO/COO, working with PeakSpan Capital on technology diligence across their portfolio, and engaged in advisory roles with Boardy and Daisy Intelligence. It is hands-on work that keeps me current on what is actually being built and where enterprise technology is heading.

Speaks on AI-enabled transformation and retail modernization at industry conferences.

  • Gap Inc. Head of Digital Transformation Office~$300M EBITDA · AI/ML Inventory Transformation · Enterprise Strategic PMO
  • CHANEL VP, Global HR Systems & Collaboration39 Countries · 180+ Systems Consolidated · $10M+ Workday Transformation
  • PepsiCo Senior Director, Enterprise IT & Collaboration130,000 Employees · 45+ Countries · $2B+ EDI Platform
  • MIT Sloan Executive Program, AI in Business StrategyMIT Sloan School of Management & CSAIL
  • Georgetown Master of Business Administration (MBA)International Business Diplomacy
  • UCLA Bachelor of Arts (BA)Political Science / International Relations
Currently working with
PeakSpan Capital — PE portfolio technology strategy and diligence
YD3 — Fractional CTO/COO, student-athlete advancement platform
Boardy — Strategic advisor, AI networking platform
Daisy Intelligence — AI-driven retail simulation and decision-support
Rube Goldberg Institute — Strategy and digital modernization
Now Accepting Select engagements for 2025
How I Work

I come in, find what needs to happen, and make it happen.

Every engagement starts with a conversation about where you are and where you need to be, not a predefined service package. I work alongside your team, figure out what actually needs to happen, and stay in it until the outcome is real. Here’s what that typically looks like.

01

Technology & Operations Advisory

For companies that know they need to move forward but aren’t sure of the path, or have started moving and aren’t seeing the results, I come in, find what’s actually holding things back, build the operating model and governance that unlocks progress, and surface the opportunities that weren’t on anyone’s list. Technology programs fail for organizational reasons far more often than technical ones. I work on both.

Operating Model Strategic PMO Governance Value Capture Change Management
02

Fractional CTO / CIO / COO

Senior technology and operations leadership, embedded in your team. This puts an experienced executive in the seat, not a consultant on the periphery, without the full-time overhead. I’ve led major programs at large global enterprises and built technology stacks and teams from scratch at the early stage. I bring that full range to every fractional engagement, which means you get the depth and experience of a seasoned executive, focused precisely on what you need, for a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.

Fractional Executive AI Strategy Roadmap Team Building
03

PE Portfolio Support

Operating-level expertise for PE firms and their portfolio companies. Value creation plans need operating engines to execute them. I’ve been in the room on both sides, and I know how to close the gap between the thesis and the outcome.

Value Creation Diligence Portfolio Ops AI Assessment

I work with companies at different stages and scales, from PE-backed businesses to mid-market companies to early-stage startups. If the problem is real and the timing is right, let’s talk.

Point of View

How I see the problem.

Three large-scale programs. Hundreds of millions in value created. And the same patterns showing up every time. Here’s what I’ve concluded.

“

The era of transformation as a program is over. The companies winning right now stopped thinking of it as something with a beginning, middle, and end, and built the permanent operating capability to run it continuously.

On Operating Models

“

The most valuable thing a disciplined operating engine does isn’t fix the problems you already know about. It surfaces the opportunities that were invisible because nobody was asking the right questions.

On Insight & Governance

“

Most companies are asking where can we use AI? That’s the wrong question. The right question is where are the conditions right for AI to actually deliver? The process has to be solid. The data has to be there. And someone has to be willing to challenge the assumption that the way it’s always been done is the way it has to stay.

On AI & Automation

“

The most dangerous assumption in any transformation is the one nobody thought to question. At Gap, nobody asked whether replenishment needed a human team. We asked. $200M in EBITDA followed. The question is always worth asking.

On AI at Enterprise Scale

Video perspective — coming soon

Perspective

The investment was made. The programs ran. Where’s the value?

A direct, four-minute perspective on why transformation investments don’t deliver, and the two specific moves that unlock the value already sitting in your portfolio.

No slides. No jargon. Just a straight answer from someone who has closed that gap three times.

Discuss Your Situation
Get in Touch

The right conversation starts here.

I work with a small number of clients and partners at a time, across company sizes and engagement types. If what you’ve read resonates, reach out.

jbarth@inflectionpointstrategic.com
linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-barth

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