Our Story
Bridging the gap between AI's promise and execution.
Founded by practitioners who've spent over a decade at the forefront of generative AI, The AI Lab helps leaders transform their organizations with confidence.
A decade at the forefront of generative AI
Founder & CEO, Ryan Kurt has spent more than a decade working with generative AI — long before it became a boardroom priority.
Beginning in 2013 at CIA-backed Narrative Science, he worked at the intersection of advanced language generation technology, academic research, and enterprise decision-making. A journey that continued after Salesforce's acquisition and as a founding member of Salesforce's Agentforce team.
Through years of advising CEOs and leadership teams, one pattern became clear: Success with AI wasn't failing because of technology — it was failing because leaders lacked clarity on how to guide people, decisions, and strategy through change.
In February 2023, Ryan founded The AI Lab to close that gap — creating a trusted space for executives to learn, think clearly, and lead AI transformation with confidence.
What We Believe
Our Values
Trust is the product. Everything else is downstream of it.
AI without people would be pointless. People without AI will be less competitive.
We only work with companies trying to do more with more, not more with less.
We don't change organizations. We empower the people inside them to drive their own change.
We move faster than anyone else in the market. If you find someone faster, tell us — so we can learn from them.
We are not here to sell answers. We are here to accelerate understanding — and outcomes. Both matter. Neither is enough without the other.
If a machine can do it, let it. Find the higher-value thing.
Everyone here is a builder. No one is too senior to get their hands dirty.
We aim for a 10x return on every dollar a company spends with us.
The dangers: bureaucracy, ego, selling before serving, sitting still.
Children are not an externality to AI. They are the first stakeholder.
It won't always be pretty. Authenticity over polish.
The People Behind The Lab
Our Team
Callie Cavanaugh
Creative Director
Master's degree in Interaction Design and User Experience. Over a decade of startup experience across branding, product design, and marketing.
Strategic Guidance
Our Advisors
Jennifer Stave, PhD
Chief Operator, Digital Data Design Institute
Harvard Business School
Leading Harvard Business School's AI and business institute, advancing organizational transformation capabilities.
John Winsor
Harvard Fellow
Harvard University
Future of work and AI-driven workforce strategies, examining the intersection of technology, work, and talent.
Nathan Olson
Advisor
The AI Lab
Engineering leader with a background in software development. Shipped multiple production generative AI features, enabling millions dollars per year in capacity gains.
Alex Czurylo
Advisor
The AI Lab
Early adopter of language models, now a leading expert in Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
Jessica Cole
Advisor
The AI Lab
President & CEO at Becker's Healthcare with 10+ years of experience in sales, event and marketing.
One of the rare individuals who has been deep in the generative AI space long before it became the buzzword it is today. He quickly earns the trust of senior executives and serves as a trusted guide in a space filled with noise.
