Which public trails lead to the next legends
Running now. This page refreshes itself every minute. See the people found so far · How they were found
We are testing 455 different ways to discover two kinds of people from public data: executives with the power to decide who are rebuilding their own firm, and billionaires and chief executives trying to change how the world works. Each way in is called a route: a short chain of steps that starts from a public trace and ends at a named person. Each route is run against real sources and measured.
225routes working
447 of 455routes tested
805new people named
53known cases to test against
Where things stand
- What we learned, the decisions for the team and what a standing system would watch are below.
- 447 of 455 routes tested: 225 working, 191 ruled out, 31 stalled, 8 still queued.
- Best route so far for future legends: Route 1, Operating memos: leaders who rewrote how their firm works. It found 3 of 8 held-out known people and 5 new names.
- Best route so far for world transformers: Route 17, Wealth first baseline: rich list to anomalous allocation. It found 7 of 8 held-out known people and 7 new names.
- Early signals: Route 17 (+1 years, 7 cases) fired before the person was publicly recognised.
- Late or same-time signals: Route 18, Route 1, Route 14, Route 10, Route 13. These confirm rather than discover.
- 805 new names passed every check, 19 of them found by more than one route. None was on the reference list. The list is limited to the United States; 64 people found elsewhere are set aside.
- Dead ends so far: Route 102, Marty profile: owner-operators in their own words on podcasts; Route 103, Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the Mid-Atlantic; Route 105, Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in Florida; Route 109, Owner-led service firms: privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms in the Mountain West; Route 11, The Jeremiah Owyang community crossed with Form D and the Kauffman network; Route 111, Owner-led service firms: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the Pacific Northwest; Route 113, Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the Carolinas and Virginia; Route 114, Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in New England and New York; Route 117, Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 123, Owner-led service firms: privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms in the Midwest and Plains; Route 124, Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the West and Mountain states; Route 127, Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the Midwest and Plains; Route 131, Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the West and Mountain states; Route 135, Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the West and Mountain states; Route 141, Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the South and Southeast; Route 142, Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the Midwest and Plains; Route 146, Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the West and Mountain states; Route 151, Owner-led service firms: privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 152, Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the South and Southeast; Route 156, Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the South and Southeast; Route 159, Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the South and Southeast; Route 160, Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the Midwest and Plains; Route 167, Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the South and Southeast; Route 168, Owner-led service firms: employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms in the Midwest and Plains; Route 173, Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the West and Mountain states; Route 174, Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 177, Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the West and Mountain states; Route 179, Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the Midwest and Plains; Route 181, Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 187, Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the Midwest and Plains; Route 188, Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the West and Mountain states; Route 189, Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 191, Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the Midwest and Plains; Route 192, Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the West and Mountain states; Route 195, Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the Midwest and Plains; Route 198, Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the South and Southeast; Route 199, Owner-led service firms: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the West and Mountain states; Route 200, Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 201, Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the South and Southeast; Route 202, Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the Midwest and Plains; Route 203, Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the West and Mountain states; Route 205, Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the South and Southeast; Route 207, Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the West and Mountain states; Route 209, Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the South and Southeast; Route 210, Owner-led service firms: employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms in the Midwest and Plains; Route 212, Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 213, Owner-led service firms: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the South and Southeast; Route 214, Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms in the Midwest and Plains; Route 215, Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the West and Mountain states; Route 217, Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the South and Southeast; Route 219, Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 221, Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the Midwest and Plains; Route 223, Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 226, Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the West and Mountain states; Route 227, Owner-led service firms: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 228, Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms in the South and Southeast; Route 229, Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the Midwest and Plains; Route 230, Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the West and Mountain states; Route 231, Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 232, Owner-led service firms: founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms in the South and Southeast; Route 233, Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the Midwest and Plains; Route 234, Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the West and Mountain states; Route 235, Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 236, Owner-led service firms: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators in the South and Southeast; Route 237, Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the Midwest and Plains; Route 238, Owner-led service firms: employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms in the West and Mountain states; Route 240, Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the Midwest and Plains; Route 241, Owner-led service firms: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the West and Mountain states; Route 243, Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the South and Southeast; Route 244, Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the Midwest and Plains; Route 245, Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the West and Mountain states; Route 248, Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the Midwest and Plains; Route 249, Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the West and Mountain states; Route 250, Owner-led service firms: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 251, Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the South and Southeast; Route 252, Owner-led service firms: employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms in the Midwest and Plains; Route 254, Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 256, Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms in the Midwest and Plains; Route 257, Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the West and Mountain states; Route 261, Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 262, Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the South and Southeast; Route 263, Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the Midwest and Plains; Route 264, Owner-led service firms: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators in the West and Mountain states; Route 265, Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 266, Owner-led service firms: employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms in the South and Southeast; Route 267, Owner-led service firms: privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms in the Midwest and Plains; Route 268, Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the West and Mountain states; Route 269, Owner-led service firms: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 270, Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms in the South and Southeast; Route 271, Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the Midwest and Plains; Route 272, Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the West and Mountain states; Route 273, Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 274, Owner-led service firms: founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms in the South and Southeast; Route 275, Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the Midwest and Plains; Route 276, Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the West and Mountain states; Route 277, Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; Route 278, Owner-led service firms: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators in the South and Southeast; Route 279, Independent service firms: Employee-owned firms: NCEO and ESOP Association stories; Route 283, Independent service firms: Inc. 5000 service firms: marketing, logistics and IT services; Route 284, Independent service firms: Family business awards; Route 286, Independent service firms: Accounting firm leader podcasts and interviews; Route 290, Independent service firms: Staffing and workforce firm founder interviews; Route 291, Independent service firms: Best workplaces in professional services; Route 293, Independent service firms: AI vendor customer stories from mid-size service firms; Route 294, Independent service firms: Vistage and EO member CEO stories; Route 295, Independent service firms: Business journal innovation and Fast 50 awards; Route 296, Independent service firms: Accounting firm innovation lists; Route 297, Independent service firms: Engineering and AEC innovation awards; Route 298, Independent service firms: Insurance agency innovation awards; Route 302, Independent service firms: Security and facility services firms; Route 306, Independent service firms: Home services and remodeling contractors; Route 307, Independent service firms: Forbes and FT company lists, private service firms; Route 308, Independent service firms: Accounting Today Top 100 Most Influential: firm leaders; Route 310, Independent service firms: Event, hospitality and food service contractors; Route 311, Independent service firms: Employee-owned firm podcasts and conferences; Route 312, Independent service firms: Regional Best Places to Work, service firms; Route 313, Independent service firms: Engineering and environmental consultancies; Route 316, Independent service firms: Translation and language service firms, second pass; Route 319, Independent service firms: Architecture and interiors firms, second pass; Route 324, Independent service firms: Independent title, escrow and appraisal firms; Route 325, Independent service firms: Independent research and survey firms; Route 327, Independent service firms: Mutual and reciprocal insurers, third pass; Route 328, Independent service firms: Independent veterinary and dental groups, third pass; Route 329, Independent service firms: Independent physician groups, third pass; Route 330, Independent service firms: Legal innovation awards: midsize firms, third pass; Route 332, Independent service firms: Farm credit and cooperative banks, third pass; Route 333, Independent service firms: Independent pharmacy and home medical groups, third pass; Route 335, Large independent service firms: Top 100 accounting and advisory firms; Route 336, Large independent service firms: Employee-owned engineering and design firms; Route 345, Large independent service firms: Large independent staffing and outsourcing firms; Route 346, Trade press sweep: US construction contractors and engineering firms that changed how the work gets done, firms of 5,000 to 10,000; Route 347, Trade press sweep: US independent marketing, advertising and communications agencies that changed how the work gets done, firms of 5,000 to 10,000; Route 348, Another sweep of Route 46: US senior living, home care and post-acute operators that changed how the work gets done, firms of 5,000 to 10,000; Route 349, Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms, firms of 5,000 to 10,000; Route 351, Third sweep of Route 41: US mid-market chief executives describing in their own words how they rebuilt the firm, firms of 5,000 to 10,000; Route 352, Marty profile: privately held freight brokerage and logistics services firms, firms of 5,000 to 10,000; Route 353, Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed), firms of 5,000 to 10,000; Route 354, Another sweep of Route 43: US boutique consulting, research and advisory firms that changed how the work gets done, firms of 5,000 to 10,000; Route 355, Independent service firms: Security and facility services firms, firms of 5,000 to 10,000; Route 356, Trade press sweep: US real estate brokerages, property managers and mortgage lenders that changed how the work gets done, firms of 5,000 to 10,000; Route 357, Trade press and wire announcements: firms that changed how the work gets done, firms of 5,000 to 10,000; Route 359, Large independent service firms: Employee Ownership 100, later pass; Route 360, Large independent service firms: Forbes largest private companies, service firms, later pass; Route 361, Large independent service firms: Partner-owned consulting and IT services firms, later pass; Route 362, Large independent service firms: Mutual insurers and large credit unions, later pass; Route 363, Large independent service firms: Independent insurance brokers and wealth firms, later pass; Route 364, Large independent service firms: Physician-owned and independent care groups, later pass; Route 365, Large independent service firms: Independent agencies and marketing services, later pass; Route 366, Large independent service firms: Employee-owned and family construction services, later pass; Route 368, Large independent service firms: US Best Managed Companies; Route 369, Large independent service firms: Crain's largest private companies: Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland; Route 371, Large independent service firms: Southern business journals' largest private companies; Route 372, Large independent service firms: Western and Midwestern business journals' largest private companies; Route 373, Large independent service firms: California business journals' largest private companies; Route 374, Large independent service firms: Largest physician-owned medical groups; Route 375, Large independent service firms: ENR Top 600 Specialty Contractors and Top 100 Construction Management firms; Route 376, Large independent service firms: Largest independent architecture and interiors firms; Route 378, Large independent service firms: Largest family-owned service businesses; Route 379, Second sweep: US law firms and legal services businesses led by a chair or founder who redesigned the firm, firms of 5,000 to 10,000, pass 2; Route 38, Trade press sweep: US family-owned and private industrial distributors and wholesalers; Route 382, Large independent service firms: Crain's New York and the Northeast business journals, pass 2; Route 383, Large independent service firms: Largest independent IT services and digital agencies, pass 2; Route 384, Large independent service firms: Am Law 100, firms ranked 1 to 25, firm by firm; Route 387, Large independent service firms: Am Law 100, firms ranked 76 to 100, firm by firm; Route 388, Large independent service firms: Am Law Second Hundred, firm by firm; Route 389, Large independent service firms: Forbes largest private companies, service firms ranked in the top 125, firm by firm; Route 390, Large independent service firms: Forbes largest private companies, service firms ranked 126 to 250, firm by firm; Route 392, Large independent service firms: Top 100 insurance brokers, privately held, firm by firm; Route 393, Large independent service firms: Largest independent agencies and PR firms, firm by firm; Route 394, Large independent service firms: ENR Top 500 Design Firms, employee-owned and private, firm by firm; Route 395, Large independent service firms: Largest management consulting firms, partner-owned, firm by firm; Route 396, Large independent service firms: Largest mutual insurers and fraternal benefit societies, firm by firm; Route 397, Large independent service firms: Largest credit unions, firm by firm; Route 398, Large independent service firms: Black Enterprise BE100s, service firms, firm by firm; Route 399, Large independent service firms: Largest Hispanic-owned firms, firm by firm; Route 401, Large independent service firms: Largest Asian American-founded private service firms, firm by firm; Route 402, Large independent service firms: Native American and tribally owned service enterprises; Route 403, Large independent service firms: Largest home health, hospice and home care operators, independent, firm by firm; Route 404, Large independent service firms: Largest dental, veterinary and therapy groups that are dentist-, vet- or clinician-owned; Route 405, Large independent service firms: Largest behavioral health and autism services providers, independent; Route 408, Large independent service firms: Largest government services and federal contractors, employee- or founder-owned; Route 409, Large independent service firms: Largest environmental, engineering and water services firms, employee-owned; Route 410, Large independent service firms: Largest accounting firms still partner- or employee-owned, firm by firm; Route 411, Large independent service firms: Largest family-owned hospitality and food service management firms; Route 413, Large independent service firms: Largest private real estate services and property managers, firm by firm; Route 415, Large independent service firms: Largest privately held staffing, healthcare staffing and PEO firms, firm by firm; Route 416, Large independent service firms: Largest business journals' private companies: Texas, Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio; Route 417, Large independent service firms: Largest business journals' private companies: Mountain, Plains and Pacific Northwest states; Route 418, Large independent service firms: Forbes America's Best Midsize Employers, service firms, firm by firm; Route 419, Large independent service firms: Forbes America's Best Large Employers, private service firms, firm by firm; Route 42, Trade press sweep: US architecture, interiors and design firms that changed how the work gets done; Route 421, Large independent service firms: Business journals' Most Admired CEOs, large private firms; Route 422, Large independent service firms: Great Place to Work industry lists: health care and professional services; Route 423, Large independent service firms: Great Place to Work industry lists: financial services, insurance and construction; Route 425, Large independent service firms: ESOP Association and S Corp ESOP award winners; Route 426, Large independent service firms: Inc. 5000 honorees that grew past 1,000 employees; Route 427, Large independent service firms: Fast Company Most Innovative Companies, private service firms; Route 428, Large independent service firms: RealTrends largest independent real estate brokerages; Route 429, Large independent service firms: Largest third-party administrators and claims services firms; Route 430, Large independent service firms: Largest privately held facilities, janitorial and security services firms; Route 431, Large independent service firms: Largest mutual banks and savings institutions; Route 432, Large independent service firms: Largest certified B Corp service companies in the US; Route 433, Large independent service firms: Accounting Today Best Firms to Work For, large category; Route 434, Large independent service firms: ENR and Zweig Group Best Firms to Work For, large firms; Route 436, Large independent service firms: Ad Age A-List and PRWeek Agency of the Year, independents; Route 437, Large independent service firms: Modern Healthcare Best Places to Work, independent providers; Route 438, Large independent service firms: Fortune Best Workplaces for Women, private service firms; Route 439, Large independent service firms: Women-led largest private firms: Forbes, Crain's and business journal profiles; Route 44, Trade press sweep: US employee benefits brokers, PEOs and third-party administrators that changed how the work gets done; Route 440, Large independent service firms: Diverse-owned firms: NMSDC and supplier diversity awards, large service firms; Route 441, Large independent service firms: Veteran-owned largest service firms; Route 442, Large independent service firms: Largest private laboratory, imaging and diagnostic services firms; Route 443, Large independent service firms: Largest independent engineering and IT staffing for government and utilities; Route 444, Large independent service firms: Largest private translation, localization and language services firms; Route 445, Large independent service firms: Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For, private service firms, pass 2, pass 3; Route 446, Large independent service firms: Am Law 100, firms ranked 26 to 50, firm by firm, pass 2; Route 447, Large independent service firms: Am Law 100, firms ranked 51 to 75, firm by firm, pass 2; Route 450, Large independent service firms: Largest independent senior living operators, firm by firm, pass 2; Route 85, Marty profile: independent wealth management and RIA founders; Route 86, Marty profile: multi-family offices, trust companies and outsourced CIO firms; Route 90, Marty profile: Vistage, EO and YPO member chief executives; Route 92, Marty profile: family business leaders who rebuilt the family firm.
- Review: 869 people have been through a deliberate attempt to knock them down. 442 stood, 10 left an open question, 417 were knocked down. See who and why.
Running now
| Route 451: Large independent service firms: Largest education and childcare service providers, private, pass 2 | 10 sources pulled | 7 min |
| Route 454: Large independent service firms: EY Entrepreneur Of The Year US winners, firm by firm, pass 2 | 25 sources pulled | 4 min |
| Route 455: Large independent service firms: Top Workplaces USA, large category, pass 2 | 22 sources pulled | 3 min |
| Route 448: Large independent service firms: Largest independent wealth and asset managers by headcount, firm by firm, pass 2 | 22 sources pulled, 2 names drafted, attempt 2 | 3 min |
| Route 449: Large independent service firms: Largest women-owned and women-led private firms, firm by firm, pass 2 | 34 sources pulled, 1 name drafted, attempt 2 | 0 min |
| Route 452: Large independent service firms: Largest private trucking, logistics and transportation services firms, family-owned, pass 2 | 12 sources pulled, 1 name drafted, attempt 2 | 0 min |
The routes
Known found: held-out, already-recognised people the route found, out of those it was asked about. New names: people not on the reference list who passed every check. Lead: median years the route's signal came before public recognition. Trait fit: share of the four traits evidenced per new name.
New names so far
Four squares are the four traits, in order: thinks from first principles, wants to transform, enjoys it, can make it happen. A filled square means a checked quote supports it.
| Person | Traits | Found by |
|---|---|---|
| Rodney Chester Gresham Smith | Route 26, Route 122, Route 171 | |
| Jonathan Neman Sweetgreen | Route 3, Route 48 | |
| Carla McCall AAFCPAs, Boston area; Top 100 CPA and consulting firm, partner-owned Certified B Corporation | Route 87, Route 292 | |
| Greg Siskind Siskind Susser, PC (Memphis immigration firm) and Visalaw.ai | Route 64, Route 72 | |
| Chad Nixon McFarland-Johnson, Inc. | Route 91, Route 95 | |
| Dave Kievet The Boldt Group (Appleton, Wis., 100% employee-owned contractor, 18 US offices) | Route 69, Route 108 | |
| Greg Roderick Frontier Senior Living (formerly Frontier Management; Dallas, Texas; 25 to 32 managed senior living communities; founded by Roderick in 2000) | Route 82, Route 106 | |
| Jamie Lawless Husch Blackwell LLP (Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri; national law firm partnership, nearly 2,000 partners, attorneys and business professionals; owns Husch Blackwell Consulting) | Route 153, Route 307 | |
| Nicholas Grosso The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics (physician-owned orthopaedic group, Bethesda, Maryland) and MedVanta (its physician-owned MSO) | Route 68, Route 193 | |
| Terry Rasmussen Thrivent (Minneapolis and Appleton; member-owned fraternal benefit society, about 4,500 corporate employees; Thrivent Bank opened June 2025) | Route 340, Route 341 | |
| James Barlow BZI (Building Zone Industries, Kanarraville and Cedar City, Utah; steel erection, fabrication and wall contractor founded in 2006 by farm-family brothers and cousins; 800+ workers; ownership split not published, no outside investor named) | Route 150, Route 199 | |
| Josh Miller Epique Realty / EpiqueX | Route 36, Route 78 | |
| Kathy Bloomgarden Ruder Finn (independent global communications agency, New York) | Route 34, Route 73 | |
| Romesh Wadhwani SAIGroup / Symphony AI; Wadhwani Foundation | Route 8, Route 14 | |
| Sam Sidhu Customers Bancorp (Customers Bank) | Route 28, Route 65 | |
| Fahad Hassan Range | Route 20, Route 155 | |
| Nasser Abujbarah Phillips Law Group (Phoenix personal injury firm, family-owned) | Route 72, Route 75 | |
| Tommy Stalvey Ace Electric Inc. (Valdosta, Georgia; family-owned electrical contractor, 1,000+ employees; co-president with his cousin Rob Stalvey, Bobby Stalvey chairman) | Route 175, Route 182 | |
| Mal Vivek zeb | Route 29, Route 73 | |
| Bill Dean M.C. Dean, Inc. (Tysons, Virginia; family-owned design-build electrical and systems integration contractor, more than 9,000 professionals per its Jan 2026 release) | Route 366 | |
| Atal Bansal Chetu (Sunrise, Florida; founder-led custom software development and IT services firm; nearly 2,800 software experts per its April 2025 release; grown without outside capital) | Route 116 | |
| Benjamin Lieber Potomac Law Group PLLC (Washington, DC national law firm, 175 lawyers in 25 states, founder-led, all-remote since 2011) | Route 309 | |
| Eric McCrath Morrison Foerster (San Francisco, partner-owned law firm; 1,000+ lawyers) | Route 139 | |
| Greg White PepperPointe Partnerships (Lexington, KY; doctor-owned and doctor-controlled DSO, 115+ offices, 1,000+ team members) | Route 303 | |
| James B. Rutland MMR Group Inc. (Baton Rouge, Louisiana; founder-led, privately owned electrical and instrumentation contractor, 5,500 employees) | Route 344 | |
| Jeffrey Higgins Gunderson Dettmer (Silicon Valley, partner-owned law firm; 129 partners and 157 associates) | Route 139 | |
| Kelly Ferguson Meyocks (West Des Moines, IA; independent branding and marketing agency, AMIN Worldwide member) | Route 138 | |
| Nir Bar Dea Bridgewater Associates (Westport CT; private, employee-owned since founder Ray Dalio ceded control in 2022; about 1,300 to 1,715 staff) | Route 391 | |
| Tim Gabel RTI International (Research Triangle Park NC; independent nonprofit research institute serving government and commercial clients, no owner above the CEO; 6,000 staff on the Forbes 2025 list, cut by about 35% in 2025 per WRAL) | Route 419 | |
| Adam Kaplan Solera Senior Living (Denver, Colorado; founded 2016 as an owner-operator, 14 communities in nine states in 2025) | Route 120 | |
| Ahmed Zaidi Accelirate Inc. (Sunrise, Florida; co-founded 2016; AI-enabled automation services and UiPath Diamond Partner; privately held per directory listings, ownership split not published) | Route 190 | |
| Alan Ogilvie Church Mutual Insurance Company, S.I. (Merrill, Wisconsin; owned by the policyholders through a mutual holding company formed 1/1/20; 1,150 employees; E&S arm CM Vantage) | Route 315 | |
| Alyson Watson Woodard & Curran (Portland, Maine; privately held, employee-owned water and environmental engineering, operations and design-build firm founded 1979; 1,300+ employees) | Route 313 | |
| Andrew Elsener Spot (Spot Freight Inc., founder-owned 3PL and freight brokerage, Indianapolis; about 589 staff per Transport Topics 2025) and its wholly owned technology arm Red Technologies | Route 100 | |
| Anil Sharma 22nd Century Technologies (TSCTI), McLean, Virginia; founder-led government IT services integrator, 6,000+ employees | Route 420 | |
| Anthony Consigli Consigli Construction Co. (Milford, Massachusetts; 100% employee-owned construction manager, 2,600+ staff) | Route 129 | |
| Anthony E. Mann E-J Electric Installation Co. (Long Island City, New York; family-owned electrical contractor since 1899, 1,800+ staff) | Route 129 | |
| AP Grover GSPANN Technologies (Milpitas, CA; founded 2004 by AP Grover and Nav Grover; unfunded and founder-owned; about 2,300 employees) | Route 260 | |
| Aric Manion Kelley Create (formerly Kelley Imaging, then Kelley Connect; Medford, OR; family-owned office technology and managed IT firm, 500+ staff) | Route 158 | |
| Barron Guss ALTRES (Honolulu, Hawaii; family-owned since 1969, third generation; staffing, simplicityHR PEO, ALTRES Medical, home care and the proprietary HR Symphony HRIS; 200+ in-house staff) | Route 253 | |
| Ben Mathis Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP (FMG Law; Atlanta-headquartered litigation firm, 500 to 600 attorneys in 40 offices; partnership, co-founded 1997) | Route 104 | |
| Ben Vallier The Iowa Clinic, P.C. (West Des Moines, Iowa; physician-owned multispecialty group, about 1,237 employees per Revelio Labs, March 2026) | Route 119 | |
| Bill Perry Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, P.A. (West Palm Beach, Florida; more than 320 attorneys and consultants and 300 support staff; shareholder-owned professional association) | Route 104 | |
| Brad Arends intellicents | Route 285 | |
| Brandon Powell HatchWorks AI (Atlanta, Georgia; founder-led AI and nearshore software development services firm, HatchWorks LLC; 101 to 200 staff per directory listings, over 100 by 2020 per Nearshore Americas; offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Costa Rica, Colombia and Peru) | Route 116 | |
| Brian Dainis Curotec (Philadelphia and Newtown Square, PA; software and AI consulting firm founded 2010; 120+ people; privately held; Inc. 5000 2023-2026) | Route 281 | |
| Bruce Taylor Taylor Farms (Taylor Fresh Foods), Salinas, California | Route 51 | |
| Byron Jobe Vizient, Inc. (Irving, Texas; member-owned health care performance improvement, sourcing and advisory services company; over 4,000 employees per Wikipedia; Fortune 100 Best 2023 No. 45 and 2024 No. 52) | Route 367 | |
| Casey Hite Aeroflow Health (co-founded with his brother, privately held, Asheville NC, 1,000+ employees) | Route 323 | |
| Celia C. Flowers East Texas Title Companies dba RecordsOnline, with Flowers Davis PLLC and East Texas Tax & Land Services (Tyler, Texas; owner-operated title, closing and title-plant group) | Route 126 | |
| Chris Balch Holland & Hart LLP (Denver, partner-owned, 500+ lawyers in 14 offices) | Route 139 | |
| Chris Hoffmann Hoffmann Brothers (St. Louis, Missouri; family-owned HVAC, plumbing, electrical and appliance service firm, 400+ staff in 2024) | Route 259 | |
| Chris Hollister Pegasus Senior Living (Grapevine, Texas; co-founded 2018, 50+ communities; 2,200 U.S. employees per GPTW; ASHA 50 2025 rank 50) | Route 406 | |
| Dale R. Hedrick Hedrick Brothers Construction (West Palm Beach; privately owned general contractor he founded in 1979, 200+ employees; also CEO of the owned arm Hedrick Brothers Environmental) | Route 224 | |
| Dan Keough Holmes Murphy (Waukee, Iowa; employee-owned, privately held insurance broker, 1,400+ employees) | Route 149 | |
| Dan Starr Do it Best Corp. (Fort Wayne, Indiana; member-owned hardware, lumber and building materials purchasing cooperative, about 1,700 employees in Oct 2024 before adding its True Value subsidiary) | Route 414 | |
| Daniel Berman Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman LLP (WSHB; Los Angeles-founded litigation defense firm, co-founded 1997, over 550 attorneys in more than 40 offices, partner-owned, all organic growth) | Route 309 | |
| David Bolt GMB (Holland, Michigan; planning, architecture, engineering and marketing firm for schools and universities, founded 1968; 100% employee-owned; about 200 staff per Crain's Grand Rapids, 2025) | Route 305 | |
| David Russian Western Washington Medical Group (WWMG; Everett, Washington; independent multispecialty group of 100+ providers in 20+ specialties; providers own the company) | Route 165 | |
| Dean Allen McKinstry (Seattle, WA) | Route 143 | |
| Doug Jaeger Ulteig (Fargo, N.D.; 100% employee-owned infrastructure engineering and consulting firm) | Route 108 | |
| Drew Andrews Whittlesey (Hartford, Connecticut), Connecticut's largest independent CPA firm, about 170 employees | Route 117 | |
| Dwayne Clark Aegis Living (Bellevue, Washington; 37 assisted living and memory care communities in WA, CA, NV; privately held, founded 1997) | Route 60 | |
| Eric Ayzenberg Ayzenberg Group (a.network), Pasadena, California | Route 184 | |
| Eric Fortmeyer Circle Logistics (privately held freight brokerage and 3PL, Fort Wayne, Indiana; about 750 staff per Transport Topics 2025) | Route 100 | |
| Erik Huberman Hawke Media, Santa Monica, California | Route 184 | |
| Evan Williams Obvious Ventures (Obvious Ventures V, L.P.) | Route 74 | |
| Fee Stubblefield The Springs Living (McMinnville, Oregon; owns and operates 20 senior living communities in Oregon, Washington and Montana; founded by Stubblefield in 1996) | Route 93 | |
| Garrett Mehrguth Directive (Directive Consulting), Irvine, California | Route 184 | |
| Gary Vaynerchuk VaynerX (privately held parent of VaynerMedia, ChukMedia, Gallery Media Group and Tamara Group; nearly 2,500 employees; New York) | Route 343 | |
| Gregg Eisenberg Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP (Cleveland, Ohio; partner-owned law firm, nearly 450 attorneys in January 2025) | Route 206 | |
| Harold Edwards Limoneira Company (Santa Paula, California; Nasdaq LMNR, small-cap citrus and avocado grower) | Route 63 | |
| Henry Gibbel Lititz Mutual Insurance Company (Lititz, Pennsylvania; policyholder-owned property casualty mutual organized in 1888, flagship of a group of mutuals, about 70,000 policyholders in 8 states) | Route 315 | |
| Hoby Hanna Howard Hanna Real Estate Services (Pittsburgh, PA; family-owned, privately held residential brokerage with mortgage, title and insurance arms, about 12,000 agents) | Route 140 | |
| Isaac Scott Anthem Memory Care (Lake Oswego / West Linn, Oregon; founder-led memory care developer and operator, 19 communities in nine states) | Route 120 | |
| Jay Mueller Camargo Insurance (third-generation independent agency, Cincinnati, Ohio) | Route 67 | |
| JD Powers Powers Insurance & Risk Management (St. Louis, Missouri; family-owned independent agency, 74 staff with its sister agency in 2023) | Route 149 | |
| Jean Hynes Wellington Management (Boston; private partnership; Employees 3,000+ per InvestmentNews) | Route 391 | |
| Jed McCaleb Astera Institute; Vast | Route 18 | |
| Jeff Arnold RIGHTSURE (independent personal-lines agency, Arizona, licensed in 42 states) | Route 67 | |
| Jeffrey Herzog Avenue Z, Miami, Florida; founder-led, privately held marketing, PR and AI search optimization agency, about 100 staff (2023), sole owner since 2025 | Route 152 | |
| Jeremy Langevin Horizontal Talent (Minneapolis; privately held, NMSDC-certified minority-owned IT and professional staffing firm co-founded in 2003, about 2,100 global employees including consultants) | Route 183 | |
| Jerry W. Thomas Decision Analyst (Arlington, TX; employee-owned marketing research and analytics firm, founded 1978) | Route 213 | |
| Jesse Marinko Phoenix Senior Living (Roswell, Georgia; privately held operator of 55 assisted living and memory care communities in 10 Southeastern and Southern states; 2,812 associates at end of 2025; founded by Marinko in 2014) | Route 148 | |
| Jimmy Hiller Hiller Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electrical (Nashville, Tennessee; founder-owned residential home services, 900+ associates, 20 locations) | Route 175 | |
| Joel Theisen Lifespark (St. Louis Park, Minnesota; senior living manager of about 50 communities plus home health, geriatric medical practice and hospice; founder-led since 2004) | Route 82 | |
| John Ness ODW Logistics (Ness family-owned 3PL, Columbus, Ohio; about 1,200 staff in 2018; $416M gross revenue 2025) | Route 142 | |
| John Steckel AMERICAN SYSTEMS (100% employee-owned through an ESOP), Chantilly, Virginia | Route 377 | |
| John Waldron Goldman Sachs | Route 76 | |
| Jon Ballis Kirkland & Ellis | Route 32 | |
| Justin Heiser Thrifty White Pharmacy (Thrifty White Health), 100% employee-owned, 1,800+ employees | Route 323 | |
| Kevin Lauri Jackson Lewis P.C. (New York; principal-owned professional corporation, national labor and employment firm, 1,100+ attorneys in 60+ offices, so over 1,000 people on attorneys alone) | Route 358 | |
| Kip Hollister The Hollister Group (formerly Hollister Staffing; Boston, Massachusetts; women-owned staffing and culture consultancy founded 1988) | Route 151 | |
| Kyle Johnson Leonard's Express (Farmington, NY) | Route 216 | |
| Kyle Shen Nexceris | Route 52 | |
| Larry English Centric Consulting (Dayton, Ohio; 1,400 employees in 14 locations; co-founder-led business and technology consulting firm) | Route 98 | |
| Lorie Almon Seyfarth Shaw LLP (Chicago-founded, partner-owned law firm; crossed 1,000 attorneys in 2025-2026 per Chambers Associate) | Route 287 | |
| Luke Palen Spectro Alloys (EGA Spectro Alloys since 2024; Rosemount, Minnesota; about 150 employees) | Route 61 | |
| Lynne Katzmann Juniper Communities (Bloomfield, New Jersey; 28 senior living communities in five states, owns all but six; founder-led since 1988) | Route 60 | |
| Marcelo Claure Bicycle Capital (Bicycle I, L.P.); Claure Group | Route 74 | |
| Mark McKinney Jackson County REMC (Brownstown, Indiana; member-owned rural electric cooperative with a fiber division and the Jackson Solutions LLC subsidiary) | Route 331 | |
| Mark Rodgers Trailstone Insurance Group (independent agency, Littleton, Colorado; 67 staff in seven states) | Route 67 | |
| Michael Cruz Foresight Insurance, LLC (independent agency, North Bethesda, Maryland) | Route 67 | |
| Michael Pierson Pierson Ferdinand LLP | Route 64 | |
| Michael Polsky Invenergy; Energize Capital (Energize Ventures Fund III) | Route 74 | |
| Michael Rosen Commercial Cleaning Corporation (Trenton, New Jersey; janitorial and building maintenance across NJ, DE, PA and MD; founded 1927) | Route 115 | |
| Mike Jansen Faith Technologies Incorporated (Menasha, Wisconsin; employee-owned electrical and specialty systems contractor) | Route 157 | |
| Mike Payne Hill Manufacturing and Fabrication, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma | Route 37 | |
| Mike Saoud FreezPak Logistics | Route 258 | |
| Moish Peltz Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP (FRB; Rockville Centre, NY, partner-owned law firm founded 2018, 75+ attorneys, offices in NY, NJ, CT, FL, TX, DC) | Route 178 | |
| Myla Ramos SearchPros Solutions (SearchPros Staffing; Sacramento, California; co-founded 2005 by Ramos with two partners; certified 8(a), woman- and minority-owned; staffing, MSP and workforce management; 1,800 contract workers in 40 states per SF State Magazine; internal headcount not published) | Route 253 | |
| Neil Morrell MagMutual Insurance Company (Atlanta, Georgia; the largest US mutual medical professional liability carrier, owned by its PolicyOwners) | Route 300 | |
| Nick Shah Peterson Technology Partners (PTP), Chicago and Park Ridge, Illinois; IT staffing and recruiting firm he founded in 1997, 350+ employees | Route 183 | |
| Peter Mallouk Creative Planning (Overland Park, Kansas; independent RIA with in-house CPAs and attorneys, over 1,500 employees per InvestmentNews; Mallouk holds the majority stake, General Atlantic (2020) and TPG (2024) hold minority stakes) | Route 341 | |
| Phil Fogg Jr. Marquis Companies (Milwaukie, Oregon; founder-led, family-run skilled nursing, assisted and independent living, home health and home care operator, 22 campuses in Oregon, California and Nevada, 4,000+ employees; owns the AgeRight Advantage I-SNP and sister company Consonus Healthcare) | Route 180 | |
| Phil Friedman Computer Generated Solutions (CGS), New York | Route 377 | |
| Phil Shawe TransPerfect (New York; billed revenue 1.32 billion dollars in 2025) | Route 78 | |
| R. Max Crane Sills Cummis & Gross P.C. (Newark, New Jersey; independent professional corporation, offices in New Jersey, New York and Florida; 2025 New Jersey Legal Awards Law Firm of the Year finalist) | Route 320 | |
| Rajesh Sinha Fulcrum Digital (New York, NY; IT services and enterprise AI; founded 1999) | Route 162 | |
| Ralph Thomas Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI), San Diego casino analytics software firm, privately held, co-founded 2020 | Route 70 |
How a name earns its place
- The name must appear in data the route actually pulled, not come from memory.
- A checked quote must show the person can make it happen: their role, their control or their wealth.
- A checked quote must show they acted: a costly step, not a statement.
- A second quote must back it up on a different page.
- A program opens every cited page and confirms the quoted words are on it. Quotes it cannot find do not count.
- The full method: sources, steps, the seven conditions and the six checks on each route
Route by route
Route 1: Operating memos: leaders who rewrote how their firm works
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised. Observed: about the same time
The steps we take
- Search public discussion and news indexes, and published collections of these memos, for the memo language.
- Open the memo or the report on it and take the firm and the author.
- Find later reporting or the firm's own posts showing the firm made the change, with dates and numbers.
- Confirm the author's role in the company's proxy statement or leadership page.
Found 3 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · signal led recognition by a median 0 years (3 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: open api
Verdict revised. GDELT DOC 2.0 returned 429 on every attempt this run (shared IP with parallel workers; it asks for one request per 5 seconds). Hacker News Algolia works but memo queries return famous CEOs already in the reference list. The route works when the spine is a curated memo compilation or roundup (the-ai-native.company, every.to) found through HN, plus trade press for non-tech firms (Skift). Revised: HN finds the compilations, compilations name the authors, trade press and the firm's own blog prove the change.
Sources: GDELT DOC 2.0 API; Hacker News Algolia search API; company blogs and newsrooms; SEC EDGAR DEF 14A for role
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- memo language through Hacker News Algolia search API (GDELT DOC API when not rate limited) gives story or memo compilation URL (joined on story url)
- story or compilation through the compilation page, the trade press article, or the firm's own blog gives firm and named memo author (joined on author name plus firm name in the article)
- firm and author through follow-up reporting with numbers, the firm's blog, a later interview gives proof the change was carried out (joined on firm name plus change keyword (squads, agents, leaderboard, committee))
- person through DEF 14A, official leadership or speaker page, or the author byline on the firm's own blog gives power check (joined on person name plus title)
New names that passed every check
- Will England, Walleye Capital executive, United States
Rebuilding a 400-person hedge fund around AI by making AI fluency a job requirement in every function, backed by leaderboards and cash bounties.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Will England - Managing Partner, CEO and CIO of Walleye Capital Will sets the strategic direction at Walleye , overseeing strategy allocation, risk, and talent.” source
- What they did 2025 “Walleye Capital’s England turns adoption into a competitive sport: $25,000 bounties for tool suggestions, public leaderboards with "real cash prizes," weekly meetups.” source
- What they did 2025 “Walleye runs AI meetups, tool leaderboards, and incentive systems to normalize experimentation, making adoption social rather than top-down.” source
- What they said 2025 “England shares how he uses LLMs to write memos and evaluate risk with his team, as well as his larger vision for turning Walleye’s institutional knowledge into a living, searchable intelligence system.” source
- Ivan Zhao, Notion ceo, United States
Redesigning how a software firm is staffed by putting AI agents into the org chart alongside its employees.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Published December 22, 2025 in Inspiration Steam, Steel, and Infinite Minds By Ivan Zhao Co-founder & CEO Share this post Every era is shaped by its miracle material.” source
- What they did 2025 “Then backed it up: 700 AI agents now work alongside Notion's 1,000 employees. Revenue crossed $500 million.” source
- What they said 2025 “I don't have all the answers on what comes next. But I like to play with a few historical metaphors to think about how AI can work at different scales, from individuals to organizations to whole economies.” source
- Eddie Wu, Alibaba Group ceo, China
Reorganising Alibaba around AI, with the CEO personally running a new group-level AI technology committee.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Chief executive officer Eddie Wu announced the reshuffle on Wednesday, taking the helm of the new committee while tapping Li Feifei to lead cloud technology and AI infrastructure.” source
- What they did 2026 “has created a new group-level technology committee focused on artificial intelligence and named a new chief technology officer for its cloud computing unit.” source
- What they said 2025 “In his first letter as CEO, Wu called for Alibaba to return to startup mindset with two strategic priorities: "user first" and "AI-driven." Then committed $53 billion to AI infrastructure over three years.” source
- Shilpa Ranganathan, Expedia Group executive, United States
Reorganising Expedia's roughly 8,000-person product and technology group into small AI-focused squads embedded under each brand.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Shilpa Ranganathan Chief Product Officer Expedia Group Shilpa Ranganathan serves as the Chief Product Officer at Expedia Group, leading the company’s global product and design teams.” source
- What they did 2026 “Chief Product Officer Shilpa Ranganathan and CTO Ramana Thumu framed the change as a response to AI radically compressing work timelines, moving the company toward small, autonomous, cross-functional "end-to-end squads" embedded directly under brand product leaders to reduce handoffs and coordination overhead.” source
- What they said 2026 “When deciding whether to build, partner, or acquire AI capabilities, Expedia Group Chief Product and Technology Officer Shilpa Ranganathan has a clear rule: anything that touches customer data is a build.” source
- Ramana Thumu, Expedia Group executive, United States
Rebuilding Expedia's engineering organisation around AI: small squads, a study of how 5,000 engineers use coding assistants, and hiring to spread the top performers' methods.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Ramana Thumu serves as the Chief Technology Officer at Expedia Group, leading the company’s global technology organization.” source
- What they did 2026 “Chief Product Officer Shilpa Ranganathan and CTO Ramana Thumu framed the change as a response to AI radically compressing work timelines, moving the company toward small, autonomous, cross-functional "end-to-end squads" embedded directly under brand product leaders to reduce handoffs and coordination overhead.” source
- What they did 2026 “In an interview with Skift, Chief Technology Officer Ramana Thumu said Expedia spent nine months studying how its 5,000 engineers use frontier coding assistants and identifying top performers.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Found Yvon Chouinard (signal in 2022) HN search 'Patagonia Earth only shareholder' returns the letter on patagonia.com (126 points, 2022). The published letter changes who owns the firm. Ownership,
- Missed Ricardo Semler HN has 2008 to 2015 retrospectives on Semco's participative management (37signals, strategy-business, TED), but no memo or dated change. His changes date from t
- Missed Andrew Forrest HN returns one 2021 NYT feature on Fortescue's green push. No memo or letter changing how Fortescue is organised or staffed surfaced.
- Found Luis von Ahn (signal in 2025) The April 2025 AI-first memo is the top HN 'AI-first' story (459 points) and is in both memo compilations.
- Missed Piyush Gupta HN 'Piyush Gupta' matches other people; 'DBS bank digital Gupta' returns 0. DBS's transformation is not documented as a memo in these sources.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani HN covers Jio and the 2021 green energy push, which are AGM announcements about markets, not a memo changing how Reliance is organised.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya HN returns profiles (Bloomberg 2020, TED 2019). 'Chobani employees shares' returns 0; the 2016 employee share grant was not found as a memo through this route.
- Found Vas Narasimhan (signal in 2019) HN 'Novartis unbossed' returns the CNBC 2019 piece. A conference statement plus a funded leadership program, not a memo; counted as a hit because the route's so
Route 2: Operating-model change in SEC filings
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: a structural commitment that is hard to undo
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read the SEC's feed of newly filed 8-K (a notice of a major company event) notices (a company's report of a major event).
- Keep the ones reporting restructuring costs (Item 2.05) whose text describes a new operating model.
- Open the attached press release or shareholder letter and take the executive quoted as owning the change.
- Confirm that person's role and shareholding in the latest proxy statement.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: open api
Verdict revised. The route works for US-listed firms after two changes. The live 8-K Atom feed only reaches about 2.5 days back (1,000 entries, 6 Item 2.05 filings, 1 operating-model change), so history comes from data.sec.gov submissions, whose items field flags 2.05 per filing. From 380 companies this gave 64 Item 2.05 8-Ks, about 9 describing a new operating model rather than a plain cut, and 5 verified new names including a chief operating officer named as owner of the change. The XBRL companyfacts intent-action step and the 10-K human capital spine were not useful in this attempt and are dropped from the core chain. Known people found on the sample was 0 of 8: six sample people run firms that do not file with the SEC, Novartis files 6-K, and Duolingo never filed an Item 2.05. Calibration found two known people (Brian Armstrong at Coinbase, Mike Cannon-Brookes at Atlassian) through their own 2.05 filings.
Sources: SEC EDGAR latest filings Atom feed; data.sec.gov submissions and companyfacts; SEC EDGAR DEF 14A
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- filing stream through EDGAR latest-filings Atom feed (type=8-K) for live; data.sec.gov submissions filings.recent.items for history gives 8-K with Item 2.05 (joined on items field contains 2.05)
- 8-K through 8-K primary document, Item 2.05 text gives filing that describes a new operating model, not a plain layoff (joined on keyword screen (operating model, organizational structure, reorganiz, transform, AI) then a human read)
- filing through Exhibit 99.1 press release or shareholder letter from the filing index gives executive quoted as owning the change (joined on accession number)
- executive through latest DEF 14A of the same CIK gives role, decision power and ownership (joined on CIK plus person name)
New names that passed every check
- Jack Dorsey, Block, Inc. ceo, United States
Rebuilding Block as a much smaller, intelligence-native company by cutting the workforce by over 40% and restructuring around AI tools.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “By order of the Board of Directors, Jack Dorsey Block Head and Chairperson of the Board of Directors” source
- What they did 2026 “the Company announced a workforce reduction restructuring plan (the “Workforce Plan”) designed to better align our organizational structure with our operating model and strategic priorities. As part of the Workforce Plan, we expect to reduce our current workforce by more than 40%.” source
- What they said 2026 “The core thesis is simple. Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company.” source
- Elliott Hill, NIKE, Inc. ceo, United States
Rebuilding Nike's operating model around the Sport Offense, with three geographies, a new campus in India and a modernised supply chain (the Pace program).Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The President and CEO, Mr. Elliott Hill, is in charge of the general supervision, direction, and control of the business and affairs of the Company” source
- What they did 2026 “including through the establishment of a new campus in India and realigning the Company’s operating model into three geographies, as well as further streamlining of the organization to reduce costs.” source
- What they said 2026 “Pace is an operating model transformation to accelerate and scale the success of the Sport Offense.” source
- Michael D. Hsu, Kimberly-Clark Corporation ceo, United States
Moving Kimberly-Clark to a new operating model of three segments and a leaner corporate structure, then repositioning the portfolio toward personal care.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Thank you for your continued investment in Kimberly-Clark as we unlock our next chapter of growth and seize the vast opportunity ahead. Michael D. Hsu Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer” source
- What they did 2024 “approved a global transformation initiative intended to improve the Corporation’s focus on growth and reduce its structural cost base by (1) reorganizing the Corporation into three new segments,” source
- What they said 2026 “Over the past two years, our Powering Care strategy and new operating model have positioned us to do that even better.” source
- Karen S. Carter, Dow Inc. executive, United States
Leading Dow's Transform to Outperform program to simplify how the company operates, with a Transformation Management Office she set up.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “NEO Title Jim Fitterling Chair and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey L. Tate Chief Financial Officer Karen S. Carter Chief Operating Officer” source
- What they did 2026 “Led enterprise activation of Transform to Outperform, a comprehensive plan which is expected to deliver at least $2 billion of Operating EBITDA 1 uplift by the end of 2028, including establishing the Transformation Management Office, as well as setting the strategic direction and driving execution.” source
- What they said 2026 “The goal of Transform to Outperform is to achieve significant growth and productivity gains that elevate Dow’s competitive position,” said Karen S. Carter, Dow’s chief operating officer.” source
- Bob Jordan, Southwest Airlines Co. ceo, United States
Turning Southwest into a leaner, flatter airline by removing 15% of corporate and leadership roles as part of a wider transformation plan.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Thank you for your continued investment in and support of Southwest Airlines. Sincerely, Bob Jordan President, Chief Executive Officer, & Vice Chairman of the Board” source
- What they did 2025 “announced a planned reduction in workforce (the “Reduction”) intended to reduce operating costs, increase efficiency, and create a leaner and more agile organization as part of the Company’s transformational plan. The Reduction is focused almost entirely on corporate overhead and leadership positions.” source
- What they said 2025 “We are at a pivotal moment as we transform Southwest Airlines into a leaner, faster, and more agile organization” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Luis von Ahn Duolingo (CIK 1562088) is an SEC filer but has never filed an Item 2.05 8-K (submissions receipt raw/bt-sub-duol); its 8-K items are 2.02, 5.02, 7.01 and 8.01 o
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is private and not in company_tickers.json; no 8-K, 10-K or DEF 14A exists. Structural miss.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is ASX-listed and not an SEC registrant (not in company_tickers.json). Structural miss.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is private (now held by a purpose trust and nonprofit); no SEC filings. Structural miss.
- Missed Piyush Gupta DBS is SGX-listed and not an SEC registrant. Structural miss.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis files 6-K (562 of its recent filings) and 20-F, not 8-K or 10-K (raw/bt-sub-nvs), so Item 2.05 never fires. A 6-K extension would be needed for foreign
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a private Brazilian firm; no SEC filings. Structural miss.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is not an SEC registrant (the RELIANCE, INC. in company_tickers.json is an unrelated US metals firm). Structural miss.
Route 3: Founder control as the power to decide, crossed with redesign signals
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: could be early or late
The steps we take
- Take companies from the Council of Institutional Investors list of dual-class companies and from new large-shareholder filings.
- Read the ownership table in each company's proxy statement and name the controlling person.
- Search that company's event notices, chief executive letters and newsroom for a redesign of the firm.
- Confirm the person and their control in the proxy statement.
Found 1 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · signal led recognition by a median 0 years (1 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: open api
Verdict revised. The 13D spine does not discover founder-redesigners: today's 46 individual or entity filers in the Schedule 13D feed are activists, funds and microcap insiders. The working version starts from a dual-class universe (CII list), confirms control in the DEF 14A ownership table, then reads 8-K Item 2.05 and Ex 99.1 CEO letters for the redesign. US-only; 1 of 8 sample hits.
Sources: SEC EDGAR DEF 14A; SEC EDGAR SC 13D; data.sec.gov submissions; company newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- dual-class company list through CII Dual Class Companies List (2021) or Schedule 13D latest-filings feed gives company (joined on ticker -> CIK via company_tickers.json)
- company through data.sec.gov submissions -> latest DEF 14A beneficial ownership table gives controlling person (joined on CIK; person name and percent of total voting power)
- company through data.sec.gov submissions filtered to 8-K items 2.05 or 7.01 -> Ex 99.1 CEO letters; company newsroom or blog gives firm-redesign trace (joined on CIK and accession number; author or signatory of the letter)
- firm-redesign trace through DEF 14A biography and ownership table gives controlling person confirmed (joined on name match of letter signatory to proxy ownership row)
New names that passed every check
- Drew Houston, Dropbox ceo, United States
Redesigning how Dropbox works, first by making it a Virtual First company with offices only for collaboration and then by reshaping the workforce around AI-era product work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Houston is one of our co-founders and has served as a member of our board of directors and our Chief Executive Officer since June 2007.” source
- What they did 2021 “Our recent decisions regarding our new leadership structure and remote work policy have set us on the right path, and now we need to make sure our teams and investments also line up.” source
- What they did 2023 “However, our next stage of growth requires a different mix of skill sets, particularly in AI and early-stage product development.” source
- What they said 2023 “We've believed for many years that AI will give us new superpowers and completely transform knowledge work.” source
- Jack Dorsey, Block, Inc. ceo, United States
Rebuilding Block around a functional organization and then an intelligence model that orchestrates company operations, run by a much smaller team.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jack Dorsey is our co-founder and has served as our principal executive officer and as a member of our board of directors since July 2009” source
- What they did 2026 “the Company announced a workforce reduction restructuring plan (the Workforce Plan) designed to better align our organizational structure with our operating model and strategic priorities” source
- What they did 2024 “We improved the efficiency of our teams and transitioned to a functional organizational model, enabling people to achieve mastery within their disciplines” source
- What they said 2026 “Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company. A significantly smaller team, using the tools we're building, can do more and do it better.” source
- Niraj Shah, Wayfair ceo, United States
Reshaping Wayfair's corporate organization by cutting management layers and seniority levels, framed as a return to first principles on resource allocation.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Shah is our co-founder and has served as our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our Board since 2002.” source
- What they did 2024 “These changes reflect efforts to reshape the organization by streamlining our structure and reducing seniority levels across departments.” source
- What they said 2024 “The changes announced today reflect a return to our core principles on resource allocation, such as getting fit on spans and layers as well as focusing on our highest priorities.” source
- Jonathan Neman, Sweetgreen ceo, United States
Changing the unit of work in a restaurant chain by replacing the hand-built makeline with the automated Infinite Kitchen.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Neman is one of our co-founders and has served in various executive roles since our inception, most recently as our President since February 2018 and Chief Executive Officer since December 2017.” source
- What they did 2021 “In 2021, we acquired Spyce primarily to further develop and deploy Spyce's kitchen automation technology, which we refer to as the Infinite Kitchen.” source
- What they said 2023 “And since fewer team members are needed to operate an Infinite Kitchen, Neman said the positions that remain are better jobs.” source
- Aneel Bhusri, Workday ceo, United States
A controlling co-founder who took the CEO role back to rebuild Workday for AI, which he calls a bigger transformation than SaaS.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As of April 2025, co-founders David Duffield and Aneel Bhusri and their affiliates owned about 99% of the Class B common stock, giving them approximately 70% of the total voting power.” source
- What they did 2026 “On September 29, 2026, certain functions within Workday announced reorganizations designed to better align team structures with Workday's strategic growth priorities.” source
- What they said 2026 “We're now entering one of the most pivotal moments in our history. AI is a bigger transformation than SaaS - and it will define the next generation of market leaders.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Zhang Ruimin Haier is listed in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Frankfurt and files nothing with the SEC, so no DEF 14A or 13D exists for the route to read.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is ASX-listed and not an SEC registrant; Forrest's control would show in ASX substantial-holder notices, outside this route.
- Found Aaron Levie (signal in 2025) Hit only through the founder-CEO branch: the Box DEF 14A shows Levie at 2.1% of voting stock, so the 25%-voting-power branch misses him. Redesign trace is the B
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian MJDS filer (40-F, 6-K) and files no DEF 14A; Lutke's founder share sits in the Canadian management information circular, outside this rout
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is private and has no proxy, 13D or 8-K filings; ownership-filing routes cannot see private founder-controlled firms.
- Missed Piyush Gupta DBS is SGX-listed and Gupta was a hired CEO with no controlling stake; neither the US spine nor the control filter applies.
- Missed Luis von Ahn Control confirmed (DEF 14A 2026: von Ahn 40.0% of voting power) but the redesign trace failed on the route's own sources: the April 2025 AI-first memo was poste
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is listed in India and files no SEC proxy; promoter-group control appears only in Indian exchange shareholding patterns.
Route 4: Named executive sponsors in AI deployment case studies
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read the customer-story indexes of seven vendors.
- Take the executive the story names as sponsor.
- Confirm the change on the firm's own pages or in trade press, so the vendor is not the only source.
- Confirm the executive's role on the firm's leadership page or in an appointment release.
Found 2 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · signal lagged recognition by a median 1.5 years (2 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Revised. Vendor customer-story indexes (Anthropic, OpenAI, Salesforce, Google Cloud, UiPath, Microsoft) are open HTML and fetch 200, but in 30+ stories read only about 1 in 4 quotes a CEO, founder or operating chief, and half of those are AI startups describing a product they built, not a change to their own firm. The route works once two filters are added: keep only stories whose text describes a company-wide change (company-wide, every employee, rebuilt itself, operating model), and require a power check on the firm site or an appointment release, which caught one stale title (Mirakl co-founder listed as Co-CEO on OpenAI but former Co-CEO on mirakl.com) and one conflicting title (League CEO vs CTO on two Anthropic pages). Known people found on famous people is 2/8 and only via vendor newsroom alliance releases, so the route is a side door to lesser-known mid-market sponsors, not to legends.
Sources: Microsoft customer stories; Google Cloud customer pages; Anthropic and OpenAI customer pages; Salesforce and ServiceNow customer stories; company annual reports
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- vendor through vendor customer-story index pages gives case study (joined on story slug)
- case study through case study text gives named executive sponsor (joined on name plus title string in the quote attribution)
- executive through firm site, trade press or second vendor page gives corroborated change (joined on firm name plus initiative name (Process Zero, ALL IN on AI))
- executive through firm leadership page or appointment release gives power check (joined on person name plus firm)
New names that passed every check
- Matt Henry, Chatham Financial ceo, United States
Redesigning a capital-markets advisory firm around outcomes rather than inherited processes, rebuilding workflows from zero with AI-built tools (Process Zero).Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Matt Henry is Chief Executive Officer of Chatham Financial. He leads the firm’s global platform at the intersection of capital markets expertise and technology, helping clients navigate complex financial decisions with greater clarity and precision.” source
- What they did 2026 “Through Process Zero, Chatham reengineers workflows around outcomes. For each workflow, the firm identifies the minimum inputs and evidence required, determines where human judgment is essential, and decides how AI and AI-built tools should support the work.” source
- What they said 2026 “The more I experience AI, the less I believe the widespread adoption of LLMs is mainly a technology story. It is a work redesign story. A management story. And, pretty quickly, a human story.” source
- What they said 2026 “We are not approaching AI simply as a faster way to run every process. With OpenAI, we can start with the outcome we want, identify where judgment matters, and design the best way to deliver it using the capabilities now available.” source
- Manuel Delgado Forey, Banco Azteca executive, Mexico
Moving a mass-market Mexican bank from automating single tasks to orchestrating whole business processes across people, AI agents and partners.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “under the executive sponsorship of Manuel Delgado Forey, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Customer Service at Banco Azteca, who oversees the Center of Excellence and has championed its evolution from task automation to full business orchestration.” source
- What they did 2026 “automated over 8,800 processes, generating the equivalent of more than 3,300 FTEs of capacity, helping teams absorb growing workloads while focusing on higher-value work” source
- What they said 2026 “As our automation program matured, we realized the next opportunity wasn't automating more tasks—it was coordinating entire business processes. Business orchestration allows us to connect people, AI, systems, and partners so work keeps moving while our teams stay focused on higher-value decisions.” source
- What they did 2022 “En entrevista, señaló que ahora implementan la gestión de procesos de negocio [BPM, por sus siglas en inglés] en la continuidad del mismo. “Inicialmente solo iba a ser para aclaraciones”, comentó, aunque ahora se busca tener disponibles 100% los procesos de la empresa.” source
- Philip Hess, reMarkable ceo, Norway
Rebuilding a hardware company's service model as agent-first so support capacity no longer scales linearly with headcount.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “today announced Philip S. Hess , a consumer technology leader with experience from building and scaling teams, products, and brands, as the company's new CEO. Hess's appointment is effective January 1, 2024 .” source
- What they did 2025 “When you’re growing fast, hiring and training employees to keep building the capacity to serve your new customers gets to be too hard,” said Hess. “Agentforce gives us a way to break that linear scaling model without scaling headcount at the same pace.” source
- What they did 2025 “reMarkable plans to expand its “agent-first enterprise strategy” with visionary use cases for commerce, sales, marketing, and product adoption.” source
- Dan Galperin, League executive, Canada
Rebuilding a regulated health-tech software firm around AI agents: micro-sprints replace two-week sprints and engineering-to-finance processes run on agents.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"It was not a hackathon," said Dan Galperin, CTO and co-founder. "The brief was: go into your backlogs, take real problems, and see if you can get from the backlog to production in 48 hours."” source
- What they did 2026 “Over the past six months, the company has rebuilt itself around Claude: development cycle times are down by half, 98% adoption of AI tools, and processes from engineering to finance run on agents.” source
- What they did 2026 “They work in an industry where new tools typically wait weeks to get off the ground, yet roughly 98% of League's code is AI-authored.” source
- Julia Stadler, STADLER Anlagenbau ceo, Germany
Turning a 230-year-old family recycling-plant maker into an AI-native firm, first as chief digital officer and now as eighth-generation co-CEO.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “has named Julia Stadler as Co-Chief Executive Officer, effective June 1, 2025. Julia, representing the eighth generation of the Stadler family, will lead the company alongside her father, long-time CEO Willi Stadler, and CFO Claus Maier.” source
- What they did 2023 “Since 2023, STADLER has pursued a clear principle: every employee working on a computer should use AI to improve speed, quality, and collaboration.” source
- What they did 2025 “In this role, she has led the company’s digital transformation, driving initiatives in automation, integrated data systems, and AI, positioning STADLER for long-term global competitiveness.” source
- What they said 2026 “In many teams, people were spending too much time turning raw knowledge into usable output—summarizing, translating, drafting. We knew there had to be a better way.” source
- Adam Driussi, Quantium ceo, Australia
Embedding generative AI into every role at a 20-year-old analytics firm (ALL IN on AI), then selling that operating model to client CEOs.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Adam Driussi, co-founder and CEO of Quantium and chairman of the Canterbury Bulldogs, shares how he's using artificial intelligence to shape both business and sport.” source
- What they did 2025 “launched its 'ALL IN on AI' strategy – a company-wide commitment to put AI at the center of everything they do. The strategy goes beyond building AI into products and solutions. It means having every team member use AI daily in their work, training team members to get the most out of AI, and setting clear goals for AI ” source
- What they said 2025 “When generative AI emerged, we recognized it would completely reshape how businesses operate and make decisions. That's why we've embedded AI into every role at Quantium. It's not a separate initiative; it's how we work.” source
- What they did 2025 “He also shares a real-life example of AI potentially saving Quantium a million dollars a year in support costs,” source
Test on held-back known people
- Found Vas Narasimhan (signal in 2019) Found on the vendor newsroom (news.microsoft.com), not the customer-story template: a 2019 alliance release with the CEO quoted on reshaping the firm around dat
- Missed Aaron Levie Box appears on claude.com/customers/box and cloud.google.com/customers/box-ai (receipts bt-box-claude, bt-box-gcloud) but neither quotes Levie; both describe Bo
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani SAP-on-Azure story (bt-chobani-ms) names Ulukaya only in company history; the quoted sponsor is a senior IT director. The route surfaces the sponsor, no
- Missed Satya Nadella Nadella is the vendor CEO, not a customer sponsor. Customer-story pages structurally cannot surface vendor executives.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco has no AI or cloud vendor case study; his firm redesign predates the vendor-story genre by decades.
- Missed Luis von Ahn openai.com/customer-stories/duolingo (bt-duolingo-openai) describes Duolingo Max product features and does not quote von Ahn.
- Found Mukesh Ambani (signal in 2019) Vendor newsroom alliance release, not a customer story; the change is mostly outward (serving Indian enterprises), so this is a weak hit that only counts under
- Missed Yvon Chouinard No vendor customer story or alliance release names Chouinard; his change was ownership, which vendor stories never cover.
Route 5: New roles that signal a redesign
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search two press-release wires by role title.
- Take the firm and the chief executive quoted as creating the role.
- Look for proof the role has a mandate: an acquisition, a platform rollout, a workforce programme.
- Confirm the chief executive's role from the release, the leadership page or an SEC exhibit.
Found 1 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · signal lagged recognition by a median 10 years (1 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Press-wire search for newly created chief AI officer roles is open, free and pullable (GlobeNewswire keyword RSS, PR Newswire search pages); Business Wire RSS errors and its newsroom returns 403. The release step reliably names the firm and quotes the chief executive creating the role and its reporting line, and a second step (firm newsroom, SEC exhibit, trade press) shows the mandate. 8-K item 5.02 almost never covers a chief AI officer and adds nothing. The route reaches mid-sized and non-US firms well but missed 7 of 8 test on known people people; the one hit came from a company newsroom, not a wire.
Sources: PR Newswire RSS; Business Wire RSS; GlobeNewswire RSS; SEC EDGAR 8-K item 5.02
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- role keyword through GlobeNewswire keyword RSS and PR Newswire news search gives appointment release (joined on release URL)
- appointment release through the release body gives firm and the chief executive quoted creating the role (joined on phrases 'newly created', 'first', 'report to' plus the 'said <name>, CEO of <firm>' attribution)
- firm and chief executive through firm newsroom, SEC 6-K or 8-K exhibit 99.1, trade press gives proof of mandate (acquisition, platform rollout, workforce programme, personal capital) (joined on firm name plus new role holder's name)
- chief executive through release attribution, official leadership page, SEC exhibit gives power check (joined on person name plus title (founder, CEO, President and CEO))
New names that passed every check
- Markus Rieß, ERGO Group AG ceo, Germany
Wants a large German insurer to run on AI across its whole value chain, putting AI on the management board and reshaping its German workforce.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “we are underscoring our strategic ambition to implement artificial intelligence systematically along our entire value chain and in all our markets,” says Markus Rieß, CEO of ERGO Group AG” source
- What they did 2026 “ERGO NEXT CEO Guy Goldstein will assume the newly created role of Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO) on the Management Board of ERGO Group AG” source
- What they did 2026 “To manage the transition, the company plans to open a reskilling academy in Germany during the first half of 2026. The academy will focus on retraining employees whose roles are expected to be affected by AI” source
- What they said 2026 “we are underscoring our strategic ambition to implement artificial intelligence systematically along our entire value chain and in all our markets” source
- Charl van Zyl, H. Lundbeck A/S ceo, Denmark
Wants a mid-sized neuroscience drugmaker to become a 'bionic company' where AI changes how it thinks, decides and executes across the value chain.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “He will join the Executive Leadership Team and report to President and CEO, Charl van Zyl. The appointment marks an important step in Lundbeck's ambition to become a bionic company.” source
- What they did 2026 “In recent years, Lundbeck has established several strategic AI partnerships, including collaborations with OpenAI, Iambic Therapeutics and Danish Centre for AI Innovation.” source
- What they said 2026 “AI is not only about technology implementation. It is about transforming how we think, decide, and execute across our entire value chain.” source
- Pierre Schurmann, Nuvini Group Limited ceo, Brazil
Wants a Latin American serial acquirer of SaaS firms to run its portfolio as one AI platform, buying an IT services business to do it.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founder and Chief Executive Officer Pierre Schurmann has entered into a binding investment agreement to invest $6 million of personal capital in the Company” source
- What they did 2026 “The newly created CAIO role reflects Nuvini’s strategic commitment to embedding artificial intelligence across its portfolio of software companies and as a key pillar of its M&A strategy.” source
- What they did 2026 “Target 's enterprise AI consulting practice and dedicated R&D team will combine with Nuvini's internal AI Lab, led by Chief AI Officer Phoebe Wang. Together, they will form a unified AI platform” source
- What they said 2026 “By combining Target 's world-class enterprise relationships and IT services capabilities with Nuvini's scalable SaaS portfolio and AI innovation platform, we are creating a uniquely positioned, globally diversified technology company.” source
- Rajsekhar Datta Roy, Sonata Software Ltd ceo, India
Wants an Indian IT services firm to become AI-native, moving delivery toward outcome-based models.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Rajsekhar Datta Roy, Chief Executive Officer, Sonata Software , said: "Transforming Sonata Software into an AI-native organization is foundational to our growth trajectory.” source
- What they did 2026 “Over the past year, he has been instrumental in advancing Sonata Software’s transformation into an AI-first organization.” source
- What they said 2026 “His addition to our leadership significantly strengthens our executive team as we rapidly transform to an AI-native organization.” source
- Ivan Montik, SOFTSWISS owner, Malta
Wants his iGaming technology firm to run on one governed AI platform that automates workflows across the organisation.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Ivan Montik, Founder of SOFTSWISS: "The creation of the Chief AI Officer role is a reflection of how critical AI has become to the future of technology.” source
- What they did 2026 “leading the rollout of the company's AI platform - a centralised, enterprise-grade infrastructure designed to securely and efficiently scale AI automation across the organisation” source
- What they said 2026 “AI is transforming how we build products, how businesses operate and how value is created. By investing early in a unified AI platform and dedicated leadership” source
- Michael Sanchez, Raptive ceo, United States
Wants a creator-monetisation company to become an AI-native data and commerce business, through a new unit and an acquisition.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Michael Sanchez is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Raptive (formerly CafeMedia and AdThrive” source
- What they did 2026 “today announced the launch of Raptive Intelligence, a new business unit led by John Roa as Chief AI Officer and General Manager and strengthened by Raptive's acquisition of AlchemyAI” source
- What they said 2026 “Raptive’s core business has never been stronger, and that strength gives us permission to build boldly,” CEO Michael Sanchez said.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Piyush Gupta PR Newswire search for 'DBS Bank' (67 results) and GlobeNewswire RSS for DBS show no new-role release; DBS does not distribute through these wires.
- Found Satya Nadella (signal in 2024) Hit through the company-newsroom branch only: Nadella's memo creates a new organisation called Microsoft AI with its CEO reporting to him. No wire release.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya PR Newswire 'Chobani' search (120 results) shows no chief AI or transformation role created by the CEO.
- Missed Aaron Levie PR Newswire 'Box, Inc.' 12 results, none a new role; Box distributes on Business Wire, which is not pullable from this machine.
- Missed Luis von Ahn PR Newswire 'Duolingo' 77 results, all third parties; the AI-first change was a memo, not a new role.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia's change was an ownership transfer, not a new role; no wire hit.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani PR Newswire 'Reliance Industries' 26 results, none a new role; Reliance publishes on its own site and Indian exchanges.
- Missed Tobi Lutke PR Newswire 'Shopify' 334 results are merchants and partners; Lutke's change was a memo, not a new role.
Route 6: Professional and financial services firms that changed their own model
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: a structural commitment that is hard to undo
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read the register (181 licensed entities when pulled).
- Match each licensed entity to its parent firm.
- Take the chief executive, managing partner or practice head named in the launch release or trade press.
- Confirm that person's role on the firm's leadership page.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The Arizona ABS directory (181 rows) and Utah sandbox list are live public HTML, but neither names principals and about 94% of Arizona rows are new single-purpose claim vehicles. Narrowed to rows whose parent is an incumbent accounting, tax, consulting, AI or listed law firm (about 10), then resolved through firm newsrooms and trade press, the route yields six verified decision-makers. The SRA register is not pullable by GET. Known people found on the reference list is 0/8 by construction.
Sources: Arizona Supreme Court ABS directory; Utah Supreme Court regulatory sandbox list; SRA solicitors register; firm newsrooms and trade press free pages
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- regulator register through Arizona Supreme Court ABS Directory (HTML table, 181 rows) gives licensed entity (joined on entity legal name)
- licensed entity through entity website or parent firm newsroom (name in register row or obvious parent brand) gives parent firm (joined on brand / parent name)
- parent firm through parent firm launch release or people page; trade press (LawSites, Legal Futures, ABA Journal) where the firm's own page is thin gives named CEO, managing partner or practice head (joined on person quoted as CEO or managing partner)
- person through firm leadership page or second release gives power check (joined on role title on official page)
New names that passed every check
- Richard Kopelman, Aprio (Aprio Legal, LLC) ceo, United States
Turning a national accounting and advisory firm into a multidisciplinary firm that also practises law, by licensing and buying a law firm under Arizona's non-lawyer ownership rules.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Richard Kopelman , CEO of Aprio. “At Aprio, we are focused on our commitment to building the firm of the future and reimagining the client experience.” source
- What they did 2024 “Aprio Legal and Radix Law, separately, are already licensed law firms by Arizona’s ABS Program. Aprio received licensing approval in May 2024. Upon the completion of the combination, both entities will operate as Aprio Legal.” source
- What they said 2025 “Richard Kopelman , CEO of Aprio, emphasized the firm’s forward-thinking approach, stating, “Aprio is on a mission to develop the firm of the future, and we like to do things that people say can’t be done or will not be done.”” source
- Andy Kvesic, Aprio Legal (formerly Radix Law) executive, United States
Took his own law firm, Radix Law, into the first multi-lawyer ABS licence in the US and then merged it into an accounting firm so lawyers and accountants work as one firm.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Andy leads Aprio Legal, a trailblazing firm created by the innovative combination of Radix Law and Aprio.” source
- What they did 2025 “The transition marks an exciting new chapter for Radix Law and its clients, bringing expanded capabilities and a holistic client experience through Aprio Legal. Licensed under the ABS Program, Aprio Legal delivers integrated legal, accounting and advisory services” source
- What they said 2025 ““From the attorney’s perspectives, Aprio Legal helps differentiates them from every other law firm in the sense that you can deliver a more holistic professional services offering to your clients,” says Andy Kvesic, CEO of Aprio Legal.” source
- What they said 2025 “As a pioneer in the regulatory frameworks related to non-lawyer ownership of law firms, Andy advises law firms and professional services firms as they pursue Arizona Alternative Business Structure entities” source
- G. Brint Ryan, Ryan, LLC (Ryan Legal Services, PLLC) owner, United States
Built a tax firm on performance-based fees and has now added a wholly owned law firm so the tax consultancy can litigate the matters it finds.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “A Multidisciplinary Team of Experts Find An Expert G. Brint Ryan Chairman and CEO Damon Chronis President, Americas” source
- What they did 2024 “Ryan Legal Services, PLLC is an Arizona professional limited liability company that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ryan, LLC. Ryan Legal Services, PLLC is licensed as an Alternative Business Structure law firm by the Arizona Supreme Court, license number 70196.” source
- What they did 2025 “His business model was unique in that it offered performance-based fee structures, meaning clients paid based on the tax savings Ryan achieved for them.” source
- Omar Haroun, Eudia (Eudia Counsel, LLC) ceo, United States
Building a law firm in which AI does the volume work and lawyers supervise, sold to in-house teams in place of hourly outside counsel.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Omar Haroun , CEO of Eudia. "Eudia Counsel is the first AI-native law firm built to help companies regain control of their knowledge.” source
- What they did 2025 “The firm operates fully under Arizona's progressive ABS framework, allowing tight integration between legal workflow execution and Eudia's AI infrastructure.” source
- What they said 2025 “Omar Haroun , CEO of Eudia, said: ‘Most legal departments have lost control of their budgets and their knowledge. Eudia Counsel is the first AI-native law firm built to help companies regain control of their knowledge.” source
- Rema Serafi, KPMG LLP (KPMG Law US, LLC) executive, United States
Led a Big Four firm into practising law in the US for the first time, as a tech-led, process-driven legal business inside the tax practice.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““KPMG Law US is uniquely positioned to transform the delivery of legal services,” Rema Serafi , vice chair, tax, at KPMG LLP, said in a statement.” source
- What they did 2025 “KPMG Law US “will primarily deliver large-scale, process-driven work, such as volume contracting, remediation exercises, M&A-driven harmonization of contracts and other legal managed services,” KPMG said.” source
- What they said 2025 “By combining cutting-edge artificial intelligence and advanced technology solutions with legal services, we are proud to be a first mover with this capability and to offer the most holistic range of tech-enabled services in the marketplace for our clients’ evolving needs.” source
- Simon Morrison, Shine Justice Ltd (Shine Lawyers US, LLC) ceo, Australia
Took a listed Australian litigation firm into the US through an ABS licence, betting that its industrial-scale case systems can run claims other lawyers find uneconomic.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In his appearance before the court’s ABS committee, Shine managing director Simon Morrison – who sits on the board of governors of the American Association for Justice – said the firm’s ambition was to operate in more countries” source
- What they did 2026 “51 offices and co-locations across Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and the United States to Shine a light on injustice and make the world a better place one client at a time.” source
- What they said 2025 “We have had to develop quite sophisticated systems and processes to support that infrastructure. “We do think there is an opportunity in Arizona for us to assist people, particularly in cases that other lawyers may deem not commercially viable to run.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Firm name absent from the Arizona ABS directory (raw/az-abs-directory.html.txt, 181 rows) and the Utah sandbox list (raw/utahinnovationoffice-org-authorized-ent
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Firm name absent from the Arizona ABS directory (raw/az-abs-directory.html.txt, 181 rows) and the Utah sandbox list (raw/utahinnovationoffice-org-authorized-ent
- Missed Ricardo Semler Firm name absent from the Arizona ABS directory (raw/az-abs-directory.html.txt, 181 rows) and the Utah sandbox list (raw/utahinnovationoffice-org-authorized-ent
- Missed Piyush Gupta Firm name absent from the Arizona ABS directory (raw/az-abs-directory.html.txt, 181 rows) and the Utah sandbox list (raw/utahinnovationoffice-org-authorized-ent
- Missed Luis von Ahn Firm name absent from the Arizona ABS directory (raw/az-abs-directory.html.txt, 181 rows) and the Utah sandbox list (raw/utahinnovationoffice-org-authorized-ent
- Missed Satya Nadella Firm name absent from the Arizona ABS directory (raw/az-abs-directory.html.txt, 181 rows) and the Utah sandbox list (raw/utahinnovationoffice-org-authorized-ent
- Missed Andrew Forrest Firm name absent from the Arizona ABS directory (raw/az-abs-directory.html.txt, 181 rows) and the Utah sandbox list (raw/utahinnovationoffice-org-authorized-ent
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Firm name absent from the Arizona ABS directory (raw/az-abs-directory.html.txt, 181 rows) and the Utah sandbox list (raw/utahinnovationoffice-org-authorized-ent
Route 7: Ownership restructuring as lock-in
Looks for: both · Status: working
Kind of signal: a structural commitment that is hard to undo
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read the Purpose Foundation list of steward-owned companies, UK Companies House records of employee ownership trusts, and SEC notices of charter changes.
- For each firm, find the founder or owner who gave up control and the date.
- Confirm their intent in the firm's own announcement or trade press.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Revised. The steward-ownership and employee-ownership registers are open and pullable: Purpose Foundation lists about 45 steward-owned companies with profile pages naming the founder who gave up control, Companies House company search returns thousands of EOT trustee companies and the trading company's PSC page shows the founders' control ceasing on the transfer date, and EDGAR holds the 8-K for PBC conversions. The route finds owners who redesigned their own firm (future legends) but known people found on the famous world-transformer sample is 0/8: none of the sample used an ownership lock-in, and Ulukaya's 2016 share grant is outside these registers. Revision: run it future-legend only, and drop the EOA and NCEO news pages, which carry sector policy, not named founders.
Sources: SEC EDGAR 8-K and DEF 14A; Companies House API (PSC); Purpose Foundation steward-ownership cases; Employee Ownership Association; NCEO
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ownership register through Purpose Foundation company list; Companies House search for EOT trustee companies; EDGAR 8-K Item 5.03 PBC charter amendments gives firm (joined on company slug, Companies House company number (trustee name stem -> trading company), SEC CIK)
- firm through Purpose profile page; Companies House PSC page (ceased individual PSCs on the transfer date); 8-K or press release gives founder or owner who gave up control (joined on person name as written on the profile or PSC record)
- person through firm's own blog or newsroom, trade press gives control and intent check (joined on person name plus firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Christian Kroll, Ecosia owner, Germany
Tries to show a for-profit tech firm can be legally bound to fund reforestation by giving up his right to sell it or take profits.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Our new ownership model protects our mission but also provides entrepreneurial freedom. Christian Kroll, founder and CEO” source
- What they did 2018 “And so I find it important to renew my commitment to my two promises by turning Ecosia into a so-called “steward-owned company”. This model imposes two legally binding and irreversible restrictions on us” source
- What they said 2018 “We believe that a movement should not be owned by a single person and therefore steward ownership is the perfect solution for us.” source
- Michael Hetzer, elobau owner, Germany
Moved a 1,200-person industrial firm out of personal ownership into a two-foundation structure to keep it independent and climate-focused.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “For elobau, steward-ownership is the ideal model for looking to the future in an entrepreneurially sustainable way - especially in combination with the organisational structure we have in place, in which all employees can get involved and be heard. Michael Hetzer, Chairman of the Advisory Board & Managing Director elob” source
- What they did 2016 “In 2016, elobau set up a two-entity trust structure transitioning the family-owned and led business to steward-ownership.” source
- What they said 2021 “Im Gespräch mit Dr. Annette Bruce erzählt Michael Hetzer, warum er elobau frühzeitig an eine Stiftung übergeben hat, welche Ziele diese Stiftung verfolgt” source
- Juho Makkonen, Sharetribe owner, Finland
Locks a marketplace-software company into steward ownership so it cannot be forced to exit, as a model for what he calls capitalism 2.0.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “To me, steward-ownership is a way for our society to get all the benefits of capitalism and free markets while remedying their negative effects Juho Makkonen, CEO and Co-founder” source
- What they did 2018 “To protect this mission and ensure they would never be forced to exit or IPO, the founders Juho and Antti transitioned Sharetribe to steward-ownership in 2018.” source
- What they said 2018 “In a previous post from 2018, I explained why we need to change incentive structures if we want to build companies that are a force for good in society.” source
- David Sproxton, Aardman Animations owner, United Kingdom
Sold 75 percent of the studio he co-founded to an employee trust so the firm stays independent and run for its staff.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Mr Sproxton will continue as managing director but is looking to appoint a successor – who will be accountable to the trust – within the next 12 months before moving into a consultancy role.” source
- What they did 2018 “Peter and David sold 75% of their shares to a trust set up specially to hold those shares for the benefit of the Aardman employees” source
- What they said 2018 “Peter Lord and David Sproxton announced “that they are preparing the company for continued success over the next few decades by transferring the company into employee ownership, effectively selling the company to the workforce”.” source
- Peter Duncan Fraser Lord, Aardman Animations owner, United Kingdom
Co-founder who handed majority control of the studio to an employee trust rather than selling to a buyer.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Mr Lord will remain in his role as creative director at the company with a focus on the company’s feature film output” source
- What they did 2018 “On 5 th November 2018, Peter and David transitioned the company into Employee Ownership. Aardman was – in simple terms – sold to Aardman itself.” source
- What they said 2018 “Peter Lord and David Sproxton announced “that they are preparing the company for continued success over the next few decades by transferring the company into employee ownership, effectively selling the company to the workforce”.” source
- Peter Gassner, Veeva Systems ceo, United States
Put stakeholder accountability into a listed company's legal charter, making Veeva the first public company to convert to a public benefit corporation.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““We’ve always operated in the best interests of our customers, employees, communities, and shareholders,” said Peter Gassner, founder and CEO of Veeva Systems.” source
- What they did 2021 “These changes generally relate to Veeva’s becoming a public benefit corporation and declassifying our Board.” source
- What they said 2021 “We’re excited to take the important step to put this in our legal charter so we can ensure Veeva’s accountability to all stakeholders continues for decades to come.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Jensen Huang Nvidia is a conventional Delaware corporation; no PBC conversion, steward-ownership or EOT record in any route source.
- Missed Mo Ibrahim Celtel was sold, not locked in; his vehicle is a foundation. No EOT trustee or steward-ownership listing.
- Missed Piyush Gupta Salaried chief executive of a listed bank; no ownership to restructure. Route cannot reach professional CEOs.
- Missed Jeff Skoll Vehicles are a foundation and a film company; no ownership lock-in on Purpose, Companies House EOT or EDGAR PBC sources.
- Missed Nandan Nilekani Indian listed company and public infrastructure work; none of the route's registers cover India.
- Missed Jaan Tallinn Investor and philanthropist; no firm he owns was converted to steward or employee ownership in the sources.
- Missed Vinod Khosla Venture investor; Khosla Ventures is a partnership with no PBC, steward or EOT record.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Closest call. His 2016 grant of up to 10 percent of Chobani to employees is an ownership move, but it is a share grant, not an ESOP, EOT or PBC charter, so it i
Route 8: Co-investor and co-funder graph around known people
Looks for: both · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Look up each known person's foundation in US nonprofit tax records.
- Find the pooled funds that foundation backs.
- Read each pooled fund's roster of funding partners and take the other funders.
- Resolve each funder to the person behind it and check their wealth.
Found 2 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · signal lagged recognition by a median 4 years (1 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The 990-PF step as written does not work from this machine: ProPublica grant schedules render client-side and the download-xml and download-filing endpoints return 403, so grant recipients cannot be pulled from 990-PF. 360Giving GrantNav returned 429 on three tries. The route works when the join is moved to published co-funder rosters of pooled vehicles that known people fund (Co-Impact, Breakthrough Energy Coalition, Protecting Our Planet Challenge, Audacious Project). Those rosters list the other principals by name.
Sources: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API; SEC EDGAR Form D; 360Giving GrantNav; Kauffman Fellows directory
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- known person through ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API (search.json, organizations/{EIN}.json) gives foundation (EIN, assets, filing list) (joined on foundation name -> EIN)
- foundation or person through pooled-vehicle funder rosters (Co-Impact funding partners, Breakthrough Energy Coalition member list, Protecting Our Planet Challenge partners, Audacious Project donors) gives pooled vehicle the anchor funds (joined on anchor name or foundation name string match on roster)
- pooled vehicle through same roster page gives co-funders (people, family foundations, family offices) (joined on roster row)
- co-funder vehicle through vehicle's own site or Wikipedia gives principal person (joined on vehicle name -> founder or controlling person)
- principal through Forbes profile or Wikipedia net worth line (world transformers); role page (future legends) gives capacity check (joined on person name)
New names that passed every check
- Patrice Motsepe, African Rainbow Minerals; Motsepe Foundation billionaire, South Africa
Trying to change living conditions for poor and marginalised Africans, by committing half of family asset income to the Motsepe Foundation and investing in energy innovation.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Patrice Motsepe, the founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, became a billionaire in 2008 - the first black African on the Forbes list.” source
- What they did 2013 “Precious and I will contribute at least half of the funds generated by our family assets to the Motsepe Foundation to be used during our lifetimes and beyond” source
- What they did 2015 “Patrice Motsepe Description: Founder and Executive Chairman,African Rainbow Minerals (ARM),South Africa” source
- Hasso Plattner, SAP co-founder; Hasso Plattner Foundation billionaire, Germany
Trying to change how Europe trains and keeps digital engineering talent, through a privately financed, tuition-free institute.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As of August 2020, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$17.9 billion.” source
- What they did 1998 “HPI combines excellent research and teaching with the advantages of a privately financed institute and a tuition-free study program” source
- What they did 2015 “Xavier Niel Description: Founder,Iliad Group,France Hasso Plattner Description: Co-founder,SAP SE,Germany” source
- What they said 2026 “His nonprofit Hasso Plattner Institute focuses on research and teaching in IT systems engineering, offering degree programs and free online courses.” source
- Xavier Niel, Iliad; 42 network billionaire, France
Trying to change how software engineers are trained, replacing teachers and tuition with free peer-to-peer schools.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “is a French billionaire entrepreneur and investor. He is the founder and majority shareholder of the telecommunications group Iliad” source
- What they did 2016 “Niel committed US$100 million to the project, which was intended to reproduce the tuition-free and peer-learning model developed in Paris.” source
- What they did 2015 “Xavier Niel Description: Founder,Iliad Group,France Hasso Plattner Description: Co-founder,SAP SE,Germany” source
- Romesh Wadhwani, SAIGroup / Symphony AI; Wadhwani Foundation billionaire, United States
Trying to change job creation in emerging economies through a foundation he endowed and a pooled systems-change fund.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Wadhwani first became a billionaire in 2000 after i2 Technologies acquired Aspect Development, a software firm he founded, for $9.3 billion in stock.” source
- What they did 2017 “Initial core partners include Richard Chandler, Bill and Melinda Gates, Jeff Skoll, Romesh and Kathy Wadhwani, and The Rockefeller Foundation” source
- What they did 2000 “He established the Wadhwani Foundation for economic development in emerging economies in 2000” source
- Richard Chandler, Clermont Group; Chandler Foundation billionaire, New Zealand
Trying to change how education and public systems in developing countries are financed, through pooled systems-change philanthropy.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Chandler was only one of two billionaires with New Zealand nationality, with a net worth of US$3.8 billion.” source
- What they did 2017 “Leading Philanthropists Announce Co-Impact, a Global Collaborative for Systems Change, With U.S. $500 Million in Planned Initial Funding” source
- What they did 2007 “In 2007, he formed a US$100 million education initiative focused on building low-cost private education projects in India.” source
- Rob Walton, Rob Walton Foundation billionaire, United States
Trying to change how much of Africa's land is conserved, through large-scale conservation partnerships with governments.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “He and other heirs of Sam Walton collectively own about 45% of Walmart's stock.” source
- What they did 2021 “The Rob Walton Foundation (RWF) supports ambitious projects, partners and programs to foster a planet where people and nature thrive.” source
- What they said 2026 “The Rob Walton Foundation is committed to preserving nature through supporting large-scale conservation efforts and collaborative partnerships” source
Test on held-back known people
- Found Michael Bloomberg (signal in 2015) Co-member of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition with known people Gates, Dangote, Zuckerberg and Benioff (2015); also a Protecting Our Planet Challenge partner w
- Missed Jensen Huang Not on any of the five pooled-vehicle rosters pulled. Huang's giving runs through his own foundation, not pooled vehicles with known people.
- Missed Satya Nadella Future-legend CEO with no personal pooled-giving footprint; co-funding graphs do not see operating executives.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not on any roster pulled; Brazilian giving is not covered by US or UK funder registers.
- Missed Aaron Levie Future-legend CEO; no roster appearance. Angel activity would need Form D investor lists, which Form D does not publish.
- Missed Nandan Nilekani Near miss: the 2017 Co-Impact launch names EkStep Foundation, co-founded by Rohini and Nandan Nilekani, as technical partner, not funder. Under a strict co-fund
- Missed Eric Schmidt Schmidt Futures is a Fast Grants funder alongside Collison, but fastgrants.org returned 404 directly and 403 through Jina, so the route's own source could not b
- Found Andrew Forrest Minderoo Foundation (Forrest's vehicle) sits on the Co-Impact funder roster with known people Gates Foundation, Pivotal (Melinda French Gates) and Atlassian Fou
Route 9: The Peter Diamandis community crossed with prize funding and co-investment
Looks for: both · Status: working
Kind of signal: what people say and who they gather with
Expected timing: could be early or late
The steps we take
- Collect the names on each surface.
- Keep people who appear on two or more surfaces, at least one of them a paying role.
- Check each person's wealth or role.
Found 1 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · signal lagged recognition by a median 4 years (1 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Prize funding (XPRIZE benefactor tiers and prize sponsors) is the costly action that works; Form D co-investment was not tested this attempt. Recurrence across XPRIZE, Abundance360 and Moonshots finds tech and longevity founders, not the reference list's philanthropists or firm-redesign owners.
Sources: xprize.org prize and board pages; abundance360.com; Moonshots podcast episode pages; SEC EDGAR Form D
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- convener surface through XPRIZE benefactors, board, prize sponsor pages; Abundance360 home and member council; Moonshots RSS feed gives person (joined on exact name string)
- person through cross-surface name match (2+ surfaces, at least one a paying role: Vision Circle, Innovation Board, prize sponsor or benefactor) gives person with costly action (joined on normalized full name)
- person through Forbes profile (world) or role statement (firm) gives capacity (joined on name plus organisation)
New names that passed every check
- Chip Wilson, SOLVE FSHD; Lululemon (founder, largest individual shareholder) billionaire, Canada
Trying to change how muscle-wasting disease and aging are treated by funding a $100M venture-philanthropy vehicle and co-sponsoring the $101M Healthspan XPRIZE.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “PROFILE Chip Wilson Chairman, Lululemon $4.5B $14M (0.31%) Real Time Net Worth as of 10/2/26 Reflects change since 5 pm ET of prior trading day.” source
- What they did 2023 “SOLVE FSHD is a venture philanthropic organization established to catalyze innovation and accelerate key research in finding a cure for FSHD, established by renowned Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist, Chip Wilson. The Wilson family has committed $100 million to kick-start funding into projects that support the o” source
- What they said 2026 “Chip Wilson Founder, Lululemon Founder of a globally recognized, $4.5-billion-a-year athleisure brand. Major donor to the Healthspan XPRIZE. His MTP is “Elevating the world from mediocrity to greatness.” source
- Ben Lamm, Colossal Biosciences billionaire, United States
Trying to make de-extinction and genetic rescue of species a working industry through Colossal Biosciences.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “PROFILE Ben Lamm $5.7B Real Time Net Worth as of 10/2/26 Reflects change since 5 pm ET of prior trading day.” source
- What they did 2021 “Ben Lamm cofounded Colossal with Harvard geneticist George Church in 2021 to try and bring back the woolly mammoth.” source
- What they said 2026 “Ben Lamm is the Co-Founder and CEO Of Colossal Biosciences, the world’s first de-extinction company. He is a serial technology entrepreneur driven to solve the most complex challenges facing our planet. For over two decades, Ben has built disruptive businesses that future-proof our world.” source
- Mary Lou Jepsen, Openwater executive, United States
Rebuilt her medical-device company around an AGPL open-source platform to make treatment hardware cheap and programmable.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “an American technologist and entrepreneur in the field of medical technology and computational imaging . She is the founder and Executive Chairman of Openwater .” source
- What they did 2024 “Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen announced having raised "$54 million in the past several months bringing the total to $100M raised" to create an AGPL licensed open source platform that can slash the cost of disease treatment.” source
- What they said 2025 “In this episode, Mary Lou and Peter discuss how Openwater is using AI and exponential technology to cure strokes, Mary Lou’s trajectory in big tech companies, and how technology has the power to democratize healthcare for humanity.” source
- Rick Smith, Axon Enterprise ceo, United States
Turned a stun-gun maker into a policing software and evidence platform with a stated goal of cutting police-public gun deaths by half.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Rick Smith started Axon Enterprises (formerly TASER International) in a garage in 1993 with one of the lead scientists from the Apollo program. Today, Axon is a $50+ billion public enterprise” source
- What they did 2017 “On April 5, 2017, TASER rebranded as Axon to reflect its expanded business. The company also announced an intent to offer free one-year trials of its body-worn camera products and Evidence.com services to U.S. law enforcement agencies.” source
- What they said 2023 “In this episode, Peter and Rick discuss Rick’s Moonshot of cutting gun-related deaths between police and the public by 50% in 10 years and his company, Axon.” source
- Naveen Jain, Viome; Moon Express ceo, United States
Trying to shift medicine from treating chronic disease to preventing it, through Viome, and to open lunar resources through Moon Express, while funding XPRIZE.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In 2010 Jain co-founded Moon Express , where he is the executive chairman, and in 2016 founded Viome, where he is the CEO.” source
- What they did 2026 “Vision Circle members are our most transformative partners, enabling XPRIZE's ongoing mission while also shaping foundation-level strategy. Their leadership fuels global-scale breakthroughs and long‑term impact. The Ansari Family Carl Barney Sergey Brin Clark Cheng Gil and Elyssa Elbaz Eric Esrailian, MD, MPH Emilio A.” source
- What they said 2024 “Naveen is a serial entrepreneur and philanthropist driven to solve the world's biggest challenges through innovation. As the founder of Viome, Moon Express, World Innovation Institute, TalentWise, Intelius, and Infospace, Naveen is an intensely curious entrepreneur who is focused on audacious ideas that push humanity f” source
Test on held-back known people
- Found Eric Schmidt (signal in 2022) Recurs on three surfaces: XPRIZE Vision Circle benefactor (costly action, paying into XPRIZE), Abundance360 2026 Summit faculty, and 7 Moonshots episodes (first
- Missed Laurene Powell Jobs Not on XPRIZE board, benefactors, Healthspan sponsors or benefactors, A360 home or member council, and not named anywhere in the 305-item Moonshots feed.
- Missed Satya Nadella Named on abundance360.com only inside Peggy Johnson's faculty bio (reporting to him at Microsoft). Not a member, faculty, guest or benefactor. Miss.
- Missed Jeff Skoll Absent from all four Diamandis surfaces fetched. Skoll funds through his own foundation and Skoll World Forum, a parallel convening, not this one.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Absent from all surfaces. The route cannot see future-legend owners outside the tech and longevity community.
- Missed MacKenzie Scott Absent from all surfaces. Scott gives to grantees directly and does not appear on convener rosters.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Absent from all surfaces. Firm-redesign owners outside the exponential-tech scene do not join this community.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Absent from all surfaces fetched, including the Vision Circle roster, which does list another Indian conglomerate figure (Ratan Tata, in memoriam).
Route 10: The Azeem Azhar community crossed with costly action
Looks for: both · Status: working
Kind of signal: what people say and who they gather with
Expected timing: could be early or late. Observed: late
The steps we take
- Pull the full episode archive with guest names, titles and firms.
- Keep chief executives and founders. Set aside investors, researchers and officials.
- For each, find a dated redesign of their own firm in its newsroom or SEC filings.
- Confirm the role from a filing or press statement.
Found 3 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · signal lagged recognition by a median 10 years (3 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: open api
Verdict revised. The Exponential View podcast guest roster works as a future-legend spine once the HBR-era back catalogue (2019-2022, reachable only through the Apple Podcasts lookup API) is added to the Substack archive. Executive guests crossed with a firm-redesign trace yield real names. The world-transformer half (billionaire guests crossed with Form D or 990 commitments) yields almost nothing: the guest list is researchers, founders and investors below billionaire scale. Repeat citation in the newsletter cannot be read because bodies are paywalled.
Sources: exponentialview.co podcast pages; Exponential View newsletter archive; SEC EDGAR Form D; ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- podcast episode through Apple Podcasts lookup API for show 1172218725 plus Substack archive API type=podcast gives named guest with title and firm (joined on guest name and firm parsed from episode description)
- named guest through episode description role string gives executive guest (CEO, co-CEO, founder-CEO) versus investor, researcher or official (joined on role words in description (CEO, co-founder, president))
- executive guest through company newsroom, SEC 8-K and S-1 via www.sec.gov Archives gives dated firm-redesign action (joined on firm name and CIK)
- person through SEC filing or press role statement gives capacity (power to decide) (joined on person name plus title)
New names that passed every check
- Howie Liu, Airtable ceo, United States
Rebuilding his own company as if founded today for AI agents, treating the 2025 relaunch as a refounding of Airtable rather than a feature release.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Howie serves as CEO and is responsible for Airtable's overall direction and strategy. He co-founded the company in 2013” source
- What they did 2025 “Instead of just adding more AI capabilities to our existing platform, we treated this as a refounding moment for the company.” source
- What they said 2025 “Liu argues that "when the cost of making apps goes to zero, how many more apps will we see made?" Instead of buying off-the-shelf software that almost fits your needs, you'll just build exactly what you want.” source
- Scott Farquhar, Atlassian both, Australia
Redesigned how Atlassian works by letting every employee choose daily where to work and building policies and rituals for a distributed firm.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Farquhar is both the cofounder and co-CEO of Atlassian, which makes tools for software developers and project managers. The company has a market capitalization of around $49 billion. Farquhar himself is worth $11.7 billion, according to estimates from Bloomberg” source
- What they did 2020 “Atlassian was one of the first companies to take the bold step of closing offices indefinitely and transitioning all staff to work remotely. We soon recognized that remote work is here to stay and set about creating the internal infrastructure” source
- What they said 2023 “We expect people to be able to work from home, from a café, from an office, but we don't really care where they do their work - what we care about is the output that they produce” source
- Daniel Schreiber, Lemonade ceo, United States
Rebuilt the insurance model so leftover premiums go to customer-chosen causes, locked into a public benefit corporation charter.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Our success depends upon the continued service of Daniel Schreiber, our co-founder, Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors” source
- What they did 2020 “Our public benefit, as provided in our certificate of incorporation, is to harness novel business models, technologies and private-nonprofit partnerships to deliver insurance products where charitable giving is a core feature, for the benefit of communities and their common causes” source
- What they said 2026 “Giveback is at the heart of Lemonade. When everyone knows that your insurance connects to causes people care about, it creates a system where honesty, fairness, and trust naturally come through” source
- Adena Friedman, Nasdaq ceo, United States
Moving Nasdaq from exchange operator to a technology and SaaS company, with the Verafin deal as the costly step.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “At Nasdaq, we believe that fair, secure and transparent markets are vital to creating strong economies that move the world forward, said Adena Friedman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Nasdaq.” source
- What they did 2020 “the acquisition also furthers our goal to be a premier provider of cloud-based SaaS solutions to the global capital markets and beyond.” source
- What they said 2021 “At Nasdaq, we believe that fair, secure and transparent markets are vital to creating strong economies that move the world forward” source
- Jesper Brodin, Ingka Group (IKEA) executive, Sweden
Turned the largest IKEA retailer into a net producer of renewable energy and a circular retailer as part of its operating model.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “while future proofing our business. For us, it is good business to be a good business,” says Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ingka Group.” source
- What they did 2021 “In the past decade Ingka Group has invested 2.5 billion euro into renewable energy in onsite and offsite wind and solar power enabling the company to generate more renewable energy globally than it consumes.” source
- What they said 2025 “And the biggest trajectory transformation that we're seeing right now is that the world is speeding up towards the climate-smart economy.” source
- Daniel Hulme, Satalia (WPP) ceo, United Kingdom
Runs his company as a decentralised swarm where staff choose their work, pay and holidays, and argues AI makes this organisational design possible.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Dr. Daniel Hulme, CEO and founder Daniel has over two decades of applied AI experience, researching and implementing AI solutions.” source
- What they did 2020 “Operating a company with no managers, where everyone chooses their work, salary, and holiday entitlement may sound like chaos. But Daniel Hulme, CEO of Satalia, and his team of 250 people are making it productive.” source
- What they did 2026 “We operate globally, with our decision-making decentralised - so our people can work on the projects most meaningful to them.” source
- What they said 2026 “Daniel is driven by a mission to democratise innovation and ensure the benefits of technology are accessible to all.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Archive search for Lutke returned nothing; the variant Shopify returned 12 posts but none names him in title, subtitle, tags or free preview. Never a podcast gu
- Missed Luis von Ahn Search for von Ahn returned fuzzy matches on 'von'; none names him. Duolingo variant returned 6 posts, none naming him. Not a guest.
- Missed Nandan Nilekani Nilekani, Aadhaar and Infosys searches return 0 to 3 posts, none naming him. Not a guest.
- Found Jaan Tallinn (signal in 2025) Guest on a January 2025 Davos podcast episode. Long after his world commitments were public, so no lead time.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Narasimhan and Novartis searches name nobody; not a guest. The reference list flags his recognition as thin, so this miss is weak evidence.
- Found Vinod Khosla (signal in 2023) Guest on the 2023 Exponentially series (Bloomberg Originals). Recognised well before 2023.
- Missed Chris Hohn Hohn and Children's Investment Fund searches name nobody. Not a guest.
- Found Jensen Huang (signal in 2024) Not a guest; hit on the cited-repeatedly arm (a post tag 'Jensen Huang', an October 2024 post titled on his interview, more in 2025 and 2026). Lags recognition
Route 11: The Jeremiah Owyang community crossed with Form D and the Kauffman network
Looks for: both · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: what people say and who they gather with
Expected timing: could be early or late
The steps we take
- Read his event recaps and event pages for named people.
- Read the fund's private-fundraising filings for backers.
- Look up portfolio companies for their directors.
Verdict invalidated. Owyang's own channels are public and pullable (WordPress blog with RSS and site search, Luma event pages, two Blitzscaling Ventures Form D filings), but none of the route's steps reach people with capacity. Llama Lounge posts name early-stage AI startups by brand, VC firms by name only, and corporate attendees by role without names (for example 'Adobe: GenStudio Product Manager'); named corporate people are startup-program and innovation staff, not chief executives or controlling owners. The Form D step fails twice: the fund filings list only the managers (Scott Johnson, Christopher Yeh, Jeffrey Abbott) and an investor count (70 and 94), never the backers, and portfolio brand names (Lightberry, Ambiguous, Moltbook) return no EDGAR company match. Test on known people 0 of 8; site search does find known people Benioff, Chesky and Zuckerberg, but only in 2008 to 2015 analyst commentary, not as signals. Kauffman Fellows membership is a peer network of fund partners, not a path to principals.
Sources: Owyang blog and newsletter pages; his event pages; Kauffman Fellows directory; SEC EDGAR Form D
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- convener channel through Owyang blog posts and RSS (Llama Lounge recaps), Luma event pages gives startup, VC firm, corporate host team (joined on brand or firm name as written in the post)
- fund Owyang invests through through SEC EDGAR Form D for Blitzscaling Ventures I and AI, L.P. gives related persons (fund managers only) (joined on issuer CIK)
- portfolio startup through EDGAR company search by brand name for Form D gives issuer and its directors (joined on legal issuer name (not available from posts))
- person through capacity check (role or wealth) gives discovery (joined on name plus organisation)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Laurene Powell Jobs Owyang blog site search https://web-strategist.com/blog/?s=Powell+Jobs returns 'Nothing Found' (raw/search-powell-jobs.txt); not named in Llama Lounge 19, 24, 2
- Missed Piyush Gupta Owyang blog site search https://web-strategist.com/blog/?s=Piyush+Gupta returns 'Nothing Found' (raw/search-piyush-gupta.txt); not named in Llama Lounge 19, 24,
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Owyang blog site search https://web-strategist.com/blog/?s=Ulukaya returns 'Nothing Found' (raw/search-ulukaya.txt); not named in Llama Lounge 19, 24, 25 or 26
- Missed Masayoshi Son Owyang blog site search https://web-strategist.com/blog/?s=Masayoshi returns 'Nothing Found' (raw/search-masayoshi.txt); not named in Llama Lounge 19, 24, 25 or
- Missed Satya Nadella Owyang blog site search https://web-strategist.com/blog/?s=Nadella returns 'Nothing Found' (raw/search-nadella.txt); not named in Llama Lounge 19, 24, 25 or 26
- Missed Chris Hohn Owyang blog site search https://web-strategist.com/blog/?s=Chris+Hohn returns 'Nothing Found' (raw/search-chris-hohn.txt); not named in Llama Lounge 19, 24, 25
- Missed Eric Schmidt Owyang blog site search https://web-strategist.com/blog/?s=Eric+Schmidt returns 'Nothing Found' (raw/search-eric-schmidt.txt); not named in Llama Lounge 19, 24,
- Missed MacKenzie Scott Owyang blog site search https://web-strategist.com/blog/?s=MacKenzie+Scott returns 'Nothing Found' (raw/search-mackenzie-scott.txt); not named in Llama Lounge 1
Route 12: LittleSis interlocks around known people
Looks for: both · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: could be early or late
The steps we take
- Find each known person in LittleSis.
- List the organisations they sit on, founded or fund.
- Find other people tied to two or more of those organisations.
- Confirm a dated, costly action for each in a second source, then check wealth or role.
Found 2 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · signal lagged recognition by a median 9 years (1 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: open api
Verdict revised. LittleSis API v2 works as an interlock spine: from a tuning seed, the seed's non-political organisations (boards, funds, coalitions, nonprofits it funds) are expanded through /connections, and people sharing two or more of those organisations are tallied. Known people found was 2 of 8 (Mo Ibrahim, Michael Bloomberg), and the forward pull gave 5 verified new names. Revised: political donations are excluded by rule, Wikidata Forbes-referenced net worth covered only 2 of 12 candidates so Forbes profile pages carry capacity, and LittleSis web pages sit behind a JavaScript proof-of-work wall so only the API is citable. LittleSis carries few dates, so lead time is mostly unmeasurable, and the output skews to already-famous US tech donors.
Sources: LittleSis API v2; Wikidata SPARQL
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- known person through LittleSis API v2 entities/search gives LittleSis person entity (joined on LittleSis entity id)
- person entity through LittleSis API v2 entities/{id}/connections (pages 1-4) gives organisations the seed sits on, belongs to, founded or funds (political committees, schools, public companies and PACs dropped) (joined on LittleSis entity id plus connected_category_id 1, 3, 5, 11, 12)
- organisation through LittleSis API v2 entities/{id}/connections (pages 1-3) gives people tied to two or more of the seed's organisations (joined on LittleSis person id counted across seed organisations)
- interlock person through second source: organisation newsroom, university announcement or press gives dated costly action (joined on person name plus vehicle name)
- person through Wikidata SPARQL P2218 with Forbes reference, else Forbes profile page; future legends: own-firm role page gives capacity (joined on person name (Wikidata label) or Forbes profile slug)
New names that passed every check
- John Doerr, Kleiner Perkins billionaire, United States
Trying to speed the world to net zero by building a university school dedicated to climate and sustainability solutions.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “He and his wife, Ann, pledged $1.1 billion to Stanford University in 2022 to launch a new school focused on sustainability.” source
- What they did 2022 “Stanford University announced that it will launch the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability this fall, backed by a $1.1 billion donation from venture capitalist John Doerr” source
- What they said 2022 “require that knowledge be channeled toward the building of practical, implementable solutions” source
- What they said 2022 “With my partners at Kleiner Perkins, many of whom are here today, we set out to invest in climate solutions. We traveled around the world looking for scalable innovations, Doerr said. But whatever we've done is not enough.” source
- Reed Hastings, Netflix billionaire, United States
Funding a new academic initiative to shape how AI changes human life, after decades of large gifts aimed at changing US education.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Reed Hastings, cofounder and chairman of Netflix, revolutionized how the world is entertained. Hastings cofounded Netflix in 1997” source
- What they did 2025 “With this unprecedented gift, the College will launch the Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity, which will shape Bowdoin's interdisciplinary approach to examining and grappling with the ethics and utilization of AI.” source
- What they said 2025 “This donation seeks to advance Bowdoin's mission of cultivating wisdom for the common good by deepening the College's engagement with one of humanity's most transformative developments: artificial intelligence.” source
- What they did 2020 “In 2020, he and his wife Patty donated $120 million to two historically Black colleges and the United Negro College Fund. Their lifetime giving surpasses $2 billion.” source
- John Collison, Stripe billionaire, Ireland
Using Stripe to create a guaranteed buyer market for permanent carbon removal so the technology can scale.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “John Collison is cofounder and president of Stripe, a company that lets businesses and individuals accept payments over the internet. Private investors valued Stripe at $159 billion in February 2026.” source
- What they did 2022 “Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify, Meta, and McKinsey Sustainability are today launching Frontier, an advance market commitment (AMC) to accelerate the development of permanent carbon removal technologies.” source
- What they did 2023 “Stripe's $1bn Frontier fund has written its third round of cheques to startups attempting to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.” source
- What they said 2022 “Advance market commitments were originally piloted for vaccine development; this is the first time the model is being applied to carbon removal at scale.” source
- Reid Hoffman, Greylock Partners; Manas AI billionaire, United States
Cofounded and seed-funded an AI company that aims to rebuild cancer drug discovery end to end.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “PROFILE Reid Hoffman Greylock Partners $2.6B $0.21M (0.01%) Real Time Net Worth as of 10/2/26” source
- What they did 2025 “Manas will use artificial intelligence to try and accelerate the drug discovery process, starting with new treatments for aggressive cancers. The company has raised $24.6 million in seed funding, led by General Catalyst and Hoffman.” source
- What they said 2025 “AI will have a lasting and positive impact on humanity, and for years I have been focused on helping realize the potential of this technology.” source
- What they did 2026 “He has put more than $1.5 billion into impact investments through charitable entities like donor-advised funds.” source
- Hemant Taneja, General Catalyst ceo, United States
Turning a venture firm into an owner-operator that buys a hospital system to prove a new model of health care delivery.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “I am the CEO of General Catalyst. My work centers on applied AI as the engine for abundance and resilience” source
- What they did 2024 “We are delighted to announce that HATCo has signed a letter of intent to acquire Summa Health, in what we hope is only the beginning of HATCo and Summa Health's long-term journey together to reshape and improve the future of healthcare delivery.” source
- What they said 2024 “By that measure, many of the previous, well intentioned but ultimately failed efforts to transform our healthcare system have been 'insane'.” source
- What they said 2026 “I have architected GC's strategy to drive global resilience through AI transformation in five critical industries: healthcare, defense, industrials, energy, and financial services.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Found Michael Bloomberg Surfaced from seed Mark Zuckerberg: shares Partnership for a New American Economy and Breakthrough Energy Coalition. LittleSis gives no start date for either ti
- Missed Satya Nadella In LittleSis (id 119578) but no tuning seed's organisations reach him at two or more ties.
- Found Mo Ibrahim (signal in 2016) Surfaced from seed Pierre Omidyar: shares The Rise Fund (founders) and the Berggruen 21st Century Council. The Rise Fund entity record says it was founded in 20
- Missed Nandan Nilekani In LittleSis as Nandan M Nilekani (id 34945) but not reached from any seed's organisations.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan LittleSis search for Vas Narasimhan returns no entity; Swiss pharma executive outside its US coverage.
- Missed Jensen Huang In LittleSis (id 399911) but not reached from any seed's organisations.
- Missed Jaan Tallinn In LittleSis (id 433044) but not reached from any seed's organisations.
- Missed Chris Hohn Reached from seed Zuckerberg through one organisation only (Breakthrough Energy Coalition member), below the two-tie threshold. Near miss.
Route 13: Grand challenge first: problem to builders to funders to principal
Looks for: world transformers · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: could be early or late. Observed: late
The steps we take
- List the companies building against the problem.
- Read each builder's funding and customer announcements for backers and buyers.
- Name the person who controls each backer.
- Check that person's wealth or role and the date of the commitment.
Found 3 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · signal lagged recognition by a median 10 years (3 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The fusion and carbon removal branches work once the backers step reads builders' own funding, offtake and acquisition releases instead of Form D. Form D related persons name only founders and board delegates (Eni's Pieri, The Engine's Rae), never the principal. Longevity via OpenAlex funders yields institutions, not principals. Kauffman sector tags add nothing a funding release does not.
Sources: Fusion Industry Association reports; frontierclimate.com; OpenAlex API; NIH RePORTER; SEC EDGAR Form D; Kauffman Fellows directory
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- grand challenge (fusion, carbon removal, longevity) through Frontier portfolio page; FIA member and report pages; OpenAlex funders search gives builder company (joined on company name)
- builder company through builder newsroom funding, offtake and board releases (cfs.energy, helionenergy.com); SEC Form D related persons as a check gives backer or buyer organisation (joined on investor or counterparty name in release)
- backer or buyer organisation through backer's own newsroom and leadership page gives controlling principal or chief executive (joined on person named as chair, CEO or founder in the backer's release)
- principal through Wikipedia citing Forbes, or company leadership page gives dated capacity (joined on person name)
New names that passed every check
- Leon Topalian, Nucor Corporation ceo, United States
Rewiring steelmaking's power supply by putting Nucor money and a 500 MW plant commitment behind Helion fusion.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Nucor CEO Leon Topalian emphasized the significance of this collaboration stating” source
- What they did 2023 “Nucor is making a direct investment of $35 million in Helion to accelerate fusion deployment in the United States” source
- What they said 2023 “This project marks a tremendous milestone in the potential for the use of nearly limitless clean electricity for industrial manufacturing” source
- Claudio Descalzi, Eni ceo, Italy
Moving an oil major toward fusion as a new energy system: Eni was CFS's first corporate investor in 2018 and in 2025 signed a $1B+ offtake for the ARC plant's power.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “marks a turning point in which fusion becomes a full industrial opportunity, said Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi” source
- What they did 2018 “Eni has been strengthening its collaboration with CFS through its technological know-how since it first invested in the company in 2018” source
- What they said 2025 “Eni supports the development of fusion power as a new energy paradigm capable of producing clean, safe, and virtually inexhaustible energy” source
- Vicki Hollub, Occidental Petroleum ceo, United States
Turning an oil producer into a carbon management company through direct air capture: STRATOS, Carbon Engineering and the Holocene acquisition.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said President and Chief Executive Officer Vicki Hollub. The permits are a catalyst to unlock value from carbon dioxide” source
- What they did 2025 “Direct air capture technology startup Holocene announced that it has been acquired by energy giant Occidental (Oxy), marking the latest in a series of moves by Oxy” source
- What they said 2023 “This joint venture demonstrates that Direct Air Capture is becoming an investable technology and BlackRock's commitment in STRATOS underscores its importance and potential for the world” source
- Euisun Chung, Hyundai Motor Group both, South Korea
Remaking a carmaker into a mobility, robotics and hydrogen group and now putting group capital into fusion through CFS.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “He is among the richest people in South Korea. In August 2026, Forbes estimated his net worth as US$ 5.8 billion” source
- What they did 2026 “today announced that Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) became an investor during the company's recent $1 billion fundraise” source
- What they did 2026 “The investment will establish an innovation hub focused on robotics, AI data centers, hydrogen energy, solar power and AI hydrogen smart city development. Executive Chair Euisun Chung attended the signing” source
- What they said 2026 “Executive Chair Chung is leading the transformation of Hyundai Motor Group into a mobility solutions enterprise” source
- Chris Sacca, Lowercarbon Capital billionaire, United States
Funding companies that pull carbon out of the air and decarbonise energy, through a climate fund he and his wife seeded themselves.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Forbes estimated that Sacca was personally worth $1.2 billion. By that time the value of his first Twitter fund” source
- What they did 2020 “Sacca launched a climate change -related fund in 2020 called Lowercarbon Capital which was initially funded by Sacca and his wife” source
- What they said 2026 “Lowercarbon Capital backs kickass companies that make real money slashing CO 2 emissions, sucking carbon out of the sky, and buying us time” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Jensen Huang The CFS Series B2 release lists NVentures (NVIDIA's venture capital arm) as a new investor in 2025, but that is a corporate venture arm. Jensen Huang founded an
- Found Laurene Powell Jobs (signal in 2025) Emerson Collective is Laurene Powell Jobs' vehicle and appears among existing CFS investors. 2025 is the first year this release dates; the stake predates it.
- Found Masayoshi Son (signal in 2025) SoftBank Vision Fund 2 (Masayoshi Son's fund) enters Helion's Series F in January 2025.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance does not appear among Frontier suppliers, the CFS or Helion investor lists, or the Form D related persons pulled. Reliance's new-energy bets are in sol
- Missed Mo Ibrahim Mo Ibrahim's giving is governance-focused; no trace in fusion, carbon removal or longevity builder or funder lists.
- Found Vinod Khosla (signal in 2025) Khosla Ventures, Vinod Khosla's firm, is an existing CFS investor. The stake predates 2025, so the signal year here is a late bound.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue and Tattarang are not in any builder investor list pulled. Forrest's challenge is green hydrogen and iron, which this route's three challenges do not
- Missed MacKenzie Scott MacKenzie Scott gives unrestricted grants to nonprofits and makes no venture or offtake bets on builders, so a builder-to-backer route cannot reach her.
Route 14: Pooled big-bet funds: grantee releases to named donors
Looks for: world transformers · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised. Observed: late
The steps we take
- Read each fund's donor roster and announcements.
- Take each named donor or donor vehicle.
- Look up the vehicle's tax filings for its size.
- Name the person behind it and check their wealth.
Found 5 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · signal lagged recognition by a median 2 years (5 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Pooled big-bet funds are open and pullable, but grantee releases almost never name the donors behind a specific grant: Audacious cohort releases and grantee newsrooms (Arc Institute, Tiko) repeat the same boilerplate list of seven donors. The names come from the funds' own launch releases and published donor rosters (Co-Impact 2017 launch and 2019 grants release, Audacious about page, Blue Meridian partners page, the 2015 Breakthrough Energy Coalition roster). The route was revised to start from rosters and fund-launch releases, then resolve each donor vehicle in ProPublica and check wealth on Forbes. It hit 5 of 8 sample people with signals in 2015 to 2017.
Sources: audaciousproject.org; co-impact.org; coefficientgiving.org; ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- pooled fund through fund donor roster page, fund launch release, fund RSS (co-impact.org/feed/) gives named donor or donor vehicle (joined on donor display name as printed on the roster)
- donor vehicle through ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API search.json then organizations/<EIN>.json gives EIN, form type (990-PF is formtype 2), total assets by year (joined on vehicle legal name to EIN)
- vehicle through vehicle about page, Forbes profile editor's paragraph gives principal and dated wealth check (joined on founder name stated on the vehicle page or roster)
New names that passed every check
- Richard Chandler, Clermont Group; Chandler Foundation billionaire, New Zealand
Trying to change how governments and markets build public trust and integrity, and pooled capital into Co-Impact as a founding core partner to fund systems change in health, education and livelihoods.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “where he now runs global investment firm Clermont Group. Clermont's portfolio includes interests in healthcare, financial services and aerospace.” source
- What they did 2019 “Co-Impact collaborative includes core partners Richard Chandler, Bill and Melinda Gates, Jeff Skoll, The Rockefeller Foundation, and – most recently – Rohini and Nandan Nilekani.” source
- What they said 2017 “The founding partners are committed to supporting the champions of human development – bold leaders who are working to unlock the creative potential of individuals, communities, and nations.” source
- What they said 2026 “We believe cultures of integrity are the foundations for strong and prosperous nations. High-trust nations have greater political stability, vibrant marketplaces and flourishing communities.” source
- Romesh Wadhwani, Wadhwani Foundation; SymphonyAI billionaire, United States
Trying to change economic development and job creation in emerging economies, starting with India, through his own foundation and a founding stake in a pooled systems-change fund.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Wadhwani first became a billionaire in 2000 after i2 Technologies acquired Aspect Development, a software firm he founded, for $9.3 billion in stock.” source
- What they did 2000 “He established the Wadhwani Foundation for economic development in emerging economies, with an initial focus on India.” source
- What they said 2017 “Co-Impact will be a catalyst for collaborative global philanthropy in partnership with the most promising NGOs and governments.” source
- Hasso Plattner, SAP; Hasso Plattner Institute billionaire, Germany
Trying to change how software engineers and designers are trained, through his own institute, and committed capital to early-stage clean-energy technology through the Breakthrough Energy Coalition.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Hasso Plattner and four colleagues left IBM in 1972 to launch German enterprise software company SAP, which went public in 1988.” source
- What they did 2015 “Xavier Niel Description: Founder,Iliad Group,France Hasso Plattner Description: Co-founder,SAP SE,Germany” source
- What they did 2026 “His nonprofit Hasso Plattner Institute focuses on research and teaching in IT systems engineering, offering degree programs and free online courses.” source
- Patrice Motsepe, African Rainbow Minerals; African Rainbow Capital billionaire, South Africa
Trying to change who owns and finances African industry, through black-owned mining and an Africa-focused investment firm, and committed capital to clean-energy technology through the Breakthrough Energy Coalition.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Patrice Motsepe, the founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, became a billionaire in 2008 - the first black African on the Forbes list.” source
- What they did 2015 “Patrice Motsepe Description: Founder and Executive Chairman,African Rainbow Minerals (ARM),South Africa” source
- What they did 2016 “In 2016, he launched a private equity firm, African Rainbow Capital, focused on investing in Africa.” source
- Arthur Blank, Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation billionaire, United States
Pooling capital through Blue Meridian to change the life trajectories of young people in poverty, and redirected his own foundation in 2020 to accelerate giving on democracy, environment and mental health.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus cofounded Home Depot in 1978 after being fired from their jobs at a regional hardware store.” source
- What they did 1995 “Started in 1995 by Arthur M. Blank, co-founder of The Home Depot, the foundation has granted over $1.5 billion to charitable causes.” source
- What they did 2020 “In a strategic realignment to address pressing societal challenges, the foundation’s board of directors committed in 2020 to accelerate philanthropy.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Found Jeff Skoll (signal in 2017) Named as an initial Co-Impact core partner in the November 2017 launch release; also on the Audacious Project and Co-Impact donor rosters (Skoll Foundation, Jef
- Found Nandan Nilekani (signal in 2017) EkStep Foundation named as technical partner in the 2017 launch release; became a capital-committing core partner by the January 2019 grants release. Signal yea
- Missed Eric Schmidt Not named on the Audacious, Co-Impact, Blue Meridian or Lever for Change pages fetched, nor in the 2015 Breakthrough Energy Coalition roster. His giving runs th
- Missed Jaan Tallinn Not on any pooled-fund roster fetched. The likely pooled channel (Coefficient Giving multi-donor funds) returned 403 directly and through Jina, so this miss is
- Found Mukesh Ambani (signal in 2015) Founding Breakthrough Energy Coalition investor (2015 roster, StratML mirror of the original b-t.energy/coalition page).
- Found Masayoshi Son (signal in 2015) Founding Breakthrough Energy Coalition investor (2015).
- Found Vinod Khosla (signal in 2015) Founding Breakthrough Energy Coalition investor (2015).
- Missed Jensen Huang Not on any pooled-fund roster or release fetched.
Route 15: Vehicle formation: Form 4 gifts and new foundations
Looks for: world transformers · Status: working
Kind of signal: a structural commitment that is hard to undo
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read the SEC's quarterly data on insider transactions and keep gifts worth more than $10 million.
- Read the footnotes for the named recipient: a foundation or a donor-advised fund.
- Look up when that foundation was registered and when it first filed.
- Confirm who the insider is and their role.
Found 2 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · signal led recognition by a median 7.5 years (2 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: bulk download
Verdict revised. The route works only after two changes. The cold spine is the SEC quarterly Insider Transactions Data Sets (Form 345 TSV zips), not the latest-filings Atom feed: the feed shows about a day of Form 4s and needs two fetches per filing, while one quarterly zip holds every code G line with footnotes. And the 'footnoted recipient foundation' step holds for only a minority of large gifts: in three quarters most gifts above $10M name a donor-advised fund or no recipient at all, so the principal is resolved from the filer, not from the foundation. Named-foundation gifts still give an EIN join in ProPublica and expose new vehicles (Baszucki Family Foundation, ruling 2022).
Sources: SEC EDGAR Form 4 XML; ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API; IRS EO BMF; IRS 990 XML
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- quarter through SEC Insider Transactions Data Set (NONDERIV_TRANS, SUBMISSION, REPORTINGOWNER, FOOTNOTES) gives code G disposal lines valued over $10M per filer per quarter (joined on ACCESSION_NUMBER)
- gift line through FOOTNOTES.tsv via the *_FN footnote ids on the transaction row gives named recipient (private foundation, DAF sponsor, unnamed 501(c)(3)) (joined on ACCESSION_NUMBER + FOOTNOTE_ID)
- named foundation through ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API search.json and organizations/{EIN}.json (IRS BMF fields) gives EIN, ruling date, first 990-PF year, assets (joined on foundation name string -> EIN)
- filer through rendered Form 4 (xslF345X05 view) and EDGAR filing index.json gives principal person and role at issuer (joined on RPTOWNERCIK)
- principal through Forbes profile editor text gives dated capacity check (joined on person name)
New names that passed every check
- David Baszucki, Roblox; Baszucki Family Foundation (EIN 32-0660398); Baszucki Brain Research Fund billionaire, United States
Trying to change how serious mental illness is treated, by funding metabolic psychiatry trials and awards through a family foundation endowed with Roblox stock.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “David Baszucki is cofounder and CEO of Roblox, a social gaming platform that allows kids and teens to play games that are made by fellow gamers.” source
- What they did 2025 “Represents a transfer of shares by The Freedom Revocable Trust dated February 28, 2017 as amended to The Baszucki Family Foundation.” source
- What they did 2022 “The Fund is providing $2 million in grants to support neurometabolic research focused on the benefits of carbohydrate-restricted ketogenic diet therapies for improving mental health outcomes.” source
- Jeremy Allaire, Circle Internet Group billionaire, United States
Trying to rebuild the monetary and payments system on open internet protocols through Circle and the USDC stablecoin.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jeremy Allaire is the cofounder and CEO of Circle, issuer of USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization.” source
- What they did 2025 “On December 9, 2025, the Reporting Person made a bona fide gift of 235,000 shares of Issuer's Class A common stock to a donor advised fund.” source
- What they said 2026 “What is emerging now is much more than a new technology layer; it is the early architecture of a new global economic system.” source
- John Oyler, BeOne Medicines (formerly BeiGene) billionaire, United States
Trying to change who can get cancer medicines worldwide, by building a global oncology company around lower-cost development and wider access.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “John Oyler is the CEO, cofounder and chairman of global oncology company BeOne Medicines. He owns nearly 5% of the publicly traded company.” source
- What they did 2025 “Bona fide gift of shares to a private foundation which is exempt from Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act pursuant to Rule 16b-5.” source
- What they said 2010 “Founders John V. Oyler and Xiaodong Wang launch a global company with a bold mission: to transform cancer treatment through innovation” source
- Vlad Tenev, Robinhood Markets billionaire, United States
Trying to change who has access to financial markets, by removing trading commissions and building retail brokerage products through Robinhood.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Since its launch, Robinhood's no-commission trading model has revolutionized the brokerage industry. In 2021, Robinhood went public on the Nasdaq exchange at a $32 billion valuation. Tenev owns about 6% of the company.” source
- What they did 2025 “Represents a bona fide gift of 87,770 shares from the reporting person to a donor advised fund.” source
- What they said 2013 “There, they discovered that big Wall Street firms were paying next-to-nothing to trade stocks, while most Americans were charged commission for every single trade. They wanted to change that” source
- Michael Dell, Dell Technologies; Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (EIN 36-4336415) billionaire, United States
Trying to give every American child a market-invested savings account, seeding 25 million accounts with $6.25 billion.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Much of Dell's fortune lies in his private investment firm DFO Management, which has stakes in hotels and invests in liquid corporate credit.” source
- What they did 2025 “Represents a gift of 1,150,000 shares of Class C common stock to the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation” source
- What they did 2025 “Michael and Susan Dell are donating $6.25 billion to fund "Trump Accounts" for 25 million U.S. children.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is listed in India; Ambani is not a Section 16 insider of any US issuer, so no Form 4 exists. Miss by construction.
- Missed Jaan Tallinn No US-listed holding where Tallinn is an insider; his giving runs through Survival and Flourishing Fund and DAFs, invisible to Form 4. Miss by construction.
- Missed Michael Bloomberg Bloomberg LP is private; no Form 4 gifts. Bloomberg Philanthropies is funded with private-company money. Miss by construction.
- Missed Dustin Moskovitz Signal fires but recipient fails: 3 code G gifts in 94 Asana Form 4s (2021, 2022, 2023), each footnoted 'transferred the shares as a gift to Justin Rosenstein',
- Found Eric Schmidt (signal in 2009) 37,600 Google Class A shares at roughly $350 is about $13M, so the $10M gift filter fires in 2009 (earliest year scanned; 2003-2007 filings not scanned). Recipi
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is ASX-listed; Forrest files no Form 4. Minderoo gifts of Fortescue shares are disclosed on the ASX, outside this route.
- Found Jeff Bezos (signal in 2012) Bezos filed code G gifts every year from 2005 ('Contributions to non-profit organizations'), but the first above $10M is 81,134 shares on 3 Feb 2012 (about $15M
- Missed Laurene Powell Jobs EDGAR owner search for 'powell jobs' returns no matching filer; she is not a Section 16 insider. Emerson Collective is an LLC, not a foundation. Miss by constru
Route 16: Registries outside the US
Looks for: world transformers · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: could be early or late
The steps we take
- Read the India philanthropy ranking, Australian charity returns and the England and Wales charity extract for the largest funders.
- For each, name the trustee or donor who funds and controls the vehicle.
- Check that person's wealth.
Found 1 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · signal lagged recognition by a median 9 years (1 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: bulk download
Verdict revised. Revised. Two of the five registries carry this route: the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List (read through press coverage that prints the ranked donors and amounts) and the ACNC Annual Information Statement CSV on data.gov.au, which ranks every Australian charity by grants made and exposes founder vehicles such as the Canva Foundation, Yajilarra Trust and Neilson Foundation. The UK side is weak as tested: GrantNav returned 429, the 360Giving API paths 404, the Charity Commission web register renders client-side, and the bulk extract is cut at the 15 MB fetch cap so it covers only charity numbers below about 1038007, missing every foundation registered since the mid-1990s. Known people found on the sample is 1/8 (Ambani via Hurun); seven of eight sample people are US or Japan-based and outside these registries by construction.
Sources: 360Giving GrantNav API; Charity Commission register; Companies House API; ACNC register; EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- registry or list through EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List (via press); ACNC AIS CSV 'grants and donations made' columns; Charity Commission bulk extract latest_expenditure gives large funder or named donor (joined on Hurun donor name; ACNC ABN; CCEW registered_charity_number)
- funder through foundation or grantee page, ACNC charity profile, CCEW trustee extract (trustee_name per charity number) gives principal who funds and controls the vehicle (joined on vehicle name to founder name (trustees are not donors: promote only when the vehicle is named for or funded by the person))
- principal through Forbes profile editor paragraph gives dated capacity check (joined on person name -> forbes.com/profile/<slug>/)
New names that passed every check
- Melanie Perkins, Canva; Canva Foundation billionaire, Australia
Testing whether unconditional cash at national scale can replace intermediated aid, funded by pledging most of her Canva stake to the Canva Foundation.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Melanie Perkins is cofounder and CEO of design software maker Canva, which was valued by private investors at $42 billion in August 2025.” source
- What they did 2026 “Canva co-founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht are putting another $150 million into a direct-cash aid programme in Malawi, expanding what is now being described as the world’s largest unconditional cash transfer initiative in a low-income country.” source
- What they did 2021 “The couple has pledged to transfer more than 80% of their stake to the Canva Foundation for charitable causes.” source
- Cliff Obrecht, Canva; Canva Foundation billionaire, Australia
Co-funds the largest unconditional cash-transfer programme in a low-income country through the Canva Foundation, backed by a pledge of most of his stake.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Cliff Obrecht is cofounder and chief operating officer of design software maker Canva, which was valued by private investors at $42 billion in August 2025.” source
- What they did 2026 “The programme, run through the Canva Foundation in partnership with GiveDirectly, gives money straight to adults with no conditions attached.” source
- What they did 2021 “The couple has pledged to transfer more than 80% of their stake to the Canva Foundation for charitable causes.” source
- Senapathy Gopalakrishnan, Pratiksha Trust; Axilor Ventures billionaire, India
Building India's brain-research capacity on ageing and neurodegeneration by endowing a dedicated research centre and chairs through his own trust.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Cofounder of software giant Infosys, Senapathy "Kris" Gopalakrishnan retired from the company in 2014. He occupied various positions at Infosys including that of CEO and vice chairman.” source
- What they did 2014 “Pratiksha Trust donated Rs. 225 crores to setup a new Centre for Brain Research at IISc. The Trust was set-up by Kris Gopalakrishnan, the co-founder of Infosys” source
- What they did 2014 “He's funded the Centre for Brain Research at the Indian Institute of Science” source
- Ranjan Pai, Manipal Education and Medical Group billionaire, India
Expanding access to private medical education and healthcare in India; personal giving crossed Rs 100 crore in FY25 after the Manipal Hospitals exit.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Medical doctor Ranjan Pai is chairman of the Manipal Group, an education and healthcare empire with 7 universities and more than 50 hospitals.” source
- What they did 2025 “Notably, Ranjan Pai, Chairman of Manipal Education and Medical Group, broke into the ₹100-crore league with donations worth ₹160 crore, placing him among the top five most generous individuals in personal capacity.” source
- What they did 2025 “Meanwhile, the report highlighted that Ranjan Pai, chairman of Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG), who recently completed a major exit with Temasek Holdings acquiring a controlling stake in Manipal Hospitals, has broken the ₹100 crore mark in personal philanthropy.” source
- Shiv Nadar, HCL Technologies; Shiv Nadar Foundation billionaire, India
Funds a private education system (schools, a university, rural scholarships) through the Shiv Nadar Foundation at about Rs 2,700 crore a year.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Indian IT pioneer Shiv Nadar cofounded HCL in a garage in 1976 to make calculators and microprocessors with five friends. Today, his $14.5 billion (revenue) HCL Technologies is among India's largest software services providers.” source
- What they did 2025 “HCL Technologies’ Founder Shiv Nadar and family, through Shiv Nadar Foundation, have retained their pole position with donations worth ₹2,708 crore in 2024-25 (FY25), which is about ₹7.4 crore worth of donations per day” source
- What they did 2025 “One of India's leading philanthropists, Nadar has donated $1.1 billion to his Shiv Nadar Foundation, which backs education-related causes.” source
- Cyrus Poonawalla, Serum Institute of India billionaire, India
Built the world's largest vaccine maker by doses and entered India's top-10 donors in FY25, a supply-side bet on mass low-cost immunisation.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Son of a horse breeder, Cyrus Poonawalla founded Serum Institute of India in 1966 and built it into the world's largest vaccine maker (by doses).” source
- What they did 2025 “Among notable movements, the Hinduja family, Sudhir and Samir Mehta, and Cyrus and Adar Poonawalla entered the top 10 this year, underscoring the diversification of high-value philanthropy in India.” source
- What they did 2026 “Headquartered in Pune city, close to Mumbai, Serum produces over 1.5 billion doses annually of a range of vaccines, including for measles, polio and flu.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Found Mukesh Ambani (signal in 2025) Hurun list rank 2. Only the 2025 edition was fetched; the list has run for 12 editions, so the true first-fire year is earlier.
- Missed Mo Ibrahim No Mo Ibrahim charity in Find that Charity suggest; the CCEW bulk extract was truncated below charity number 1038007; GrantNav returned 429. Possibly not a UK-r
- Missed Laurene Powell Jobs US vehicles (Emerson Collective); none of the non-US registries list her.
- Missed Dustin Moskovitz US vehicles; outside the route's registries.
- Missed Jensen Huang US foundation; outside the route's registries.
- Missed MacKenzie Scott Gives directly from the US; could appear as a funder in GrantNav recipient data, but GrantNav returned 429.
- Missed Jeff Bezos US vehicles (Bezos Earth Fund); outside the route's registries.
- Missed Masayoshi Son Japan has no registry in this route; not on the Hurun India list.
Route 17: Wealth first baseline: rich list to anomalous allocation
Looks for: world transformers · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: late, after the person is already recognised. Observed: early
The steps we take
- Pull the Forbes real-time list of billionaires (about 3,000 people).
- Keep those with a high giving score or a profile naming a large, dated commitment.
- Find the vehicle they founded.
- Confirm the dated commitment and what they say it is for.
Found 7 of 8 held-out known people · 7 new names · signal led recognition by a median 1 years (7 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: open api
Verdict revised
Sources: Forbes real-time billionaires pages; Wikidata SPARQL
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- global billionaire population through Forbes real-time billionaires API gives person with philanthropyScore >= 3 or a bio sentence naming a large dated allocation (joined on Forbes uri slug)
- person through Wikidata SPARQL (P112 founded-by on a foundation or research institute) or the bio-named vehicle gives vehicle (joined on vehicle name from bio; Wikidata QID)
- vehicle through vehicle's own site, host institution release or press gives dated costly allocation and stated thesis for the person (joined on vehicle name)
New names that passed every check
- Hans-Werner Hector, Hector Stiftung II; Hector Fellow Academy billionaire, Germany
Trying to change how Germany funds and values frontier natural science, through a 200 million euro endowment at KIT and a standing academy of Hector Fellows.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In 1996, he transferred to a Jersey Islands trust SAP shares representing more than 10% of the company's voting rights.” source
- What they did 2009 “It is the first time that the board of trustees of the Hector Foundation II founded in March 2008 has appointed Hector fellows.” source
- What they said 2009 “Hector criticizes that a surprising skepticism about science and in particular natural science prevails in Germany, contrary to America.” source
- What they did 2026 “Hans-Werner Hector welcomed the two new award winners to the circle of 34 Hector Fellows” source
- Mika Anttonen, St1 Group billionaire, Finland
Trying to move a fuel distributor's profits into replacing oil and building biological carbon sinks, through waste-based ethanol, deep geothermal and an afforestation pilot in Morocco.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Mika Anttonen heads and owns a majority stake in the nearly $8 billion (sales) Scandinavian fuel distributor St1 Group.” source
- What they did 2018 “St1 ran a pilot project in Morocco from 2018 to 2023, planting fast-growing trees in a dry area to study their potential as a carbon sink.” source
- What they said 2018 “Anttonen on Monday argued that it is impossible to limit global warming to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels only by transforming the energy system.” source
- What they did 2026 “Anttonen uses profits to finance projects he hopes will combat climate change and eventually replace oil, such as developing bioethanol from trash.” source
- He Xiangjian, Midea Group; He Science Foundation billionaire, China
Trying to shift Chinese science toward breakthrough basic research, including AI and climate, through a 3 billion yuan personal endowment and prize.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Entrepreneur He Xiangjian built Midea Group into one of the world's largest appliance makers.” source
- What they did 2023 “The foundation was established with a personal contribution of 3 billion Chinese yuan (RMB) by Mr. He Xiangjian” source
- What they said 2023 “He Xiangjian has deeply felt the importance of scientific development to the future of the country and mankind, so he decided to establish the Science Fund to continue to promote scientific progress, especially breakthroughs in basic research” source
- Georg Nemetschek, Nemetschek SE; Nemetschek Innovation Foundation billionaire, Germany
Trying to make AI the base of how buildings are designed and built, by endowing a dedicated research institute for AI in construction at TUM.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The founder continues to directly and immediately hold controlling interest and the majority of the voting rights of Nemetschek SE, which is listed on the MDax and TecDax.” source
- What they did 2020 “The Nemetschek Innovation Foundation will provide approximately 50 million euros over the next ten years to fund a research and teaching institute at the Technical University of Munich (TUM).” source
- What they said 2020 “The use of AI is one of the most important pillars of the construction industry of the future and raises the digitalization of the construction industry to the next level.” source
- What they did 2020 “In 2020, Georg launched the Nemetschek Innovation Foundation to support scientific research and artificial intelligence in the construction industry.” source
- Cho Tak Wong, Fuyao Glass Industry Group; Heren Charitable Foundation billionaire, Hong Kong
Trying to build a new kind of applied science and engineering university in China, funded by a 10 billion yuan founding gift from his stock-funded foundation.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Cho Tak Wong is the founder of Fuyao Glass Industry Group, one of Asia's largest manufacturers of auto glass that counts Audi, Fiat and Ford among its customers.” source
- What they did 2021 “In 2021, at the proposal of Cho Tak Wong, Heren Charitable Foundation donated RMB10 billion to initiate the establishment of Fuyao University of Science and Technology” source
- What they did 2010 “In 2010, he donated 300 million Fuyao Glass shares held by himself to establish Heren Charitable Foundation” source
- What they did 2025 “The Fujian Provincial Government announced on Tuesday that the Chinese Ministry of Education has approved the establishment of Fuyao University of Science and Technology in the province.” source
- Amos Hostetter Jr, Barr Foundation; Pilot House Ventures billionaire, United States
Trying to cut regional emissions and change transport and energy systems in New England through a foundation that made climate its largest public commitment in 2010.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The Barr Foundation, with $2.5 billion in assets, has donated more than $1.5 billion since 1999.” source
- What they did 2010 “At Barr, the environment was a priority since our inception, but in 2010, we decided to focus on climate change and to make our largest public commitment ($50 million over 5 years at the time).” source
- What they said 2026 “Barr’s Climate Program aims to address climate change by advancing local, equitable solutions.” source
- Daniel Ek, Prima Materia; Spotify billionaire, Sweden
Trying to give Europe its own deep-tech moonshots in health, defence, materials and energy by committing 1 billion euros of personal wealth over a decade.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Daniel Ek is the cofounder of streaming music service Spotify and remained its CEO through 2025.” source
- What they did 2020 “Making a $1 billion pledge is not only huge compared to median fund sizes in Europe (€128.4 million or $149 million), but also in contrast to his wealth.” source
- What they said 2020 “I will do so by funding so-called 'moonshots', focusing on the deep technology necessary to make a significant positive dent, and work with scientists, entrepreneurs, investors and governments to do so.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Jensen Huang Miss. On the list (rank 7) but Forbes philanthropyScore is 1 and the only allocations in the bio are $80 million in university gifts, under 0.1% of net worth. H
- Found Eric Schmidt (signal in 2009) Weak hit. philanthropyScore 3 passes the filter; the Forbes bio is vague, but the Wikidata step (raw/wikidata-networth-forbes-founded-vehicle.json) links him as
- Found Masayoshi Son (signal in 2025) Hit through the bio filter (no philanthropyScore). The anomalous allocation is corporate: selling a whole Nvidia stake and committing $30 billion to OpenAI plus
- Found MacKenzie Scott (signal in 2019) Hit. philanthropyScore 5 and a dated Giving Pledge signature in 2019; the bio also cites $26.4 billion given through Yield Giving.
- Found Chris Hohn (signal in 2014) Hit through the bio filter (non-US, no philanthropyScore). The bio also says the Children's Investment Fund Foundation endowment exceeds $6 billion. The earlies
- Found Mukesh Ambani (signal in 2026) Hit through the bio filter on corporate frontier allocation (AI infrastructure; also an undated $80 billion renewable energy plan). This is capex by the firm he
- Found Jeff Skoll (signal in 1999) Hit. philanthropyScore 4 and a dated vehicle launch in 1999, two years before he left eBay.
- Found Michael Bloomberg (signal in 2024) Hit. philanthropyScore 5; the bio says he has given more than $25.4 billion to gun safety, climate change and education. The earliest dated event in the bio is
Route 18: Giving Pledge roster by year and region, with letters
Looks for: world transformers · Status: working
Kind of signal: a structural commitment that is hard to undo
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised. Observed: late
The steps we take
- List signers by region and year.
- Read each signer's page and letter for the vehicle they give through.
- Confirm who controls that vehicle.
- Check their wealth.
Found 4 of 8 held-out known people · 7 new names · signal lagged recognition by a median 2.5 years (4 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict validated. The Giving Pledge roster is public, server-rendered and pullable: the FacetWP page takes ?_region=<slug>&_sort_by=pledge_year as URL parameters and returns the filtered list sorted newest first, and the WordPress REST API lists all 261 pledgers with region ids. Each pledger page carries 'Pledged in YYYY' and the full letter. Four of eight sample people hit; seven new billionaire names resolved with Forbes capacity.
Sources: givingpledge.org pledger list
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region + pledge year through givingpledge.org FacetWP roster / WP REST pledger list gives pledger page (joined on pledger slug)
- pledger page through pledger page 'Pledged in YYYY' + letter gives named vehicle (foundation, institute, company) (joined on vehicle name in letter)
- vehicle through vehicle site (about/team page) gives principal (joined on principal name on team page)
- principal through forbes.com/profile/<slug>/ gives dated wealth check (joined on person name)
New names that passed every check
- Steven Schuurman, Elastic (cofounder); Centre for Future Generations; The Dreamery Foundation billionaire, Netherlands
Trying to change how societies govern emerging technologies, climate and pandemic risk, funding science-led work and a think tank built to give the public sector oversight of fast technologies.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Schuurman, who has a nearly 6% stake in Elastic, first became a billionaire in 2018.” source
- What they did 2021 “I have decided to give the majority of what I have back to society.” source
- What they said 2021 “I believe that choosing cause areas should not be guided by what makes me feel good or what pulls on my heartstrings, it should be about maximizing the positive impact of my efforts.” source
- What they did 2026 “Emerging technologies need public oversight to benefit present and future generations, but technology often moves too fast for the public sector to keep up. Steven co-founded CFG to address this critical knowledge gap.” source
- Jed McCaleb, Astera Institute; Vast billionaire, United States
Trying to change how neglected science gets funded, building an institute for ideas with no home in markets or government, from aging research to AI.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Most of McCaleb's wealth stems from selling much of the original 9 billion XRP he pocketed as a Ripple cofounder.” source
- What they did 2021 “The Astera Institute was established by entrepreneur and philanthropist Jed McCaleb. The Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to developing high leverage technologies that can lead to massive returns for humanity.” source
- What they said 2025 “Our focus is systemic change at the root level. This work requires solutions that are best explored by trying, learning, and iterating – an empirical approach that we’ve honed through our own technical work.” source
- What they said 2026 “Astera was co-founded and funded by Jed McCaleb and Seemay Chou in 2020 to focus on high leverage ideas that have no clear home in existing markets, institutions, or funding systems.” source
- Cameron Adams, Canva (cofounder); Wedgetail Foundation billionaire, Australia
Trying to change how conservation is financed, steering a Canva fortune into Wedgetail, which mixes grants, loans, equity and land ownership to reverse biodiversity loss.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Cameron Adams is cofounder and chief product officer of design software maker Canva, which was valued by private investors at $42 billion in August 2025.” source
- What they did 2025 “The pair have promised to donate the majority of their wealth to protect and restore biodiversity through the Wedgetail Foundation.” source
- What they said 2025 “Philanthropy is more than charity; it is a means of addressing systemic issues, driving meaningful change, and ensuring that future generations inherit a world rich in possibility and biodiversity.” source
- Benoit Dageville, Snowflake (cofounder); The Patchwork Collective billionaire, United States
Trying to change who holds power in philanthropy, redistributing Snowflake wealth through trust-based funding of locally led climate, health and equity work.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Benoit Dageville is president of products at Snowflake, the cloud-based database company he cofounded with Thierry Cruanes in 2012.” source
- What they did 2023 “If we believe in justice and equity, it is our duty to redistribute our wealth, and we want to encourage others to join us.” source
- What they said 2026 “"The Patchwork Collective exists to help redistribute wealth in the world. It’s not about ‘giving money away’, it’s about rebalancing inequities, to increase the potential for more people on our planet to thrive.” source
- Mohammed Dewji, MeTL Group billionaire, Tanzania
Trying to change how East African consumer markets serve the poor, building MeTL's products for low-income buyers and pledging half his fortune.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Dewji, Tanzania's only billionaire, signed the Giving Pledge in 2016, promising to donate at least half his fortune to philanthropic causes.” source
- What they did 2016 “Dewji, Tanzania's only billionaire, signed the Giving Pledge in 2016, promising to donate at least half his fortune to philanthropic causes.” source
- What they said 2016 “One of the first avenues I chose to tackle this was through my core business at MeTL Group embedding the concept of impact investing.” source
- What they said 2016 “I continuously stressed the importance of a business strategy that sees the economically disadvantaged not as charity cases but as willing and able consumers for products that match their needs.” source
- David Vélez, Nubank (Nu Holdings) billionaire, Colombia
Trying to change Latin American banking by breaking incumbent concentration through Nubank, and pledging most of the resulting wealth to improve lives in the region.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founded in 2013, Nubank went public as Nu Holdings on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2021; it has more than 100 million customers in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia.” source
- What they did 2013 “Vélez started Nubank after seeing that five Brazilian banks controlled 80% of the market and charged high fees for basic financial products.” source
- What they said 2021 “David, following a life-long dream of being an entrepreneur, enlisted in a multi-decade mission to bring more competition and efficiency to Latin American financial services by founding Nubank, a consumer-obsessed neobank with tens of millions of customers.” source
- Nikhil Kamath, Zerodha; Rainmatter billionaire, India
Trying to widen access to Indian capital markets and fund climate, energy, education and health work, after building a zero-fee broker that disrupted Indian brokerage.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Their investment management firm True Beacon is aimed at ultra-high net worth investors and operates on a zero-fee model.” source
- What they did 2023 “He became the youngest Indian signatory of the Giving Pledge in 2023 and has committed to give away half his wealth.” source
- What they said 2023 “I am particularly interested in contributing to areas such as climate change, energy, education, and health.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not on the 261-name roster (WP REST pledger list and /pledger-list). Chouinard moved Patagonia into a purpose trust and Holdfast Collective in 2022 without sign
- Found Nandan Nilekani (signal in 2017) South Asia region filter; Pledged in 2017; joint pledger page with a dated letter (8 November 2017).
- Found Michael Bloomberg (signal in 2010) Founding-year cohort (Pledged in 2010); letter states giving away nearly all net worth.
- Found Mo Ibrahim (signal in 2013) Europe region filter (listed under Europe, not Africa); Pledged in 2013; letter is an explicit theory of change on governance.
- Found Dustin Moskovitz (signal in 2010) Pledged in 2010, six years after cofounding Facebook; letter is intent without a named theory of change yet.
- Missed Eric Schmidt Not on the roster. Schmidt Futures and Schmidt Sciences exist but he has not signed the Pledge.
- Missed Masayoshi Son Not on the roster; East Asia filter lists 8 pledgers, none Japanese.
- Missed Laurene Powell Jobs Not on the roster; Emerson Collective founder has not signed the Pledge.
Route 19: Kauffman Fellows directory: firms that are a family office or a principal's own vehicle
Looks for: both · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: could be early or late
The steps we take
- Page through the directory: fellow, firm, country, sector.
- Read each fellow's profile for the kind of firm and any named principal.
- Confirm on the firm's own site who controls it.
- Find a costly commitment by that principal and check their wealth or role.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The full directory (1,061 fellows, 107 pages of 10, not 12) is pullable and about 30 firms are family offices, founder-family companies or principal-named vehicles. Fellow profiles often name the principal outright. It hit 0 of 8 sample people but surfaced 5 lesser-known principals with costly commitments, plus several answer-key people at the firm level (French Gates, Omidyar, Forrest, Bloomberg).
Sources: Kauffman Fellows directory (kauffmanfellows.org/community/directory, pages via ?8542877e_page=N); firm websites; SEC EDGAR Form D and data.sec.gov submissions; Wikidata and press for the capacity check
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- directory page through Kauffman Fellows directory gives fellow + firm (joined on fellow slug (/fellows/<slug>) and firm string)
- firm string through Kauffman Fellows fellow profile (Professional section) gives firm type and named principal (joined on firm name; phrases "family office", "a <name> company", "arm of")
- firm through firm or parent website, press gives controlling principal (joined on firm legal or brand name -> principal name)
- principal through official pages, press, Giving Pledge, Wikipedia gives costly commitment and capacity (joined on person name)
New names that passed every check
- Pietro Sella, Sella Group (Gruppo Banca Sella) ceo, Italy
A fifth-generation family banker rebuilding a 140-year-old Italian bank as an open banking platform that fintechs and corporates plug into.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Pietro Sella is CEO of Sella Group, the parent company of Gruppo Banca Sella, a position he has held since 2004. Under Pietro's guidance, the Financial Group, founded in 1886, has scaled and is now renowned as the most innovative incumbent player in Italy, transforming its business model toward an open banking platform” source
- What they did 2018 “2018 Nasce Fabrick, un ecosistema finanziario open che abilita e promuove la collaborazione tra banche, corporate e fintech al fine di creare soluzioni innovative per i propri clienti finali attraverso Fabrick Platform, una piattaforma che aggrega, integra e coordina un numero sempre crescente di API e servizi.” source
- What they said 2017 “But we also made the decision, in 1999, to switch from our legacy IT architecture to an open-platform architecture. I consider open platforms a necessity.” source
- What they did 2018 “Al centro del progetto troviamo Fabrick Platform, piattaforma open banking sviluppata da un team del Gruppo Sella, che aggrega, integra e coordina un numero sempre crescente di API e servizi sviluppati da tutti i protagonisti dell” source
- Freada Kapor Klein, Kapor Capital / Kapor Center owner, United States
Rewired her own venture firm so that every new investment contract carries a diversity and inclusion obligation, to change who builds and benefits from tech.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “With more than $100 million in investments made via Kapor Capital, the couple has been a key builder of the thriving impact tech ecosystem led by founders of color that includes fast-growing companies such as Blocpower, Bitwise and Aclima.” source
- What they did 2016 “The commitment will be a standard term in all of Kapor Capital’s new investment agreements, but existing companies in Kapor Capital’s portfolio are able to opt-in to the pledge.” source
- What they did 2011 “Since 2011, Kapor Capital has invested exclusively in “impact” startups, a turning point for us and the industry.” source
- What they said 2016 “Baking diversity and inclusion into a company’s culture early can provide the foundation to build a much more representative workforce in later stages of growth” source
- Mark Fukunaga, Servco Pacific Inc. owner, United States
Third-generation owner moving a century-old Toyota distributor from selling cars to selling mobility as a service.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “But their music talk is also business: Fukunaga is the CEO and chairman of Servco Pacific and, in 2012, the Hawaii-based company and its private-equity partner together became majority shareholders of Fender Musical Instruments Corp.” source
- What they did 2018 “Operated by Servco Pacific (Servco), Toyota’s distributor in Hawaii, the Hui service utilizes Toyota’s proprietary global Mobility Service Platform (MSPF) and a consumer facing app developed by Toyota Connected North America (TCNA), the global technology strategy business unit for Toyota.” source
- What they said 2023 “Peter has been an invaluable leader in guiding Servco’s shift from a product-focused company to a services-based mobility business,” said Fukunaga.” source
- Tianqiao Chen, Shanda Group / Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute billionaire, Singapore
Turned a gaming fortune and a privatised family firm into a $1 billion commitment to fundamental brain science and AI.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Co-founder Chen Tianqiao, who had become a billionaire at 30, was "more prominent than Alibaba's Jack Ma" then he simply "disappeared", leaving China and "dropping out of view completely" before taking the Nasdaq-listed company private in 2012.” source
- What they did 2016 “In late 2016, they created the Tianqiao & Chrissy Chen Institute and committed US $1 billion to support the advancement of fundamental brain science.” source
- What they did 2017 “Formed in 2016 with a funding commitment of US$1 billion, [ 3 ] the institute's first donation in 2017 [ 4 ] created the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience at Caltech , [ 5 ] which opened in 2021.” source
- John Michael Sobrato, The Sobrato Organization / Sobrato Philanthropies billionaire, United States
Chair of a family real estate fortune pushing its foundation from local grantmaking into global, systemic climate commitments.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “With a family fortune estimated at nearly $6 billion, thanks to a business that reached $10 billion in assets a few years ago, plus a commitment from John M. and his parents, John A. and Susan Sobrato , to donate 100% of their wealth during their lifetimes or upon their deaths,” source
- What they did 2021 “In October, among the 20-plus funders that committed more than $300 million to a global effort to reduce methane emissions was a name not before seen on such lists: Sobrato Philanthropies.” source
- What they did 2012 “Because our children and grandchildren are partners in our family’s real estate development business, Sue and I and our son, John Michael, are able to designate that 100% of wealth will be given to charity upon our death or during our lifetimes.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Dustin Moskovitz No Good Ventures, Open Philanthropy/Coefficient Giving or Asana entry among 885 firm strings on 107 directory pages (fellows.json). The route never reaches Mosk
- Missed Chris Hohn No TCI or CIFF firm in the directory. One fellow profile mentions past CIFF work but lists Vitol Foundation as firm, and the profile carries no Hohn signal.
- Missed Jeff Skoll Closest is "Capricorn Healthcare & Special Opportunities" (p62), but the fellow profile says it was renamed Martis Capital and never names Skoll or Capricorn In
- Missed Jaan Tallinn No Metaplanet, Skype or Tallinn-linked firm in the directory.
- Missed Tobi Lutke No Shopify or Lutke-linked firm in the directory.
- Missed Jeff Bezos Amazon and AWS appear as firms (p51, p96, p100) via corporate development fellows, but the profiles describe corporate deal roles and carry no Bezos commitment;
- Missed Laurene Powell Jobs No Emerson Collective or Waverley entry in the directory.
- Missed Luis von Ahn No Duolingo-linked firm in the directory.
Route 20: Trade press and wire announcements: firms that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Sweep the trade press and press wires for firm-wide changes: an AI workforce contract, a restructure, a new owned law or tax arm, a new pricing model.
- Take the chief executive, founder or managing partner quoted on why.
- Read the vendor's newsroom for other firms on the same model.
- Check control: ownership schedules in the firm's adviser registration, its own capital announcements, or the law-firm ownership register.
- Check cost: the change must be dated and expensive.
- Search back for the firm's earliest redesign move.
Found 2 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · signal lagged recognition by a median 9 years (2 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The sweep works for its intended universe: wealth, accounting and law firms whose first public trace of an operating-model change is a wire release or vertical trade story. Five new future-legend leaders came out cold. It does not reach famous sample people except by syndication accident (2 of 8). Revised: add Accounting Today Top 100 leader surveys as a standing step and drop pure vendor-deal stories without a CEO decision quote.
Sources: InvestmentNews, Transformation section (https://www.investmentnews.com/transformation); RIABiz (https://riabiz.com/); WealthManagement.com (Informa) (https://www.wealthmanagement.com/ria-news/neuberger-berman-buys-minority-stake-in-mariner); Business Wire releases via the Morningstar news mirror (https://www.morningstar.com/news/business-wire/20260714748378/mariner-and-humanity-labs-announce-five-year-partnership-to-leverage-an-ai-workforce-of-700-ftes); American Banker (https://www.americanbanker.com/news/mariners-ai-splits-firm-into-experience-and-execution); Financial Advisor magazine (FA-Mag) (https://www.fa-mag.com/news/mariner-adds-a-digital-workforce-to-its-staff-87812.html?section=126); Accounting Today (https://www.accountingtoday.com/); CPA Practice Advisor (https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/); LawSites (LawNext) (https://www.lawnext.com/); Arizona Supreme Court ABS Directory (https://www.azcourts.gov/cld/Alternative-Business-Structure/Directory)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase sweep through vertical trade press and wire mirrors gives story (joined on story URL)
- story through same story gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through same story or second trade story gives chief executive, founder or managing partner quoted on why (joined on person name + title)
- firm through vendor newsroom or wire release (PR Newswire, Business Wire via Morningstar) gives costly dated action (contract, launch, new role, team) (joined on firm name + date)
- person through firm release, funding release or trade profile gives control or role (joined on person name)
New names that passed every check
- Marty Bicknell, Mariner ceo, United States
He is replacing the advisory industry's hire-in-step-with-clients growth model with a contracted AI workforce of 700 full-time equivalents run under human direction.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Instead, the Mariner Wealth founder plans to add AI bots equal to 700 full-time equivalent staffers for starters, or about one per each $1 billion of his $630 billion in administered assets.” source
- What they did 2026 “Mariner has signed a five-year agreement to embed more than 700 AI full-time equivalents across its operations, betting that the move will let the national advisory firm expand capacity without following the industry's usual playbook of adding headcount for every new client relationship.” source
- What they said 2026 “Mariner CEO and president Marty Bicknell framed the new partnership as a deliberate break from how advisory firms have traditionally scaled.” source
- What they did 2026 “For Mariner, the partnership represents an operating model decision.” source
- Fahad Hassan, Range ceo, United States
He is turning his own advice firm from advisors using software into software doing the advice, with a flat-fee subscription in place of the asset-based fee.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The wealth management industry is witnessing a seismic shift, and Range is at the forefront of this transformation," said Fahad Hassan , co-founder and CEO of Range” source
- What they did 2026 “But what we did about six months ago is we flipped a switch. Our advisors aren't just using the tools, now AI is using the tools we've built for advisors.” source
- What they said 2026 “Range, a Virginia-based registered investment advisor managing about $700 million in client assets, plans to eliminate much of its advisor workforce within one to three years as AI replaces their roles, according to CEO Fahad Hassan.” source
- What they said 2024 “The wealth management industry is witnessing a seismic shift, and Range is at the forefront of this transformation," said Fahad Hassan , co-founder and CEO of Range” source
- David Wurtzbacher, Ascend ceo, United States
He is turning a multi-firm CPA platform into its own software builder, with an in-house engineering team whose tools and IP belong to the CPA shareholders.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"We have hired a 20-plus-person inhouse team of software engineers to build proprietary tools and deployment specialists to lead the change management in our firms," said the firm's CEO, David Wurtzbacher.” source
- What they did 2026 “We have hired a 20-plus-person inhouse team of software engineers to build proprietary tools and deployment specialists to lead the change management in our firms,” source
- What they said 2026 “Our CPA shareholders are thrilled to be the owners of the IP we are developing and beneficiaries of technology-enabled workflows that just make sense.” source
- Paul Griggs, PwC US ceo, United States
He is moving a Big Four firm off billing by the hour toward AI tools clients use without a PwC person in the loop, on subscription pricing.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Griggs, who became PwC’s US chief executive in May 2024, is attempting to get ahead of AI-led disruption that could upend the professional services business model.” source
- What they did 2026 “A specific example is the PwC One platform, which launched today, touted as part of its vision for AI-enabled professional services.” source
- What they said 2026 “Paul Griggs said that PwC would start to offer alternatives to the traditional model of billing clients based on the number of hours worked by its army of staff.” source
- Charly Weinstein, EisnerAmper ceo, United States
He is trying to decouple a 13th-largest US accounting firm's revenue from its headcount, with a partner-level AI chief and tech-enabled services acquisitions.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “To remain a leading-edge accounting and business advisory firm, we must get increasingly innovative products, services, and information to our clients faster. AI is a path to that goal," says Charly Weinstein , EisnerAmper CEO” source
- What they did 2025 “Global business advisor EisnerAmper announces that David Frigeri has been named Partner and the firm's Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer” source
- What they said 2026 “Charly Weinstein, CEO of New York City-based EisnerAmper, said the firm aims to "increase revenue without adding headcount by streamlining manual processes and enabling teams to concentrate on higher-value, higher revenue-generating work.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Route sweep of wealth, accounting and law trade press (site-restricted search on the 8 route domains) returned nothing on Chobani's work model. Consumer-goods f
- Found Tobi Lutke (signal in 2023) WealthManagement.com syndicated Bloomberg's January 2023 story on Shopify's calendar purge. A firm-wide change to how work is done with the founder quoted on wh
- Found Yvon Chouinard (signal in 2022) WealthManagement.com high-net-worth section covered the 2022 transfer to a purpose trust. It reads as an ownership change, the trust-arm branch of the route; we
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco's redesign predates the route's sources and is not in wealth, accounting or law trade press; site search returned nothing.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Pharma operating-model changes are not covered by these verticals; site search returned nothing.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani InvestmentNews mentions Ambani only as a net-worth story ('Asia's richest man back on top'), not a firm redesign. Miss.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box appears in the route's sources only as a vendor (American Banker IBM-Box partnership, LawSites security suite), never as a firm redesigning itself. Miss.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears only as a vendor or market story (BlackRock partnership, FA-Mag prompts story). The route reads customer firms, not the platform vendor. Miss.
Route 21: Trade press sweep: wealth and advisory firms that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Sweep seven wealth and advisory trade publications and the press wires.
- Take the firm and the chief executive, founder or managing partner quoted on why.
- Confirm the change in the firm's own announcement or a vendor's newsroom.
- Check who controls the firm, and that the change is dated and costly.
- People already found by other routes are not listed again.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The wealth and advisory trade press sweep works for its intended population: five new future-legend leaders of US wealth, advisory and brokerage firms, each tied to a dated, paid-for change to how the firm works. Changes from the written route: Citywire blocks scripts (Incapsula) and ThinkAdvisor returns 403, so those come in only through search results; Rethinking65 and PR Newswire carry the second source; Form ADV owner schedules were not run. Known people found on the famous sample is 0 of 8 by design.
Sources: InvestmentNews (investmentnews.com, Transformation and RIA sections); RIABiz (riabiz.com); WealthManagement.com; Citywire RIA and Citywire Pro Buyer; ThinkAdvisor; Financial Planning; AdvisorHub; press wires (Business Wire, PR Newswire, GlobeNewswire); SEC adviser registration records (Form ADV) for owners
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase query through site-restricted web search over 7 wealth trade domains plus the InvestmentNews Transformation index gives story (joined on story URL)
- story through trade story text gives wealth, advisory or brokerage firm (joined on firm name; drop vendors, AI-native startups and surveys)
- firm through trade story quote gives CEO, founder or managing partner (joined on title in story)
- firm through firm wire release (PR Newswire, GlobeNewswire) or second trade story gives dated cost (joined on firm name plus date)
- person through firm team page, release byline, or ownership statement in trade story gives control check (joined on name plus firm)
New names that passed every check
- Brent Brodeski, Savant Wealth Management ceo, United States
Rebuilding a $55 billion RIA around a firm-owned data model and AI operating system (WiseOS) so advisors stop being the human integration layer between disconnected software.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Brent Brodeski, founder & CEO at Savant Wealth Management, sits down with InvestmentNews anchor Gregg Greenberg” source
- What they did 2026 “Headquartered in Rockford, Ill., Savant has committed $50 million over the next three years” source
- What they said 2026 “Savant, by contrast, is approximately 70% employee-owned and supported by minority outside investors who cannot force a sale, require a buyout or dictate strategy.” source
- What they said 2026 “discuss how employee-owned Savant compares to that of PE backed firms when it comes to decision-making” source
- Jay Zigmont, Childfree Wealth owner, United States
Removed the paraplanner layer from his planning firm and rebuilt its workflows so AI and automation do the preparation work.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jay Zigmont PhD, MBA, CFP® Founder and CEO of Childfree Wealth®” source
- What they did 2026 “For 2026, we have completely phased out paraplanners and replaced them with AI, algorithms and automation. Our chief operating officer has been working hard over the past year or so to create workflows for nearly everything.” source
- What they said 2026 “When I searched for financial advice, I realized that most of it assumes you have kids, which didn't align with our goals.” source
- Penny Pennington, Edward Jones ceo, United States
Moving a 20,000-advisor partnership off a one-way brokerage model: a flat-fee planning service paid outside asset charges, branch teams, and a multi-year home office restructure called Enterprise Reimagined.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Our home office has been built to efficiently and effectively serve 20,000 financial advisors serving clients in one pretty good way, Managing Partner Penny Pennington said” source
- What they did 2025 “Edward Jones, one of the country's largest brokers/dealers, has started a multi-year restructuring of its home office team in St. Louis, which will lead to some administrative layoffs. The restructuring is part of an effort called Enterprise Reimagined.” source
- What they did 2024 “Edward Jones is becoming a pioneer among large wealth managers with a business model allowing its advisors to offer a comprehensive financial plan in return for a flat, annual fee.” source
- What they said 2025 “Pennington said the home office had been focused on investment advice, an efficient brokerage platform and an excellent training program for new advisors but that things had gotten a little bureaucratic, and there were areas of duplication.” source
- Dave Welling, Mercer Advisors ceo, United States
Running a 450-advisor RIA on a firm-owned, AI-native platform (Aspen 2.0) that coordinates planning, tax, estate and investment staff as one family-office team.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “delivering a cohesive family office experience, Mercer CEO Dave Welling said in a statement” source
- What they did 2026 “Gourvitch said the firm has invested tens of millions of dollars a year in the platform across people, technology and process.” source
- What they said 2026 “For families, Aspen allows us to deliver the full capabilities of a $110B+ family office through each of 450 advisors.” source
- Tom Ruggie, Destiny Wealth Partners and Destiny Family Office owner, United States
Set up an in-house AI unit (Destiny Intelligence) and hired an Amazon AI agent builder to rebuild his advisory firm's operations as an AI operating system.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Tom Ruggie, ChFC, CFP, Founder and CEO of Destiny Family Office and Destiny Wealth Partners” source
- What they did 2026 “Destiny Intelligence was founded inside the Destiny family of companies to address what Ruggie sees as a widening gap in AI adoption across the wealth advisory industry.” source
- What they said 2026 “We recognized early that AI would fundamentally reshape wealth management” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box appears in the route's sources only as a vendor (Aaron Levie quoted endorsing Mercer's Aspen 2.0 platform in raw/wm-mercer), never as a firm redesigning its
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is outside wealth and advisory trade press; site-restricted search returned nothing on its operating model. Miss.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard WealthManagement.com covers the Patagonia purpose-trust transfer, but as an estate-planning story; step 2 keeps only wealth, advisory or brokerage firms changin
- Missed Tobi Lutke WealthManagement.com syndicated the Shopify meeting purge, but Shopify is not a wealth or advisory firm, so step 2 drops it. Miss by design.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is not covered by wealth trade press; site search returned nothing. Miss.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani appears only in a hiring-initiative mention, not as a firm redesign, and is outside the sector. Miss.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in these sources only as a vendor to advisors. Miss.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is outside wealth and advisory press; site search returned nothing. Miss.
Route 22: Trade press sweep: accounting, tax and consulting firms that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Sweep the accounting and consulting trade publications and the press wires.
- Take the firm and the leader quoted on why.
- Confirm the change in a second source.
- Check who controls the firm, and that the change is dated and costly.
- People already found by other routes are not listed again.
Found 2 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · signal lagged recognition by a median 8 years (2 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: Accounting Today (accountingtoday.com); CPA Practice Advisor; Going Concern; Journal of Accountancy; Consulting magazine; INSIDE Public Accounting; press wires (Business Wire, PR Newswire, GlobeNewswire); firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase query through site-restricted WebSearch over accounting and consulting trade press gives story (joined on story URL)
- story through Accounting Today, CPA Practice Advisor, Inside Public Accounting, Journal of Accountancy, International Accounting Bulletin gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through same story: leader quoted on why gives person (joined on name plus title (CEO, managing partner, founding partner))
- person through firm newsroom or a second trade story gives dated costly change (joined on firm name plus announcement date)
- person through 2025-2026 dated story or firm page gives current role (control check) (joined on name plus firm)
New names that passed every check
- Louis Grassi, Grassi (Grassi Advisory Group and Grassi CPAs) owner, United States
He converted a partner-owned Top 100 accounting firm into an employee-owned firm split into an advisory company and a CPA company, so that every employee owns part of it and non-CPAs can become partners.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"It aligns our employees and makes them owners of the firm," Grassi founder, CEO and managing partner Louis Grassi told Accounting Today.” source
- What they did 2023 “The firm will be funding its ESOP internally, buying equity from the partner group to distribute to its staff.” source
- What they did 2023 “For its new alternative practice structure, the firm announced that Grassi Advisory Group will perform all advisory and tax services, while Grassi CPAs will handle all audit and attest work.” source
- What they said 2023 “We have a long history of redefining how things get done to be uniquely effective, and that includes how we are structuring and funding our ESOP.” source
- What they said 2026 “Our growth strategy is continually grounded in our employee ownership model, which aligns our firm's performance with client service. Since transitioning to an ESOP in 2023, we have emphasized organic growth driven by client satisfaction and repeat engagement” source
- Peter Abner, Kirsch CPA Group ceo, United States
He moved a two-partner regional CPA firm to 100 percent employee ownership instead of the merger route most small firms take for succession.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"It has become increasingly common for CPA firms to pursue a merger strategy to address succession planning and team bench strength," Kirsch CPA Group CEO Peter Abner said in a statement.” source
- What they did 2024 “Kirsch, with roughly $10 million in revenue, had two partners and now has 45 owners.” source
- What they did 2024 “announces its transition to 100% employee ownership through the establishment of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). This strategic move reflects the firm's commitment to its employees, clients and the long-term sustainability of the company.” source
- What they said 2024 “After carefully reviewing many options, it became evident that an employee ownership structure was the best strategy for Kirsch CPA to thrive long-term.” source
- Steve Stagner, Current (formerly Crete Professionals Alliance) ceo, United States
He runs an accounting-firm platform that rebuilds tax preparation around AI built in-house with OpenAI engineers, arguing that small firms can now get the technology only the largest firms could afford.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Steve Stagner, Chief Executive Officer of Current, framed the change as a response to a long-standing divide in the accounting market.” source
- What they did 2026 “As an owner-operator of Current, Thrive Holdings and its strategic partner OpenAI have embedded a team of AI engineers and researchers to build tailored AI products in partnership with accountants on Current's platform” source
- What they did 2025 “Miguel Armaza interviews Steve Stagner, CEO of Crete, an AI-powered roll-up deploying $500+ million to modernize the accounting industry.” source
- What they said 2026 “This gap has persisted because the largest accounting firms have had billions of dollars and entire technology departments for decades, while most have not. We're arming the rebels” source
- Chet Buchman, Swindoll, Janzen, Hawk & Loyd executive, United States
He is redesigning a 100-person Kansas CPA firm around a capped working week, repricing and dropping low-value compliance work so the firm can move toward advisory services.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Chet Buchman, CPA, CGMA, managing partner of the Kansas-based, roughly 100-person practice.” source
- What they did 2025 “Swindoll, Janzen, Hawk & Loyd improved their service offerings via a new pricing model. Five years ago, the firm decided to make a significant change in how its people worked.” source
- What they said 2025 “We didn't just want to reduce hours, we wanted to work less, make more money, and have more fun doing it” source
- What they said 2026 “At SJHL we are on a journey to "fix" busy season, or what we refer to as our Path to 45.” source
- Hamish Martin, LAVA Advisory Partners owner, United Kingdom
He co-founded an M&A advisory boutique and sold all of its shares to an employee ownership trust, then funded growth with debt so the firm never needs a trade sale or private equity exit.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Partners Simon Woodcock and Hamish Martin launched LAVA with the aim of building 'a place we actually wanted to work'” source
- What they did 2024 “With 100% of shares transitioning to employee ownership, the company represents a compelling proposition for existing staff and new joiners alike” source
- What they said 2024 “In this industry there are so many stories of boutique firms being bought up and broken down for parts and we wanted to make sure the team felt secure in LAVA's future.” source
- What they did 2026 “LAVA said that it opted for structured debt financing to fund its expansion plans while remaining 100% employee-owned through its Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), avoiding dilutive equity investment that would necessitate a future trade sale or private equity exit.” source
- Tim Walsh, KPMG LLP (US) ceo, United States
He is building AI-native startups inside a 130-year-old audit and tax partnership, each with its own founders, funding and exit path, because he says the pace of disruption needs faster, bigger bets.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said KPMG chair and CEO Tim Walsh in a LinkedIn post on the announcement” source
- What they did 2026 “KPMG will be funding these edge companies through its own strategic investment arm, KPMG Ventures, which already fuels venture investments, purchases of frontier AI capabilities and product development efforts.” source
- What they said 2026 “We have successfully integrated AI into how we serve our clients, but the pace of disruption requires us to think differently and make faster, bigger bets.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Site search of accountingtoday.com, cpapracticeadvisor.com, goingconcern.com, journalofaccountancy.com, consultingmag.com and insidepublicaccounting.com for "Ri
- Missed Satya Nadella Route sources mention Nadella only as Microsoft product news (Convergence 2015, Copilot) and a 2014 succession story; no story on a redesign of how Microsoft wo
- Found Yvon Chouinard (signal in 2018) Journal of Accountancy management-accounting case study on Patagonia becoming a benefit corporation. Weak hit: a case study, not a trade-press announcement of a
- Missed Andrew Forrest No route source mentions Andrew Forrest or Fortescue; the site search returned unrelated Andrews.
- Missed Aaron Levie Accounting Today names Levie only as an angel investor in the AI accounting startup Basis; no signal about changing how Box works.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Ulukaya appears only as a 2013 EY World Entrepreneur of the Year mention inside unrelated Top 100 People pages; no redesign signal.
- Found Tobi Lutke (signal in 2025) An April 2025 Accounting Today opinion piece cites the Shopify memo as the model for firms. Late: the route sees famous redesigners only when an op-ed borrows t
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Route sources return only Novartis SEC filings via the search engine, none from the trade sites; no accounting or consulting trade story about Novartis operatin
Route 23: Trade press sweep: law firms and legal services that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Sweep the legal trade publications and the press wires.
- Take the firm and the leader quoted on why.
- Confirm the change in a second source.
- Check who controls the firm, and that the change is dated and costly.
- People already found by other routes are not listed again.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route works for law firm and legal services leaders once Above the Law (403 direct and through Jina) and The Lawyer (paywalled body) are replaced by the Law Gazette, and once the sweep favours capital, ownership and self-build stories over AI tool rollouts. Six new leaders from receipts; known people found on the famous sample is 0 of 8 because they sit outside legal trade press.
Sources: LawSites (lawnext.com); Artificial Lawyer; Legal Futures; ABA Journal; The Lawyer; Above the Law; press wires; firm newsrooms; Arizona Alternative Business Structure register
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase query through site-restricted web search over artificiallawyer.com, legalfutures.co.uk, lawgazette.co.uk, lawnext.com, abajournal.com gives trade story (joined on story URL)
- trade story through story text gives law firm or legal services business (joined on firm name)
- firm through story text (person quoted on why) gives chief executive, founder or managing partner (joined on name plus title in story)
- person through firm newsroom, investor release or second trade story gives dated costly action (joined on firm name plus date)
- person through second source naming the role or ownership (sole owner, global managing partner, founder) gives control (joined on name plus firm)
New names that passed every check
- David Jackson, Shoosmiths ceo, United Kingdom
He is changing how a 13-office national law firm does its work by tying the whole staff bonus to AI use and building the firm its own AI instead of buying vendor tools.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Chief executive David Jackson said: “We have advised on more M&A deals in the City than any firm for four years running.” source
- What they did 2025 “Staff at national law firm Shoosmiths will share a £1m bonus if they make a million Microsoft Copilot prompts in its next financial year.” source
- What they did 2026 “After considering 15 potential suppliers, Shoosmiths decided to build its own proprietary AI. Mr Jackson said the firm has “gone all in” with Microsoft’s technology, with greater access for staff, and people being encouraged to find new uses for it.” source
- What they said 2025 “Mr Jackson said Shoosmiths did not fear AI; rather than replace people, “it frees them to spend more time on the human-to-human work that really matters: solving problems, building trust, and supporting clients through complexity.” source
- John Morgan, Morgan & Morgan owner, United States
He is rebuilding the largest US plaintiff firm around its own AI platform (MX2) and arguing that hourly document work will be replaced almost entirely.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “are the practices AI will replace- almost entirely," said John Morgan, founder of Morgan & Morgan. "That's white shoe, big law territory.” source
- What they did 2026 “Morgan & Morgan, the largest plaintiff law firm in America, has announced it will spend at least $1 billion on legal tech and AI over the next 10 years, as it formally unveils MX2, its own legal AI platform.” source
- What they did 2026 “It spent $300 million building the platform, and it now has nearly 5,000 monthly users.” source
- What they said 2026 “"Firms which bill by the hour to draft and review agreements or read through thousands of pages of documents, are the practices AI will replace- almost entirely,"” source
- Toby Harper, Harper James owner, United Kingdom
He built a fully remote, senior-only commercial law firm and sold a minority stake to private equity to fund AI-driven tools and new services.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Toby Harper, founder and chief executive of Harper James, told Legal Futures that he had been approached by 20-30 private equity investors in the last couple of years, attracted by the firm’s growth and the “clean ownership structure” – he is the sole owner.” source
- What they did 2025 “Harper James, which has a team of more than 140 people based across the UK, has sold part of the business to LDC, with a view to growth. The money will be spent on extra technology including AI-driven tools to work faster and more efficiently.” source
- What they said 2025 “I could see that, with the disruption and the change in the sector, there’s a massive opportunity to accelerate our growth and diversify the range of services we are capable of offering.” source
- What they said 2025 “Our flexible, fully remote model and strong culture of collaboration will stay at the heart of everything we do while we grow.” source
- Pierre Proner, Lawhive ceo, United Kingdom
He is buying traditional consultancy-model law firms and moving their lawyers onto a platform where AI handles paralegal and junior work, with fixed fees.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Chief executive Pierre Proner said the deal would bring 50 more consultants to Lawhive, which already has around 300” source
- What they did 2025 “The AI legaltech platform Lawhive announced it has acquired consultancy-model law firm Woodstock Legal Services, having raised £43m last year in external investment.” source
- What they did 2025 “Mr Proner said Lawhive was looking at further acquisitions of fee-share firms, and also law firms which were “open to moving to fee-share”” source
- What they said 2025 “We believe that Lawhive’s vertically integrated model of a regulated law firm and tech platform for lawyers to work alongside AI colleagues, creates better outcomes for everyone.” source
- Stacy Ackermann, K&L Gates executive, United States
She is restructuring a global law firm, cutting about 10% of staff after a structural review and putting a practising partner in charge of agentic AI.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"Jake's appointment reflects a deliberate choice about how this firm leads in AI: with a practicing partner, accountable for outcomes, working in close partnership with our technology and security functions," said Stacy Ackermann , Global Managing Partner of K&L Gates.” source
- What they did 2026 “In a statement, global managing partner Stacy Ackermann said: ‘Following a comprehensive, multi-month review of our structure to better align with how our business operates today and support future growth, we made the decision to reduce our allied professional workforce.” source
- What they said 2026 “"Agentic AI is moving from concept to deployment in months, not years. The market demands a partner driving this work who is in the practice every day, who understands what clients need, and who can move at the pace this moment requires."” source
- Rob Dillarstone, Greenwoods ceo, United Kingdom
He moved a London and East Anglia partnership to private equity ownership, arguing that AI, regulation and partner succession need capital a partnership cannot raise.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “CEO Rob Dillarstone will continue to lead the business, while Clare Harris steps into the newly combined managing partner and COO role.” source
- What they did 2025 “A 25-partner law firm has become the first mid-market practice in London to take private equity investment.” source
- What they did 2025 “It said the investment will accelerate plans around technology, AI and sustainability, as well as talent development.” source
- What they said 2025 “The modern law firm has to have “a decent tech, platform no matter what your size”, especially with “every firm looking over their shoulder to see how AI’s going to impact the legal sector”.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Site-restricted sweep of the legal trade domains found no Novartis or Narasimhan story about redesigning the firm. Pharma is outside legal trade press.
- Missed Andrew Forrest No legal trade story on Fortescue or Forrest. Mining and climate commitments are outside this vertical.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani No legal trade story on Reliance or Ambani redesigning the firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Search "Tobi Lutke Shopify memo AI legal team lawyers" on artificiallawyer.com, lawnext.com, legalfutures.co.uk, abajournal.com returned no story naming him. Th
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya No legal trade story on Chobani or Ulukaya.
- Missed Aaron Levie Search "Aaron Levie Box legal AI law firms" on the route domains returns Box only as a vendor selling AI governance to law firms (artificiallawyer.com 2026-07-2
- Missed Ricardo Semler No legal trade story on Semco or Semler in the route domains.
- Missed Satya Nadella Search "Satya Nadella law firms legal AI" on the route domains returns Microsoft as a vendor (Copilot surveys) and one column quoting Nadella on data asymmetry.
Route 24: Trade press sweep: US healthcare services firms (physician groups, home health, dental and veterinary groups, labs) that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search healthcare services trade press (Becker's Hospital Review and Becker's ASC and Dental, Fierce Healthcare, Healthcare Dive, Modern Healthcare headlines, Home Health Care News, Hospice News, MedCity News) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US healthcare services firm, physician group, home health or hospice operator, dental or veterinary group, or lab company changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Becker's, Fierce Healthcare and MedCity News return 403 to fetch.mjs (and Becker's through --jina), so the route was rebuilt on Home Health Care News, Hospice News and Group Dentistry Now, which fetch with --text. The future-legend signal in dental is an ownership or capital structure change (ESOP, dentist-owned DPO, doctor-governed IPO); in home care it is a self-built platform or firmwide AI rollout by a founder-owner.
Sources: Becker's Healthcare (beckershospitalreview.com, beckersasc.com, beckersdental.com); Fierce Healthcare; Healthcare Dive; Home Health Care News; Hospice News; MedCity News; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase query through WebSearch with allowed_domains over healthcare services trade press gives story (joined on story URL)
- story through Home Health Care News, Hospice News, Group Dentistry Now gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through same story: leader quoted on why gives person (joined on name plus title (founder, CEO, co-owner))
- person through second trade story or firm page gives dated costly change (joined on firm name plus date)
- person through dated 2025-2026 story gives current role and control check (joined on name plus firm)
New names that passed every check
- Jeff Salter, Caring Senior Service owner, United States
Founder of a 50-plus location home care franchisor rebuilding how scheduling, notes and back office work through a self-built platform and voice agents.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Caring Senior Service founder and CEO Jeff Salter is betting on a combination of grassroots referral-building, mindset shifts in hiring and AI-enabled operations to fuel growth in 2026.” source
- What they did 2026 “Caring Senior Service developed its proprietary technology platform, Tendio, to streamline scheduling, billing, payroll, human resources and marketing for franchisees.” source
- What they did 2026 “We’re integrating with voice technology, so people can actually have voice agents to speak back and forth to complete something like a progress note.” source
- What they said 2026 “AI and automation will move from experiments to everyday tools that encompass intake, scheduling, documentation, QA and family communication” source
- What they said 2026 “I still own and operate five locations, so I’m a different franchisor than most other leaders in the franchising industry and home care space” source
- Anthony Leonetti, Rising Tide Dental Partners owner, United States
Dentist co-founder who built a dentist-owned partnership organization so practice owners can scale without handing control to private equity.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The team is being led by Anthony Leonetti, CEO, Steven Albert, Executive Chairman, Amy Aligo, VP of Business Development and Integration and Cedric Lewis, Clinical Director.” source
- What they did 2025 “Following more than a year of recruiting and vetting dentist partners, business strategy and design, financial underwriting, and raising capital, Rising Tide Dental Partners, supported by Aligned Dental, has officially launched a new dental partnership organization (DPO)” source
- What they said 2026 “When a practice joins Rising Tide, they gain access to the operational infrastructure, vendor leverage, and financial visibility that most independent owners have never had.” source
- Pete Swenson, Park Dental Partners ceo, United States
Chief of a 1972 Minnesota dental group who rebuilt it as a doctor-governed resource organization and took it public to fund the next 50 years while keeping doctors in control.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The new parent company, led by Chairman and CEO Pete Swenson, supports over 200 doctors across 85 locations.” source
- What they did 2025 “Founded in 1972 in Minnesota, Park’s IPO was not designed as a liquidity event. It was structured to position the organization for the next 50 years.” source
- What they said 2023 “We believe this new structure will be highly impactful in the industry, allowing doctors to remain in control of clinical practices while also retaining control over the governance of Park Dental Partners” source
- Bill Becknell, Mortenson Dental Partners ceo, United States
Chief of an employee- and doctor-owned dental group of 156 practices who used automation to halve the insurance and collections team while nearly doubling the practice count.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “the panel featured executives representing three distinct DSO models: Bill Becknell, CEO, Mortenson Dental Partners John McClure” source
- What they did 2026 “Mortenson, for example, reduced insurance and collections headcount from roughly 80 to 40 team members while nearly doubling its practice count” source
- What they said 2018 “We have an exciting future ahead of us, the dental industry is going through a transformation and we want to lead the way.” source
- Steven Gonzalez, HealthView Home Health and Hospice owner, United States
Co-owner of a Southern California home health and hospice firm making AI fluency universal across staff and turning its management method into owned software for firms it buys.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “We’re still privately held. It’s just me and my two partners. We have no private equity backing. There are no other influences on how we want to run the company.” source
- What they did 2026 “We bought CultureAI.com with the idea of, ‘Let’s turn what we do into software that we integrate across any businesses we invest in or buy,” source
- What they did 2025 “Our big push right now is, culturally, we want everyone to be fluent in AI. We have paid enterprise subscriptions for every full-time person that we manage” source
- What they said 2025 “I have a tech background, so we’ve relieved a lot of things like charting stress and boring tasks. We’ve been able to automate quite a bit with some oversight” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a commerce software firm in Canada; outside US healthcare services trade press by construction.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian mining and energy; not covered by healthcare services outlets.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in health trade press only as a vendor (Nuance, DAX), never as the firm being redesigned; the route reads vendor stories as noise.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss pharma, not a US healthcare services operator; outside the route universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian conglomerate; not covered.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is enterprise software; appears in health press only as a vendor if at all.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial firm; not covered.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a US food maker, not healthcare services; not covered.
Route 25: Trade press sweep: US insurance agencies, brokers, MGAs and mutual carriers that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search insurance trade press (Insurance Journal, Carrier Management, Insurance Business America, Digital Insurance, Coverager, Risk & Insurance, Independent Agent magazine) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US insurance agency, broker, managing general agent, regional or mutual carrier changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The sweep works but yields fewer decision-makers than the written route assumes: insurance trade press covers firm-wide change mostly through chief information, technology or innovation officers (EMC, Frankenmuth, Acrisure's Funk, IMA's Droege), so the leader step needs a second source (firm release, wire copy, vendor case study) that quotes the chief executive. Four US leaders passed control and cost checks.
Sources: Insurance Journal; Carrier Management; Insurance Business America; Digital Insurance; Coverager; Risk & Insurance; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase query through WebSearch restricted to insurancejournal.com, carriermanagement.com, insurancebusinessmag.com, dig-in.com, coverager.com, riskandinsurance.com, iamagazine.com gives trade story (joined on story URL)
- trade story through story text (fetch.mjs --text) gives US agency, broker, MGA or carrier changing its own work (joined on firm name)
- firm through story quote or firm release on nasdaq.com / baincapital.com / imacorp.com / vendor case study gives chief executive quoted on why (joined on firm name + title)
- person through dated 2025-2026 story or release naming the title gives control check (joined on person name)
- firm change through release or second story with a dollar figure, workforce scope or capital event gives cost check and signal year (joined on firm name + date)
New names that passed every check
- Greg Williams, Acrisure ceo, United States
Turning a privately held insurance brokerage built from about 900 acquisitions into an AI-run financial services platform, funded by a $2.1 billion raise and carried through firm-wide workflow rebuilds.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In a letter to employees, Acrisure co-founder and CEO Greg Williams was direct about the driver” source
- What they did 2025 “Our evolution from an insurance brokerage into an AI- and technology-powered global financial services provider has opened the door to massive opportunity.” source
- What they said 2026 “Advances in technology, AI, and digital platforms are fundamentally changing how businesses operate, how clients expect to be served, and how value is created.” source
- What they did 2026 “Rather than layering technology onto legacy systems, the company is rebuilding workflows from the ground up, embedding technical teams alongside business operators.” source
- Powell Brown, Brown & Brown ceo, United States
Rewiring a 23,000-person insurance brokerage as an AI-first enterprise, with AI built into end-to-end service and operations workflows, framed as a growth model rather than a headcount cut.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Brown & Brown does not expect its push to deploy artificial intelligence across the brokerage to lead to significant layoffs, according to president and CEO Powell Brown” source
- What they did 2026 “integrate AI into end-to-end workflows supporting customer service, operations, technology and corporate functions.” source
- What they did 2026 “Brown & Brown is establishing a value management office (VMO) to support disciplined execution and ongoing outcomes-based evaluation of its AI initiatives.” source
- What they said 2026 “Brown said the company was not planning a significant reduction in its workforce because of AI.” source
- Wes Sprinkle, Indiana Farmers Insurance ceo, United States
Making AI proficiency a condition of every job at a 250-person regional mutual, with no AI layoffs, so the carrier's knowledge work is redone rather than cut.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Wes Sprinkle, president and CEO of Indiana Farmers Insurance (IFM), decided that AI would elevate rather than replace his team.” source
- What they did 2026 “The company would not pursue AI-related layoffs, but AI proficiency would become a requirement for its 44-member leadership team first, and later, all 250 employees.” source
- What they did 2025 “Wes emailed the entire leadership team, positioning AI adoption as a CEO-backed priority rather than optional professional development.” source
- What they said 2026 “I recognized early on that if we wanted AI to scale, we had to make using AI part of the culture.” source
- Rob Cohen, IMA Financial Group ceo, United States
Funding a firm-wide 'broker of the future' operating overhaul at an employee-majority-owned brokerage through a $4 billion recapitalization that keeps outside investors in minority positions.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Chairman and chief executive officer Rob Cohen said the transaction was designed around protecting that model.” source
- What they did 2026 “IMA employees will continue to own a majority of the Company, with 100% of associates participating as shareholders.” source
- What they did 2025 “About two years ago, IMA Financial Group began laying the foundation for a deep operational overhaul.” source
- What they said 2026 “We accomplished every goal we set out to achieve: preserving majority employee ownership, maintaining our independence and strengthening our ability to build on what makes us successful” source
- Trevor Baldwin, The Baldwin Group ceo, United States
Moving a Tampa insurance brokerage from targeted AI pilots to firm-wide AI and agentic workflows, and taking the firm private in a $7.7 billion deal so it can invest faster in talent and technology.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Our vision and strategy are not changing,” said Baldwin Group CEO Trevor Baldwin, in a statement.” source
- What they did 2026 “announced an expanded enterprise relationship with Anthropic to deploy its advanced AI assistant, Claude, across the firm. This is a significant acceleration of the company’s AI-driven transformation” source
- What they did 2026 “What changes is the pace of our investments in talent and technology. Moving faster on AI sharpens what we deliver for clients and elevates the work our colleagues do every day.” source
- What they said 2026 “AI represents a fundamental shift in how we empower our colleagues to serve clients, elevating and amplifying what our colleagues already do best,” source
- Matt Masiello, SIAA - The Agent Alliance ceo, United States
Turning a 5,200-member independent agency alliance into one owned distribution platform, adding a retail agency arm (Sequel) and an acquired data and AI team, because the network model could not keep larger members through succession.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “and AI and wrap it all together in this one singular platform,” said Matt Masiello, CEO of SIAA.” source
- What they did 2025 “Anurag Shah, CEO and co-founder of DONNA ® .ai will become SIAA’s chief data officer and the former DONNA ® .ai team will be integrated into SIAA’s existing technology and data infrastructure team.” source
- What they did 2026 “Sequel Insurance Agencies, powered by SIAA , has acquired five independent insurance agencies across Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Kentucky, New York, and Vermont.” source
- What they said 2026 “We’ve touted ourselves as being able to help independent agencies through all the stages of their life cycle, but we’ve never really done a great job on succession,” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada; Shopify is not an insurance firm, so step 2 drops it
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; Reliance is outside US insurance trade press
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is not an insurance firm
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; not in these sources
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears only as a vendor (Copilot deals at insurers)
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is not an insurance firm
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia; not in these sources
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is not an insurance firm; not in these sources
Route 26: Trade press sweep: US construction contractors and engineering firms that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search construction and engineering trade press (ENR, Construction Dive, For Construction Pros, Building Design+Construction, Civil + Structural Engineer, Zweig Group news, Architect's Newspaper) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US general contractor, specialty contractor, engineering or architecture-engineering firm changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Construction and engineering trade press (Construction Dive, ENR, BD+C) fetches 200 with --text and does carry firm-wide redesign stories, but most quote a chief digital officer, innovation head or spokesperson rather than the chief executive, and ESOP stories are succession, not redesign. Six US leaders cleared the checks; the route works when the sweep is restricted to CEO interviews, annual-report Q&As and leadership-restructure briefs.
Sources: ENR (enr.com); Construction Dive; For Construction Pros; Building Design+Construction; Zweig Group; press wires; firm newsrooms; ESOP announcements (NCEO)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase query through Construction Dive, ENR, BD+C, Zweig Letter (site-restricted web search) gives trade story (joined on story URL)
- trade story through same story gives US contractor or AE firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through same story or Q&A gives chief executive, founder or chair quoted on why (joined on person name + title)
- person through firm release on PR Newswire, firm leadership page or second trade outlet gives second dated source and current role (joined on person name + firm)
- firm change through story text gives cost and signal year (joined on announcement date)
New names that passed every check
- John Fish, Suffolk Construction ceo, United States
Rebuilding how a $7.6 billion private contractor plans and runs jobs by putting full-time AI engineers on every jobsite on top of a decade-long data platform.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “John F. Fish is chairman and CEO of Boston-based contractor Suffolk Construction, one of the largest builders in the country and ranked No. 23 on this year's ENR Top 400 Contractors list with $7.6 billion in 2025 revenue.” source
- What they did 2026 “Fish saw growing inefficiencies and declining productivity across the construction process and decided to make a $100 million-plus investment in data, technology and innovation initiatives to better position Suffolk for the future.” source
- What they said 2026 “As costs continue to rise, labor shortages persist and productivity declines, the construction industry has reached an inflection point," said John Fish, chairman and CEO of Suffolk, in a news release.” source
- What they said 2026 “We believe Jobsite of the Future and our use of artificial intelligence and data will fundamentally change that trajectory and redefine how America builds for generations to come,” source
- Ed Broderick, Gilbane ceo, United States
Turning a family-owned builder into one integrated development, construction and management platform tied together by in-house AI agents.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “CEO Ed Broderick, a fifth-generation executive at Gilbane, signaled optimism about the state of the company in an interview with Construction DIve.” source
- What they did 2026 “Broderick told Construction Dive the firm’s AI Boost team, a group of internal experts, will help the firm build AI agents that will aid the contractor across the project lifecycle.” source
- What they said 2026 “We see in the end an agentic AI system that will help us connect this entire platform that we have, so that we have information that comes in the front end of projects that never has to be re-entered into a project” source
- What they said 2026 “By bringing together our development, construction, and management expertise, we are better positioned to help clients navigate complexity, accelerate project delivery, and achieve measurable results.” source
- Ryan Maibach, Barton Malow Holdings ceo, United States
Restructuring a 102-year-old family contractor so the core builder is protected while new executive roles run strategy, investment and businesses outside construction.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Ryan Maibach is the President and CEO of Barton Malow Holdings. With a strong commitment to innovation and excellence, Ryan has been instrumental in driving the enterprise’s growth and success.” source
- What they did 2026 “In his widened role, Booth will be responsible for all enterprise strategy, innovation, outside investments and built environment growth outside of Barton Malow’s core construction business, per the contractor.” source
- What they said 2026 “As a 102-year-old construction firm, we know that what got us to this point isn’t necessarily the answer to continued success.” source
- Bob Clark, Clayco owner, United States
Built Clayco as a single integrated developer, designer and builder to replace the fragmented design-bid-build model, folding owned architecture firms into the contractor.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jeff Yoders and Bryan Gottlieb welcome Clayco Executive Chairman Bob Clark back to the Critical Path for an exec talk about the data center boom” source
- What they did 2019 “Our integrated delivery model will set a new standard by completely disrupting the inefficiency of the traditional paradigm of design-bid-build.” source
- What they said 2026 “I believed the traditional construction process was too adversarial, too fragmented, too inefficient, and way too complicated. There had to be a better way.” source
- Keith Douglas, Rosendin Holdings ceo, United States
Reorganising the largest employee-owned US electrical contractor around market-aligned co-presidents and an owned offsite manufacturing arm so it can scale with data center demand.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Chief Executive Keith Douglas will share leadership with Presidents Paolo Degrassi and Justin Tinoco.” source
- What they did 2026 “The restructuring introduces a collaborative leadership model that brings decision-making closer to customers and employees by sharing leadership between CEO Keith Douglas, Presidents Paolo Degrassi and Justin Tinoco” source
- What they said 2026 “Over the next five years, we are preparing for this growth by investing in the people, processes and technologies required to deliver at scale” source
- Rodney Chester, Gresham Smith ceo, United States
Rebuilding how a private Nashville architecture and engineering firm delivers design around a connected set of AI platforms, run by a newly created chief digital transformation officer.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The new board directors will join the firm’s existing directors: CEO and Board Chair Rodney Chester, Chief Operating Officer Peter Oram,” source
- What they did 2026 “Gresham Smith, a premier architecture, engineering and consultancy services firm, is pleased to announce that Mike Sewell has been selected for the firm's newly created position of Chief Digital Transformation Officer.” source
- What they said 2026 “At Gresham Smith, we see AI as a tool that can transform that way we deliver our work, but at the same time, the human aspect of what we do is most important.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is not a contractor or AE firm; no construction trade story on its redesign in the route's sources.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is not in construction or engineering trade press as a firm redesign.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box appears in construction press only as a software vendor, if at all.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is pharma, outside the route's sector.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian mining; outside a US construction press sweep.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is food manufacturing; plant builds are covered as projects, not as the owner's firm redesign.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and outside US construction press.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is Indian; outside a US construction press sweep.
Route 27: Trade press sweep: US logistics, freight and distribution firms that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search logistics trade press (FreightWaves, Supply Chain Dive, Logistics Management, DC Velocity, Transport Topics, Modern Distribution Management) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US freight broker, carrier, third-party logistics provider or distributor changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The logistics and distribution trade press sweep finds US future-legend leaders who changed how their firm works, but most of the yield comes from the distribution side (Distribution Strategy Group, which stands in for Modern Distribution Management because mdm.com returns 403 to scripts) and from large or mid-cap public firms. Freight trade press (FreightWaves, Transport Topics) is dominated by vendors and AI-native brokerages; only C.H. Robinson and one private carrier (Nussbaum, ESOP) survived the checks. Known people found on the famous sample is 0 of 8 by design.
Sources: FreightWaves; Supply Chain Dive; Logistics Management; DC Velocity; Transport Topics; Modern Distribution Management; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase query through site-restricted web search over freightwaves.com, ttnews.com, supplychaindive.com, logisticsmgmt.com, dcvelocity.com, mdm.com, distributionstrategy.com gives story (joined on story URL)
- story through trade story text fetched with --text gives US freight, 3PL, carrier or distributor firm changing its own work (joined on firm name; drop vendors, AI-native startups, tool purchases and pure cost cuts)
- firm through same story gives chief executive, founder or owner quoted on why (joined on name plus title in the story)
- person through firm newsroom, wire release on nasdaq.com, or a second outlet gives second dated source for the change (joined on firm name plus change name (Lean AI, Customer Solutions Team, HSLT, Xvantage, ESOP))
- person through dated 2025-2026 story or release gives current power to decide (joined on title in a 2025-2026 source)
- change through earliest dated story gives signal year (joined on date of first redesign move)
New names that passed every check
- Martina McIsaac, MSC Industrial Supply Co. ceo, United States
Rebuilt an industrial distributor's sales and service organization so one representative owns an account, with AI taking manual work out, because the old model stacked several reps on the same customer.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Growth acceleration is our primary objective,” president and CEO Martina McIsaac said.” source
- What they did 2026 “said a sweeping overhaul of its sales and service organization, combined with new supplier-led growth initiatives and expanded use of AI, is beginning to reshape its operating model” source
- What they said 2026 “Our own competitive benchmarking on sales per total headcount suggests that at today’s revenues, we are relatively heavy by 1,000 heads,” McIsaac said.” source
- Wayne Chaplin, Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits ceo, United States
Redesigned the commercial organization of the largest US beverage alcohol distributor (privately held) into a hybrid of field sales, a rebuilt inside sales team and a digital ordering platform, saying the market demands a different way of operating.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Wayne E. Chaplin, president and CEO, said in a statement” source
- What they did 2026 “is restructuring its U.S. commercial organization, introducing a hybrid sales model that combines field sales, inside sales and digital commerce while reducing its U.S. workforce by approximately 1%.” source
- What they said 2026 “a more responsive and effective customer support model, while improving the earning opportunity and retention for our talented commercial sales organization” source
- Brent Nussbaum, Nussbaum Transportation owner, United States
Is selling a family-held 600-truck carrier to its employees in stages and built in-house pricing software it now resells, to keep the firm independent and change how drivers share in it.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “He is the CEO of 600-truck operator Nussbaum Transportation, privately held.” source
- What they did 2018 “Beginning April 16, the Hudson, Ill., carrier gave 35% of ownership to employees through an employee stock ownership plan, known as an ESOP.” source
- What they did 2026 “Nussbaum Transportation sold 45% of the company to employees via an ESOP in 2018, with a second ESOP sale planned for Q1 next year.” source
- Dave Bozeman, C.H. Robinson ceo, United States
Rebuilt the largest US freight broker around a lean operating model and a fleet of AI agents so routine quoting, ordering and tracking no longer need people, decoupling headcount from volume.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “President and CEO Dave Bozeman shared how the company is combining its Lean operating model, logistics expertise, and advanced AI to drive transformation.” source
- What they did 2026 “The company has emphasized that technology is changing workflows so that processes that once required significant human involvement now require only limited human oversight, allowing the company to handle more shipments with fewer employees.” source
- What they said 2023 “By having and leaning into large language models and letting it do that work, our people are then able to be freed up and focus on the customer-facing strategic problems.” source
- What they did 2025 “The agents now deliver price quotes in under a minute, handle 5,500 truckload orders each day” source
- Fred Lowery, Henry Schein ceo, United States
Replaced Henry Schein's executive committee with a new leadership team and folded global supply chain into distribution so a large healthcare distributor decides faster and runs a simpler operating model.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Lowery joined Henry Schein as CEO in March from Thermo Fisher Scientific, where he was president of laboratory products and bioproduction.” source
- What they did 2026 “announced today that it is creating the Henry Schein Leadership Team (HSLT) to replace its Executive Management Committee.” source
- What they said 2026 “By bringing our supply chain teams closer to the customers served by our distribution businesses and enabling direct management of our corporate functions, these changes will further expedite prioritization, accelerate decision making and advance efforts to simplify our operating model” source
- Paul Bay, Ingram Micro ceo, United States
Is turning a traditional technology distributor into an AI-run operating system for B2B technology trade, with the Xvantage platform automating sales, quoting and pricing work.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Paul Bay, Ingram Micro’s Chief Executive Officer” source
- What they did 2026 “The technology distributor says its Xvantage platform can automate work across sales, quoting, pricing and other processes while supporting a three-year plan that calls for profit growth to outpace sales growth.” source
- What they said 2026 “We are uniquely positioned to help connect demand and supply in smarter ways so customers and vendor partners can operate more efficiently and unlock new opportunities for growth” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a mining and energy firm outside US logistics and distribution trade press; geography also outside the route.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a carrier, 3PL or distributor; the route's firm filter drops it.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Pharma; healthcare distribution coverage (Henry Schein) does not reach drug makers. Non-US.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify appears in logistics press only as a shipper or platform; non-US firm.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is software; logistics press mentions it only as a vendor if at all.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in these sources only as an AI vendor to carriers and distributors.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is Indian; out of the route's US scope.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian manufacturer and investor; not covered.
Route 28: Trade press sweep: US community and regional banks and credit unions that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search banking trade press (American Banker, Banking Dive, The Financial Brand, ABA Banking Journal, Bank Automation News, CU Times, Credit Union Journal, BankDirector) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US community or regional bank or credit union changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The sweep works for banks but not as written for credit unions: CU Times, CUInsight and The Financial Brand return 403 to fetch.mjs (direct and via Jina), so credit union coverage comes only through American Banker's credit union section. Most AI stories quote a CTO, CIO or vendor, and big-bank CEOs dominate; the leader step needs a story where the CEO is quoted on why, plus the firm's newsroom or a wire release on Nasdaq or GlobeNewswire. Six US leaders passed control and cost checks.
Sources: American Banker; Banking Dive; The Financial Brand; ABA Banking Journal; Bank Automation News; CU Times; BankDirector; FDIC BankFind for control and size; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase query through WebSearch restricted to americanbanker.com, bankingdive.com, bankdirector.com, bankautomationnews.com, bankingjournal.aba.com (thefinancialbrand.com and cutimes.com as search hits only) gives trade story (joined on story URL)
- trade story through story text via fetch.mjs --text (body starts after 'Min Read' on American Banker) gives US community or regional bank or credit union changing its own work (joined on firm name + asset size)
- firm through same story quote, else firm newsroom or wire copy on nasdaq.com/press-release or globenewswire.com gives chief executive, founder or owner quoted on why (joined on firm name + title)
- person through dated 2025-2026 release or story naming the title gives control check (joined on person name)
- firm change through story or release with scope, dollar figure or dated launch gives cost check and signal year (joined on firm name + date)
New names that passed every check
- Sam Sidhu, Customers Bancorp (Customers Bank) ceo, United States
Rebuilding a $26 billion regional bank's commercial lending, deposit and payment work around AI agents, with OpenAI engineers embedded on site, to become what he calls an AI-native bank.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Customers CEO Sam Sidhu revealed to analysts that the prepared remarks he had delivered just a few minutes prior were made by his” source
- What they did 2026 “The multiyear collaboration between the West Reading, Pennsylvania-based regional bank and the creator of ChatGPT will focus on end-to-end workflow management in lending, deposits and payments, Customers said in a press release.” source
- What they said 2026 “This strategic collaboration with OpenAI gives us the frontier models, engineering expertise and ability to co-create a roadmap toward becoming an AI-native bank” source
- What they did 2026 “The execution of this call itself is a live demonstration of what we mean when we say AI is not an experiment at Customers Bank” source
- Frank Sorrentino III, ConnectOne Bancorp (ConnectOne Bank) ceo, United States
Founder-CEO moving a commercial bank's lending work onto custom AI agents to give frontline bankers half their time back, framed as growth investment rather than cost cutting.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Frank Sorrentino III, Chairman and CEO at ConnectOne Bank” source
- What they did 2026 “ConnectOne has started with two agents targeting the high-friction, time-consuming tasks that have long defined commercial lending, comprising 16 unique skills with additional capabilities rolling out over the coming months.” source
- What they said 2026 “We could save our frontline folks 50% of their time by taking away the administrative tasks that they deal with on a routine basis” source
- What they said 2026 “He also said that bringing in agentic AI is not a cost-saving measure for the bank, but instead an investment into the future of the company.” source
- Allison Johnson, 1st Summit Bancorp of Johnstown (1st Summit Bank) ceo, United States
Replacing the poach-or-hire staffing model of a $1.5 billion community bank with a three-year paid apprenticeship across every function and a seven-year job guarantee, so the bank builds a workforce that uses AI rather than is replaced by it.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “to succeed Mr. Renner as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and the Bank effective March 28, 2025” source
- What they did 2026 “The program, called Ascend 250, offers three years of training and seven years of guaranteed employment.” source
- What they said 2026 “We're focusing on building that talent as opposed to going out and hiring.” source
- What they said 2026 “We get the privilege of identifying sharp, hungry students whose ambitions may not match current opportunities available to them.” source
- Brian Barnes, B2 Bank (owner); M1 Finance (founder and CEO) owner, United States
Bought a tiny Minnesota community bank to turn it into a national digital and banking-as-a-service platform, on the view that the next big bank will be built on technology, not branches.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “B2 Bank is owned by Brian Barnes, CEO and founder of M1 Finance, an award-winning digital financial platform.” source
- What they did 2021 “He acquired B2, formerly the First National Bank of Buhl, in July 2021, with an eye toward bolstering his M1 operation and positioning the bank as a leading banking-as-a-service provider.” source
- What they said 2021 “It’s going to be heavily built on a technology infrastructure, and it’s going to own the brokerage, the banking, and all aspects of financial services” source
- Kelly Skalicky, Stearns Bank ceo, United States
Moving a private $3 billion bank off fee income (no overdraft or ATM fees, interest on every deposit account) and onto national commercial niches, accepting a higher funding cost.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Plumski will report to Kelly Skalicky, who will continue as CEO.” source
- What they did 2025 “In December, the St. Cloud, Minnesota-based Stearns said it would waive fees on automatic teller machine withdrawals. Last month, Stearns eliminated its $30 charge on overdrafts.” source
- What they said 2025 “That's not a successful business model, or sustainable, frankly.” source
- What they did 2024 “At Stearns Bank, we’re leading the way with a revolutionary no-fee, unlimited ATM withdrawal and service policy” source
- Minal Gupta, Star One Credit Union ceo, United States
New CEO of a $9 billion Silicon Valley credit union who co-founded a shared payments arm (Payfinia CUSO) and is pushing generative and agentic AI across member channels so the credit union is not left behind by fintechs.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “assets exceeding $9.3 billion, today announced Minal Gupta as its new chief executive officer (CEO).” source
- What they did 2026 “Gupta additionally is a co-founder of Payfinia, a 2-year-old CUSO that's a joint venture with bank technology company Tyfone.” source
- What they said 2026 “There are so many fintechs in our backyard. If we don't stay relevant we'll get left behind” source
- What they did 2026 “where she was instrumental in launching and leading innovative payment solutions such as Zelle, Same Day ACH, and FedNow.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel firm, not a bank or credit union; banking trade press does not carry its ownership transfer as a bank story
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a vendor, not a community or regional bank; appears in banking press only as a supplier (Copilot), which step 2 drops
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland and pharma (Novartis); outside US banking universe
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a software vendor; no bank or credit union redesign story
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia, mining (Fortescue); outside US banking universe
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil, industrial (Semco); outside US banking universe
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food company; no bank or credit union story
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada; Shopify is a commerce platform, not a bank; step 2 drops it
Route 29: Trade press sweep: US private-equity-backed services platforms whose chief executive rebuilt the operating model
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search deal and operating trade press (PE Hub, Private Equity International, Middle Market Growth, ACHR News, Contracting Business, ChannelE2E and MSSP Alert, Channel Futures) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US private-equity-backed services platform (home and field services, managed IT services, testing and inspection, business services) changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Works for managed IT services and AI-native business services, where PE or holding-company platforms announce firm-wide delivery changes with the chief executive quoted. The home and field services branch (ACHR News, Contracting Business) yields only tool adoption voiced by COOs and GMs, and ChannelE2E/MSSP Alert block fetch, so the route is narrowed to the IT services branch plus wires.
Sources: PE Hub; Middle Market Growth; ACHR News; Contracting Business; ChannelE2E; Channel Futures; press wires; sponsor portfolio pages
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query phrase through WebSearch over trade press and wires (channelmastered.com, businessof.tech, prnewswire.com, globenewswire.com, achrnews.com, contractingbusiness.com) gives redesign story (joined on article URL)
- redesign story through article text gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through article quote gives chief executive or founder (joined on person name + title in quote)
- chief executive through firm own newsroom or second outlet gives second citation (joined on firm name + person name)
- chief executive through dated 2025-2026 release gives control check (joined on title in dated quote)
New names that passed every check
- Mal Vivek, zeb ceo, United States
Rebuilt how a consulting and engineering services firm delivers work: a flat builder-only organization on its own AI system, with an outcome guarantee replacing time-and-materials.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"AI is not the reason we restructured. AI is the deadline on a restructuring that was always overdue," said Mal Vivek, Founder and CEO of zeb.” source
- What they did 2026 “Over the course of 2025, zeb restructured its delivery model into a two-engine system.” source
- What they said 2025 “Vivek noted: “We went all in on the AWS and Databricks Platforms and their underlying AI infrastructure as a first principle when we started zeb” source
- Rashaad Bajwa, Integris ceo, United States
Took a PE-backed national IT services firm through a new ownership round and then rebuilt its managed service around running AI for clients rather than only keeping systems up.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““As AI has evolved from hype to reality, we’ve seen a pivotal shift in what organizations expect from their technology partners,” said Rashaad Bajwa, chief executive officer of Integris.” source
- What they did 2026 ““CORE closes the gap between what modern businesses need and what traditional managed services were built to deliver. It redefines what organizations should expect from an MSP in the AI era."” source
- What they did 2024 “"As we embark on our next chapter, having the right partner is key to our continued success. With OMERS' proven track record of scaling its portfolio companies, we are confident in our ability to drive continued growth and success for Integris," said Rashaad Bajwa , Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Integ” source
- Ramsey Sahyoun, Evergreen Services Group owner, United States
Co-founder of a 100-plus MSP holding company who is rebuilding some operating companies from scratch as AI-native MSPs and embedding forward deployed engineers with clients.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “One in particular is “really taking off,” according to Ramsey Sahyoun, co-founder and M&A partner at Lyra parent Evergreen.” source
- What they did 2026 “Eight of the company’s 120-ish MSPs have begun embedding forward deployed engineers ( three of Silicon Valley’s five favorite words right now ) with clients to turn clumsy manual workflows into speedy agentic ones.” source
- What they said 2023 ““We’re going to take a couple of our MSPs and rebuild them from the ground up in an AI-native way, with a completely new team. Completely rip out everything you think you know about how an MSP should run and rebuild it from first principles,”” source
- Jim Siders, Shield Technology Partners ceo, United States
Runs a PE-style MSP platform built to put forward deployed AI engineers inside acquired IT service firms and rebuild their delivery around AI.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jim Siders has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Shield Technology Partners , an IT services platform focused on integrating artificial intelligence with operational expertise.” source
- What they did 2026 “"This investment allows Shield to double down on building an AI-first IT services platform, equipping our partners with the capabilities and resources they need to create long-term value and competitive advantage for the businesses they serve.” source
- What they did 2025 “sending FDEs of its own to acquired MSPs has been part of Shield’s master plan from the get-go. Hardly a surprise, then, that there are now FDEs from OpenAI working at Shield.” source
- Alexander Saca, IronOrbit ceo, United States
Brought his managed IT and GPU cloud firm into an AI-first platform in 2025 to get forward deployed engineers rebuilding how its services are delivered.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““Customers are increasingly looking for partners who can help them navigate AI in practical ways,” said Alexander Saca, CEO of IronOrbit.” source
- What they did 2026 “In 2025, IronOrbit joined Shield Technology Partners to accelerate its AI capabilities and evolve the way its services are delivered.” source
- What they said 2026 “Shield’s work in building AI-driven products are initiatives that we had envisioned but didn’t have the expertise or bandwidth to execute,” said Alexander Saca, CEO of IronOrbit” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya leads no US private-equity-backed services platform; none of the swept outlets (ACHR News, Contracting Business, Channel Mastered, Business of Tec
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest leads no US private-equity-backed services platform; none of the swept outlets (ACHR News, Contracting Business, Channel Mastered, Business of Te
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard leads no US private-equity-backed services platform; none of the swept outlets (ACHR News, Contracting Business, Channel Mastered, Business of Te
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie leads no US private-equity-backed services platform; none of the swept outlets (ACHR News, Contracting Business, Channel Mastered, Business of Tech,
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella leads no US private-equity-backed services platform; none of the swept outlets (ACHR News, Contracting Business, Channel Mastered, Business of Tec
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke leads no US private-equity-backed services platform; none of the swept outlets (ACHR News, Contracting Business, Channel Mastered, Business of Tech,
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani leads no US private-equity-backed services platform; none of the swept outlets (ACHR News, Contracting Business, Channel Mastered, Business of Tec
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan leads no US private-equity-backed services platform; none of the swept outlets (ACHR News, Contracting Business, Channel Mastered, Business of Te
Route 30: Second sweep: US wealth, advisory, trust and family-office firms that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search wealth trade press NOT mined by Route 21 (Financial Advisor IQ, Kitces.com guest and firm profiles, WealthManagement.com and InvestmentNews items from 2025-2026, Barron's Advisor headlines, Rethinking65, Private Wealth, Family Wealth Report, Trusts & Estates) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US registered investment adviser, independent broker-dealer, trust company, multi-family office or turnkey asset manager changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The second wealth-trade sweep works for its target population: six US firm leaders (RIA, family-office-style RIA, independent broker-dealer, trust-company owner) each tied to a dated, paid-for change in how the firm works, with the leader quoted. Changes from the written route: Financial Advisor IQ is refused by the search tool and Kitces podcast pages are mostly practice tips for solo owners (tool purchases, not redesign); Family Wealth Report returned surveys, not named US redesigns; InvestmentNews and WealthManagement.com carried almost all yield, with fa-mag.com, accountingtoday.com, riabiz.com, pulse2.com and the leader's own Substack as second sources. Form ADV owner checks were not run. Known people found on the famous sample is 0 of 8 by construction.
Sources: Financial Advisor IQ; Kitces.com; WealthManagement.com; InvestmentNews; Rethinking65; Private Wealth magazine; Family Wealth Report; SEC Form ADV for owners
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase query through site-restricted web search over wealthmanagement.com, investmentnews.com, kitces.com, rethinking65.com, pw-mag.com, familywealthreport.com, trustsandestates.com gives story (joined on story URL)
- story through trade story text gives US RIA, broker-dealer, trust company or multi-family office (joined on firm name; drop vendors, AI-native startups, rebrands and plain M&A)
- firm through trade story quote gives CEO, founder or managing partner quoted on why (joined on name plus title in story)
- firm through second outlet (fa-mag.com, accountingtoday.com, riabiz.com, firm release copy, leader's own blog) gives dated cost (joined on firm name plus date)
- person through dated 2025-2026 story naming current role or control gives control check (joined on name plus firm plus date)
New names that passed every check
- Jon Pettinelli, Pettinelli Financial Partners ceo, United States
Turned a founder-led advisor practice into a 100% employee-owned firm organised around a centralised, team-based planning model instead of individual advisor books.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jon Pettinelli becomes the new chief executive officer of the firm having been president since 2019, succeeding his father who has stepped back from day-to-day operations” source
- What they did 2025 “The firm has also transitioned to 100% employee ownership which it believes creates the closest possible alignment of interests between the firm’s financial advisors, staff and clients.” source
- What they said 2025 “We can now mobilize the full spectrum of expertise and skills across our entire firm to provide a comprehensive, planning-based experience for each client” source
- What they did 2025 “announced the completion of its multi-year strategic realignment further to elevate the firm’s service experience for clients” source
- David La Placa, Intellectus Partners owner, United States
Built an agentic AI client-engagement system inside his RIA because the one-advisor, one-meeting model caps how many clients a firm can serve, then spun it out as a company.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “David La Placa, founder and chief executive of Intellectus Partners, said De Rosa’s appointment marks Intellebox’s shift” source
- What they did 2025 “has spun out its agentic AI client engagement platform. Intellebox.ai will now operate as an independent entity serving outside firms” source
- What they said 2025 “It's kind of ironic that we're advising these people that are building the future, but yet our world, our organizational world, meaning the RIA world only spends 2% or 3% of revenue on technology.” source
- What they said 2025 “For years, our instinct has been to hire our way out of it, but in today’s digital world, that’s not a scalable answer.” source
- Justin Fisher, Threadline Wealth ceo, United States
Took a $5.8B accounting-firm wealth unit independent with employee owners and its own regulatory, technology and investment architecture, run as a team-based, apprenticeship model.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Management, he added, will have operating control of the business. Threadline, which has offices throughout the West Coast” source
- What they did 2026 “made the move with backing from co-owner The Cynosure Group and a group of employee owners” source
- What they did 2026 “will now operate with its own regulatory structure, technology infrastructure, and investment architecture” source
- What they said 2026 “It plans to serve clients through a team-based advisory model, supported by an apprenticeship-driven talent development approach that emphasizes technical expertise, collaboration and long-term career growth.” source
- Andrew Schiff, TritonPoint Wealth ceo, United States
Left Goldman Sachs to run an independent RIA and built an owned partner arm that replaces opaque revenue pooling with clear ownership terms for advisors who join.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “That group includes Blake, Vailes and Andrew Schiff, who is the CEO of TritonPoint Wealth.” source
- What they did 2025 “eliminates traditionally opaque revenue pooling and partnership equity structures, replacing those with clear ownership terms” source
- What they said 2025 “We founded TritonPoint Partners to provide advisors with the best possible structure for long-term success” source
- What they did 2025 “said the transition to independence will provide greater flexibility in the investment offerings they can recommend to clients” source
- Michael LaMena, Wealthspire ceo, United States
Reorganised an insurance-owned wealth group into five business units under one brand, opened equity to employees, and built an owned trust company to bring family-office services in-house.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “CEO Michael LaMena said the move allows the RIA to step out of its former parent company’s insurance shadow” source
- What they did 2025 “The reorganization establishes five business units under the Wealthspire parent brand” source
- What they said 2025 “I think to take these businesses independent and have meaningful opportunity for our existing employees to participate in that equity” source
- What they did 2024 “The launch of our trust company further demonstrates our commitment to expanding our family office services, ensuring we best serve our multigenerational families’ complex needs” source
- Rich Steinmeier, LPL Financial ceo, United States
Committing about $2 billion over three years to rebuild the broker-dealer's advisor operating system around one data layer and an embedded AI agent.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Chief Executive Rich Steinmeier addressed one of the most common concerns head-on during his opening remarks to the crowd.” source
- What they did 2026 “The centerpiece of LPL's agenda is a nearly $2 billion, three-year investment in modernizing its technology infrastructure” source
- What they said 2026 “LPL shares rose $10.68 to $343 or 3.22% after Rich Steinmeier promised 'agentic' AI as part of $2-billion tech spend” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest (Australia, mining) never appears in US wealth trade press as a firm redesigner; the route covers US RIAs, broker-dealers, trust companies and fa
- Missed Aaron Levie Box appears in this trade press only as a vendor (S-21 found Levie endorsing a Mercer platform); no story on Box redesigning itself. Miss.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is outside the wealth and advisory sector and outside the US; no hit in the swept outlets.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is outside the sector and the US; no hit.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify reaches WealthManagement.com only through Bloomberg syndication (LESSONS S-20/S-21); the sector-restricted search returned nothing on Lutke. Miss by des
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is not an advisory firm; the sector-restricted search returned no Ulukaya story. Miss.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears on InvestmentNews only as a 2016 LinkedIn deal item, not a firm-redesign story in the 2024-2026 window. Miss.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard WealthManagement.com high-net-worth pieces cover the Patagonia share transfer as an estate-planning lesson for advisors, not as a wealth firm redesign; per the
Route 31: Second sweep: US accounting firms whose managing partner chose outside capital, a split or new ownership to redesign the firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search accounting trade press NOT mined by Route 22 (INSIDE Public Accounting, CPA Trendlines, Accounting Today regional leaders and Top 100 profiles from 2025-2026, CPA Practice Advisor, The CPA Journal, state CPA society news) with focus on private-equity deals, alternative practice structures and employee ownership for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US CPA or accounting firm (Top 400, regional or local) changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: INSIDE Public Accounting; CPA Trendlines; Accounting Today; CPA Practice Advisor; state CPA society news; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query through WebSearch restricted to accountingtoday.com, insidepublicaccounting.com, cpapracticeadvisor.com, cpatrendlines.com, journalofaccountancy.com gives story or list page (joined on story URL)
- story or list page through Accounting Today PE Summit features and MP Elite lists; IPA PE deal stories gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through same story gives CEO or managing partner quoted (joined on person name plus title)
- person through firm newsroom release (cbh.com, hbkcpa.com, sikich.com, smith-howard.com) or second trade outlet gives dated costly act (joined on firm name plus deal date)
- person through 2025-2026 dated trade story or firm page gives current role (joined on person name plus firm)
New names that passed every check
- Sean Taylor, Smith + Howard (Smith + Howard Advisory LLC) ceo, United States
Took outside capital in 2022 and again in 2026 to turn a partner-owned Atlanta regional CPA firm into a national advisory platform under a 10-year plan.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The transition represents the natural next phase of our growth evolution," Smith + Howard CEO Sean Taylor told Accounting Today in a written statement” source
- What they did 2022 “For Atlanta-based Smith + Howard, capital to support its 10-year "Vision 2030" strategic plan was the main driver of its November 2022 deal with Broad Sky Partners” source
- What they said 2026 “Broad Sky Partners invested in 2022 to help us accelerate our initial scaling from a regional firm into a national professional services platform” source
- Michelle Thompson, Cherry Bekaert (Cherry Bekaert Advisory LLC) ceo, United States
As managing partner she split Cherry Bekaert into a CPA-owned attest firm and a PE-backed advisory company to fund technology and a restructured firm.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “according to Michelle Thompson, CEO of Cherry Bekaert, which was one of the first accounting firms to take on a PE deal, back in 2022” source
- What they did 2022 “We know our clients will share in our enthusiasm as we reimagine the future of Cherry Bekaert and the new opportunities this restructuring presents for our people and the communities where we live and work” source
- What they said 2023 “What Parthenon does is provide us with the support to build a best-in-class middle-market accounting and advisory firm” source
- Josh Beck, MarksNelson (MarksNelson Advisory, a Springline Advisory company) executive, United States
Took private equity to found the Springline platform and then pushed firm equity below the partner level, changing who owns a Kansas City CPA firm.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “And at MarksNelson, managing partner Josh Beck explained” source
- What they did 2025 “We have created a program to push equity down below the partner level, and the demand has surprised me, so we're aiming to increase that program” source
- What they said 2023 “we are proud to link arms with Trinity Hunt as we build the premier business advisory firm in the U.S.” source
- Tom Angelo, HBK CPAs & Consultants ceo, United States
Is converting a partner-owned Ohio Top 50 firm into an alternative practice structure with its first institutional investor to fund people and technology.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “This partnership marks an exciting new chapter for HBK," said Tom Angelo , CEO of HBK CPAs & Consultants” source
- What they did 2026 “HBK will adopt an alternative practice structure before closing. Attest services, including audits and reviews, will continue to be provided by Hill Barth & King” source
- What they said 2026 “we will invest further in our people, our technology, and our client service capabilities” source
- Christopher Geier, Sikich ceo, United States
Took a $250 million minority investment and dissolved Sikich's partnership model, replacing it with a managing incentive plan, to build a technology-led professional services company.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Christopher Geier, Chairman & CEO Sikich, discussed with The Wall Street Journal how Sikich is approaching artificial intelligence across its workforce” source
- What they did 2024 “At the same time, he dissolved the firm's partnership model and restructured its equity-sharing model with a managing incentive plan that spreads the rewards of success to more team members” source
- What they said 2024 “We've been executing an ambitious growth and diversification strategy to capitalize on unique and favorable market conditions within an evolving professional services landscape, more than doubling in size over the last five years alone” source
- Aaron Dawson, Opsahl Dawson & Co. ceo, United States
Made his Vancouver, Washington CPA firm the founding member of a PE-backed platform and moved bookkeeping, payroll and IT out of the firm to a shared back office with its own AI team.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Headquarters: Vancouver, Wash. Chief executive: Aaron Dawson No. of offices: 4 Partners: 13 Total employees: 163” source
- What they did 2023 “but easily the most important came when, at the start of 2023, it became the first firm to join Ascend, a private equity-backed platform” source
- What they said 2024 “Let's look at the internal operation of this and see if we can redesign it, reengineer it, come up with a better way of doing it.” source
- What they did 2025 “Ascend has taken all our bookkeeping and payroll off of us," said Dawson. "They took our IT off of us. I no longer have to be in charge of our servers.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Route reads US accounting trade press for capital or ownership changes at CPA firms; Reliance is not covered.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is not an accounting firm and is absent from the PE, APS and ESOP stories swept.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining group; not in US accounting firm ownership coverage.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is not an accounting firm; no capital or ownership story on the route sites.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify memo appears only in AT opinion pieces (S-22), not in a firm ownership or capital story, which is this route's filter.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is not an accounting firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears only as a vendor, not as a firm redesigning itself.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is not an accounting firm; the JofA case study S-22 found is outside this route's PE, APS and ESOP filter.
Route 32: Second sweep: US law firms and legal services businesses led by a chair or founder who redesigned the firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search US legal trade press (LawSites, Legaltech News headlines, ABA Journal, Bloomberg Law news headlines, Texas Lawyer, Law360 Pulse headlines, Attorney at Work, Arizona ABS directory) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US law firm, alternative legal services provider, or Arizona or Utah licensed legal business changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 7 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The second US law sweep works once its spine moves from AI-tool stories to ownership and capital stories. Bloomberg Law business-and-practice articles (which fetch in full with --text) carry a steady 2026 run of US law firms splitting their back office into private-equity-backed management services organizations (MSOs), with the founder quoted on why a pass-through partnership cannot fund technology. Seven US leaders cleared capacity plus two intent citations: four MSO founders or owners, one Orion partner-firm owner and two large-firm leaders who funded firm-owned AI builds. LawSites, ABA Journal and Attorney at Work returned vendor and survey stories almost only. Known people found on the famous sample is 0 of 8 by construction.
Sources: LawSites (lawnext.com); ABA Journal; Legaltech News; Attorney at Work; Arizona ABS Directory; Utah Office of Legal Services Innovation; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase query through site-restricted web search over news.bloomberglaw.com, lawnext.com, abajournal.com, attorneyatwork.com, law.com, texaslawyer.com gives story (joined on story URL)
- story through Bloomberg Law article text (Related Stories rail links the next MSO story) gives US law firm with a dated ownership, capital or owned-arm change (joined on firm name; drop vendors, AI-native startups, conferences, surveys)
- firm through same story or investor/firm release (Uplift press page, citybiz, Pulse 2.0, AZ Big Media, firm newsroom) gives founder, owner, chief executive or chair quoted on the old model (joined on person name plus title in release)
- person through release ownership clause or firm bio page dated 2026 gives control check (joined on "100% owned by", "majority ownership and control", "Chairman", "partner and CEO")
- person through second outlet (Bloomberg Law, Private Equity Wire, nonbillable.co.uk, Lawyer Monthly) gives dated costly act and signal year (joined on deal date or investment amount)
New names that passed every check
- Peter Massumi, Massumi + Consoli owner, United States
Split his PE-focused law firm into a lawyer-owned practice and a sponsor-backed services company so the firm can fund BigLaw-scale AI, data and operations that a pass-through partnership cannot.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Massumi + Consoli concentrates ownership and governance in a small pool of equity partners, making it less bureaucratic than Big Law firms and better able to execute significant business moves, its founders said.” source
- What they did 2026 “Certain Massumi + Consoli partners agreed to a one-time “scrape” of their equity distributions to invest in the new venture, ElevenHundred+, co-founder Peter Massumi said in an interview last week.” source
- What they said 2026 ““The MSO gives us the ability to make ‘BigLaw-scale’ investments in technology, infrastructure and business operations while enabling us to preserve the personalized service and sophisticated counsel that has been the foundation of our success from day one,” co-founder Peter Massumi said.” source
- What they said 2026 “Law firms with large partnerships typically are structured as “pass through” organizations, meaning they distribute the bulk of their profits to equity partners on an annual basis, making sizable long-term investments a challenge, Massumi said.” source
- Brandon Rafi, Rafi Law Group / Rafi Law Services owner, United States
Split his Phoenix personal injury firm into a lawyer-owned practice and a $450 million services company holding its 250 non-lawyer staff, to modernise operations and serve other firms.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “with Brandon B. Rafi maintaining majority ownership and control. Rafi will continue to solely own and control Rafi Law Group.” source
- What they did 2026 “Rafi Law Group is separating back-office services from its legal operation to receive $125 million from an outside investor, the personal injury firm announced Monday.” source
- What they said 2026 ““This structure allows us to modernize how we operate without changing who we are,” said Brandon B. Rafi.” source
- What they said 2026 “He said he believes that there will be consolidation in the market and he wants the firm to be one of the leaders that defines what that looks like.” source
- Chad Dudley, Dudley DeBosier Injury Lawyers / Orion Legal MSO owner, United States
Moved his Louisiana injury firm's technology, finance and marketing into a PE-backed MSO he co-owns and runs, and is building it into a shared back office for other plaintiff firms.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Dudley DeBosier will remain 100% owned and controlled by its founding partners, Chad Dudley, Steven DeBosier, and James Peltier, who will continue to direct the law firm’s legal practice.” source
- What they did 2026 “Chad, Steven, and James will invest in Orion Legal alongside Uplift and join the executive leadership team to support the outsourcing of non-legal functions.” source
- What they did 2026 “Orion launched in January with investment from Adams Street Partners and announced its first deal with Louisiana injury firm Dudley DeBosier. It subsequently announced deals with Kentucky’s Hughes & Coleman and Georgia-based John Foy & Associates. Orion will provide the firm with non-legal operational support including” source
- What they said 2026 “Over the past decade, he has worked closely with more than 200 law firms nationwide, advising on leadership, operations, and sustainable growth.” source
- Lee Coleman, Hughes & Coleman Injury Lawyers owner, United States
Put his 40-year-old Kentucky and Tennessee injury firm's non-legal operations into a shared, PE-backed MSO and chairs its advisory board, arguing scale-funded operations let lawyers concentrate on legal work.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Managing Partner and Co-Founder Lee Coleman is widely regarded as a leading figure in the industry and an operational innovator of the modern personal injury firm business model.” source
- What they did 2026 “Private equity firm Uplift Investors made its second public investment in the personal injury law space by partnering with Kentucky firm Hughes & Coleman.” source
- What they said 2026 “The MSO model represents a major step forward, leveraging scale to invest in operational support so lawyers can concentrate on delivering the highest-quality legal work on behalf of clients.” source
- John Foy, John Foy & Associates owner, United States
Moved the business side of his Georgia injury firm (marketing, finance, technology, talent) into a PE-backed shared MSO while keeping 100% ownership of the legal practice.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “John Foy & Associates will remain 100% owned by John Foy, who will continue to direct the firm’s legal practice.” source
- What they did 2026 “The Connecticut-based firm has brought Georgia personal injury practice John Foy & Associates into its portfolio company Orion Legal, marking the third law firm to join the platform.” source
- What they said 2026 “Partnering with Orion will help us to strengthen the business side of our organization so our attorneys and staff can remain focused on what matters most: delivering exceptional results for our clients.”” source
- Rachel Proffitt, Cooley LLP ceo, United States
Says the Big Law model built on time, scale and consensus will not endure, and set up Cooley AI, a firm-owned AI services company, to rethink how the firm's work is staffed, priced and delivered.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Rachel Proffitt, partner and CEO of Cooley. "GO Public reflects our ongoing commitment to lead our industry as legal work becomes more technology-enabled and outcome-focused” source
- What they did 2026 “GO Public is the first in a series of capabilities Cooley is developing through Cooley AI , its AI services company focused on making the firm more AI-native - enhancing how work gets done while rethinking how legal services are staffed, priced and delivered,” source
- What they said 2026 ““Established law firms must continue to run successful businesses built on today’s structures while architecting for a tomorrow that is already here,” Proffitt wrote. “This creates our greatest challenge.”” source
- What they said 2026 ““As a profession, I don’t want it to feel like we’re sitting and waiting for something to happen to us,” Proffitt told me. “Having ownership in shaping the future is a position of strength that I hope we and others lean into.”” source
- Jon Ballis, Kirkland & Ellis ceo, United States
Committed more than $500 million to build Kirkland's own AI from its lawyers' knowledge rather than rely on shared vendor tools, and says it could speed the move off the billable hour.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As Chairman, Jon is responsible for establishing and executing upon Kirkland's strategic priorities, including advancing business initiatives” source
- What they did 2026 “The investment would be directed towards developing proprietary AI systems tailored to the firm’s operations with an initial spend of more than $100 million this year and “hundreds of millions more in the next three to four years” according to chair Jon Ballis.” source
- What they said 2026 “Ballis suggested Kirkland has little interest in competing with technology available to every rival firm. Widespread AI adoption, he said, was “raising the floor for everyone” in the legal market, but Kirkland & Ellis was not hired “for the floor”.” source
- What they did 2026 “Jon Ballis was quoted on Kirkland's decision to set aside $500 million to create its own AI platform using proprietary technology.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box CEO; appears in legal trade press only as a vendor of document and AI tools to law firms, never as a law firm or legal services leader redesigning his own f
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining owner; not a US law firm or legal services leader and absent from the legal press sweep.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia owner; not a legal business. His 2022 ownership transfer is the kind of signal the route reads, but in apparel, so it never enters US legal trade pres
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft CEO; legal press mentions Microsoft only as a technology vendor (Copilot rollouts at firms). Not a law firm redesigner.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate owner; outside US legal services entirely.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify CEO (Canada); his 2025 AI memo is covered in general business press, not in legal trade press, and Shopify is not a legal business.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani owner; food company, not in legal trade press.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis CEO (Switzerland); not a legal business and not US.
Route 33: Second sweep: US chief executives of mid-sized and private firms who published an operating memo rewriting how the firm works
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search published chief-executive memos and the coverage of them (company blogs and newsrooms, Axios Pro, Business Insider and Fortune headlines, Inc. and Fast Company, Every.to and Lenny's Newsletter interviews) where a chief executive tells staff how the work itself will change for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US mid-sized or private company (revenue roughly 50 million to 5 billion dollars) changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 2 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · signal led recognition by a median 0 years (2 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route works when the spine is a running tracker of CEO restructure memos (TechCrunch running list, layoffhedge company pages, memo compilations) rather than Business Insider or Inc., which block search or fetch. Cold memo sweeps skew to large public firms; private and mid-sized names come from tracker pages that cross-reference peer firms.
Sources: company blogs and newsrooms; Inc.; Fast Company; Fortune; Axios; Every.to; press wires
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- memo tracker or compilation through TechCrunch running list, layoffhedge, the-ai-native.company, programs.com gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through tracker company page or trade story quoting the memo gives chief executive quoted on why the old model has a limit (joined on CEO name in story)
- chief executive through firm blog or a second outlet (CMSWire, Upstarts, Lenny's, Fortune, Outsource Accelerator) gives second source and dated 2025-2026 control check (joined on name plus firm)
- firm through same stories gives cost check: share of staff, agents deployed, countries exited, pay bands (joined on date of memo)
- chief executive through earliest dated memo gives signal year (joined on publication date)
New names that passed every check
- Zeb Evans, ClickUp ceo, United States
Rebuilding a private productivity software firm as a '100x organization' where about 3,000 internal AI agents outnumber staff and the remaining roles are builders, system managers and front-liners.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “ClickUp, the $4 billion productivity platform, has cut 22 per cent of its workforce. CEO Zeb Evans announced the layoffs in a post on X , framing them not as a cost-cutting exercise but as a structural bet on AI.” source
- What they did 2026 “By the company's own count, ClickUp runs roughly 3,000 internal AI agents across departments, embedded into Slack channels, code review, customer support, and product workflows.” source
- What they said 2026 “The memo framed the reduction as a deliberate restructuring around what he called a "100x organization" rather than a cost-cutting move.” source
- What they did 2026 “Evans had already mandated that staff go through an AI agent trained to stand in his place before contacting him directly.” source
- Wade Foster, Zapier ceo, United States
Changing who a private automation company hires and how every team works by making AI fluency a hiring bar and stopping the whole firm for an AI build week.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Zapier CEO Wade Foster shared how a company-wide "code red" and week-long hackathon jumped AI adoption from 10% to 50% in just one week.” source
- What they did 2025 “Zapier, the workflow automation company valued at $5 billion, announced on May 30, 2025, that all new employees must demonstrate artificial intelligence fluency before joining the organization.” source
- What they said 2026 “The ideal team of the future isn't 10 people with specialized skills. It's one person with a team of agents.” source
- What they did 2026 “Last May, Zapier announced a minimum AI fluency bar for every new hire and launched V1 of Zapier's AI Fluency Rubric .” source
- Linda Tong, Webflow ceo, United States
Restructuring a private web platform's team and operating model around agents, making code rather than the visual canvas the source of truth.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “CEO Linda Tong says every company must reinvent itself for AI, and Webflow's answer is Source, a code-first rethink of its platform.” source
- What they did 2026 “On May 27, 2026, Webflow CEO Linda Tong published a blog post titled "Evolving Webflow for the agentic web," announcing that the company had restructured its team and operating model.” source
- What they said 2026 “"The source of truth of it is code, which is fundamentally different from how we started our business," Tong said, noting Webflow's original design canvas was built as "a visual abstraction of code.” source
- Bill Staples, GitLab ceo, United States
Rebuilding a mid-sized developer platform for agent-scale work: exiting 22 countries, flattening management layers and rebuilding git with an AI lab.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “CEO Bill Staples said during a conference call on Tuesday that agentic workloads are stressing developer infrastructure more than it was designed to handle.” source
- What they did 2026 “The company said in May that it was going to reduce its workforce as it exited 22 countries, flattened management layers, and invested in infrastructure to scale its platform and serve increased traffic from AI workflows, with a sharper focus on research and development.” source
- What they said 2026 “This quarter we began a generational rebuild of git to support the scale and features required for 100x growth,” said Bill Staples, CEO of GitLab.” source
- Matthew Prince, Cloudflare ceo, United States
Reshaping a mid-sized infrastructure company around builders and sellers by removing a fifth of staff, mostly in measuring and coordinating roles, while revenue grew.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince recently offered one of the clearest articulations of this view.” source
- What they did 2026 “Cloudflare cut about 20% of its workforce (1,100 people), reporting quarterly revenue of $639.8 million, up 34% year-over-year and the highest single quarter in company history.” source
- What they said 2026 “Prince added that the layoffs weren’t about reducing headcount, but about shifting the nature of work.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Found Aaron Levie (signal in 2025) Box AI-first memo, May 2025, listed on the memo compilation that is this route's spine.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft does not appear in the memo compilations or the 2026 AI restructure lists pulled; Nadella's changes are not framed as a staff memo in these sources.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco's redesign predates 2024 and is Brazilian; outside the route's 2024-2026 US memo window.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian and its changes are not staff memos in US outlets; out of scope.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia's 2022 ownership change predates the window and is not an operating memo in these sources.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss; not in any pulled memo list.
- Found Tobi Lutke (signal in 2025) The Shopify memo is the genre's founding text. Hit in the source, though Lutke is Canadian and the route's US filter would drop him in a live run.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is Indian; not in any pulled memo list.
Route 34: Trade press sweep: US independent marketing, advertising and communications agencies that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search agency trade press (Ad Age, Adweek, Digiday, The Drum, PRWeek US, O'Dwyer's, MediaPost, 4A's news) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US independent advertising, marketing, PR or media agency changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The sweep works, but not through Ad Age or PRWeek: Ad Age article bodies are truncated to the headline for fetch.mjs and PRWeek returns 403 direct and via Jina, so the working core is Digiday and The Drum (full text), Adweek (first paragraphs before the paywall, enough for one quote), O'Dwyer's and Marketing Dive, plus the agency's own newsroom. Most AI stories quote a CTO, CCO or panel; keep only stories where the founder, owner or CEO explains why, and drop tool purchases (Coyne PR's ChatGPT Enterprise deal) and holdco-owned shops. Six US agency leaders passed control and cost checks.
Sources: Ad Age; Adweek; Digiday; The Drum; PRWeek; O'Dwyer's; MediaPost; press wires; agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase query through WebSearch restricted to digiday.com, thedrum.com, adweek.com, adage.com, mediapost.com, odwyerpr.com, prweek.com (adage.com and prweek.com as search hits only) gives trade story (joined on story URL)
- trade story through story text via fetch.mjs --text gives US independent agency changing its own work (AI operating system, pricing model, owned arm, joint venture) (joined on agency name)
- agency through same story quote, else agency newsroom or byline (O'Dwyer's sponsored essay, Substack) or second outlet (Marketing Dive, Digiday) gives founder, owner or CEO quoted on why (joined on agency name + title)
- person through dated 2025-2026 story, release or firm team page naming the title gives control check (joined on person name)
- agency change through story or release with scope, platform, pricing terms or dated launch gives cost check and signal year (joined on agency name + date)
New names that passed every check
- George Popstefanov, PMG (privately held independent agency, Dallas) owner, United States
Runs a 1,000-person independent agency on its own operating system, Alli, priced on output and outcomes rather than headcount, and is building its own buying platform to cut out intermediaries.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The agency last week launched its rebrand with a letter from founder and CEO George Popstefanov that reflects the Dallas-based independent's AI ambitions” source
- What they did 2026 “It built the operating system Alli, not as a product bolt-on but as the infrastructure every account runs on” source
- What they did 2026 “In practice that means sitting down with a CMO, understanding what their bonus is tied to, and putting a portion of PMG's own fee at risk against hitting those targets” source
- What they said 2026 “As AI reshapes workflows and the lines between content, media, and commerce continue to blur, the gap between insight and action will widen” source
- Bill Koenigsberg, Horizon Media Holdings (privately held; largest US independent media agency) owner, United States
Took the largest US independent media agency into a joint venture network built around a combined AI platform and is moving its own pricing off billable hours toward performance-based contracts.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In a company-wide email sent Monday evening, obtained by ADWEEK, CEO Bill Koenigsberg said that the layoffs were” source
- What they did 2025 “Horizon Media Holdings and Havas today announced the formation of Horizon Global, a new joint venture” source
- What they said 2025 “Built exclusively for the needs of the modern global marketer, Horizon Global is rewriting the agency network playbook” source
- What they did 2026 “Horizon Media is attempting to move away from billable hours entirely in favor of performance-based contracts” source
- Kathy Bloomgarden, Ruder Finn (independent global communications agency, New York) ceo, United States
Rebuilding an independent PR firm's operating model so AI tools built by its own 20-plus engineers run through client work, workflows, hiring and training.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “we have the freedom to be decisive, nimble, and advance at the speed of change, said Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO of Ruder Finn” source
- What they did 2026 “Ruder Finn's AI Accelerator actualizes a new operating model that moves AI from fragmented use cases into scalable, revenue-impacting tools and capabilities embedded across client work, agency workflows, and talent recruitment and development” source
- What they said 2026 “What our industry needs now is an immediate reexamination of structure, upskilling of talent, and re-assessment of how work is designed, executed, and delivered to clients” source
- Kern Schireson, Known (independent marketing company, New York) owner, United States
Runs an independent agency on outcome-tied fees and its own AI platform, Skeptic, which clients now license directly, turning part of the agency into a software business.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Kern Schireson is the Chairman and CEO of Known, a modern marketing company that delivers world class science, strategy, and creative” source
- What they did 2025 “Known charges only for the services and software in its proposals” source
- What they did 2025 “Internally, it's summed up as no outcome, no income, with a bonus pool tied to client KPIs” source
- What they said 2025 “This is 3.0 of agency functionality, he said. You can literally log in and see the same simulations that our data scientists run” source
- Kevin Kerner, Mighty & True (independent B2B tech marketing agency, Austin) owner, United States
Rebuilt a small agency's operations into documented, AI-encoded systems it owns, expecting fewer people and lower fees for the same outcomes.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Kevin Kerner Founder & CEO 30 years building pipeline for B2B tech companies” source
- What they said 2025 “We'll have fewer people, and I think we will be much more efficient and we'll have to pass those savings on to our customers” source
- What they did 2026 “Three years ago we rebuilt. Documented how we work. Wrote down everything that lived in people's heads. Built repeatable delivery.” source
- What they did 2026 “Most agencies buy software. We're building it. There's a real difference between buying software to do your job and building software that encodes how you work” source
- Vic Drabicky, January Digital (independent media agency and consultancy, New York) owner, United States
Gave the whole agency AI build licences and turns the best staff-built tools into its own Mikey operating system, while spinning up a new division run on that platform.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Vic Drabicky, founder and CEO at January Digital, an independent media agency and consultancy, based in New York” source
- What they did 2026 “We actually took the approach of giving our entire company Claude license and said, You guys go build whatever you build” source
- What they did 2025 “January Digital has launched January Growth, a specialized division of January Digital designed to fuel fast-growing ecommerce brands” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie (Box, enterprise software) does not lead a US marketing, advertising, PR or media agency; agency trade press covers such leaders only as clients, pl
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani (Reliance, India) does not lead a US marketing, advertising, PR or media agency; agency trade press covers such leaders only as clients, platforms
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler (Semco, Brazil) does not lead a US marketing, advertising, PR or media agency; agency trade press covers such leaders only as clients, platforms
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan (Novartis, Switzerland) does not lead a US marketing, advertising, PR or media agency; agency trade press covers such leaders only as clients, pl
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest (Fortescue, Australia) does not lead a US marketing, advertising, PR or media agency; agency trade press covers such leaders only as clients, pla
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke (Shopify, Canada) does not lead a US marketing, advertising, PR or media agency; agency trade press covers such leaders only as clients, platforms or
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia, outdoor apparel) does not lead a US marketing, advertising, PR or media agency; agency trade press covers such leaders only as client
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella (Microsoft, software) does not lead a US marketing, advertising, PR or media agency; agency trade press covers such leaders only as clients, platf
Route 35: Trade press sweep: US staffing, outsourcing and IT services firms that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search staffing and services trade press (Staffing Industry Analysts, Staffing Industry Review, CRN solution provider coverage, Channel Futures, HR Dive, ClearlyRated and American Staffing Association news) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US staffing firm, recruitment process outsourcer, business process outsourcer or IT services firm changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: Staffing Industry Analysts; HR Dive; CRN; Channel Futures; American Staffing Association; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query through WebSearch restricted to staffingindustry.com, hrdive.com, prnewswire.com, globenewswire.com, staffinghub.com, americanstaffing.net gives story or release (joined on story URL)
- story or release through same release (wire copy or StaffingHub reprint) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through same release gives CEO, founder or president quoted on why the old model has a limit (joined on person name plus title)
- person through second outlet or firm page (hrtechfeed.com, theagenttimes.com, natlawreview.com, staffmark.com, StaffingHub feature) gives dated change (joined on firm name plus announcement date)
- person through dated 2025-2026 source naming the role (ASA news post, wire release) gives current role (joined on person name plus firm)
New names that passed every check
- Brandon Metcalf, Asymbl (workforce orchestration and Salesforce consulting firm, Austin, Texas) owner, United States
Trying to change how a services firm is staffed by running his own company as a blended workforce of people and AI agents, with digital workers in ten functions.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “That is the foundation we’ve built Asymbl on. Our deepened work with Salesforce gives us the infrastructure to scale by connecting data, people, and AI in real time. We’re able to move faster internally and provide better outcomes for our customers,” said Brandon Metcalf, CEO and Founder of Asymbl.” source
- What they did 2026 “Today, Asymbl operates more than 150 digital workers across ten functions, including recruiting, sales, marketing, engineering, and operations. In 2025, this hybrid workforce generated approximately $5 million in productivity impact.” source
- What they did 2025 “A 30-to-40-person workforce orchestration firm processed 17,000 job applications and hired 116 employees in approximately 100 days, deploying Salesforce's Agentforce to operate at the scale of a company ten to twenty times its size.” source
- What they said 2026 “You can’t just hire a random employee and say, ‘Hey, go figure out your job,’ and you’re off to the races. It’s that mentality of, ‘Is this an IT project or is this a workforce?’ That is the starting point.” source
- Jake Zabkowicz, Hudson Talent Solutions (RPO firm, Hudson Global) ceo, United States
Trying to change how recruitment process outsourcing is delivered by building an agentic AI agent into the firm's own delivery model rather than selling it as a tool.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Artificial intelligence has rapidly become foundational to talent operations,” said Jake Zabkowicz, Global CEO of Hudson Talent Solutions.” source
- What they did 2025 “TESS is not a standalone product available for purchase; it is fully integrated into Hudson’s delivery model” source
- What they said 2026 “It validates the governance, discipline, and operational rigor we built into our agentic AI platform from the start.” source
- What they said 2026 “As the talent landscape transforms, it’s critical that we lead the conversation on responsible, innovative approaches to workforce strategy and AI,” said Jake Zabkowicz, Global CEO at Hudson Talent Solutions.” source
- Stacey Lane, Staffmark Group (staffing firm, Cincinnati) ceo, United States
Trying to change how a national staffing firm recruits by deploying AI agents across its recruiting workflow with firm-wide targets for recruiter capacity.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The American Staffing Association announced today that Staffmark Group’s chief executive officer, Stacey Lane, is the newest member of the ASA board of directors.” source
- What they did 2026 “Staffmark Group is moving beyond experimentation, committing to specific performance benchmarks tied to its AI deployment by the end of 2026.” source
- What they said 2026 “AI agents are not replacements for recruiters. When deployed intentionally, they expand capacity so recruiters can apply judgment, deepen relationships, and improve workforce outcomes.” source
- Tommy Hickey, Nomad Health (healthcare staffing firm turned staffing software platform, New York) ceo, United States
Trying to change how healthcare staffing firms run by turning Nomad from a staffing agency into the AI operating system other agencies run on.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Coinciding with this strategic pivot, Nomad named Tommy Hickey as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).” source
- What they did 2026 “Nomad Health announced today its formal transition from a healthcare staffing agency to a software platform company.” source
- What they said 2026 “Every automation and AI model exists to solve a problem we were living with as a staffing operator.” source
- Bryce Maddock, TaskUs (business process outsourcer, New Braunfels, Texas) owner, United States
Trying to change what a business process outsourcer sells, from seats of human agents to work run by AI agents with people on the complex cases, and offered with Blackstone to take his firm private to do it.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “But in a recent Get Paid interview with Manny Medina, TaskUs Co-Founder and CEO, Bryce Maddock, offers a different take: automation won’t eliminate human work.” source
- What they did 2025 “an affiliate of Blackstone, TaskUs Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Bryce Maddock and TaskUs Co-Founder and President Jaspar Weir will acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock they do not already own for US$16.50 per share in an all-cash transaction.” source
- What they said 2025 “Over the next five years, AI will fundamentally reshape our world,” said Bryce Maddock, CEO of TaskUs. “Our strategic focus this year will be reimagining our business for the AI era.” source
- What they said 2025 “Success in this new era won’t be measured by headcount growth, but by the sophistication of the work frontline teams do.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Route sweeps US staffing, RPO, BPO and IT services trade press and wires (2024-2026) for a firm-wide change in how a services firm does its work; Aaron Levie (B
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Route sweeps US staffing, RPO, BPO and IT services trade press and wires (2024-2026) for a firm-wide change in how a services firm does its work; Mukesh Ambani
- Missed Ricardo Semler Route sweeps US staffing, RPO, BPO and IT services trade press and wires (2024-2026) for a firm-wide change in how a services firm does its work; Ricardo Semler
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Route sweeps US staffing, RPO, BPO and IT services trade press and wires (2024-2026) for a firm-wide change in how a services firm does its work; Yvon Chouinard
- Missed Tobi Lutke Route sweeps US staffing, RPO, BPO and IT services trade press and wires (2024-2026) for a firm-wide change in how a services firm does its work; Tobi Lutke (Sh
- Missed Satya Nadella Route sweeps US staffing, RPO, BPO and IT services trade press and wires (2024-2026) for a firm-wide change in how a services firm does its work; Satya Nadella
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Route sweeps US staffing, RPO, BPO and IT services trade press and wires (2024-2026) for a firm-wide change in how a services firm does its work; Vas Narasimhan
- Missed Andrew Forrest Route sweeps US staffing, RPO, BPO and IT services trade press and wires (2024-2026) for a firm-wide change in how a services firm does its work; Andrew Forrest
Route 36: Trade press sweep: US real estate brokerages, property managers and mortgage lenders that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search real estate and mortgage trade press (Inman, HousingWire, Real Estate News, The Real Deal, Commercial Observer, Multifamily Dive, National Mortgage News) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US real estate brokerage, property manager, commercial real estate services firm or independent mortgage lender changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The sweep works on HousingWire, Real Estate News, Multifamily Dive, The Real Deal and firm wire releases, all of which fetch with --text. The revision: AI stories in this sector mostly quote CTOs, vendors or AI-native startups, so the productive signals were an owner bringing operations in-house, an independent leaving a franchise or cloud brokerage and building its own stack, and a lender rebuilding around automation. National Mortgage Professional, Inman articles and bizjournals return 403.
Sources: Inman; HousingWire; Real Estate News; The Real Deal; Commercial Observer; Multifamily Dive; National Mortgage News; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade press story through HousingWire, Real Estate News (Independents' Day tag), Multifamily Dive, The Real Deal via WebSearch allowed_domains gives firm (joined on firm name in headline)
- firm through same story gives chief executive, founder, owner or principal quoted on the old model's limit (joined on leader name and title in story)
- leader through firm wire release (PR Newswire, Newswire), firm newsroom or a second outlet (Multifamily Executive, citybiz, The Real Deal) gives second source (joined on name plus firm)
- leader through dated 2026 release or story naming role gives control check (owner, principal, founder-CEO of private firm) (joined on title string)
- firm through earliest dated redesign move in the stories gives signal year and cost check (joined on publication or event date)
New names that passed every check
- Phil Shoemaker, Averra Financial (formerly The Loan Store) ceo, United States
Rebuilding a top-four US wholesale mortgage lender around automation and AI so it can scale with mortgage cycles without the hire-and-fire pattern of the old model.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"The Loan Store name got us here, but it no longer tells the whole story of who we are," said Phil Shoemaker, Chief Executive Officer of Averra Financial.” source
- What they did 2023 ““ We started with basic automation, low-hanging fruit around document indexing, data extraction, really getting the loan files as clean as possible… so that processors and underwriters could make better decisions faster ,” Paola said. That foundation ultimately positioned the lender for the next technology shift. “ Whe” source
- What they said 2026 ““ Scale in mortgage banking is extremely important, but a lot of companies don’t build it the right way ,” Shoemaker said. “ If you do it in a way that is inefficient and you do it with people, and you’re not focusing on creating a cost structure that’s variable, the cyclicality of mortgage… can be brutal. ”” source
- What they did 2023 “MOZAIQ engaged with The Loan Store early in the lender’s growth, well before AI became the mortgage industry’s dominant conversation.” source
- What they did 2025 ““ I got so frustrated with automating underwriting. Last year, I decided I was going to learn how to underwrite loans ,” he said. “ I quit my job as a CEO, and all I did was underwrite loans for three months. It was the best thing I ever did in my career .”” source
- Jessica Beck, Alfred / Arqline ceo, United States
Turning a property technology vendor into a Top 50 property manager that folds three management companies into one AI-driven, centralized operating model.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““Arqline marks the debut of a fundamentally different operating model for multifamily,” said Alfred CEO and co-founder Jessica Beck.” source
- What they did 2022 “In March 2022, the New York City-based software provider began bringing tech and operations together by acquiring RKW Residential, gaining access to 30,000 single-family and multifamily homes in Southeastern markets.” source
- What they said 2026 ““When they're not under the same roof, that feedback loop is longer or harder or more delayed, and you just don't get as good of an outcome,” Beck said.” source
- What they did 2025 “Building on that success, Alfred merged Quarterra Living with RKW Residential in June 2025, doubling its portfolio overnight and bringing together teams, systems, and processes across 31 markets.” source
- Josh Miller, Epique Realty / EpiqueX ceo, United States
Recasting a fast-growing cloud brokerage as a technology company that owns a brokerage, with an owned lab that builds its own AI tools in place of rented software.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “CEO and co-founder Josh Miller sat down with HousingWire as the brokerage prepares to lauch its EpiqueX platform later this year.” source
- What they did 2026 “"Most of our industry rents its technology and hopes it's good enough. We build ours," said Epique CEO Josh Miller.” source
- What they said 2026 ““We’re more like a tech company that owns a real estate brokerage, instead of being a real estate brokerage that has tech,” he said. “I know that sounds like a silly distinction, but it’s a real one.”” source
- Ryan Rodenbeck, Spyglass Realty owner, United States
Taking an Austin brokerage back to independence and replacing nearly all rented software with in-house AI systems he built himself, plus an agent revenue-share model.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In contrast, Ryan Rodenbeck, broker/owner of Austin-based Spyglass Realty , has chosen to revert his company back to independent status after spending a year testing the waters at The Real Brokerage.” source
- What they did 2026 “The firm also has its own built-in-house AI-powered systems for contract creation, compliance workflow tracking and voice-based offer intake.” source
- What they said 2026 “"Independents, and even smaller companies, have a bigger opportunity now because the playing field is literally level," Rodenbeck said. "What I've built, three years ago, would have cost millions of dollars. And I've done it for thousands."” source
- What they did 2026 “Spyglass Realty eyes aggressive growth after going independent again Spyglass Realty founder Ryan Rodenbeck has some reflections six months after returning to independent brokerage status. Keep on reading to hear his lessons and plans for the future.” source
- Aaron Tink, T2 Capital Management / Base Living owner, United States
Moving a $1.6 billion private equity real estate firm from third-party management to its own AI-enabled property management company so the owner controls day-to-day operations.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “He reports to Aaron Tink, Principal of T2, who oversees the firm's asset management division and leads Base Living.” source
- What they did 2026 “"Base Living brings institutional expertise, technology-enabled execution and hands-on decision-making to every aspect of property management, strengthening T2's fully integrated real estate platform from ownership through operations."” source
- What they said 2026 ““From sourcing deals to due diligence and underwriting to closing deals to executing a business plan, and now down to the day-to-day operations and day-to-day management of our properties, we'll be able to get into the weeds and be hands-on and proactive and really do our best to control everything that we can control ” source
- Joseph Hamdan, MYNY (formerly Coldwell Banker Reliable Real Estate) owner, United States
Pulling New York City's largest Coldwell Banker franchise out of the franchise system so opportunity and brand flow to agents rather than from corporate.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The new brokerage counts 135 agents and closed over $350 million in sales last year, which made it the largest franchise on both measures in the five boroughs, according to MYNY principal Joseph Hamdan.” source
- What they did 2026 ““After 18 years in a franchise system, we made the decision to build something that actually works for New York,” said Joseph Hamdan, principal of MYNY.” source
- What they said 2026 ““Companies would affiliate with a franchise because there was a big gap in tech and reach,” he said. “That gap no longer exists.”” source
- What they said 2026 “"We didn't want to be in a scenario anymore where opportunity flows from corporate to the office level," Hamdan said. "We wanted it to flow to the agent."” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler: Not a US real estate brokerage, property manager, CRE services firm or mortgage lender; the route's trade press sweep (HousingWire, Real Estate
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie: Not a US real estate brokerage, property manager, CRE services firm or mortgage lender; the route's trade press sweep (HousingWire, Real Estate New
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan: Not a US real estate brokerage, property manager, CRE services firm or mortgage lender; the route's trade press sweep (HousingWire, Real Estate
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard: Not a US real estate brokerage, property manager, CRE services firm or mortgage lender; the route's trade press sweep (HousingWire, Real Estate
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest: Not a US real estate brokerage, property manager, CRE services firm or mortgage lender; the route's trade press sweep (HousingWire, Real Estate
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke: Not a US real estate brokerage, property manager, CRE services firm or mortgage lender; the route's trade press sweep (HousingWire, Real Estate News
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella: Not a US real estate brokerage, property manager, CRE services firm or mortgage lender; the route's trade press sweep (HousingWire, Real Estate N
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya: Not a US real estate brokerage, property manager, CRE services firm or mortgage lender; the route's trade press sweep (HousingWire, Real Estate N
Route 37: Trade press sweep: US family-owned and private mid-market manufacturers that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search manufacturing trade press (IndustryWeek, Manufacturing Dive, Assembly Magazine, The Fabricator, Plant Engineering, Smart Industry, state manufacturers association news, Family Business magazine) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US family-owned or private mid-market manufacturer changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 1 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · signal led recognition by a median 0 years (1 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempt 1 of 3, refine. US manufacturing trade press is open (IndustryWeek, Manufacturing Dive, Assembly, Family Business magazine and NCEO fetch 200; The Fabricator 403 direct and via Jina), but its private-firm leader stories in 2024-2026 are mostly ESOP succession and family handovers, not firm-wide redesign, and its AI stories quote vendors, consultants and large public firms. One verified new name so far.
Sources: IndustryWeek; Manufacturing Dive; Assembly Magazine; The Fabricator; Family Business magazine; NCEO employee ownership news; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query (change phrase + private or family-owned manufacturer) or Top Shops honoree list through WebSearch with allowed_domains on mmsonline.com, industryweek.com, manufacturingdive.com, thefabricator.com, familybusinessmagazine.com gives trade article (joined on article URL)
- trade article through article body (fetch.mjs --text; MMS body starts after the second 'Featured Content View More') gives firm and quoted owner or CEO (joined on firm name + leader name in the same sentence)
- firm through firm newsroom release, state or MEP grant case study, vendor case study or a second trade story gives dated costly act (joined on firm name)
- leader through dated 2025-2026 trade profile or release gives current role and stated reasoning (joined on leader name + firm)
New names that passed every check
- Melanie Dulbecco, Torani (R. Torre & Company), San Leandro, California ceo, United States
Running a private flavor manufacturer as a shared-wealth firm: in 2022 she took outside capital for the first time and launched an ESOP, and in 2026 frames AI adoption around redeploying people rather than cutting them.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Torani's CEO Melanie Dulbecco has led the syrup company for 35 years” source
- What they did 2022 “Torani is simultaneously launching an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) which will provide Torani’s team members with ownership interest while supporting the company’s mission” source
- What they said 2025 “But Dulbecco emphasized that an ESOP is just one piece of a holistic people-first approach for the business, adding that younger staff especially value career mobility and growth opportunities” source
- What they said 2026 “Every year people get a new tranche of shares, and every year we do a new valuation, so there’s nothing that makes me happier than when we, in a town hall meeting, share” source
- Matthew Lucco, Precision Profiles LLC, Titusville, Pennsylvania owner, United States
Rebuilt a 34-person defense turbine-parts shop so it no longer runs on memory: a shop-wide ERP with an iPad at every station, in-house fixtures, cross-training, and a renegotiated continuous-production model with Navy suppliers.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As majority shareholder in the company, the first changes Lucco made were basic - cleaning up operations and reorganizing workflow.” source
- What they did 2022 “Lucco responded by changing the way he managed customer demand. After speaking with a rear admiral at a conference in Washington, D.C., he asked customers to work with his company toward continuous production rather than large, irregular orders.” source
- What they did 2026 “The company has since put jobs, drawings, programs, setup information, production requirements and quality data into its ERP system, accessible through an iPad at each workstation.” source
- What they said 2026 “"The idea is to remove as much tribal knowledge as needed because it facilitates training and it facilitates coverage," Lucco says.” source
- Mike Payne, Hill Manufacturing and Fabrication, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma owner, United States
Bought a tired Oklahoma job shop in 2018 and redesigned it by benchmark: two people per three-machine cell instead of one operator per machine, automated fourth machines, a toolroom, and a roll-up of four more shops whose owners had no successor.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Mike Payne, CEO of Hill Manufacturing and Fabrication , began asking this question in early 2018 when he acquired the shop.” source
- What they did 2026 “Since then, Hill has reorganized the shop floor to assign two staff members to three-machine cells, and is in the process of adding fourth, automated machines to its cells.” source
- What they did 2018 “In 2018, a small group of investors, led by Mike Payne, purchased Hill. Under Payne’s leadership, Hill has continued to invest in the company, its equipment and most importantly its people” source
- What they said 2026 “Payne compared Hill's performance with that of Top Shops, identified the largest gaps and began addressing them. Tooling investment was low, so Hill changed vendors, added a vending machine and created a dedicated toolroom. Revenue per employee was low, so the shop reorganized its machines into cells.” source
- What they said 2024 “he continues growing his business because he enjoys developing his team and seeing them succeed.” source
- Patrick Schueck, Lexicon, Inc., Little Rock, Arkansas ceo, United States
Moved a family-owned steel fabricator with more than 3,000 employees to employee ownership through an ESOP in late 2025 instead of a third-party sale, while keeping the CEO seat.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “CEO Patrick Schueck led the move as a natural extension of the company’s family-focused culture.” source
- What they did 2025 “Arkansas-based Lexicon, Inc. announced today that it has become an employee-owned company through the establishment of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).” source
- What they said 2026 ““No one knows and understands this company better than the people who work here every day,” Schueck said.” source
- What they said 2026 “Our employees have always been family, and making them owners is an honor and a joy.”” source
- Johnny Goode, MSP Manufacturing, Bloomington, Indiana owner, United States
Turning an 80-year-old aerospace job shop into a smart-manufacturing operation through a five-year, four-phase plan (Operation Phoenix), five-axis automation and AI-generated CNC programming that lets each programmer handle several times the jobs.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “says Johnny Goode, owner and president of MSP Manufacturing , a job shop in Bloomington, Indiana. The shop has a long history of aviation and defense work, but when Goode left his career in law enforcement and stepped into the vice-president role in 2020, much of the shop's equipment was aging, and its milling capabili” source
- What they did 2025 “by the time of my visit in 2025, MSP Manufacturing had adopted new ERP, AI systems and a new shop paradigm, with cobots and 3D printers planned for the near future.” source
- What they did 2021 “The two Goodes developed a 5-year, 4-phase plan that included developing and expanding the company’s workforce and moving to adopt smart manufacturing technologies throughout the organization.” source
- What they said 2021 ““Just adding a new machine or two in the shop wasn’t going to get us to that level,” Johhny said. “Smart manufacturing would require a mix of next-generation machines and software systems that organize all manufacturing functions in a single place.”” source
- What they said 2024 “We started using CAM Assist in July 2024. At the Farnborough Air Show, our booth was next to CloudNC’s, and we got to see what they were doing.” source
- Mark Holz, HEI Precision, Bellingham, Washington owner, United States
Runs a 10-person aerospace and automotive machine shop built so that every equipment purchase must fit an automated cell, scaling output to 40,000 to 50,000 parts a month without adding headcount.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Holz is president of HEI Precision located in Bellingham, Washington. He says he built the now AS9100-certified, ITAR-registered CNC machine shop with high-volume production in mind.” source
- What they did 2026 “President Mark Holz says every equipment decision at HEI starts with a question about how the machine can integrate into an automated cell. The result is a shop producing roughly 40,000 to 50,000 parts per month with just 10 employees.” source
- What they said 2026 “"Between the three of those automated machining concepts, we're able to keep volume up without adding headcount," Holz explains. "And what we end up with is dedicated capacity for customer forecasts, clearer capacity planning and the ability to scale production without proportionally scaling labor."” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss listed pharma group, outside a sweep of US private and family-owned manufacturers.
- Found Hamdi Ulukaya (signal in 2016) Food Dive is Manufacturing Dive's sister trade title on the food manufacturing beat; the route's ownership-change branch finds the 2016 employee stake grant.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian listed miner; out of scope for a US private manufacturer sweep.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a US listed software firm, not a manufacturer.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia's 2022 ownership change is apparel retail with contract manufacturing; no manufacturing trade press hit in the sweep queries.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian listed conglomerate; out of scope.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; out of scope for a US-only sweep.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian listed software firm, not a manufacturer.
Route 38: Trade press sweep: US family-owned and private industrial distributors and wholesalers
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search distribution trade press (Modern Distribution Management, Industrial Distribution, Electrical Wholesaling, Supply House Times, Distribution Strategy Group, NAW news) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US industrial, electrical, plumbing or building-products distributor or wholesaler changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Verdict invalidated. As written the route does not reach its target. Distribution trade press (Distribution Strategy Group, Supply House Times, Electrical Wholesaling, Industrial Distribution) tells firm-redesign and AI-ownership stories almost only about public or very large distributors (Fastenal, Grainger, Ferguson, Wesco, MSC, Henry Schein, Builders FirstSource), most of which S-27 already took or which are voiced by a CIO or the vendor. Private and family-owned distributors appear through acquisitions, growth rankings, anniversaries and executive moves, and where they made a real change (Hajoca buying Onsemble, Winsupply's Mined XAI stake) the leader's own words are either missing from any fetchable page (the Hajoca release sits only on mdm.com, which returns 403 direct and via Jina) or describe keeping the old model. Across 31 receipts and 15 searches one name stood: Jason Seger of employee-owned Border States.
Sources: Modern Distribution Management; Industrial Distribution; Electrical Wholesaling; Supply House Times; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase through site-restricted WebSearch on distributionstrategy.com, supplyht.com, ewweb.com, inddist.com, tedmag.com, mdm.com gives trade story (joined on story URL)
- trade story through story text gives US private or mid-sized distributor changing its own work (joined on firm name)
- firm through quoted leader in story gives CEO, president or owner (joined on name plus title in story)
- leader through firm newsroom (solutions.borderstates.com, company.winsupply.com) or second outlet gives second source with the leader's words (joined on same event and date)
- leader through dated 2025-2026 trade story naming the role gives control check (joined on name plus current title)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss pharma group; not a US distributor and absent from distribution trade press.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears only as an AI vendor (Copilot Studio in the Ferguson AI hiring story), not as a firm redesigning itself.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is Indian; out of scope for a US distribution sweep.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a software vendor; it does not appear in distribution trade press.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker; step 2 keeps only distributors and wholesalers.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker and retailer; not covered by distribution trade press.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian mining and energy; out of scope.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; out of scope.
Route 39: Trade press sweep: US mid-market food and beverage producers
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search food industry trade press (Food Dive, Food Business News, Food Processing, Food Engineering, Beverage Digest headlines, Supermarket News) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US food, beverage or consumer packaged goods producer (private or mid-sized) changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 1 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · signal led recognition by a median 0 years (1 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempts 1 and 2: the food trade press sweep as written (AI, restructure, pricing and owned-arm phrases on Food Dive, Food Processing, Food Engineering, BevNET, Supermarket News) returns large public firms, vendors, PE deals and succession ESOPs. BNP Media award and profile indexes give mostly growth stories; they yielded Dunn and Mosser. Naming large private or employee-owned producers and looking for their AI releases reprinted in Dairy Foods yielded Farrell (Schreiber). Attempt 3 added 13 receipts and 0 names: Cargill's 2024 cuts are voiced by a spokesperson; FoodNavigator-USA AI features quote vendors, PepsiCo and NotCo; Provisioner rail stories (Rastelli, Louie's, Holly Poultry) are growth; Darigold's transformation is voiced by its board chair around a new plant; Rich Products' 2021 Transformation Office release is 403 on richs.com; Lamplighter's trust and SugarCreek's plant digitization were held back as succession and growth. Final: 3 of 5, the route works only as a low-yield monitor.
Sources: Food Dive; Food Business News; Food Processing; Food Engineering; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- change phrase + family-owned or private food maker through WebSearch with allowed_domains on fooddive.com, foodprocessing.com, foodengineeringmag.com, provisioneronline.com, bevnet.com, brewbound.com, dairyfoods.com gives trade article (joined on article URL)
- trade article through fetch.mjs --text gives firm and quoted leader (joined on firm name + leader named with title in the same passage)
- firm through firm or adviser announcement (Common Trust case study, PR Newswire) or second trade outlet gives dated costly act (joined on firm name)
- leader through dated 2025-2026 profile (Provisioner digital edition processor profile) gives current role and own reasoning (joined on leader name + firm)
New names that passed every check
- Brandon Dunn, Cypress Valley Meat Company, Arkansas ceo, United States
Took a founder-led regional slaughterhouse to an employee ownership trust with employee governance seats and profit sharing, and frames the firm as a strategic partner to independent farmers rather than a service provider.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Cypress Valley President and CEO Brandon Dunn. Because Cypress Valley operates in the middle of the food value chain, and margins are small, they wanted a structure that was both flexible and meaningful for their employees.” source
- What they did 2025 “This transaction marks the creation of the first Employee Ownership Trust in the state of Arkansas, and more specifically, makes them the first EOT within the meat processing community.” source
- What they said 2026 “Rather than addressing a specific workplace issue, the Employee Ownership Trust was created to strengthen Cypress Valley Meat’s workplace culture, provide employees with meaningful governance influence and deliver future financial upside through profit-sharing” source
- Dalton Mosser, Seven Hills Food Co. (Virginia Beef Co.), Lynchburg, Virginia executive, United States
Turned a regional beef plant that bought cattle and sold its own brand into a pass-through processing, packaging and marketing service that lets small Virginia farmers sell direct and keep more of the retail dollar.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Dalton Mosser, president of Seven Hills Food Co. Often, farmers pay the cost to throw away unused parts of the carcass.” source
- What they did 2025 “The Seven Hills business model has adapted over the years, now focusing on providing sophisticated processing services to local farmers that sell beef direct.” source
- What they did 2024 “grant enabled the Virginia-based retailer and processing facility to make plant enhancements, grow production capacity, add rendering capacity, new value-added products as well as a farmer liason to coordinate expanded beef processing services.” source
- What they said 2025 “We want them to make more money, so that in turn they bring us more cattle to process” source
- Trevor Farrell, Schreiber Foods (employee-owned, Green Bay, Wisconsin) ceo, United States
Is moving the employee-owned dairy maker's global operations and software work onto AI agents through a multi-year Ascendion contract across 40-plus capability centers, so that repetitive technology work shifts from staff to agents.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Dunford will continue as CEO until the end of Schreiber's fiscal year on Sept. 30, 2026. At that time, Farrell will become President & CEO and Dunford will take over the role of Board Chair.” source
- What they did 2026 “Through the partnership, AI agents will help Schreiber and Ascendion teams get quality and food safety signals to decision-makers faster, modernize the ERP environment, and give regional teams a more unified way to collaborate.” source
- What they said 2026 “To fuel Schreiber's next era of rapid growth, we are taking a bold, transformational leap forward in how we operate and serve our customers," said Trevor Farrell, president of Schreiber Foods.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is not a food producer; food trade press does not carry his memo.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is pharma; out of the route's universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; no food trade coverage.
- Missed Satya Nadella Appears in food press only as an AI vendor, not as a redesigner of his own firm.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia Provisions (a food arm) is covered by NOSH, but nosh.com returned 403 to fetch.mjs, and no Food Dive story on the 2022 ownership transfer surfaced.
- Found Hamdi Ulukaya (signal in 2016) Food Dive covered the 2016 employee stake grant. Chobani's 2025-2026 plant purchases are expansion, not redesign, so the hit rests on 2016.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; Reliance Consumer Products gets no US food trade coverage in this sweep.
- Missed Aaron Levie Software CEO; out of universe.
Route 40: Third sweep: US regional, mid-size and plaintiff law firms led by a founder or managing partner who redesigned the firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search US legal and state bar press (LawSites, ABA Journal, Attorney at Work, state bar journals, Texas Lawyer and Daily Business Review headlines, Trial Lawyer magazine, Legal Talk Network transcripts) excluding firms already in output/candidates.json for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US regional or mid-size law firm, plaintiff or consumer law firm, or legal services business below the AmLaw 100 changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 7 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The third US law sweep works only after moving its spine away from LawSites, ABA Journal and Attorney at Work (vendor launches, surveys and AI-native startups again) to two sources: Bloomberg Law business-and-practice stories on plaintiff and mass tort firms, and PR Newswire releases where a plaintiff firm's owner announces a firm-wide AI rebuild, with the vendor's case study as second source. Four new US leaders cleared capacity plus two intent citations (Watts, Postman, Farrin, Dawn Smith); two of them rest on vendor-issued releases and are marked as the weaker tier. The MSO beat was already mined by S-32. Known people found on the famous sample is 0 of 8 by construction. Short of five names: refine.
Sources: LawSites (lawnext.com); ABA Journal; Attorney at Work; state bar journals; Legal Talk Network; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase query through WebSearch with allowed_domains news.bloomberglaw.com, prnewswire.com, lawnext.com, abajournal.com, attorneyatwork.com gives story or release (joined on story URL)
- story through Bloomberg Law article text or PR Newswire release text gives US plaintiff, mass tort or mid-size firm with a dated firm-wide change (self-built AI, firm-wide AI rollout with role playbooks, new owned arm) (joined on firm name; drop vendors, AI-native startups, surveys, firms only in talks, and firms joining someone else's MSO)
- firm through same story or release gives founder, owner or managing partner quoted on the old model's limit (joined on person name plus title)
- person through second outlet: firm or vendor release, vendor case study (eve.legal/case-studies), Lawdragon or podcast transcript gives second citation in the leader's own words (joined on person name)
- person through dated 2025-2026 release or story naming the role (Founder and President, Managing Partner, founder) gives control check and signal year (joined on title line and dateline)
New names that passed every check
- Mikal Watts, Watts Law Firm LLP owner, United States
Is rebuilding his mass tort and injury firm's case qualification and intake around a proprietary AI platform he paid seven figures to build, and plans to extend it across practice areas.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Watts, who runs the Watts Law Firm out of two offices in Texas, declined to say how much he is investing into his AI effort but said it is seven figures.” source
- What they did 2026 “After considering 200 vendors, he decided on the technology services arm of Monks, the operating brand of Sir Martin Sorrell’s S4 Capital Plc. They began working on the project in March.” source
- What they said 2026 “AI allows us to remove the operational bottlenecks surrounding case qualification while preserving the legal judgment that only experienced professionals can provide. This platform is the beginning of a much larger ambition for how this firm practices law.” source
- Warren Postman, Keller Postman LLC / Postman Law / Atticor Group owner, United States
Took his mass tort firm's founders into a new owned personal injury practice and then an AI-enabled back-office platform, arguing small injury firms lack the resources his model brings.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Warren Postman (center), founder of Keller Postman, recently struck out with partners Ashley Keller and Adam Gerchen to form a dedicated personal injury practice: Postman Law.” source
- What they did 2026 “He along with Keller Postman founders Ashley Keller and Warren Postman are the owners or employees of Atticor, according to forms Gerchen Capital filed with the SEC in March.” source
- What they said 2025 “There are a lot of small firms who don't have the resources to do what we do on the litigation side or the client services side," Postman explains.” source
- What they said 2025 “That's part of our culture - coming to a case and not just accepting the standard playbook, but trying to come up with ways to increase the value and result for the client," says Postman.” source
- James Farrin, Law Offices of James Scott Farrin owner, United States
Committed his 300-person North Carolina injury firm to one AI platform across every role, with playbooks per role, so the firm can take more cases without growing headcount at the same rate.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Rosa, Margo, Daniel, and Elizabeth have shown remarkable dedication to our clients and our firm," said James S. Farrin, Founder and President of the firm.” source
- What they did 2026 “Rather than adopting AI in isolated use cases, the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin have committed to using Eve consistently across the organization, with clear playbooks and role-specific workflows for attorneys, case managers, and litigation teams.” source
- What they said 2026 “Technology has moved from being an accelerant for businesses to being essential to thrive,” he explains. “AI is an important tool. We'd be fools not to use it.” source
- Dawn Smith, Smith Clinesmith LLP executive, United States
Is redesigning her nursing-home-abuse litigation firm so intake, pre-litigation, litigation and trial preparation are built around AI, arguing one lawyer can now match a 20-person defense team.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Led by CEO and Founder, Curtis Clinesmith, and Managing Partner Dawn Smith, Smith Clinesmith represents some of the country's most vulnerable clients” source
- What they did 2026 “To me, an AI-Native law firm means building your firm from AI at the core out," continued Smith. "This means designing intake, pre-litigation, litigation, and trial preparation around how AI can make you faster, sharper, and more effective, rather than trying to bolt it on later.” source
- What they said 2026 “Now one person can go through that material in minutes instead of weeks," she says. "The economics is a total game changer.” source
- What they said 2024 “This last year, we built out our business side, so we hired a CIO and a chief of marketing as well.” source
- Mike Morse, Mike Morse Law Firm owner, United States
Is reorganizing his 250-person Detroit injury firm around AI, adding a Chief AI Officer to the C-suite and dropping a plan to grow to 500 staff.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Fired from another law firm in 1995, he decided he never wanted to work for anyone again. Three decades later, Mike Morse Law Firm has grown to 250 legal professionals, over 60 lawyers, and thousands of cases a year.” source
- What they did 2025 “"I believe we're the first law firm in the country to hire a Chief AI Officer," Morse says. "She's helping me vet the hundreds of products that are coming at personal injury lawyers every single day. That's a full-time job. I was trying to do it myself."” source
- What they did 2025 “AI is helping the firm do higher-quality work with fewer people. “Our original strategy was to grow to 500 employees; with Copilot, we might not need to. We can handle more clients and attend to them better, which has a cascading effect,” says Georgatos.” source
- Jeffrey Glassman, Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers owner, United States
Is moving his Boston injury firm to an AI-native model across intake, case development, operations and client communication.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founder Jeffrey Glassman, who has grown the firm over more than 30 years, built his practice on one principle: helping people .” source
- What they did 2026 “Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers has partnered with leading legal AI platform Eve to transform into an AI-Native law firm. The collaboration brings AI into case development, intake, internal operations, and client communications” source
- What they did 2026 “Within weeks, those same skeptics had become the firm's loudest advocates, showing colleagues what they'd discovered and getting everyone else excited. Three months later, 90% of the firm's demands were going out through Eve.” source
- What they said 2026 “"AI has brought so much energy into the firm. It's exciting. It's new. Our case managers and lawyers see what it can do, and it inspires them.” source
- Brian Ricci, Ricci Law Firm owner, United States
Is rebuilding his 200-person North Carolina injury firm so AI does first-pass work and paralegals become reviewers.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founded and led by Brian Ricci, Ricci Law Firm has represented clients across North Carolina for nearly 30 years” source
- What they did 2026 “Eve has materially changed how work is distributed across the firm. Attorneys spend less time on repetitive analysis and more time on strategy and advocacy. Paralegals increasingly act as reviewers and editors rather than first-pass drafters.” source
- What they said 2026 “Eve has transformed the way that our firm now operates. We can now summarize depositions, medical records, medical bills in minutes rather than days.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft CEO; appears in legal trade press only as a vendor (Copilot) to law firms, never as a law firm or legal services leader redesigning his own firm. Outs
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; not a US law firm leader. Outside the route population.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify CEO, Canada; not a law firm leader. Outside the route population.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance chairman, India; not a law firm leader. Outside the route population.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box CEO; shows up in legal press only as a document and AI vendor to firms. Outside the route population.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani founder; food manufacturer, not a law firm. Outside the route population.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue chairman, Australia; not a law firm leader. Outside the route population.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia founder; apparel, not a law firm. Outside the route population.
Route 41: Long interviews: US mid-market chief executives describing in their own words how they rebuilt the firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search long-form interviews and transcribed podcasts with chief executives (Inc. and Fast Company features, Forbes and Fortune interviews, Chief Executive magazine, Harvard Business Review case interviews, McKinsey and BCG interview transcripts, company podcasts with published transcripts) where the chief executive describes a dated change to how the work gets done for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US mid-sized or private company (roughly 50 million to 5 billion dollars revenue) changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 1 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · signal led recognition by a median 1 years (1 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The interview sweep works through two outlet types only: Chief Executive magazine reported features that quote several mid-market CEOs at length on why they rebuilt the firm, and Fortune long-form founder interviews (Nick Lichtenberg's private-company AI profiles). Inc., Fast Company, McKinsey and Forbes article pages return 403; HBR IdeaCast and most Fortune interviews carry Fortune 500 CEOs. Yield is 5 names from about 16 article fetches; the fifth came from an independent long-form interview series (adammendler.com) with a regional outlet as second source.
Sources: Inc.; Fast Company; Chief Executive magazine; Harvard Business Review; McKinsey and BCG interview pages; podcast transcript pages; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query through WebSearch allowed_domains chiefexecutive.net / fortune.com / hbr.org gives interview or feature article (joined on article URL)
- article through Chief Executive feature body gives named CEO and firm (joined on person name + firm name in the quote attribution)
- firm through second outlet (Fortune, CNBC) or firm release on PR Newswire gives dated change and current role (joined on firm name)
- person through dated 2025-2026 role line gives control check (joined on name + title)
New names that passed every check
- Eric Vaughan, IgniteTech ceo, United States
Rebuilt a 30-year-old enterprise software firm around AI by replacing most of the workforce with AI innovation specialists and putting every division under the AI organization.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Vaughan , CEO of enterprise-software powerhouse IgniteTech , was unwavering as he reflected on the most radical decision of his decades-long career.” source
- What they did 2024 “That led to a full reorganization of the company that Vaughan called “somewhat unusual.” Essentially, every division came to report into the AI organization, regardless of domain.” source
- What they said 2026 ““For us, this was never about cutting a process down by 30 percent to save time and money; we wanted to free people up to do their most creative and innovative work,”” source
- Kristen Nunery, myCOI / illumend owner, United States
Founder who judged that AI breaks her own 16-year outsourced compliance model and stood up a separate AI-native operating company, illumend, run by the same executive team.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"Too many organizations have a false sense of security because a document has been collected and stored," said Kristen Nunery, founder and CEO of illumend.” source
- What they did 2025 “Her approach involved the creation of an entirely separate operational company, Illumend, which made its debut in May 2025, following a highly successful preview of the beta version at an industry trade show six months earlier.” source
- What they said 2026 “"Insurance compliance has traditionally been document-heavy, difficult to interpret, and highly dependent on manual review. By making that information more understandable and actionable, we are helping organizations reduce uncertainty” source
- Michael Weening, Calix ceo, United States
Took a mid-sized public broadband software firm AI-first, spending about 100 million dollars to put AI into core systems and the flow of work and scaling 40 employee-built agents across the enterprise.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “At the recent annual customer conference of telecommunications software and services provider Calix , CEO Michael Weening asked the room” source
- What they did 2024 “Two years ago, Michael Weening reached a crossroads, realizing AI could be more than just an operational add-on. While other CEOs failed to grasp AI’s potential and hesitated to adopt it, Weening perceived a watershed strategic imperative and existential threat. One hundred million dollars later, he’s glad he went all-” source
- What they said 2026 “"Agentic AI is purely a workflow, and every task in a workflow is an agent," he said.” source
- B.J. Werzyn, West Shore Home owner, United States
Founder-owner turning a 933 million dollar bathroom remodeler into an AI-native operator: bought a software firm, built in-house scan, quote and scheduling systems, and plans to double revenue with about 1,000 fewer hires.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The company has also brought in private equity: Leonard Green & Partners bought a 20% stake in 2020, with Werzyn retaining the remaining 80%.” source
- What they did 2023 “West Shore Home®, the nation's fastest growing home remodeling company, is redefining the industry with the launch of its proprietary iOS application, Hawkeye. This innovative technology is an industry game-changer, capturing lightning-fast, 3-D scans of remodeling projects in less than a minute.” source
- What they said 2026 “In that environment, he sees AI as a way to scale output without a one-to-one increase in payroll. If the company is running at a little over $1.1 billion in gross revenue now, he believes it can plausibly double to $2 billion with something like 6,000 employees, instead of the 7,000 it would have needed in a less auto” source
- Fred Voccola, Simpro Group ceo, United States
Chairman and CEO rebuilding a private field-service software group (revenue in the hundreds of millions) as an AI-first company, moving its global headquarters to Miami and hiring AI-first staff into every function.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Voccola, who officially took the helm of Simpro Group in October 2025 after a decade leading Kaseya, said the company’s early months under his leadership have already exceeded expectations, particularly in hiring at its new global headquarters in Miami.” source
- What they did 2026 ““We’re hiring AI-first engineers, product managers, salespeople, finance, HR, marketing – literally every function of a company,” Voccola says.” source
- What they said 2026 “You need to be AI-first. That means designing your organization around AI, from workflows to decision-making to talent models.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and the redesign dates from the 1980s; outside the US 2024-2026 story window of this route.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia fits the size band, but its 2022 ownership transfer is an ownership event before the window; no 2024-2026 interview in the swept outlets describes a n
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss and far above the 5 billion revenue ceiling.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is Indian and far above the size band.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian and above the size band.
- Found Aaron Levie (signal in 2024) Weak hit. Box (about 1 billion revenue) fits the band; Fortune (2026-06-01, citing the NYT) reports 13 new AI job categories created over two years, dated from
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani fits the size band, but HBR and Fortune interviews (2022, 2024) describe the 2016 employee share grant and refugee hiring; no dated 2024-2026 change to
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is far above the size ceiling; the route excludes it by design.
Route 42: Trade press sweep: US architecture, interiors and design firms that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search design trade press (Architect magazine, Archinect, The Architect's Newspaper, Interior Design, Metropolis, Building Design+Construction design-firm coverage, Zweig Group letters) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US architecture, interiors, landscape or design firm changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Verdict invalidated. Three attempts (about 65 receipts across Interior Design, BD+C, Archinect, Zweig Letter, Landscape Architecture Magazine, Fortune and firm newsrooms) gave 2 counted names against a gate of 5. US design trade press reports AI as internal tools and structural change as ownership transitions or new service lines, almost never as a CEO-voiced, dated, costly firm-wide redesign. archpaper.com articles, architectmagazine.com, hospitalitydesign.com (direct and via Jina), aia.org and fastcompany.com return 403; contractdesign.com now redirects to ICFF. The two seams left open after attempt 2 (people-news columns at Hospitality Design and Contract, and US firms launching owned development, construction or software arms) were blocked or returned only cove (already counted) and non-US firms (Powerhouse Company, Henning Larsen). The yield ceiling is about 1 name per 30 receipts, too low for a standing monitor.
Sources: Architect magazine; Archinect; The Architect's Newspaper; Interior Design; Metropolis; Zweig Group; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade story through Archinect, Interior Design (On the Move), BD+C, Zweig Letter, Landscape Architecture Magazine gives design firm (joined on firm name in story)
- design firm through firm newsroom release gives chief executive or founder quote (joined on firm name + release date)
- leader through second outlet (CoStar recap, Bisnow, Multi-Housing News) gives second intent citation (joined on person name + firm name)
- leader through dated 2025-2026 release or article naming the role gives control check (joined on person name + title)
- change through same stories gives signal year and cost (joined on announcement date)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker; design trade press covers its plants and offices only as projects by outside architects, never Ulukaya's own redesign of Chobani.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a software firm; the route reads only design-firm stories. Levie appears in design press at most as a client, not as a design firm leader.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is not a design firm; it appears in Archinect and BD+C as a client or AI-tool vendor, not as a firm redesign by Nadella.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not US and not a design firm; Reliance appears only as a project client. Out of scope for a US design-firm route.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial firm; outside the US design-firm universe, so no story in the swept outlets.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian miner; outside the US design-firm universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian software firm; Lutke's AI memo is not covered as a design-firm change.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss drugmaker; it appears in design press only as a campus client.
Route 43: Trade press sweep: US boutique consulting, research and advisory firms that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search consulting and research trade press (Consulting magazine, Consultancy.org US, Source Global Research, Quirk's, Greenbook, Research Live, Insights Association news) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US boutique management consulting, market research, economic consulting or advisory firm (not the Big Four, Accenture or MBB) changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Consulting magazine (consultingmag.com) returns 403 direct and via --jina, and Consulting.us news pages are mostly people moves and M&A. The route works only after two changes: read leader voice from research trade press (Greenbook CEO Series, MRWeb Daily Research News) and from the firm's own results release or newsroom, and widen 'boutique' to founder-led or mid-sized US research and advisory firms (Hackett, ISG, Forrester, Morning Consult, West Monroe). No small private boutique produced a CEO-voiced firm-wide change in the sweep.
Sources: Consulting magazine; Consultancy.org; Quirk's Media; Greenbook; Insights Association; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade press story or wire release through Consulting.us, Greenbook CEO Series, MRWeb DRNO, Quirk's, PR Newswire, diginomica gives firm (joined on firm name in headline)
- firm through same story or firm newsroom gives chief executive, founder or managing partner quoted (joined on 'said <Name>, <title>' line)
- person through firm newsroom, results release (SEC 8-K Ex 99.1) or a second outlet gives dated costly act (joined on firm name plus date)
- person through dated 2025-2026 results release or trade story naming the role gives control check (joined on person name plus title)
New names that passed every check
- Ted Fernandez, The Hackett Group (Miami; strategy and operations consulting and executive advisory) ceo, United States
Pivoted a benchmarking and consulting firm into a Gen AI consultancy by buying an AI development firm and spinning a software joint venture, arguing AI will change how consulting is sold and delivered.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Will 2025 be the year when buyers with allocated spend step up to the mark to take gen AI advisory services mainstream? CEO Ted Fernandez is a believer.” source
- What they did 2024 “I want to congratulate our entire team for demonstrating tremendous focus, along with great agility and innovation that has allowed us to pivot to Gen AI consulting and implementation solutions, in less than 12 months.” source
- What they said 2025 “We believe gen AI-enabled transformation is a generational opportunity that will fundamentally change the way companies operate as well as the way consulting services are sold and delivered.” source
- Michael P. Connors, Information Services Group (ISG), Stamford, Connecticut; technology research and advisory firm ceo, United States
Repositioned the sourcing advisory firm he founded as an 'AI-centered' research and advisory firm, with an acquired AI maturity platform, a new internal AI Acceleration Unit and an AI insights platform.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “ISG had a strong Q4 and an outstanding year, fueled by continuing client interest in our AI-powered transformation services," said Michael P. Connors, chairman and CEO.” source
- What they did 2026 “as the company expands a broader AI acceleration strategy that also includes a new internal AI Acceleration Unit and an upcoming AI-powered insights platform” source
- What they said 2026 “ISG is moving with speed on AI. As an AI-centered technology research and advisory firm, we are committed to helping clients achieve maximum ROI from their AI investments” source
- George F. Colony, Forrester Research (Cambridge, Massachusetts; research and advisory) ceo, United States
Is rebuilding a subscription research firm around its own generative AI product, saying Forrester is reinventing the research and advisory business for the AI era.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “We delivered revenue, margin, and EPS above consensus, are seeing accelerated adoption of Forrester AI, and saw the ongoing stabilization of our metrics," said CEO and Chairman George F. Colony.” source
- What they did 2023 “In the spring of 2023, as ChatGPT was taking the world by storm, Forrester set out to build its own generative AI tool” source
- What they said 2026 “We are reinventing the research and advisory business for the AI era through our technology innovation and partnerships.” source
- Gil Mermelstein, West Monroe (Chicago; business and technology consulting, privately held) ceo, United States
Is turning a mid-sized consultancy into what it calls an AI-native consulting firm, with an internal AI Store and AI agents built into how the firm works and delivers.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “West Monroe, a Chicago-headquartered management consulting firm, has appointed Gil Mermelstein as chief executive officer, effective July 1, 2025.” source
- What they did 2026 “Firm also launches internal AI Store to accelerate how employees build, share, and scale AI solutions as its AI-native operating model is recognized by American Business Awards” source
- What they said 2026 “We've spent the last several years building AI directly into how we work as a firm," said Gil Mermelstein, CEO of West Monroe.” source
- Michael Ramlet, Morning Consult (Washington, DC; survey research and decision intelligence) ceo, United States
Is moving a survey research firm toward AI-driven products, reorganizing leadership around separate Intelligence and Research Solutions units as it expands AI investment.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Morning Consult CEO Michael Ramlet joins Lenny Murphy to unpack real-time data, AI, and synthetic insights” source
- What they did 2025 “Morning Consult is redefining how global organizations access and apply decision intelligence, and these leaders have each played a critical role in that transformation," said CEO Michael Ramlet.” source
- What they said 2025 “There is AI and how it will transform our own research process and then there is AI and how it will transform the use case and underlying access for the client” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is not a consulting, research or advisory firm; the route's trade press only mentions Microsoft as a partner or platform (Teams integration in Forrest
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a software company; outside the route's universe of consulting and research firms.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian conglomerate; not covered by US consulting or research trade press.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food producer; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss pharma company; appears in research trade press only as a client, never as a firm redesigning itself.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and not a consulting firm; the route excludes non-US firms by design.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel company; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian software company; outside the route's universe.
Route 44: Trade press sweep: US employee benefits brokers, PEOs and third-party administrators that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search benefits and HR trade press (BenefitsPro, Employee Benefit News, Business Insurance, PEO Insider (NAPEO), Self-Insured Reporter, HR Dive) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US employee benefits broker, professional employer organization, payroll firm or third-party administrator changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Verdict invalidated. The sources are public and pullable (Employee Benefit News teasers, Business Insurance, HR Dive, Insurance Business US benefits desk, PR Newswire all return 200; BenefitsPro is 403 direct and via Jina; NAPEO PEO Insider has no public article index). Across 12 search variants and 15 fetched stories, no US benefits broker, PEO, payroll firm or TPA leader passed both the control check and the cost check. The firm-wide change stories split into four kinds that all fail the tranche-3 rules: (1) the founder sold the firm before or as the change landed (Nava to Alliant, Newfront to WTW), so the person no longer decides; (2) the change is voiced by a COO or practice head, not the owner (Hylant's COO on RPA, World's head of benefits on fee models); (3) a new-in-post chief executive describing plans (World's John Newell, in post since April 2026); (4) a product launch or vendor partnership by the CEO, not a change in how the firm's own work is done (Vensure HR Compliance, HMA with Priority Health, Engage PEO with Gradient AI). Founder-designed models (ALKEME's integrated platform, Ethos Benefits' fee-only fiduciary standard) are founding choices, not dated redesign moves. Benefits distribution is consolidating into PE platforms, so the owner who could redesign is usually the one selling.
Sources: BenefitsPro; Employee Benefit News; Business Insurance; NAPEO PEO Insider; HR Dive; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase query through WebSearch restricted to benefitnews.com, businessinsurance.com, hrdive.com, benefitspro.com, insurancebusinessmag.com, insurancejournal.com, prnewswire.com gives trade story (joined on story URL)
- trade story through story text via fetch.mjs --text gives US broker, PEO, payroll firm or TPA changing its own work (joined on firm name)
- firm through story quote or firm release gives chief executive, founder or owner quoted on why (joined on firm name + title)
- person through dated 2025-2026 source naming the role and ownership gives control check (joined on person name)
- firm change through release or second story with spend, scope or restructure gives cost check and signal year (joined on firm name + date)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not a benefits broker, PEO, payroll firm or TPA; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a commerce platform in Canada; outside the US benefits and HR services universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian conglomerate; outside the universe and geography.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is enterprise software; benefits trade press does not cover its redesign.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in HR trade press as a vendor or AI-layoff story, not as a benefits firm changing its own work.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian mining; outside the universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker; benefits trade press may mention its employee share grant but it is not a benefits or HR services firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss pharma; outside the universe and geography.
Route 45: Trade press sweep: US behavioral health, therapy and specialty practice groups that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search specialty care trade press (Behavioral Health Business, Becker's specialty sections, Physician Practice, Medical Economics, PT in Motion, Healthcare Innovation) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US behavioral health provider, therapy practice group, or specialty physician practice (dermatology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, physical therapy) changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route works only on its behavioral health branch. Behavioral Health Business fetches with full text and quotes founder-CEOs of private providers on payment-model and care-model changes; Becker's is 403 and the specialty physician outlets (Medical Economics, Physicians Practice, Dermatology Times, Healio) return vendor explainers and anonymous case studies with no owner who changed the firm.
Sources: Behavioral Health Business; Becker's Healthcare; Physician Practice; Medical Economics; Healthcare Innovation; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query through WebSearch allowed_domains bhbusiness.com (payment model, care model, AI, W-2 phrasing) plus BHB category and listicle pages gives BHB article (joined on article URL)
- BHB article through BHB article body (after "By <reporter> | <date>") gives firm and quoted leader (joined on "<Name>, CEO and co-founder of <Firm>" attribution)
- firm through PR Newswire / citybiz release or a second dated BHB story gives second source for the act (joined on firm name)
- leader through dated 2025-2026 BHB story naming the role gives control check (joined on person name + title)
- act through earliest dated story of the change gives signal year (joined on article date)
New names that passed every check
- Steve Priest, Spero Health ceo, United States
Founder and chief executive of a Nashville outpatient addiction treatment network who moved most of its payer contracts from fee-for-service to bundled monthly rates and argues the old model has to go.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““We just happened to be at what I thought was the right place and the right time,” Steve Priest, CEO of Spero Health, told Behavioral Health Business.” source
- What they did 2025 “From day one, we’ve been trying to get all of our payer partners to focus on a sustainable reimbursement model, one that is founded on– this is a chronic disease state, so a bundled rate payment model. We’ve been able to do that about 65%, 70% of our contracts.” source
- What they said 2026 “Priest leads the 501(c)4 advocacy entity. It focuses on enabling a mode of care it calls comprehensive addiction treatment.” source
- What they said 2025 “It’s been quite a wild ride. Loved every minute of it and it’s really hard to do this, but that’s why we get to spend these days.” source
- Yusuf Sherwani, Pelago ceo, United States
Co-founder and chief executive of a virtual addiction care provider who rebuilt its front door around a clinical AI that assesses every member and extended the model to all of behavioral health on one contract.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Dr. Yusuf Sherwani, Pelago’s CEO and co-founder, told Behavioral Health Business. “I think that more than anything has been the impetus for us.”” source
- What they did 2026 “Now, substance use, mental health and behavioral addiction care all sit on one contract and one member record, so co-occurring conditions are assessed and treated in a single plan. Every member starts with Sona, Pelago's voice-first clinical AI, which assesses what they need and stays with them under licensed clinical ” source
- What they said 2026 “The mental health and broader behavioral health world is experiencing a lot of what we saw, maybe a decade ago in substance use disorder, which is fundamentally a broken care delivery model that treats everybody the same” source
- Jeff Beck, AnswersNow ceo, United States
Co-founder and chief executive of an autism therapy provider that staffs only board-certified analysts, drops the technician layer and pays for outcomes with far fewer therapy hours, against the industry's hours-billed model.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jeff Beck, co-founder and CEO of AnswersNow, must be given credit for the company’s expansion efforts using a highly differentiated model.” source
- What they did 2026 “AnswersNow is a digital autism therapy provider that only staffs board-certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) and leans into parent-mediated interventions. Their model calls for far fewer therapy hours and does an end-run around challenges with retaining technician staff.” source
- What they said 2026 “Our powerful care-delivery model makes proven autism therapy accessible for families and financially sustainable for payors.” source
- What they said 2026 “As an industry, we’ve dug ourselves into this hole. And the payers themselves have no empathy for the ABA providers who have been billing them 40 hours a week and $75,000 a year for the same kid for five years without any quality scores” source
- Robert Krayn, Talkiatry ceo, United States
Co-founder and chief executive of a W-2 employed psychiatry group who moved it toward risk-based payer contracts priced on physical health savings rather than visits.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““I think one of the things that can be innovative in the space, from a model standpoint, is also how providers work with payers,” Robert Krayn, CEO of Talkiatry, said at INNOVATE.” source
- What they did 2024 “Talkiatry claims its value-based care program with an unspecified “leading national health plan” led to a 68% reduction in hospitalizations, 32% fewer emergency department visits and $700 per month in overall health spending savings.” source
- What they said 2025 “I think those models can be very innovative without necessarily changing how care is delivered. And one of the ways that we do that is really looking at what’s the impact that the care we’re delivering has on the physical health side of things” source
- Jon Cohen, Talkspace ceo, United States
Chief executive of a listed virtual therapy provider who is spending to build the firm's own clinical language models from its session archive and running intake and triage through them.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““AI does not replace clinicians but rather extends their reach, adhering to strict clinical standards while identifying new users who may need human interaction,” Talkspace CEO Jon Cohen said during the call.” source
- What they did 2025 “The investments in artificial intelligence and new marketing initiatives for recently expanded Medicare Advantage and military engagements contributed to deeper losses in the quarter than in the previous year.” source
- What they said 2025 “Our foundational models will just power the next generation of features on our platform, but will unlock an entirely new ecosystem of applications for mental health” source
- What they said 2026 “I believe that the need for human care by trained therapists will increase as millions more people will be identified that need professional help beyond what our agent will provide.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss; outside the US-only scope, and Behavioral Health Business does not cover pharma CEOs.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy; no specialty care or behavioral health story in the swept outlets.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in health trade press only as a vendor (Copilot used by Bradford Health per BHB), never as a provider redesigning itself.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer; outside the specialty care universe of this route.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; outside US scope and sector.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel; outside sector, and the 2022 ownership change predates the window.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian; outside US scope and sector.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian commerce software; outside US scope and sector.
Route 46: Trade press sweep: US senior living, home care and post-acute operators that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search aging-services trade press (Senior Housing News, Skilled Nursing News, McKnight's Senior Living, McKnight's Long-Term Care News, Home Care Magazine, Argentum news) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US senior living operator, home care agency, skilled nursing or post-acute operator changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Works on Skilled Nursing News and Senior Housing News CEO interviews and the SNN Executive Outlook series (6 new verified US names). McKnight's Senior Living and McKnight's Long-Term Care News block scripts (status 0 direct, 403 via jina), so they are search hits only.
Sources: Senior Housing News; Skilled Nursing News; McKnight's Senior Living; McKnight's Long-Term Care News; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade story through Skilled Nursing News, Senior Housing News, Home Health Care News (WebSearch with allowed_domains) gives operator (joined on operator name in story)
- operator through same story or the outlet's CEO interview / Executive Outlook series gives chief executive, founder or owner quote (joined on named CEO or founder)
- chief executive through second outlet story, firm press release, vendor case study or operator podcast page gives second dated citation (joined on person name plus operator name)
- chief executive through dated 2025-2026 story naming role (CEO, co-founder) gives control check (joined on title line in story)
- redesign act through earliest dated story of the act gives signal year (joined on publication date)
New names that passed every check
- Steve Van Camp, American Senior Communities (Indiana, 114 properties, privately held) ceo, United States
Turning a nursing home operator into a risk-bearing insurer by forming and launching an operator-led I-SNP, because fee-for-service will not be the future.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The company has created an integrated care network between the different levels of senior living, CEO Steve Van Camp told Skilled Nursing News.” source
- What they did 2024 “We’re in the process of forming an I-SNP in a joint venture with five other Indiana operators because we really believe value-based care will be the path to take moving forward.” source
- What they said 2024 “Having a fee-for-service environment won’t be the future. It took a lot of time to evaluate figuring out how we can all work together because we’re usually competitors. We need to be moving our mindset from an operator to an insurance company.” source
- What they did 2026 “ASC partnered with Provider Partners in late 2025 to launch the I-SNP to 50 communities, with 41 more planned for 2026. The current network includes more than 2,200 members.” source
- Tim Fields, Ignite Medical Resorts (post-acute rehab operator, 28 locations, 3,500 staff) ceo, United States
Rebuilding a post-acute operator's back office around centralized admissions and an in-house AI department that builds tools the market does not sell.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Tim Fields, CEO and Co-Founder, Ignite Medical Resorts: Last year was a milestone year for Ignite Medical Resorts.” source
- What they did 2025 “We launched an internal Technology Steering Committee to evaluate, pilot and deploy emerging tools, and we began building an in- house AI department to develop proprietary applications not yet available in the marketplace.” source
- What they did 2025 ““By centralizing our admissions and case management departments, we were able to realize approximately $900,000 in annual savings.” –Tim Fields , CEO and Co-Founder” source
- What they said 2025 “Ground-up construction of new, luxury skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities presents an opportunity to bring something new to the market, and is worthwhile despite the many challenges involved, Ignite CEO Tim Fields told Skilled Nursing News.” source
- George Kutnerian, Wellpointe Inc. (California small-home assisted living, 66 communities) owner, United States
Making a small-home assisted living operator build its own enterprise technology (Wellpointe Labs) and re-cut roles, because bought platforms and the old site-led sales model do not scale.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “according to Wellpointe Inc. Co-Founder and CEO George Kutnerian. The industry must shift from a mentality of asset-buying to platform-building” source
- What they did 2025 “This program grew out of the company’s Wellpointe Labs unit, an internal technology incubation hub that was launched in the summer of 2025 and is led by the company’s director of technology.” source
- What they said 2025 ““In the past, the industry told us that technology is not an operators’ business and to stay in our lane,” Kutnerian said. “But technological innovation has to be part of our business.”” source
- What they did 2026 “Until recently, the approach in our markets has been to have our executive administrators handle sales with the support of our back-office. However, given our overall growth and the fact that our recent growth has been within existing markets, having those executive administrators continue to be responsible for sales i” source
- What they said 2026 ““Wellpointe Labs is about controlling our own fate and being in the driver’s seat, as opposed to waiting for the solutions and the market to catch up to what our vision is, and there’s no time for that,” Kutnerian said during the podcast.” source
- Efriam Weinfeld, ALIYA Healthcare (Illinois skilled nursing, 18 facilities) owner, United States
Restructuring a turnaround nursing home group into equity-owning regional sister organizations instead of growing a central bureaucracy.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In Episode 4 of CCC, Dan Brody sits down with Efraim, founder and CEO of Aliya Healthcare, for one of the most honest, wide-ranging conversations we've had on this show.” source
- What they did 2026 “ALIYA plans to continue expanding its ownership model by creating what Weinfeld calls “sister organizations,” led by independent operators with equity ownership while remaining under the ALIYA umbrella. This structure is intended to preserve an owner mentality and avoid overextending centralized leadership as the compa” source
- What they said 2026 ““We’ve focused really on not growing, but on taking a step back, being introspective about what was working, what wasn’t working, and learning from that, and putting those things in place,” Weinfeld said.” source
- What they did 2026 “ALIYA facilities participating in the PAN model have achieved rehospitalization rates of roughly 10% to 12% and average lengths of stay of 10 to 12 days, substantially below national skilled nursing averages, according to CEO Efriam Weinfeld” source
- Richard Hutchinson, Discovery Senior Living (largest privately held US senior housing operator, nine regional management companies) ceo, United States
Breaking a national senior living operator into nine regional management companies on one shared data platform so local leaders, not head office, run the business.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““Our operating platform continues to attract new opportunities from both existing and new capital ownership groups,” said Richard Hutchinson, Chief Executive Officer of Discovery Senior Living.” source
- What they did 2023 “Discovery’s next chapter includes an intense focus on defining its regional management structure via its various in-house operating companies.” source
- What they said 2026 ““We’re focused on continuing to grow and build off the efficiency of our scale using our model and now that we’ve split regional management companies, we have a clear guide on how we can help to densify further in those areas,” Hutchinson said.” source
- What they did 2026 “Discovery’s technology ecosystem now includes 22 platforms, and figuring out how to pull data across portfolios while ensuring the data was accurate was a challenge, Hutchinson said.” source
- Jason Murray, PACS Group (NYSE: PACS, Utah, 323 skilled nursing facilities) ceo, United States
Running a nursing home turnaround company on an engineered, technology-driven playbook with local leaders, rebuilt after a federal billing investigation to put compliance inside daily operations.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “nursing home giant PACS Group (NYSE: PACS) is entering a new phase of growth defined by strengthened compliance, according to CEO and co-founder Jason Murray.” source
- What they did 2026 “PACS’ tech investment – roughly $100 million to date – focused on standardizing Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), building real-time clinical dashboards and upgrading infrastructure in acquired facilities, he said.” source
- What they did 2026 “Today, there are more resources at the central office to help facilities manage compliance more effectively at the local level, Murray told Skilled Nursing News.” source
- What they said 2026 ““Technology does not yield quality in itself. Technology provides visibility, and I think visibility leads to accountability, and then accountability leads to quality.”” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is Canadian commerce software; never appears in aging-services trade press as an operator.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial firm; outside the US aging-services universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in this press only as a vendor (Azure, Copilot), never as the firm being redesigned.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian conglomerate with no US senior care operation.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is apparel; no coverage in senior living or post-acute press.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian mining; outside the route.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss pharma; appears in this press at most as a drug supplier, not an operator.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a US food maker, not a care operator; outside the route.
Route 47: Trade press sweep: US electric cooperatives, municipal utilities and energy services firms that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search utility trade press (Utility Dive, NRECA America's Electric Cooperatives news, Public Power (APPA), T&D World, Canary Media, Smart Energy International US) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US electric cooperative, municipal or regional utility, or energy services contractor changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The sweep works for US electric cooperatives, but not as written. AI-workforce, restructure and new-arm queries returned surveys, vendors, NRECA policy pages and staff voices (VPs of power supply, communications directors), never a co-op chief executive owning a firm-wide change. The CEO-voiced, dated, expensive redesign in this sector is the exit from an all-requirements generation and transmission (G&T) contract: an eight- or nine-figure termination payment, followed by the co-op running its own power portfolio. The revised route starts from trade-press exit coverage and walks each departing co-op to its CEO.
Sources: Utility Dive; NRECA; American Public Power Association; T&D World; Canary Media; press wires; co-op newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade story through Utility Dive (news and Dive Briefs), NRECA electric.coop news, Canary Media, Daily Yonder exit roundups gives electric cooperative or public power utility (joined on utility name in story)
- cooperative through G&T termination releases (tristate.coop, co-op newsroom) and the co-op's own news page gives dated act and cost (notice date, contract termination payment) (joined on co-op name + G&T name)
- cooperative through same trade story or co-op release gives chief executive or general manager quoted on why the old contract fell short (joined on title line 'CEO' / 'general manager' in story)
- chief executive through second outlet (Colorado Sun, Sky-Hi News, Aspen Daily News, Albuquerque Journal, Indiana Connection CEO column) gives dated 2025-2026 role check and second intent citation (joined on person name + co-op name)
- chief executive through earliest dated release or op-ed gives signal year (notice or first redesign move) (joined on co-op name + date)
New names that passed every check
- Mark Gabriel, United Power (Brighton, Colorado electric cooperative) ceo, United States
Took the largest Tri-State member out of an all-requirements wholesale contract and rebuilt power supply as a hyperlocal portfolio of batteries, solar and a gas plant inside its own territory.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “When Brighton-based United Power quit its longtime power supplier, Mark Gabriel, the cooperative’s CEO, went shopping for electrons.” source
- What they did 2024 “That contract blocked United Power from developing more clean and local energy alternatives, which ultimately led to the co-op paying a $627 million exit fee in 2024 and then Gabriel had to replace the 800 missing megawatts.” source
- What they said 2022 “Instead of working with us in the pursuit of lower-cost, cleaner options, Tri-State has resisted these developments. Tri-State recently purchased additional coal generation, is limiting our members’ ability to add more carbon free generation and is penalizing additional storage on our system.” source
- What they said 2023 ““Together we will plan our energy needs, negotiate lower pricing, and assure reliability for our members and customers,” Gabriel said. “This is an important step as we enter the new future of electric procurement and delivery.”” source
- Virginia Harman, Mountain Parks Electric (Granby, Colorado electric cooperative) ceo, United States
Paid about $86 million to leave Tri-State and moved the co-op to a 20-year fixed-rate supply and energy-management contract that frees it to add local generation.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Virginia Harman currently serves as the CEO of Mountain Parks Electric, the power co-op headquartered in Granby.” source
- What they did 2023 “Mountain Parks provided an unconditional notice to Tri-State in January 2023. Mountain Parks’ CTP to Tri-State is approximately $86 million, including Mountain Parks share of Tri-State’s power purchase obligations.” source
- What they said 2026 “Under its previous contract, the co-op was required to purchase nearly all of its power from Tri-State, limiting its ability to pursue local energy projects or shop for alternative sources.” source
- What they said 2024 “Virginia Harman, the general manager for Mountain Parks, cited rate stability, increased flexibility for local renewable power generation, and reliability as being the priorities that caused the electrical cooperative to choose Guzman.” source
- Luis A. Reyes Jr., Kit Carson Electric Cooperative (Taos, New Mexico) ceo, United States
Led the first co-op exit from Tri-State in 2016 and rebuilt supply around local solar and storage owned for the co-op, reaching 100% daytime solar.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “KCEC CEO Luis Reyes said testing for the facility was being finalized this week, with plans to begin commercial energy delivery after the first of the new year.” source
- What they did 2016 “But we knew that by exiting our contract with our incumbent wholesale power provider, securing alternative sources of reliable wholesale power, and repaying our fair portion of generation and transmission cooperative debt, which kept all existing members whole, that we could get to a better place we call energy indepen” source
- What they said 2023 “It was critical that we restore our community members with local decision-making control over power choices. It was a path not traveled by many at the time.” source
- What they did 2025 “The Amalia II Solar & Battery Facility adds 8.75 MW of solar generation and 8.75 MW of advanced battery storage to Kit Carson Electric” source
- Bryan Hannegan, Holy Cross Energy (Glenwood Springs, Colorado electric cooperative) ceo, United States
Replacing grid wholesale contracts with renewable projects built for the co-op and preparing to move it from selling kilowatt hours to delivering energy as a service.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““While this is a proud moment, we still have important work ahead to achieve our 2030 goal throughout an entire year, in a responsible way that continues to safely provide the affordable and reliable electricity supply we all depend upon,” HCE President and CEO Bryan Hannegan said in the release.” source
- What they did 2024 “CEO Bryan Hannegan said in an interview that Holy Cross has replaced wholesale power contracts for energy from the regional grid, which often comes from fossil fuel-based sources, with renewable power projects built specifically for Holy Cross and its members.” source
- What they said 2024 “Our bigger worry, frankly, is that ... we may actually not have enough demand growth to sustain the current business model relying on kilowatt hour sales,” source
- Ron Holcomb, Tipmont REMC (Linden, Indiana electric cooperative) ceo, United States
Spent years pulling Tipmont out of Wabash Valley Power Alliance membership so the co-op buys on the open wholesale market and sets its own energy mix, including member-owned solar and storage.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “During his career, he has led three utilities as President/CEO and provided management consulting to utilities across the country. Ron joined Tipmont as CEO in summer 2013.” source
- What they did 2025 “As of June 1, Tipmont is no longer a member of Wabash Valley Power Alliance (WVPA), our longtime power supplier. Tipmont is now a WVPA customer.” source
- What they said 2025 “Tipmont will gain local control of decisions, avoid unnecessary costs and begin investing in power sources that make economic sense for our membership.” source
- Darren Schauer, Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative (GVEC, South Texas) ceo, United States
Buying capacity for a distribution co-op from member-sited batteries at the scale it normally buys wholesale blocks, inside ERCOT's market rather than through a G&T.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The announcement builds on a 2-MW pilot project that demonstrated distributed batteries’ potential to enhance system flexibility and performance, GVEC General Manager and CEO Darren Schauer said on April 13.” source
- What they did 2026 “After successful completion of a 2 MW pilot, the program has now expanded to 50 MW.” source
- What they said 2026 “GVEC participates directly in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas wholesale power market, a practice Schauer said is “relatively unusual” for distribution cooperatives that more often procure power through generation and transmission cooperatives.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel firm; utility trade press never covers its ownership change as a utility, co-op or energy-services redesign.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker; not in the utility, co-op or public power universe this route sweeps.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in Utility Dive only as a data-center load and power buyer, not as a firm redesigning its own work, so the route's signal does not fire.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is outside the US utility universe; no trade story of this kind.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a software firm outside the utility universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian conglomerate; this route is US utilities only.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and outside the utility universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss pharma firm outside the utility universe.
Route 48: Trade press sweep: US restaurant groups, hotel operators and hospitality firms that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search hospitality trade press (Restaurant Business, Nation's Restaurant News, QSR Magazine, Franchise Times, Hotel Management, Hotel Dive, Skift, Hospitality Net) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US restaurant group, franchise operator, hotel management company or hospitality firm changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: Restaurant Business; Nation's Restaurant News; QSR Magazine; Franchise Times; Hotel Dive; Skift; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade press story through Franchise Times, Restaurant Business, NRN, Hotel Dive, Skift gives firm (joined on firm name in headline or dek)
- firm through same story gives chief executive or founder quoted (joined on name + title in quote attribution)
- person through second outlet (Hotel Business, LODGING, Cali BBQ Media podcast page) or firm newsroom gives second dated source (joined on firm name + person name)
- person through dated 2025-2026 role line in trade press or firm site gives control check (joined on title + firm)
New names that passed every check
- Ross Franklin, Pure Green (smoothie and juice franchisor), Florida owner, United States
Founder-owner rebuilding a franchisor's corporate operating structure around AI agents, with each corporate staffer running their own stack of agents and training, SOPs and menu analysis moved onto AI.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Ross Franklin is the CEO and founder of Pure Green, a smoothie chain with more than 80 locations operating across 25 states.” source
- What they did 2026 “Pure Green relies on AI to design standard operating procedures in minutes, prepare detailed revenue projections and reports on demand, and reshape the franchisee onboarding process.” source
- What they said 2026 “Franklin realized early that many juice concepts were structurally difficult to scale. Large footprints, expensive labor models, and in-house production created operational complexity that slowed growth and squeezed margins.” source
- What they did 2026 “We have completely revamped training, leveraging AI for team members,” Franklin said. “All stores get access to a custom team member training page for their store” source
- What they said 2026 “It's too difficult for them to get the whole system on board. They're very slow to adopt, but for us … we're small enough, we're flexible and we embrace tech” source
- Ben Rafter, Hotel Equities (third-party hotel manager, Atlanta) ceo, United States
Chief executive of a private 250-plus hotel manager who set up HE Labs, an in-house innovation and incubation unit for AI workflows and new operating models, because owner margins under the current management model are unsustainable.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “With this transition, alongside its merger with Springboard Hospitality, Ben Rafter took the helm as Hotel Equities’ chief executive officer” source
- What they did 2026 “In response, Rafter has launched HE Labs to test and prioritize emerging technologies like AI and help its staff adopt the tools. The goal is to redirect margin to owners.” source
- What they did 2026 “Hotel Equities (HE) has appointed Brian Jenkins as head of HE Labs , the company’s dedicated innovation and incubation platform built for evaluating emerging technologies, developing AI-driven workflows and advancing new operating models” source
- What they said 2026 “The industry has never had a shortage of technologies; what it has lacked is the discipline to evaluate them rigorously, integrate them seamlessly and deploy only those that move the needle.” source
- Sloan Dean, AI Hospitality Group (AIHG), Dallas owner, United States
Former chief of a large US hotel manager who left to build a hotel operator whose back office runs on AI agents and whose fee is a share of profit growth rather than of revenue.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Sloan Dean launched AI Hospitality Group (AIHG), the hospitality industry’s first fully vertical, AI-native hotel operating company.” source
- What they did 2026 “AIHG launched with $7.5 million in seed funding, which will fund the expansion of its agentic platform and the onboarding of its first wave of managed hotels.” source
- What they said 2026 “The industry has spent a decade buying software while EBITDA margins eroded from roughly 30 percent to 20 percent. AIHG isn’t another vendor selling a dashboard.” source
- What they said 2026 “AI Hospitality Group (AIHG) wants to run full-service hotels with more tech and fewer managers, plus a fee tied to profit growth instead of the usual top-line revenue.” source
- Jonathan Neman, Sweetgreen (fast-casual chain, about 287 restaurants, Los Angeles) ceo, United States
Co-founder and chief executive who rebuilt the salad-chain makeline around a robotic assembly line (the Infinite Kitchen), bought the robotics firm to do it, and kept the format after selling that unit.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “This transaction reflects the strength of the Infinite Kitchen and the incredible work of the team behind it,” said Jonathan Neman, Co-Founder and CEO of Sweetgreen.” source
- What they did 2021 “Sweetgreen acquired Spyce in 2021 for approximately $70 million when including post-acquisition true-up and milestone amounts. Since then, Sweetgreen has successfully developed and scaled the Infinite Kitchen, which now operates in more than 20 Sweetgreen locations nationwide.” source
- What they did 2023 “In addition, Sweetgreen plans to retrofit between two to four existing units with the automated makelines, CEO Jonathan Neman said while reporting third-quarter results.” source
- What they said 2023 “Over time, this can become a really powerful tool for us, especially as we see significant wage increases around the country,” source
- What they said 2025 “We actually think this will help us bring the unit cost down, have [Wonder] invest more in the R&D and the innovation of a potentially cheaper and more effective automation unit,” source
- Marc Lore, Wonder Group (food hall, delivery and meal platform, New York) ceo, United States
Founder and chief executive building a vertically integrated food platform in which one small kitchen runs dozens of restaurant brands with light labor, and buying the robotics maker to automate most of the cooking.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The thing that excites us more than just the technology as it is, is the team,” said Marc Lore, Wonder’s founder and CEO, in an interview.” source
- What they did 2025 “We have one kitchen with lightly skilled and lightly trained labor, little waste, super high efficiency and the food quality is incredible,” he said. “We’ve spent hundreds of millions on culinary food science the past six years.” source
- What they did 2025 “Under the deal, Sweetgreen will receive $100 million in cash, plus shares of Series C preferred stock of Wonder, with an implied value of $86.4 million” source
- What they said 2025 “If you have a ghost kitchen, you have to pay royalties to restaurants, 30% to DoorDash and you have high labor and high waste,” source
- What they said 2025 “The goal is to move toward full automation in the future,” Lore said. “The food is robotically picked out of cold storage.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian conglomerate; the route sweeps US hospitality trade press for US restaurant and hotel operators, so Ambani cannot appear.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss pharma group, outside US hospitality trade press.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial firm; not covered by US restaurant or hotel trade press.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian commerce software firm; it appears in restaurant press only as a vendor, never as the firm being redesigned.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian miner; outside the route.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in hospitality press only as a technology vendor; Nadella is not a hospitality operator.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a US software firm, not a restaurant or hotel operator; Levie does not surface in this trade press.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a US apparel firm; its food arm Patagonia Provisions is not covered as a hospitality operator in these outlets.
Route 49: Trade press sweep: US mid-market retailers and consumer brands that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search retail trade press (Modern Retail, Retail Dive, Retail TouchPoints, Grocery Dive, Progressive Grocer, Chain Store Age, Retail Brew) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US mid-market retailer, regional grocery chain or direct-to-consumer brand changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route works on its DTC and specialty-retail branch through Modern Retail and Retail Dive, which fetch in full and quote founder-CEOs and new CEOs of mid-sized brands on why the old model stopped working. Progressive Grocer, Chain Store Age and Retail TouchPoints return 403 direct and via Jina, and Grocery Dive regional-grocer stories are executive moves, M&A, store remodels or vendor AI pilots with no owner-voiced redesign, so the grocery branch yielded no names.
Sources: Modern Retail; Retail Dive; Retail TouchPoints; Grocery Dive; Progressive Grocer; Chain Store Age; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query through WebSearch allowed_domains modernretail.co, retaildive.com, grocerydive.com, retailbrew.com gives trade press story (joined on article URL)
- story through article body (fetch.mjs --text) gives firm and quoted leader (joined on "<Name>, CEO of <Firm>" attribution)
- firm through second outlet (Modern Retail or Retail Dive follow-up, WWD, GlobeNewswire reprint, SEC 8-K Ex 99.1) gives second source for the act (joined on firm name)
- leader through dated 2025-2026 story or release naming the role gives control check (joined on person name + title)
- act through earliest dated story of the change gives signal year (joined on article date)
New names that passed every check
- Kelly Cook, David's Bridal ceo, United States
Turning a heritage bridal store chain into an asset-light, AI-led wedding platform and rebuilding the C-suite around it.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The company on Tuesday announced that Kelly Cook, the company’s current president of brand, technology and finance, has been named chief executive officer.” source
- What they did 2025 “David’s Bridal is evolving into an asset-light company with a focus on utilizing AI to scale its retail media network, planning platform and retail strategies.” source
- What they did 2026 “The retailer named a CTO, chief global transformation and operations officer, and is on the hunt for its next CFO.” source
- What they said 2026 ““One year ago, we set out to prove that a heritage brand could be the most innovative tech company in the industry, and the results of our ‘Aisle to Algorithm' transformation have been nothing short of extraordinary,”” source
- Jeff Yurcisin, Grove Collaborative ceo, United States
Dismantled the subscription-first model a DTC household brand was built on, opening one-time purchase and rebuilding growth around it.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Yurcisin took the helm in August 2023, succeeding founder and CEO Stuart Landesberg who remains the company’s executive chairman.” source
- What they did 2024 ““We just blew up that model … and [are] enabling a wider set of customers to open up the [total accessible market],” Yurcisin said.” source
- What they said 2024 “You had to be comfortable with a default subscription; you have to be comfortable with gated access,” Yurcisin said.” source
- Taryn Jones Laeben, Nisolo (via IRL Ventures) owner, United States
Bought a foreclosed DTC footwear brand and is rebuilding it as a lean, AI-assisted firm run with contractors instead of a full in-house staff.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Laeben took over the helm of Nisolo after purchasing the brand and its IP in February 2025.” source
- What they did 2025 “This chapter of Nisolo, Laeben said, will rely on a lean internal structure. The brand used to have 17 full-time employees.” source
- What they said 2025 “Laeben said technological advancements, especially with AI, have helped DTC companies operate without as many employees and internal functions as they did 10 years ago.” source
- What they did 2025 “New Nisolo CEO Taryn Jones Laeben is modernizing shoe designs and diving deeper into sustainability to keep B Corp and Leather Working Group certifications.” source
- Jeremy Barker, Murphy Door owner, United States
Moving a US-made custom door maker off big-box retail toward 100% direct sales, with AI pricing orders.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “today announced that Founder and CEO Jeremy Barker has been named a 2026 CEO of the Year by Utah Business , the state’s leading source for business news and information.” source
- What they did 2026 “Jeremy Barker, CEO of Murphy Door, which launched in 2012 and specializes in custom-made doors, said he is challenging the big-box retail model by shifting focus back to DTC.” source
- What they said 2026 “"We chose to manufacture in America because it lets us deliver a product our customers can actually count on,”” source
- Marcus Lemonis, Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. ceo, United States
Rebuilding a home retailer as an AI-centric, asset-light home ecosystem with a much smaller headcount and a three-person senior team.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Sincerely, Marcus Lemonis Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bed Bath and Beyond, Inc.” source
- What they did 2026 “As Bed Bath & Beyond works to turn itself into an “AI-centric business,” CEO Marcus Lemonis warned that the growth in AI, both within its own business and more broadly, will result in job cuts .” source
- What they did 2026 “Together, Amy, Lisa, and Brian will form the senior leadership team with me, working together to execute our strategy and integrate our acquisitions.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify appears in Modern Retail as a platform for brands, not as a mid-market retailer redesigning itself; outside the route universe (Canadian platform compan
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Retail Dive carries the 2022 Patagonia ownership transfer, but the route requires a 2024-2026 change that is more than an ownership deal; the 2024 Patagonia res
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; outside the US mid-market retail universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is not a retailer or consumer brand; appears only as a vendor in retail trade press.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma; outside the retail universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining; outside the retail universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; outside the US retail universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a US consumer brand, but a search of Modern Retail, Retail Dive, Grocery Dive and Retail Brew for a 2024-2026 Chobani redesign story voiced by Ulukay
Route 50: Trade press sweep: US auto, truck and equipment dealer groups that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search dealer trade press (Automotive News, CBT News, Auto Remarketing, Dealer Magazine, WardsAuto dealer coverage, Equipment World dealer coverage, Farm Equipment dealer news) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US auto dealer group, truck or heavy-equipment dealer changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Dealer trade press is open (wardsauto.com, cbtnews.com, autoremarketing.com, farm-equipment.com, truckinginfo.com all 200 with --text; autonews.com serves headline and dek only). Owner-voiced firm changes come from CBT News interview pages (Executive Profile, CBT Now, CBT Live) and Farm Equipment Dealership of the Year features; WardsAuto AI stories are mostly voiced by a CMO, VP or director. Four verified owners in attempt 1 and a fifth in attempt 2 (a Kia dealer operator who founded an AI company, found on a press wire); truck and construction equipment branches gave only VP or OEM voices.
Sources: Automotive News; CBT News; Auto Remarketing; WardsAuto; Equipment World; Farm Equipment; press wires; dealer group newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade story through CBT News, WardsAuto, Auto Remarketing, Farm Equipment (WebSearch with allowed_domains) gives dealer group (joined on dealer group name in story)
- dealer group through same story gives owner, dealer principal or CEO quote (joined on named person with Owner or CEO title)
- owner through second outlet (Auto Remarketing, PR Newswire) or a second CBT or Farm Equipment page gives second dated citation (joined on person name plus dealer group)
- owner through dated 2025-2026 interview page with title line gives control check (joined on title line (Owner, CEO and Owner, co-owner))
- redesign act through earliest dated story of the act gives signal year (joined on publication date)
New names that passed every check
- Alex Perdikis, Koons Motors (Ford, Lincoln, Mazda stores, Silver Spring and Bethesda, Md.) and inride owner, United States
A Ford and Lincoln dealer owner who built his own agentic AI company, inride, to replace BDC-style follow-up and auction buying with an AI agent that works the store database.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Joining us on the latest episode of CBT Now is Alex Perdikis, CEO and Owner of Koons Motors and Chairman and Founder of InRide , to break down how his dealership is putting AI into real-world use.” source
- What they did 2025 “inride founder and chairman Alex Perdikis, who also owns Koons Motors, which operates two locations in the Washington D.C. area, said he knows the pain points dealers face and Trade Agent AI was created to address them.” source
- What they said 2025 “Perdikis has implemented three separate AI systems across dealership functions to streamline communication, automate follow-ups, and improve lead management. Rather than relying on large BDC departments, he encourages sales managers to engage directly with customers while AI systems handle repetitive administrative tas” source
- What they did 2026 “InRide currently operates Trade Agent AI across 51 rooftops, with Koons Motors planning to add more dealerships in the onboarding pipeline.” source
- Paul Sansone Jr., Sansone Jr.'s Auto Group (New Jersey) and Dealer Controlled Leasing owner, United States
A New Jersey dealer owner who replaced outside subprime lenders with a dealer-owned leasing company and moved service-lane calling to an AI BDC.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Featured on the latest episode of Executive Profile , we sat down with Sansone, the Owner of Sansone Jr.’s Auto Group , who reflected on growing up in a dealership family” source
- What they did 2022 “He initially started with a rent-to-own program and has since developed Dealer Controlled Leasing, which installs dealer-owned subprime leasing companies into dealerships and allows them to be in control of their own subprime market.” source
- What they did 2026 “His service department now uses an AI-powered BDC that answers every incoming call without wait times, converting nearly 65% of those calls into scheduled appointments.” source
- What they said 2026 “During the conversation, very few topics generated more enthusiasm from Sansone than artificial intelligence (AI). He said that instead of treating AI as a novelty, he has spent months integrating it into daily dealership operations, particularly in fixed operations.” source
- Scott Falcone, World Auto Group (World Kia Joliet, World Hyundai Matteson, Illinois) owner, United States
A two-store Hyundai and Kia owner who hired his own software engineer to build dealership AI tools and then funded an AI voice-agent vendor from what he saw in his stores.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “For World Automotive Group Owner Scott Falcone, AI is not about replacing dealership employees.” source
- What they did 2026 “He reviewed about 250 resumes before hiring a computer science-trained engineer whose background showed a willingness to build and experiment, a move he said gives the dealership greater flexibility to address problems specific to its operations.” source
- What they did 2026 “led by customer-turned-investor Scott Falcone, who is owner of World Kia Joliet and World Hyundai Matteson and invested after seeing the platform’s results firsthand.” source
- What they said 2026 “Falcone’s approach starts with identifying a specific dealership problem, then building a tool to address it.” source
- Neil Messick, Messick's Equipment (New Holland and Kubota dealer, 9 stores, Pennsylvania) owner, United States
A third-generation farm equipment dealer co-owner who runs a 9-store group through in-house software developers and a new regional management layer instead of store-by-store instruction.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Neil Messick, who now owns and operates the company alongside his 3rd generation brothers and cousins” source
- What they did 2026 “Messick’s runs RIMSS as its business system but also employs software developers full-time to build internal applications to help run the business.” source
- What they did 2026 “Messick details how they landed on a regional management structure, why it works best for their operation and the lessons learned along the way.” source
- What they said 2026 “With 9 stores, it’s really difficult to say, ‘Hey, you guys need to do this better’ and actually trust that it’s going to get done. But if we build computer processes around those areas, we can be more targeted with implementing new systems.” source
- Marina Letsios, Atlantic Kia (New York) and AI Assist, Inc. (Argus360, AiF&I) owner, United States
A Kia dealer operator who founded her own AI company to replace the five to eight disconnected front-office and F&I systems a dealership deal runs through with one agent-based platform and a monthly compliance audit.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Operates Atlantic Kia. Vice Chair at GNYADA, with direct access to dealer principals across the largest dealer association in the NY metro.” source
- What they did 2026 “Marina Letsios spent twenty-two years in car dealerships and rose to own her own stores. Today she launched AI Assist, Inc.” source
- What they said 2026 “What holds good people back is disconnected systems and no easy way to show what happened on a deal.” source
- What they did 2026 “One AI-powered platform built to replace 5 to 8 fragmented systems. Built by dealers, for dealers.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; no US dealer trade press coverage
- Missed Tobi Lutke software CEO in Canada; dealer trade press does not cover him
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in dealer press only as a vendor, never as a firm redesign
- Missed Aaron Levie software CEO; outside the dealer beat
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining owner; outside the US dealer beat
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya food manufacturer; outside the dealer beat
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO; outside the dealer beat
- Missed Yvon Chouinard apparel owner; outside the dealer beat
Route 51: Trade press sweep: US agricultural cooperatives, ag retailers and agribusinesses that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search agriculture trade press (CropLife and CropLife 100, AgWeb and Farm Journal, Agri-Pulse, Successful Farming, Feedstuffs, NCFC co-op news, Rural Cooperatives) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US agricultural cooperative, ag retailer, grain or farm-supply business, or family agribusiness changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempt 2 of 3, revised and working. Four of the six named outlets block scripts (CropLife, AgWeb, Feedstuffs 403; Successful Farming 402/451; Farm Progress and The Packer 403), so the route runs on the open trade outlets: The Daily Scoop (Farm Journal ag retail, paced), AgFunderNews, Blue Book produce news, Western Livestock Journal, plus the firm's own newsroom or annual letter as the second source. Five names stood: Bruce Taylor (Taylor Farms plant automation and FarmWise arm), Brian Sikes (Cargill five-to-three restructure, 23 to 14 business groups), Scott Black (Five Star Cooperative Operation Easy systems rebuild), Brendan Somerville (Oishii buying Tortuga's robotics team) and Diego Casanello (FBN spin-off and AI-automated marketplace). What changed from the route as written: the co-op ag-retail branch yields mainly staff-voiced tool stories, so the yield comes from award stories that quote the co-op CEO (Scoop Business Innovation Award), agtech acquisitions by growers, and large private agribusiness restructures reported from internal memos.
Sources: CropLife; AgWeb; Agri-Pulse; Successful Farming; Feedstuffs; National Council of Farmer Cooperatives; press wires; co-op newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade story through The Daily Scoop (Farm Journal ag retail), AgFunderNews, Blue Book Services produce news, SEC filings of co-ops with registered securities (CHS) gives co-op, ag retailer or family agribusiness (joined on firm name in story)
- firm through firm newsroom or second outlet (release, 10-Q, earnings Ex 99.1) gives dated change (joined on firm name plus date)
- firm through dated 2025-2026 profile or release naming the leader gives chief executive, founder or owner (joined on firm name plus role title)
- leader through leader's own words in a release, panel recap or interview gives stated reasoning (joined on person name)
New names that passed every check
- Bruce Taylor, Taylor Farms (Taylor Fresh Foods), Salinas, California owner, United States
Founder-owner rebuilding salad processing around full plant automation and an owned field-robotics arm instead of manual line labor.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Taylor Farms was founded in 1995 by Bruce Taylor, BS/BA 78, a third-generation lettuce producer from Salinas, California. As chairman and CEO, he has built it into a $7 billion enterprise” source
- What they did 2025 “To achieve its first fully automated line ready for installation and full automation of all 22 lines in the flagship facility in Salinas by 2027, Taylor Farms harnessed its technological prowess and smart thinking” source
- What they did 2025 “Taylor Farms reiterated that point this week, noting it will immediately begin transitioning the FarmWise business to ensure continuity of service for FarmWise” source
- What they said 2020 “Taylor outlined food safety, field and plant automation, and supply chain as the top three areas startups should pay the closest attention to.” source
- Brian Sikes, Cargill, Inc. (private), Minnetonka, Minnesota ceo, United States
Chief executive of the largest private US agribusiness who cut layers and regrouped the firm into three enterprises and 14 business groups to move decisions closer to customers, then rebuilt how it works with digital tools and AI.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In this letter to stakeholders, Cargill Board Chair and CEO Brian Sikes shares his perspective on the future of food and agriculture” source
- What they did 2024 “Our recent performance and the market trends unfolding in front of us have proven a clear and pressing case for change, Cargill CEO Brian Sikes wrote in a memo sent to staff members” source
- What they did 2026 “Together, we've transformed five enterprises into three and simplified our structure from 23 business groups to 14 - reducing layers of complexity and moving decision-making closer to our customers.” source
- What they said 2026 “Agriculture's defining challenge has always been 'more' - more people, more crops, more food. And for generations, we've met that challenge with productivity.” source
- Scott Black, Five Star Cooperative, New Hampton, Iowa (farmer-owned grain, agronomy, feed and energy co-op) ceo, United States
Co-op chief executive who rebuilt how a 19-location farm-supply co-op works, integrating grain, agronomy, feed and energy systems into self-service digital tools after the old portal stalled at 8% use.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Receiving the Business Innovation Award from Scoop Magazine is a meaningful recognition of our work, Scott Black, chief executive officer of Five Star Cooperative, said.” source
- What they did 2025 “The result was the co-op partnering with software vendors AgVend, AgVance, Kahler Automation, Smartwyre and others to integrate systems, automate data whenever possible and give real-time transparency to the customer.” source
- What they did 2025 “While our old platform reached just 8% usage over five years, Five Star Link quickly surpassed 47% adoption within its first few months.” source
- What they said 2025 “And so, as we introduced Operation Easy, we went around, talked to customers, talked to team members, says Scott Black, CEO of Five Star Cooperative.” source
- Brendan Somerville, Oishii Farm Corporation (private vertical-farm grower), New Jersey executive, United States
Co-founder and operating chief of a US indoor strawberry grower who bought a failed harvest-robotics startup to move picking from people to robots and cut harvest cost by half.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “we expect to significantly improve yield outcomes and support our farmers with game changing data, insights, and harvesting power, said Brendan Somerville, COO and co-founder of Oishii.” source
- What they did 2025 “Oishii claims that these additions will enable the robots to surpass human farmers in the picking of strawberries and reduce harvest expenses by 50%.” source
- What they said 2025 “We have had our eye on Tortuga AgTech's growth over the years and watched as they successfully deployed $50 million in capital over eight years to develop industry leading technology, Oishii cofounder and COO Brendan Somerville told AgFunderNews” source
- What they said 2025 “this strategic alliance will supercharge our path towards meeting the necessary milestones to grow exceptional produce at accessible prices in smart farming environments.” source
- Diego Casanello, Farmers Business Network (FBN), private farm-input marketplace and ag retailer, San Carlos, California ceo, United States
Chief executive turning a farm-input retailer into a pure digital marketplace: spinning out its own crop protection arm, realigning the workforce and using AI to automate marketplace operations.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Our commitment to putting farmers first means a relentless focus on efficiency and convenience, said Diego Casanello, CEO of FBN.” source
- What they did 2025 “Farmers Business Network (FBN) has spun off its global crop solutions business into a wholly separate entity as the company pursues a pure technology platform strategy.” source
- What they did 2025 “To better serve its members and build for the future, FBN is evolving to focus on its core digital strengths. This has meant making difficult choices to align its workforce with strategic priorities.” source
- What they said 2025 “By digitalizing the distribution and retail of goods, capital, and services and opening our network to more sellers and financial partners, we are solving one of the hardest problems for innovators in ag: cost-efficient market access to the farm gate.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer that buys from dairy co-ops, not an ag co-op, retailer or agribusiness in the sweep; no story in the open outlets surfaced him.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma; out of scope for US ag trade press.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian commerce software; out of scope.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; out of scope.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and energy; out of scope (cattle holdings are not covered by US ag retail press).
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears only as a vendor (WinField Oz copilot), never as the redesigning firm.
- Missed Aaron Levie Enterprise software; out of scope.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia Provisions regenerative sourcing is food-brand press, not ag co-op or retail press; not surfaced.
Route 52: Regional business press: US mid-market chief executives who rebuilt how their firm works
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search regional and state business press (Crain's editions, Twin Cities Business, Utah Business, Texas CEO Magazine, Colorado Biz, Indianapolis Business Journal, state business journals, Smart CEO and state CEO-of-the-year and innovation award write-ups; bizjournals.com only where it fetches) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US mid-sized or private company in any sector changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Regional business press is public and partly fetchable (Utah Business, Twin Cities Business, BizTimes, Hartford Business, BizWest, Smart Business, Crain's Detroit, Grand Rapids and Cleveland first paragraphs return 200; IBJ bodies are scrambled behind the paywall, bizjournals.com and ColoradoBiz return 403, Crain's Chicago fails). Topic searches and a 27-profile walk of state award indexes gave growth stories, not CEO-voiced firm-wide redesigns. Three names stand (Filevine, Advanced RV, MahoneySabol), all from news stories about one dated, concrete change to how the work is done, each checked against a second outlet and a dated current-role source.
Sources: Crain's regional editions; Twin Cities Business; Utah Business; Indianapolis Business Journal; state business journals; state award write-ups; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query through WebSearch allowed_domains regional business outlets gives story or award profile (joined on article URL)
- story through article body (fetch.mjs --text) gives firm and quoted chief executive (joined on "<Name>, co-founder and CEO of <Firm>" attribution)
- firm through national second outlet or firm newsroom (saastr.com talk write-up) gives second source for the act (joined on firm name)
- leader through dated 2025-2026 award profile gives control check (joined on person name + title)
- act through earliest dated act named in the profile gives signal year (joined on year in text)
New names that passed every check
- Ryan Anderson, Filevine ceo, United States
Trying to change how a legal software firm is built and staffed, by exiting in-house implementation work and rebuilding the company as AI-native with its own AI data layer and an acquired AI team.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Ryan Anderson, co-founder and CEO of Filevine, has spent the past decade quietly redefining what legal technology can do.” source
- What they did 2022 “In 2022, Anderson made the controversial decision to stop internal product implementations, a function Filevine had handled for years. The pivot meant 150 employees had to transition to new roles” source
- What they did 2025 “acquired Parrot, an AI-native company, and merged the teams. AI natives want to work next to other AI natives. Acquiring gives you critical mass fast.” source
- What they said 2025 “To be AI-native, you have to change the architecture of your system. It has to flip.” source
- Mike Neundorfer, Advanced RV owner, United States
Trying to prove a skilled-trade manufacturer can run on a 32-hour week at full pay, by moving his whole Willoughby, Ohio motorhome workshop to four days in 2022 and keeping it.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “says Mike Neundorfer, founder and president of Advanced RV.” source
- What they did 2022 “Instead, in April 2022, he decided to try the opposite, moving everyone to 32 hours a week without any cut in pay.” source
- What they did 2024 “He started having people work four days a week on April 1, 2022, and he wasn’t fooling.” source
- What they said 2024 “I thought it would have a low probability of success but if we could do it, the benefits would be incredible.” source
- What they said 2023 “It just seemed like the most significant thing I could do as a business owner and manager.” source
- Michael Sabol, MahoneySabol owner, United States
Trying to move a 70-person accounting firm off pure time-based billing, by charging a separate premium rate for work done with AI research systems from early 2026.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The change reflects the value of the work rather than the time consumed, said Michael Sabol, co-founder of the 70-person firm.” source
- What they did 2026 “MahoneySabol, a Glastonbury-based accounting and advisory firm, began charging premium billing rates in early 2026 for work performed using AI-powered research systems.” source
- What they said 2026 “If we are purely just charging on the time we spent, I think we’re underpricing the value of what we’re doing.” source
- What they said 2026 “But what I don’t understand about that model, is what’s the pipeline for that middle management if you don’t have the bottom?” source
- Peter Coratola, EASE Logistics owner, United States
Trying to run a privately held freight broker on its own AI execution layer, built into daily operations so that voice agents and automated bids carry a growing share of the work the operators used to do by hand.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Peter Coratola is founder and CEO of EASE Logistics, a multi-operational supply chain and transportation solutions provider.” source
- What they did 2026 “Voice agents built on the platform now place more than 110,000 calls a month to carriers and drivers, collecting status updates and pushing loads to the next stage without waiting on manual check-ins.” source
- What they did 2026 “Built to meet the needs of and upskill the internal team, it was embedded into daily operations and has been running at scale ever since.” source
- What they said 2026 “We built AMMI because we wanted to be the easiest company to do logistics with, not just for our largest customers, but for everyone we serve,” source
- What they did 2026 “The company’s proprietary AI platform, AMMI, automates supply chain tasks and provides a dashboard that connects real-time data on shipments, alerts and performance trends, helping bypass manual reporting and deliver at scale.” source
- Kyle Shen, Nexceris ceo, United States
Trying to turn a 30-year materials and components supplier into a development partner that takes startups' clean-energy technology from lab to pilot production, after selling off its best-known product line to fund the focus.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Kyle R. Shen President & CEO / Managing Partner Kyle drives Nexceris’ transformation into a premier Lab to Launch partner, helping innovators scale faster with disciplined systems and customer-obsessed execution.” source
- What they did 2026 “The move reflects a broader shift from a materials and components supplier to a strategic development partner supporting startups, corporate R&D teams, and research institutions as they move from early-stage innovation to commercial scale.” source
- What they said 2026 “Our customers aren’t just looking for materials, they’re trying to get to commercialization faster,” said Kyle Shen, CEO of Nexceris. “The market has a clear gap between early-stage innovation and scalable production, particularly for startups.” source
- What they did 2025 “This strategic transaction enables Nexceris to focus on breakthrough technologies across numerous energy markets through advanced materials and component-level products.” source
- What they did 2026 “Following the 2025 sale of a significant portion of its business to Honeywell, Shen made a deliberate and courageous decision: rather than scale back, he chose to reinvent.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; US regional business press does not cover Reliance.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is California-based; none of the fetchable regional outlets in this sweep (Utah, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Connecticut, Texas) carried his
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a mega-cap; the route targets mid-market private firms and Puget Sound Business Journal (bizjournals) returns 403.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada; out of US regional scope.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland; out of scope.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public and covered by national tech press; Silicon Valley Business Journal is bizjournals (403).
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia; out of scope.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; out of scope.
Route 53: Operators in their own words: long-form interviews on rebuilding the firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: what people say and who they gather with
Expected timing: could be early or late
The steps we take
- Search podcast and interview transcripts for a leader explaining why each part of the firm exists and what they changed.
- Write down the leader and the firm.
- Find a second source on a different page that records a costly change to the firm itself, such as a restructure, a new arm or a new model.
- Confirm that the leader can decide today, using a dated source for their role or ownership.
Found 1 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · signal lagged recognition by a median 7 years (1 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Revised: the route works when the spine is two full-history podcast RSS feeds (Decoder and Masters of Scale), filtered by a restructuring regex, with the Verge transcript giving the leader own-voice account of the structure change and the show-note links giving the dated costly act. Five new US future-legend names, 1 of 8 test on known people hits; interviews trail the act by 1 to 3 years.
Sources: podcast episode pages; company newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- podcast show through Apple Podcasts search API gives RSS feed (joined on collectionId -> feedUrl)
- RSS feed through Decoder (megaphone) and Masters of Scale (art19) full-history RSS gives episode with a chief executive guest and a restructuring phrase (joined on item title and description, pubDate 2025-2026)
- episode through theverge.com/podcast/<id>/<slug> transcript gives chief executive and their own account of the structure change (joined on episode link in description or Decoder index page)
- chief executive through show-note links: company pressroom, earlier interview or trade story gives dated costly act (joined on href in RSS description)
- chief executive through transcript intro or company release gives current role and control (joined on name plus firm)
New names that passed every check
- Lila Snyder, Bose Corporation (privately held) ceo, United States
Turned Bose from a one-brand product maker into a hybrid of global functions and four business units by selling Bose Professional, buying McIntosh and Sonus faber, and licensing its core audio technology to other companies.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Today, I’m talking with Lila Snyder, who is the CEO of Bose. You certainly know Bose” source
- What they did 2023 “The sale to Transom will provide Bose Professional the additional attention it needs to support the professional audio customer” source
- What they did 2026 “But because we’ve added new customer sets and really two new businesses with luxury and audio tech, we’re also running four business units.” source
- What they said 2026 “So for the core functions that matter deeply to what we deliver, like engineering, marketing, and supply chain, those are global functions that support all of our businesses.” source
- Tom Conrad, Sonos ceo, United States
Replaced Sonos’s divisional business units with a functional model and cross-functional teams within three weeks of taking over, and killed a set-top-box line that the old structure had produced.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Today, I’m talking with Tom Conrad, the CEO of Sonos. Tom and I have known each other for a long time” source
- What they did 2025 “And so very quickly, within three weeks of my arrival, we reorganized the company into a functional model.” source
- What they said 2026 “I think that my appraisal was that we were sub-scale for the inefficiencies that creep in. We have the almost guaranteed duplication of effort across the silos.” source
- What they did 2025 “One of the things is the work that we’ve done to reorganize the team and to put exactly the right people and capacity and focus on, not just the app codebase, but also the whole platform” source
- What they said 2026 “As complex as this transition is, I’m really excited about being able to help our engineers navigate what’s a pretty fundamental sea change” source
- Sam Reich, Dropout (formerly CollegeHumor) owner, United States
Bought CollegeHumor from IAC for nothing, cut it from 105 staff to seven and rebuilt it as the subscriber-funded Dropout, with profit share for the mostly contract cast.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Today, I’m talking with my friend Sam Reich, who is the CEO and, I at least think, founder of Dropout TV.” source
- What they did 2020 “So I went and I offered IAC zero dollars, which was the amount of money I had to buy it.” source
- What they said 2020 “In other words, the most expensive content was less effective in getting people in or keeping them there than the less expensive content” source
- What they did 2025 “And which is why, by the way, profit share, and so many of the things that we do, we bend over backwards to make working at Dropout a positive experience for folks.” source
- Roger Dahle, Weber Blackstone owner, United States
Founder of Blackstone who took over the larger Weber and is re-cutting the combined company job function by job function to strip out the layers and silos of a 70-year-old firm.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Roger Dahle, the founder of Blackstone who, as previously announced, has been named the combined company’s Chief Executive Officer” source
- What they did 2025 “They went through working with our consulting company line item by line item, job function by job function.” source
- What they said 2026 “Whenever you get a company that’s been around 70 plus years, you start getting too structured, layered, and siloed, and that’s completely opposite of the way we do things.” source
- What they said 2025 “we look forward to leveraging our combined strengths to drive growth and innovation for the benefit of our retail partners, consumers, and team members.” source
- Adam Bry, Skydio ceo, United States
Co-founder who shut Skydio’s consumer drone business to serve public safety, utilities and defense, then committed $3.5 billion to US manufacturing and R&D.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Adam Bry, you are the co-founder and CEO of Skydio. Welcome to Decoder” source
- What they did 2023 “The impact we're having with our enterprise and public sector customers has become so compelling that it demands nothing less than our full focus and attention.” source
- What they did 2026 “today announced plans to invest $3.5 billion in the United States over the next five years to expand its domestic manufacturing, accelerate R&D, and strengthen American supply chains.” source
- What they said 2026 “If you want to be a good drone company, you need to be a world-class aerospace engineering organization across 10 or 15 different disciplines.” source
- What they said 2026 “I have an engineering background. I still consider myself an engineer. I get pretty deep into the details sometimes on products and technologies that we’re working on.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Masters of Scale has Ulukaya (2022, 2025), but the episodes cover the founding plant revival, community and values, not a redesign of Chobani as it runs; no Dec
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not a guest on Decoder (975 episodes) or Masters of Scale (744 episodes); pharma CEOs are absent from both tech-business shows.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not a guest on either show.
- Found Satya Nadella (signal in 2021) Masters of Scale, Aug 31, 2021 (re-run 2022): the re-founder episode describes the culture and cloud turn in his own interview.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Masters of Scale 2020 "Be a platform" is a founding and platform-strategy story, not a change to how Shopify works; the AI-first memo era is not covered by eith
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not a guest; Patagonia appears only through CEOs Rose Marcario (2018, 2020) and Ryan Gellert (2025).
- Missed Aaron Levie Guest on Recode Decode 2015 and 2018 and Masters of Scale Rapid Response 2025, but the 2025 note is general commentary on building AI-first organisations, not a
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not a guest on either show.
Route 54: Fund formation: Form D funds and IAPD advisers to the principal
Looks for: world transformers · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search new Form D (a notice of private fundraising) filings for funds in frontier themes such as climate, longevity or AI.
- Write down the people the filing lists as running the fund.
- Look up the fund's adviser in the SEC adviser register (Form ADV) to find who controls it: a general partner or a family office.
- Write down the principal behind that general partner or family office.
- Confirm the principal's wealth or control in a dated source.
Found 1 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · signal led recognition by a median 0 years (1 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: open api
Verdict revised. Form D works only for coalition or principal-led funds where the billionaire is a named related person (GP managing member, director, indirect control person). Theme-name sweeps on EDGAR company search return mostly syndicate SPVs and emerging managers. The IAPD ADV step names owners in Schedule A/B but only as a PDF that the verifier cannot read, so wealth is confirmed on Forbes profiles instead.
Sources: SEC EDGAR Form D; IAPD Form ADV
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- theme or vehicle name through EDGAR company search, type=D gives Form D issuer (pooled investment fund) (joined on CIK)
- Form D issuer through data.sec.gov submissions + Form D primary_doc.xml gives related persons (GP managing members, directors, indirect control persons) (joined on accession number; related-person last/first name)
- fund GP or management company through IAPD firm search API and Form ADV PDF Schedule A/B gives controlling owner or family trust (joined on CRD number)
- principal through Forbes profile page gives dated wealth check (joined on Forbes profile slug)
New names that passed every check
- Thomas Steyer, Galvanize Climate Solutions billionaire, United States
Rebuilding energy and industrial systems for decarbonization through a multi-strategy climate investment firm he co-founded after leaving hedge funds.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Thomas Steyer, the billionaire environmentalist and founder of hedge fund Farallon Capital Management, has made a big bet on a rebound in the economy” source
- What they did 2022 “3. Related Persons Last Name First Name Middle Name STEYER THOMAS Street Address 1 Street Address 2 C/O GALVANIZE CLIMATE SOLUTIONS” source
- What they said 2021 “Galvanize was founded by Katie Hall and Tom Steyer on this conviction: that structural change in energy, industry, and intelligence is not a niche theme, but a defining force in the 21st-century economy.” source
- Jim Coulter, TPG / TPG Rise Climate billionaire, United States
Steering a large private equity platform into a dedicated decarbonization fund that backs batteries, clean molecules and carbon removal at scale.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “One of the biggest figures involved was TPG group founder, prolific investor and Forbes billionaire Jim Coulter.” source
- What they did 2021 “Clarification of Response (if Necessary): Indirect control person of the Issuer's General Partner Last Name First Name Middle Name COULTER JAMES G.” source
- What they said 2022 “The climate crisis is accelerating and we are proud to be confronting it with substantial capital and action,” source
- John Arnold, Arnold Ventures; board of Breakthrough Energy Ventures billionaire, United States
Funds systemic policy change (drug prices, criminal justice, public finance) and sat on the founding board of a billionaire climate-technology fund.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Through his philanthropy, energy billionaire John Arnold has become a major force in the conversation about drug prices.” source
- What they did 2016 “Clarification of Response (if Necessary): Member of the Issuer's Board of Directors Last Name First Name Middle Name Arnold John Douglas Street Address 1 Street Address 2 c/o Breakthrough Energy Ventures, LLC” source
- What they said 2026 “We strive to maximize opportunity and minimize injustice by investing in systemic solutions that will outlast our funding.” source
- Luke Nosek, Gigafund billionaire, United States
Concentrates a dedicated fund on frontier builders in launch, tunnelling and nuclear power, led by over $1 billion into SpaceX.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Nosek left Founders Fund in 2017 to create his own venture firm, Gigafund. The firm has since invested over $1 billion into SpaceX.” source
- What they did 2017 “3. Related Persons Last Name First Name Middle Name Nosek Luke Street Address 1 Street Address 2” source
- What they did 2008 “In 2008, Luke Nosek was the first venture capital investor to back SpaceX and has served on the board of the company since then.” source
- John Doerr, Kleiner Perkins; board of Breakthrough Energy Ventures billionaire, United States
Pushes a net-zero-by-2050 plan through climate venture capital and a founding board seat on a billionaire climate-technology fund.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “John Doerr, the chairman of venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins and Forbes 400 member, shares what's on his bedside table.” source
- What they did 2016 “Clarification of Response (if Necessary): Member of the Issuer's Board of Directors Last Name First Name Middle Name Doerr Louis John Street Address 1 Street Address 2 c/o Breakthrough Energy Ventures, LLC” source
- What they said 2021 “Venture capitalist John Doerr outlines the climate action plan necessary to hit net zero global emissions by 2050 in his new book Speed & Scale” source
Test on held-back known people
- Found Mukesh Ambani (signal in 2016) Named as a board member of Breakthrough Energy Ventures, LLC on its first Form D (first sale 2016-12-11).
- Missed Jeff Skoll Capricorn fund Form Ds (Technology Impact Fund 2017, AIP Venture Capital I 2009) list only Yadigaroglu, Saluja and staff. The IAPD ADV PDF for Capricorn (CRD 14
- Missed Jensen Huang No pooled fund in this route lists him; his capital moves through NVIDIA and a family foundation, not Form D funds.
- Missed Laurene Powell Jobs EDGAR company search 'emerson collective' type=D returns no match; Emerson Collective invests off a non-Form-D structure or under unrelated names.
- Missed Nandan Nilekani Indian vehicles (Fundamentum) do not file US Form D under a searchable name; out of route geography.
- Missed Masayoshi Son SoftBank Vision Fund L.P. Form D (2017, $93.15B sold) lists only Jersey GP directors (Bullock, King, Milner, Misra), not Son.
- Missed Jeff Bezos No EDGAR filer matches 'bezos'; Bezos Expeditions and the Earth Fund do not file Form D under his name, and he is not on the BEV 2016 related-persons list.
- Missed Michael Bloomberg No filer matches 'bloomberg beta'; Bloomberg's climate money goes through Bloomberg Philanthropies grants, not pooled funds.
Route 55: CEO commitment registries tested against capital allocation
Looks for: both · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: could be early or late
The steps we take
- Read the commitment registers for companies whose chief executive signed or announced the commitment.
- Write down the company and its chief executive.
- Check the company's capital spending and research spending in its SEC financial data, to see whether the money followed the commitment.
- Keep the chief executive only where the spending backs the commitment.
Found 2 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · signal lagged recognition by a median 3.5 years (2 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: bulk download
Verdict revised. The registries are open and pullable (SBTi companies XLSX, Climate Pledge signatory JSON, RE100 member page, SEC companyconcept), but every one of them lists companies, never people, and the company to CEO step returns hired managers whose signature is cheap. The XBRL capex falsifier cannot separate climate capital from other capital: Microsoft and Amazon capex grew about eightfold after their pledges with no climate element in the taxonomy. The route only reaches people after a revision: join registry company names to the Forbes real-time list (source field and bio text), keep founder-controllers, and then require a personal costly act through a vehicle they control. That revision yields lesser-known non-US founders but 4 clean names in attempt 1 and 6 after attempt 2 added Gao Jifan (Trina Solar) and Jamshyd Godrej (Godrej & Boyce).
Sources: SBTi Target Dashboard XLSX; UN Global Compact participant search; data.sec.gov companyfacts
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- commitment registry row through SBTi companies-excel.xlsx (12,092 validated, 15,739 rows), Climate Pledge signatoryList.json (728), RE100 members page (440 parsed) gives company (joined on company_name normalised (legal suffixes stripped))
- company through Forbes real-time billionaires API (3,000 rows) gives billionaire owner or founder (joined on normalised company name equals a Forbes source token, or appears as a whole phrase in the Forbes bios)
- billionaire owner through Forbes profile editor bio, then the founder's vehicle or company newsroom gives person with a personal costly act (joined on person name in vehicle or newsroom page)
- US-listed company through data.sec.gov companyconcept PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment gives falsifier: capex trend after the commitment year (joined on CIK from sec.gov/files/company_tickers.json)
New names that passed every check
- Bruce Cheng, Delta Electronics (founder, honorary chairman); Delta Electronics Foundation billionaire, Taiwan
Uses his own money and the firm he founded to push low-carbon buildings and energy-efficient power systems in Taiwan and in city policy.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Bruce Cheng founded Delta Electronics as a TV-parts maker in 1971. He built it into a purveyor of power components and systems to global brands such as Apple and Tesla.” source
- What they did 2015 “Bruce Cheng, Delta's founder and honorary chairman, donated to repair the Historical Building of TCFSH, making it the first” source
- What they said 2017 “Mr. Bruce Cheng shared his experience in leading Delta's development of energy-saving technologies for buildings and transportation with policy makers from 50 global cities.” source
- Jin Baofang, JA Solar Technology (founder, chairman) billionaire, China
Built a solar maker on the bet that photovoltaics will carry the energy transition and keeps putting plant capital behind it.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jin Baofang is the chairman and managing director of solar panel maker JA Solar Technology. Jin founded the company in 2005.” source
- What they did 2023 “The $60 million facility in Phoenix, Arizona will produce high-efficiency PV panels for commercial and residential rooftops, as well as utility-scale solar power plants, according to the release.” source
- What they said 2024 “We firmly believe that photovoltaic power generation will be the main force in the green transformation of the future energy structure.” source
- Balkrishan Goenka, Welspun World (founder, chairman); Welspun New Energy (chairman) billionaire, India
Moving a textiles and pipes conglomerate he controls into green hydrogen and ammonia infrastructure.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Balkrishan Goenka controls and runs the Welspun Group in Mumbai, with interests in textiles and pipes.” source
- What they did 2024 “Diversified group Welspun World on Wednesday pledged Rs 40,000 crore investment to set up green hydrogen and green ammonia ecosystem in Gujarat.” source
- What they said 2025 “Mr. Balkrishan Goenka is a prime architect of the Welspun Group and is regarded as one of the foremost corporate leaders of India.” source
- Thomas Kirk Kristiansen, KIRKBI and the LEGO Group (chair); KIRKBI Climate billionaire, Denmark
Steers the family holding company that owns LEGO into a dedicated climate investment arm building energy-transition and circular-plastics businesses.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “A fourth-generation owner of Lego, Thomas Kirk Kristiansen succeeded his father Kjeld as deputy chairman of the company's board in 2016.” source
- What they did 2025 “The current investment portfolio of KIRKBI Climate is DKK 10.3 billion.” source
- What they said 2024 “Green energy transition is a key focus area for the Kristiansen family. This includes direct investments in green energy companies through KIRKBI.” source
- Gao Jifan, Trina Solar (founder, chairman, CEO) billionaire, China
Uses the solar maker he founded to push an industry-wide module standard (210mm, n-type) meant to make photovoltaics the main route to carbon neutrality.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Gao Jifan is founder, chairman and CEO of Trina Solar, a Changzhou-based company specializing in solar panels.” source
- What they did 2022 “Trina Solar's 210mm module is now our most mainstream product, with cumulative shipments exceeding 16GW, and it unquestionably ranks first among all the large-size module brands.” source
- What they said 2023 “We can say confidently that over the next three to five years the tech of n-type will supplant the p-type in the realm of high-efficiency modules.” source
- Jamshyd Godrej, Godrej Enterprises Group and Godrej & Boyce (chairman, co-controller) billionaire, India
Holds back valuable Mumbai land as mangrove preserve and chairs India's energy-policy foundations to argue that industry must change how it produces.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jamshyd Godrej is chairman of the Godrej Enterprises Group, a conglomerate in Mumbai, which he controls with his sister, Smita Crishna-Godrej, also a billionaire.” source
- What they did 2012 “on the basis of the valuable mangrove swamps the Godrej family has owned and preserved in Vikhroli” source
- What they said 2015 “If we are to provide for today’s and tomorrow’s needs without environmental degradation, new processes that use fewer natural resources and produce markedly less pollution or waste per unit of production have to be developed,” source
- What they did 2014 “Godrej is the Chairman of the CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Eric Schmidt Joined only through a false match (the word Innovation in his Forbes bio against an SBTi company named Innovation). He is not CEO of a registry company; the rou
- Missed Laurene Powell Jobs Surfaces through the Apple SBTi row because Forbes lists Apple as her source of wealth. That is an inheritance artifact, not her commitment, so it is a miss.
- Missed Vinod Khosla Investor, no operating company in SBTi, Climate Pledge or RE100.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is not in the SBTi companies file, the Climate Pledge list or the RE100 page.
- Found Jeff Bezos (signal in 2019) Amazon is signatory 1 (Sep 15, 2019) and co-founded the Pledge while he was CEO. The page names the company, not the person: the CEO step is by role at the join
- Missed Mo Ibrahim Celtel was sold in 2005; his current vehicles are foundations, not registry companies.
- Missed Nandan Nilekani Infosys is in all three registries (Climate Pledge first five, Jun 2020; SBTi 2021) but he is co-founder and chairman, not CEO, and Forbes does not list Infosys
- Found Satya Nadella (signal in 2020) CEO step by role (CEO since 2014). The falsifier does not discriminate: Microsoft capex rose from 13.9B (CY2019) to 115.9B (CY2026) in companyconcept, but XBRL
Route 56: Named leads: people named by ruled-out or short routes, checked on their own evidence
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Take each named lead: Garrett Lord, Jason Seger, Ron Swidler and Sandeep Ahuja.
- Search for each person and firm by name in trade press, the firm's newsroom and interviews.
- Confirm their current role in a dated 2025 or 2026 source.
- Find the dated, costly change to how the firm works, in the leader's own words where possible, and a second page that backs it up.
- List everyone who meets all seven conditions, and say plainly why anyone who does not falls short.
- Search once more for leaders in industrial distribution, employee benefits brokerage and outsourced HR, and architecture.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict validated. All four named leads meet the conditions on their own evidence once a second, different page is fetched for each; a one-pass sector sweep added one benefits-brokerage name (Zimmer) and nothing in industrial distribution or architecture. The route is a per-person evidence check, not a discovery route, so its test on known people is 0 of 8 by construction.
Sources: firm newsrooms; trade press (Modern Distribution Management, Architect magazine, BenefitsPro, Upstarts, Lenny's Newsletter); press wires; interview transcripts
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- named lead through earlier route pull.json (S-33, S-38, S-42) gives person and firm (joined on person name + firm name)
- person and firm through firm newsroom or trade press gives dated costly change with leader's words (joined on firm name)
- change through second outlet (trade press, podcast page, reprint) gives independent page backing the act (joined on firm name + event)
- person through 2025-2026 dated page gives current role or control (joined on person name + title)
New names that passed every check
- Garrett Lord, Handshake (private early-career network and AI training-data business) ceo, United States
Refounded an 11-year-old career network around an AI expert-data business, cutting 15% of the recruiting side to put the whole firm behind it.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Garrett Lord is the co-founder and CEO of Handshake, the career network he started in 2014 with Scott Ringwelski and Ben Christensen while studying computer science at Michigan Technological University.” source
- What they did 2025 “From a U.S. staff of 650 last week, Handshake has laid off about 100 people, representing 15% of its workforce from across roles in its recruiting business vertical, the company wrote in a letter to employees posted online .” source
- What they did 2026 “Instead, over the course of 2025, Garrett refounded the company around a business that was barely a year old.” source
- What they said 2025 “If Handshake didn’t cut headcount now and put all its collective energy into AI, Lord says the company would still be an “okay” business.” source
- What they said 2025 “Lord explicitly framed this as a move to “grind hard and move fast,” signaling a departure from the comfortable culture that can develop at mature unicorn companies.” source
- Jason Seger, Border States (100% employee-owned electrical, industrial and utility distributor) ceo, United States
Moved a branch-led national distributor onto a new operating model split into growing and fulfilling customer relationships, backed by a new distribution-center network, to give customers one experience at national scale.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Border States President and CEO Jason Seger recently sat down with Karthik Chidambaram from the Driven by DCKAP Podcast.” source
- What they did 2024 “Border States rolled out a new operating model on Monday, April 1, along with several changes to company leadership.” source
- What they said 2024 “With Border States’ continued growth as a nationwide electrical distributor and the evolution of the industry as a whole, we see this new model as being key for supporting a unified experience for our customers and manufacturer partners.” source
- What they did 2025 “has broken ground on a new 300,000-square-foot distribution center in Fargo.” source
- Ron Swidler, The Gettys Group (Chicago hospitality design firm) ceo, United States
Restructured a hospitality design firm around integrated studios and a director of AI who reports to him, applying design thinking to how the firm itself runs.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In an address to employees, Chief Executive Officer Ron Swidler underscored the firm’s legacy of transformation and its commitment to evolution in response to shifting industry needs.” source
- What they did 2025 “Reporting to the CEO, James will lead the integration of artificial intelligence into Gettys’ design and operations, advancing visualization, efficiency, and creative exploration to position the firm as an industry innovator.” source
- What they said 2025 “We challenge ourselves to think differently, to reimagine what’s possible, and to apply the same creativity we bring to our projects to how we run our business,” said Swidler.” source
- What they said 2025 “In an address to employees, Chief Executive Officer Ron Swidler underscored the firm’s legacy of transformation and its commitment to evolution in response to shifting industry needs.” source
- Sandeep Ahuja, cove (Atlanta AEC software and consulting firm; Cove Architecture) ceo, United States
Turned a design-software and consulting firm into a full-service architecture practice run on its own AI framework, to replace slow, fragmented design workflows.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"When we started cove, we began by building software for others to optimize costs, compress timelines, and meet performance standards," explained Sandeep Ahuja, Co-founder and CEO of cove.” source
- What they did 2025 “The firm said in a prepared statement that it has been working on and refining these software products for a decade at a cost of more than $25 million.” source
- What they said 2025 “cove CEO Sandeep Ahuja told Bisnow that the tool is already in use on one project, helping to optimize costs and streamline the design process. “What we have been able to do, as AI has continued to grow, was take that final leap and pull all of our years of work wrapped together to be able to harness the power of AI,” source
- What they said 2025 “What inspired me to start cove was the stagnancy in the built environment. Buildings account for about 39 percent of global carbon emissions and many industry workflows are outdated.” source
- Greg Zimmer, Alliant Insurance Services (private US insurance and benefits broker) ceo, United States
Is buying an AI-native benefits broker to rebuild how his firm's employee-benefits business is delivered, pairing advisors with an AI platform.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““Employers today expect more than traditional brokerage services,” said Greg Zimmer, CEO of Alliant.” source
- What they did 2026 “Alliant Insurance Services today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Nava Benefits , combining Alliant’s advisory depth, analytics, scale, and risk expertise with Nava’s AI-native HQ platform to help define the next generation of employee benefits brokerage.” source
- What they said 2026 “Employers today expect more than traditional brokerage services. They need trusted advisors supported by intelligent technology that simplifies complexity and improves decision-making.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not a named lead and not surfaced by the sector sweep; this route checks a fixed list of leads from ruled-out or short routes and by design cannot reach anyone
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not a named lead and not surfaced by the sector sweep; this route checks a fixed list of leads from ruled-out or short routes and by design cannot reach anyone
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not a named lead and not surfaced by the sector sweep; this route checks a fixed list of leads from ruled-out or short routes and by design cannot reach anyone
- Missed Aaron Levie Not a named lead and not surfaced by the sector sweep; this route checks a fixed list of leads from ruled-out or short routes and by design cannot reach anyone
- Missed Satya Nadella Not a named lead and not surfaced by the sector sweep; this route checks a fixed list of leads from ruled-out or short routes and by design cannot reach anyone
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not a named lead and not surfaced by the sector sweep; this route checks a fixed list of leads from ruled-out or short routes and by design cannot reach anyone
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not a named lead and not surfaced by the sector sweep; this route checks a fixed list of leads from ruled-out or short routes and by design cannot reach anyone
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not a named lead and not surfaced by the sector sweep; this route checks a fixed list of leads from ruled-out or short routes and by design cannot reach anyone
Route 57: Another sweep of Route 41: US mid-market chief executives describing in their own words how they rebuilt the firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 41 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search long-form interviews and transcribed podcasts with chief executives (Inc. and Fast Company features, Forbes and Fortune interviews, Chief Executive magazine, Harvard Business Review case interviews, McKinsey and BCG interview transcripts, company podcasts with published transcripts) where the chief executive describes a dated change to how the work gets done for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US mid-sized or private company (roughly 50 million to 5 billion dollars revenue) changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route works only partly in a second sweep. With S-41's outlets (Chief Executive, Fortune, CNBC, adammendler.com) excluded, sector trade press (Accounting Today, Bloomberg Tax, FreightWaves TV transcripts, TheWrap and other media-trade outlets) gave 3 checkable US names from about 22 fetches. Most trade roundups quote leaders on AI plans (aspiration), not carried-out redesigns. Inc., Fast Company, Axios and Multi-Housing News return 403.
Sources: Inc.; Fast Company; Chief Executive magazine; Harvard Business Review; McKinsey and BCG interview pages; podcast transcript pages; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query through WebSearch over sector trade outlets (accountingtoday.com, news.bloombergtax.com, freightwaves.com, thewrap.com, digiday.com, insurancejournal.com, modernretail.co) gives article (joined on article URL)
- article through article attribution line gives firm and leader (joined on leader name plus firm)
- firm through firm newsroom or second trade outlet (fura.com/newsroom, tomorrowspublisher.today, accountingtoday.com) gives dated act (joined on firm name)
- leader through dated 2025-2026 role line (firm release or trade story) gives control check (joined on name plus title)
- act through same receipts gives cost check and signal year (joined on earliest dated move)
New names that passed every check
- Jim VandeHei, Axios ceo, United States
Rebuilding a news company so automated tasks and AI agents carry production work while spending shifts to subject-matter reporters.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Axios co-founder and CEO Jim VandeHei, 2024 (Craig Hudson/Getty Images) Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… Axios CEO Jim VandeHei told staffers in a memo on Friday” source
- What they did 2026 “He also said the technology would “cost or change” some jobs, noting Axios’ product, design and tech team was doing “twice the work with half the size of the team of two years ago” due to automation. That team laid off 19 staffers in November.” source
- What they said 2026 ““We know the future of high-end media belongs to high-quality, exclusive information and insights produced by reporters with subject matter expertise and trust,” said VandeHei, chief executive.” source
- Jeff D'Angelo, Fura ceo, United States
Buying traditional freight brokerages and rebuilding each on one automated, AI-assisted operating model instead of headcount-driven brokering.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jeff D'Angelo is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Fura, an AI-first brokerage that grew from $10 million to $90 million in 3 years” source
- What they did 2026 “The Pinwheel acquisition illustrates the playbook: headcount dropped from 26 to 8 while the business swung from a $150,000 loss to $1 million in profit and GMV jumped from $12 million to $30 million.” source
- What they said 2026 “By bringing teams like Mandy’s onto the Fura platform, we can give experienced operators the tools, automation, and scale they need to grow faster.” source
- Jen Leary, CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen) ceo, United States
Moving a 9,000-person accounting firm from manual data entry to in-house AI (CLA GPT, Engine B) funded by a $500 million multiyear programme.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “We're building the future of our firm and our profession," said Jen Leary, CEO of CLA.” source
- What they did 2024 “She also noted that CLA has rolled out inhouse artificial intelligence technology called CLA GPT. The move to acquire Engine B seems to be part of that expansion. The acquisition accelerates CLA's $500 million investment in digital technology and AI.” source
- What they said 2023 “So let’s figure out how to utilize the tools we have and get them in the hands of as many people as we possibly can,” Leary said in an interview with Bloomberg Tax” source
- What they said 2024 “With the addition of Engine B, CLA is becoming a force for positively disrupting the profession, creating a path for our professionals to spend more time directly with clients” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada; Shopify is above the band and outside a US mid-market sweep
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; redesign dates from the 1980s, outside the 2023-2026 window
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is far above the 5 billion ceiling; excluded by design
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is in band and US, but none of the trade outlets swept (Accounting Today, FreightWaves, Digiday, TheWrap, Insurance Journal, Modern Retail) carried a 20
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia's 2022 ownership transfer is an ownership deal before the window; no trade-press redesign story surfaced
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland; Novartis far above the band
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is US and in band, but no Box story appeared in the trade and media-press outlets this sweep used; S-41 found its weak hit only in Fortune, which this sweep
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia; Fortescue far above the band
Route 58: Another sweep of Route 53: Operators in their own words: long-form interviews on rebuilding the firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: what people say and who they gather with
Expected timing: could be early or late
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 53 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search podcast and interview transcripts for a leader explaining why each part of the firm exists and what they changed.
- Write down the leader and the firm.
- Find a second source on a different page that records a costly change to the firm itself, such as a restructure, a new arm or a new model.
- Confirm that the leader can decide today, using a dated source for their role or ownership.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Revised: a second sweep using three podcasts S-53 did not touch (Fortune Leadership Next, Earmark, Kitces Financial Advisor Success). Only Leadership Next pairs a public full transcript on fortune.com with CEO guests who still hold the role; its guests are Fortune 500 and big-brand CEOs, so the names are well known and the route yields three, not five. Kitces transcripts return 403 and Earmark guests are mostly vendors, consultants or leaders who have since retired.
Sources: podcast episode pages; company newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- podcast show through Apple Podcasts search API gives RSS feed (joined on collectionId -> feedUrl)
- RSS feed through Leadership Next (megaphone), Earmark (transistor), Financial Advisor Success (libsyn) full-history RSS gives episode with a sitting CEO or owner and a change phrase (joined on item title and description, pubDate 2023-2026)
- episode through fortune.com Leadership Next article with transcript; share.transistor.fm/s/<id>/transcript for Earmark gives the leader's own account of what was wrong and what changed (joined on episode title searched on fortune.com (RSS link field is empty))
- firm through SEC 8-K Ex 99.1 press release or company investor release gives dated costly act (divestiture, restructuring, acquisition) (joined on firm name)
- leader through dated 2026 Fortune profile or 2026 8-K gives control check: still in the role (joined on person name)
New names that passed every check
- Kate Johnson, Lumen Technologies ceo, United States
Turning a legacy telecom that harvested cash for its dividend into an enterprise networking company for AI traffic, by selling the consumer fiber business and changing the culture from playing not to lose.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “powering the digital infrastructure that enterprises and public sector organizations need to win in the AI era,” said Lumen CEO Kate Johnson.” source
- What they did 2026 “today announced that it has completed the sale of its Mass Markets fiber-to-the-home business in eleven states, including Quantum Fiber, to AT&T (NYSE: T) for $5.75 billion in cash.” source
- What they said 2025 “You harvest the cash to pay the dividend. And my assignment from the board was completely different. We want you to pivot the company to growth and leverage this fiber asset. And so we had to shift from play not to lose to play to win, literally everything has to change.” source
- Nirav Tolia, Nextdoor ceo, United States
Co-founder who returned as CEO to rebuild the neighborhood network around a new product and a smaller cost base, because he judged the product vision had not kept up with how people now live.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Nirav Tolia is the CEO, President, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, and Co-Founder of Nextdoor.” source
- What they did 2025 “Today, Nextdoor announced a restructuring plan, including a reduction in workforce, resulting in reduced annualized operating expenses of approximately $30 million. "Delivering the new Nextdoor was just the first step in ensuring our business delivers more value to neighbors and customers," said Tolia.” source
- What they said 2024 “When I came back to Nextdoor, I realized that the product vision for Nextdoor had evolved, but it had not evolved in a contemporary way relative to how the world had evolved.” source
- Kecia Steelman, Ulta Beauty ceo, United States
Resetting the largest US beauty retailer under her Ulta Beauty Unleashed plan: buying a UK chain to go international and walking away from the Target shop-in-shop channel to refocus the core.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Kecia Steelman had a turnaround to pull off when she was promoted from Ulta Beauty's president and COO to president and CEO in January 2025, taking over the largest U.S. beauty retailer” source
- What they did 2025 “said Kecia Steelman, president and chief executive officer of Ulta Beauty. International expansion is an integral part of our Ulta Beauty Unleashed plan, and the acquisition of Space NK offers a unique and strategically compelling opportunity to enter the growing UK market” source
- What they said 2025 “we have a very clear plan with the Ulta Beauty Unleashed strategy - focusing on our core margin of creative businesses and really our foundational excellence all the way around the business - that it’s much better for me to really pivot and focus on that.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Leadership Next inaugural episode (March 2020) is about Microsoft's social purpose, not a change to how Microsoft works. Not on Earmark or Financial Advisor Suc
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not a guest on any of the three shows.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not a guest; the six 'Forrest' matches in the Kitces feed are other people.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not a guest on any of the three shows.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not a guest; the Narasimhan matches are Laxman Narasimhan of Starbucks.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Leadership Next February 2022: the notes cover trusting employees and hiring refugees, a hiring practice, not a dated redesign. No transcript read.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not a guest; Patagonia appears only through its hired CEO Ryan Gellert (2025).
- Missed Aaron Levie Leadership Next September 2022 is about Web3 hype and his Stanford course, no change at Box.
Route 59: Another sweep of Route 47: US electric cooperatives, municipal utilities and energy services firms that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 47 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search utility trade press (Utility Dive, NRECA America's Electric Cooperatives news, Public Power (APPA), T&D World, Canary Media, Smart Energy International US) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US electric cooperative, municipal or regional utility, or energy services contractor changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: Utility Dive; NRECA; American Public Power Association; T&D World; Canary Media; press wires; co-op newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade story through NRECA news (cooperative.com), Utility Dive, Canary Media, Daily Energy Insider, Smart Cities Dive gives utility or co-op (joined on utility name)
- utility through utility newsroom or press feed (rayburnelectric.com/news-post-feed lists every outside story with its source link) gives dated act and cost (joined on utility name + act)
- utility through same trade story or newsroom gives chief executive quoted on why the old model fails (joined on name + title)
- chief executive through second outlet (Chief Executive, Energy Changemakers, Electrek) gives dated 2025-2026 role line (joined on name + utility)
- earliest move through trade story gives signal year (joined on date)
New names that passed every check
- David Naylor, Rayburn Electric Cooperative (Rockwall, Texas generation and transmission co-op) ceo, United States
After Winter Storm Uri nearly bankrupted the co-op, he turned Rayburn from a paper G&T that bought market power into an asset-owning supplier and flattened its structure so staff lead outside their hired roles.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “But David Naylor, CEO of Rayburn Electric Cooperative, sees a lot of room for utilities to stretch convention” source
- What they did 2023 “Rayburn’s elected directors see the acquisition as a major step toward transforming the co-op from a “paper G&T,” primarily relying on purchase power, into an actual power supplier with excess capacity available for sale.” source
- What they said 2023 ““We incurred three years of power costs over a five-day stretch, and that shifted our thinking on how much we could rely on power market purchases,” said Naylor.” source
- What they did 2025 “Under Naylor’s leadership, Rayburn dismantled conventional hierarchies and fostered a flat organizational model that empowers employees at all levels to lead, contribute and grow.” source
- What they did 2026 “So Rayburn acquired its first-generation station in 2023 and is now building Rayburn Energy Station 2” source
- Mari McClure, Green Mountain Power (Vermont regional utility, privately held) ceo, United States
She is moving a regional utility from poles, wires and central plants toward a distributed grid built on utility-owned batteries in every home and buried lines, filed with regulators as a costed plan.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““We’re thrilled to partner with Enphase to bring cutting-edge technology directly to our customers – strengthening the grid, improving reliability, and driving down costs,” said Mari McClure, president and CEO of GMP.” source
- What they did 2023 “The Zero Outages filing with regulators addresses the first phase of the initiative and calls for an investment of up to $280 million over the next two years” source
- What they said 2023 ““We all see the severe impacts from storms, we know the impact outages have on your lives, and the status quo is no longer enough,” Mari McClure, GMP president and CEO, said.” source
- What they said 2023 “McClure said GMP’s goal is to decentralize energy in Vermont and shift the state’s grid to a distributed system” source
- Duane Highley, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association (Westminster, Colorado G&T cooperative, 4-state wholesale supplier) ceo, United States
He is turning an all-requirements wholesale co-op, whose members were leaving over rigid contracts, into a flexible model where members can supply up to 40% of their own power and still stay inside the G&T.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““Continued membership in Tri-State delivers a growing, increasingly diverse generation portfolio, ownership of the largest cooperative transmission network in America, greater self-supply flexibility and valued energy services, all within the not-for-profit cooperative business model,” said Tri-State Chief Executive Of” source
- What they did 2024 ““The Bring Your Own Resource program increases member flexibility, leveraging the strengths of our members and Tri-State with an innovative approach demonstrating the unique value of our cooperative business model,” said Duane Highley, chief executive officer of Tri-State.” source
- What they did 2025 “Thirty-six members representing 98% of Tri-State’s load execute new contracts, with 2066 or 2050 terms.” source
- What they said 2021 ““Our members and board of directors diligently worked for more than a year to develop a fair and equitable process to increase contract flexibility and advance our Responsible Energy Plan,” said Duane Highley, Tri-State CEO.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel firm; this sweep covers only US co-ops, public power and energy services firms, and none of the utility trade receipts mention its owner
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner, outside the US utility universe of this route.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a software firm; utility trade press does not cover its AI-first redesign.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker; outside the utility universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in utility press only as a data-center power buyer, never as a firm redesigning itself.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO, outside the universe and outside the US.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and green-hydrogen founder; not a US co-op, utility or energy services firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; outside the US utility universe.
Route 60: Another sweep of Route 46: US senior living, home care and post-acute operators that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 46 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search aging-services trade press (Senior Housing News, Skilled Nursing News, McKnight's Senior Living, McKnight's Long-Term Care News, Home Care Magazine, Argentum news) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US senior living operator, home care agency, skilled nursing or post-acute operator changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Works on the WTWH/Arrowfly aging-services titles (Senior Housing News, Skilled Nursing News, Home Health Care News, Hospice News) with different formats than S-46: older CEO interviews and podcasts found by mechanism queries, the 2024 benefits and 2025 watch-list stories, and a 2026 operator-built AI piece. McKnight's Long-Term Care News (mcknights.com) returns 403 to fetch.mjs, like McKnight's Senior Living in S-46, so McKnight's stays search-only. Control lines come from firm pages and a state association agenda.
Sources: Senior Housing News; Skilled Nursing News; McKnight's Senior Living; McKnight's Long-Term Care News; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- mechanism query through WebSearch with allowed_domains on seniorhousingnews.com, skillednursingnews.com, homehealthcarenews.com, hospicenews.com gives trade story (joined on story URL)
- trade story through same story gives operator and its CEO, founder or owner quoted in own words (joined on operator name plus named leader)
- leader through WebSearch on the outlet for '<operator> <leader>' (older CEO interview, podcast, series entry) or the firm's own newsroom gives second dated citation of the act at a distinct URL (joined on leader name plus operator name)
- leader through dated 2025-2026 page naming the role: firm leadership page, state association agenda, or a 2025-2026 trade story gives control check (owner, founder or CEO of a private firm) (joined on title line)
- redesign act through earliest dated story describing the act, or the act date stated in it gives signal year (joined on publication date or stated year)
New names that passed every check
- Dwayne Clark, Aegis Living (Bellevue, Washington; 37 assisted living and memory care communities in WA, CA, NV; privately held, founded 1997) owner, United States
Rebuilding a senior living operator's labor and growth model around owned arms (an in-house staffing agency run as a separate entity, a development consulting affiliate) and leaders hired from hospitality and retail rather than from rival operators.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Clark, who founded the company in 1997, stressed that although he was moving out of the CEO role, he is “not going away, and I am not really retiring.”” source
- What they did 2021 “Aegis Living is set to pilot its own staffing agency in a move aimed at saving millions of dollars in workforce expenses and potentially creating a new business line down the road.” source
- What they said 2021 ““The [staffing] philosophy that we’ve used for years and years and years is going out the window,” Clark told Senior Housing News.” source
- What they did 2022 “Aegis Living is focused on its next stage of company growth, unveiling an affiliate development company known as Aegis Development LLC.” source
- What they did 2024 “By filling up the bench with talent from outside the industry, Aegis also maintains a roster of general managers, 50% of whom bring experience from the hospitality industry.” source
- Lynne Katzmann, Juniper Communities (Bloomfield, New Jersey; 28 senior living communities in five states, owns all but six; founder-led since 1988) owner, United States
Turning a senior living operator into a co-owner of a Medicare Advantage plan and a provider of its own home health and physician services, so that the operator is paid for keeping residents well rather than for rent and care levels.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Lynne Katzmann is Founder and CEO of Juniper Communities, which invests in, develops and manages senior living and long-term care communities.” source
- What they did 2019 “Also this year, Juniper aims to expand Medicare Advantage (MA) participation through its participation in the Perennial Consortium, the value-based care model the operator co-launched in 2019 to drive MA enrollment among residents and provide new ways of reimbursement in creating positive health outcomes.” source
- What they did 2024 “Last year, Juniper launched a home health and private physician practice to create new revenue.” source
- What they said 2024 ““They are strongly mission-driven and committed, as the rest of our members are, to an operator-owned plan that can set the standard for benefits and reimbursement between payers and senior living providers,”” source
- What they did 2025 “The operator also is developing a new software program referred to as Juniper Connect, according to CEO Lynne Katzmann.” source
- Tom Coble, Elmbrook Management Company (Ardmore, Oklahoma; 13 nursing and assisted living buildings in nine rural counties; owner-run) owner, United States
Converting a rural Oklahoma nursing home company into a population health manager that runs its own Medicare Advantage I-SNP and uses its buildings as hubs for home and community-based care.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Tom Coble, Owner, Elmbrook Management Company This presentation provides an overview of Institutional Special Needs Plans (I-SNPs),” source
- What they did 2005 “Coble has long been on the forefront of integrating nursing homes into value-based payment frameworks, having launched a Medicare Advantage Institutional Special Needs Plan (ISNP) in 2005.” source
- What they said 2023 “We’re starting to transition our company from a skilled nursing organization into a population health management organization.” source
- What they did 2023 “So we went out and we found nurse practitioners that wanted to not only teach but also to do clinical, hands-on work in facilities. And we hired them.” source
- What they said 2022 “With respect to the value-based care system, our nursing homes and our I-SNP here in Oklahoma are adopting home care models, but we’re approaching it as home and community-based support.” source
- Aaron Sinykin, Devoted Guardians (Tempe, Arizona; non-medical home care and home health across Arizona; founded 2007) ceo, United States
Rebuilding how a home care agency recruits, pays and keeps caregivers by running recruiting and caregiver recognition through AI and robotic process automation across the company.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Aaron Sinykin, the company’s founder and CEO, previously told HHCN that he has “really immersed” himself in finding ways to apply AI to all aspects of the company, and has also turned to robotic process automation.” source
- What they did 2024 ““We have an automated AI recognition system, which is combing through our EHR software and pulling all of these data points out and assigning a value, and then communicating that out to our caregivers weekly,” Aaron Sinykin, founder and CEO of Devoted Guardians, told Home Health Care News.” source
- What they said 2024 “It really hit home with me that I needed a platform where I can give a monetary benefit and allow our employees to apply that to whatever benefit was meaningful to them.”” source
- What they did 2025 “The company now operates an AI employee recruiting system that eliminates the problem of potential employees “ghosting.”” source
- Kurosh Dejgosha, Adava Care (Milwaukee, Wisconsin; 12 assisted living and memory care communities plus behavioral health residences; owner-run) owner, United States
Having a small operator build its own AI tools (a digital nurse that runs medication-review paperwork) on top of its care platform instead of waiting for vendors.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Though not a large number of units to take on at once, owner Kurosh Dejgosha said the expansion into senior living is just the start of the company’s plans.” source
- What they did 2026 “Adava Care president Kurosh Dejgosha built a solution to generate, fax and receive those signed reviews.” source
- What they said 2026 ““The tools we’re building don’t eliminate jobs,” Dejgosha says. “They allow the people in those positions to focus on what they’re good at, patient care, rather than filling out forms and repeatedly faxing.” source
- What they said 2024 “Moving forward, the idea will be to offer senior housing on the lower end of the resident rate spectrum, utilizing Wisconsin’s Family Care Medicaid program for residents in combination with private-pay rates.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy; no US aging-services operation, never an operator in SHN, SNN, HHCN or Hospice News.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in these outlets only as a vendor (Azure, Copilot), never as an operator redesigning a care firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya US food maker; outside the senior living, home care and post-acute universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO; drug makers appear in this trade press only as suppliers.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; no US care operation.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian commerce software; not an aging-services operator.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel; outside the universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial and education firm; outside the universe.
Route 61: Another sweep of Route 37: US family-owned and private mid-market manufacturers that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 37 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search manufacturing trade press (IndustryWeek, Manufacturing Dive, Assembly Magazine, The Fabricator, Plant Engineering, Smart Industry, state manufacturers association news, Family Business magazine) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US family-owned or private mid-market manufacturer changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempt 1 of 3, refine. Different outlets from S-37 were swept (Plastics News, Plastics Technology, Production Machining, Manufacturing.net, Assembly, SME, Woodworking Network, state association award pages, Enterprise Minnesota). Phrase searches on AI, four-day weeks and self-managed teams returned only vendors, surveys and stale features, and Plastics News award bodies are gated. The one productive outlet was Enterprise Minnesota magazine (the state MEP's quarterly), whose long features quote owners in their own words. Two names stood: Adam Hansen (a $25M automated plant built to raise wages) and Brad Peterson (five family suppliers built their own gas plant). Others were set aside under the tranche-2 drop test.
Sources: IndustryWeek; Manufacturing Dive; Assembly Magazine; The Fabricator; Family Business magazine; NCEO employee ownership news; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- issue index through Enterprise Minnesota magazine issue page (enterpriseminnesota.org/magazine/<season>-<yyyy>/), Featured Articles block gives feature article about one named manufacturer (joined on article URL under /articles/<season>-<yyyy>/)
- feature article through article body (fetch.mjs --text; body starts after 'ESC to close', ends at 'Return to the') gives firm and owner, founder or CEO quoted on a dated firm-wide change (joined on leader name + firm name in the same sentence)
- firm through second outlet or partner release found by WebSearch '<firm> <change keyword>' (vendor release, association reprint, business magazine) gives dated costly act in a second voice, plus a control line (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Adam Hansen, Hansen & Company Woodworks (St. Joseph, Minnesota; about 55 employees) owner, United States
Rebuilt his cabinet shop around a $25M automated plant so a small crew earns higher wages doing skilled work instead of repetitive handling.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Hansen, founder and president of St. Joseph-based cabinetmaker Hansen & Co. Woodworks (HCo) , had visited several granite quarries and processing plants in China.” source
- What they did 2024 “It cost about $25 million and will replace two smaller plants HCo operates outside of St. Joseph, Minn. Hansen believes it is the most fully automated frameless cabinet line in North America.” source
- What they said 2026 “I care about the people we have. How do they make more money? How do we take the stuff that is redundant and make that automated?” source
- What they said 2026 “Automation was not just about increasing output," said Adam Hansen, Founder & CEO, Hansen & Company Woodworks. "It was about designing a smarter operation.” source
- What they did 2026 “We built this without waiting for a handout traditional financing, a great community partner in St. Joseph, and a team that believed in the vision.” source
- Brad Peterson, Mississippi Welders Supply Co. (Winona, Minnesota) and Absolute Air LLC (chairman) owner, United States
Led five family and employee-owned gas suppliers to stop buying from global gas majors and build their own jointly held air separation plant.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “chairman of Absolute Air and owner of affiliate Mississippi Welders Supply Co. Brad Peterson says. "And we found that in Faribault."” source
- What they did 2023 “about 10 years ago, that group, spearheaded by Brad Peterson, president of Mississippi Welders Supply Company (MWSCO) , began developing an ambitious plan to build its own air separation unit” source
- What they said 2025 “With the majors, you're going to get a price increase every year and it just keeps going up. You don't really have any control or any sense of security” source
- What they said 2019 “It was critical that we be on a good interstate or have good transportation because we're making trailer loads of liquid oxygen, nitrogen, and argon” source
- Luke Palen, Spectro Alloys (EGA Spectro Alloys since 2024; Rosemount, Minnesota; about 150 employees) executive, United States
Moved a family-held aluminum recycler off a single casting-alloy business that EVs threatened and into billet and sheet ingot from post-consumer scrap, funding the $71M plant partly by selling 80% to EGA.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “With this expansion, we will produce high-quality, recycled billet, made in America and contribute to a circular economy in our region and throughout the U.S.,” said EGA Spectro Alloys President Luke Palen.” source
- What they said 2024 “At the time, we thought our core business could be on a downhill trajectory, and we needed to counter that,” Palen says.” source
- What they did 2024 “broke ground Wednesday on a $71 million expansion to add new aluminum recycling capabilities to Spectro’s Rosemount campus.” source
- What they did 2024 “By becoming part of EGA, the largest ‘premium aluminium’ producer in the world, we will unlock the next stage of our development in the fast-growing aluminum recycling industry. In the near term, this will allow us to accelerate our ongoing expansion project.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian listed software firm; not in US manufacturing trade or state MEP press swept.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian listed miner; outside US private manufacturer scope.
- Missed Satya Nadella US listed software firm; not a private manufacturer.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss listed pharma; outside scope.
- Missed Aaron Levie US listed software firm; not a private manufacturer.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian; outside US scope.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard US private apparel firm, but it does not appear in the trade outlets or Enterprise Minnesota issues swept.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian listed conglomerate; outside scope.
Route 62: Another sweep of Route 45: US behavioral health, therapy and specialty practice groups that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 45 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search specialty care trade press (Behavioral Health Business, Becker's specialty sections, Physician Practice, Medical Economics, PT in Motion, Healthcare Innovation) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US behavioral health provider, therapy practice group, or specialty physician practice (dermatology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, physical therapy) changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The behavioral health branch works again with fresh outlets and phrasings: PR Newswire and firm newsrooms paired with BHB interviews on payment-model and care-model changes yielded 3 new verified US names (Koh, Lee, Frank). The specialty physician branch (dermatology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, PT) again returned only vendor columns, M&A and MSO launches, and adviser explainers, so the route is narrowed to behavioral health.
Sources: Behavioral Health Business; Becker's Healthcare; Physician Practice; Medical Economics; Healthcare Innovation; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query through WebSearch (open web, allowed_domains prnewswire.com, bhbusiness.com, hcinnovationgroup.com, ascnews.com) gives story or release (joined on article URL)
- story through article body gives firm and quoted chief executive (joined on person name plus firm)
- firm through firm newsroom or PR Newswire release, or a second BHB story gives second dated source on the same act (joined on firm name)
- person through 2025-2026 release or BHB story role line gives control check (joined on name plus title (CEO, co-founder))
- act through earliest dated release gives signal year (joined on release date)
New names that passed every check
- April Koh, Spring Health (private mental health provider and platform, New York) ceo, United States
Moving a mental health provider off episodic care sold as access and onto an owned AI-led continuity layer sold on outcomes.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"Mental healthcare has always been treated as a series of one-off events. Context is lost, progress resets, and momentum breaks," said April Koh, co-founder and CEO of Spring Health.” source
- What they did 2026 “Today Spring Health, a global mental health company built on one AI-native platform, launches Guide, an AI-led experience with something no other mental health product has: clinical proof that it improves outcomes” source
- What they said 2026 “Selling to clinics was a dead end. If we hadn’t pivoted to employers when we did, Spring probably would’ve died. So we stopped selling the algorithm and started selling outcomes.” source
- What they did 2025 “Spring Health, the leading global mental health solution for employers and health plans, today unveiled its principled approach” source
- Joseph Lee, Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation (nonprofit addiction and mental health provider, 17 centers in 9 states, Center City, Minnesota) ceo, United States
Replacing one-off, clinician-by-clinician addiction treatment with one standardized, data-tracked co-occurring care model across a 76-year-old provider.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “No one else can match this combination of quality, consistency, and credibility," says Joseph Lee, M.D., President and CEO, Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.” source
- What they did 2025 “The expanded model of care goes well beyond the industry trend of "co-occurring care" and was fully implemented across Hazelden Betty Ford's entire system this month.” source
- What they said 2025 “What we have as a field is a lot of cherry-picked data, and a lot of care is, unfortunately, somewhat arbitrary, and they call it individualized care, but it’s one of one. You can’t replicate it, you can’t produce it, and it’s not where the rest of health care is.” source
- What they did 2025 “Across its 17 treatment centers spanning nine states, the nonprofit provider told Behavioral Health Business that this model will be used to standardize care” source
- Mark Frank, SonderMind (private mental health provider network, Denver) ceo, United States
Moving a therapist network from fee-for-service volume to outcome-paid care, on owned measurement and AI tools between sessions.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Mark Frank, CEO and co-founder of SonderMind, a mental health company that connects individuals with therapists and psychiatrists for in-person and virtual care, echoed much of what Pickett said.” source
- What they did 2026 ““We joined ACCESS because it aligns with where we think mental health reimbursement needs to go: paying for outcomes and care quality, not just volume,” Frank said.” source
- What they did 2025 “SonderMind , a leader in enabling a continuous care journey beyond the therapy session, today unveiled the SonderMind AI Suite.” source
- What they said 2026 “For years, we’ve been building infrastructure that goes beyond the traditional fee-for-service model: matching clients to the right therapists, tracking outcomes between sessions, and using technology to support clinical decision-making.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy; outside US behavioral health and specialty care trade press
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial firm; outside US scope and sector
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel; never covered by behavioral health or specialty practice trade press
- Missed Aaron Levie Box appears in healthcare press only as a software vendor, not as a provider changing its own care model
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma; Novartis appears in this press only as a drug maker, not a provider
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturing; outside sector
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; outside US scope
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in this press only as a vendor of AI scribes and Copilot, not as a provider
Route 63: Another sweep of Route 51: US agricultural cooperatives, ag retailers and agribusinesses that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 51 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search agriculture trade press (CropLife and CropLife 100, AgWeb and Farm Journal, Agri-Pulse, Successful Farming, Feedstuffs, NCFC co-op news, Rural Cooperatives) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US agricultural cooperative, ag retailer, grain or farm-supply business, or family agribusiness changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempt 2 of 3, PROCEED with 3 counted names. Attempt 1 swept ag trade press outlets S-51 did not use and found only staff-voiced change stories, CEO succession, mergers and one uncosted legal reorganization. Attempt 2 moved step 2 to the firm's own disclosure: earnings releases mirrored on stocktitan.net and SEC 8-K exhibits for small-cap US growers (Limoneira, Alico), and co-op restructure releases quoted in food trade press (Blue Diamond). These carry the CEO's own reasons and a dollar or job cost in one place.
Sources: CropLife; AgWeb; Agri-Pulse; Successful Farming; Feedstuffs; National Council of Farmer Cooperatives; press wires; co-op newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade story through Future Farmer, Agweek, ARA newsroom, Greenhouse Grower, Citrus Industry, FreshFruitPortal, Perishable News (WebSearch for Brownfield, World Grain, Dairy Herd, Feedstuffs, which block fetch) gives co-op, ag retailer, grower or family agribusiness (joined on firm name in story)
- firm through firm press room or newsroom (sunkist.com/en-us/press-room) gives dated change (joined on firm name plus announcement date)
- dated change through same story or a second outlet gives chief executive, founder or owner quoted on the change (joined on named speaker with title)
- leader through dated 2025-2026 role line in release or outlet; tenure check against CEO-succession news gives control check (joined on name plus firm)
- change through release, plant or capex story gives cost check and signal year (joined on dollar figure, plant, arm or headcount change with date)
New names that passed every check
- Harold Edwards, Limoneira Company (Santa Paula, California; Nasdaq LMNR, small-cap citrus and avocado grower) ceo, United States
Moved a 132-year-old lemon grower out of running its own citrus sales and marketing (staff transferred to Sunkist) and toward avocados and land monetization, booking about $7 million in transformation costs.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Harold Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, stated, “Third quarter results came in below our expectations due to lighter than anticipated lemon sales volume.” source
- What they did 2025 “The fourth quarter included strategic transformation costs totaling approximately $7 million , and these decisions are expected to yield approximately $10 million in savings and enhanced operational efficiencies in fiscal year 2026.” source
- What they did 2025 “We expect this partnership will begin in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 when our sales and marketing personnel and related administrative support will transfer to Sunkist.” source
- What they said 2025 “Now is the right time to rejoin. Both organizations have evolved, adapted, and strengthened” source
- John Kiernan, Alico, Inc. (Fort Myers, Florida; Nasdaq ALCO, one of the largest Florida citrus growers) ceo, United States
Wound down a century-old Florida citrus growing operation and rebuilt the firm as a diversified land company, taking $162.7 million of accelerated depreciation and $25 million of impairments to do it.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “John Kiernan, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, stated, “Fiscal year 2025 was a pivotal year in Alico's strategic evolution as we successfully made our transformation from a traditional citrus producer to a diversified land company.” source
- What they did 2025 “principally attributable to accelerated depreciation of $162.7 million, the impairment of our young trees and the impairment of certain long lived assets at one of our groves, of $25.0 million, as a result of our Strategic Transformation” source
- What they said 2025 “We’ve explored all available options to restore our citrus operations to profitability, but the long term production trend and the cost needed to combat citrus greening disease no longer supports our expectations for a recovery” source
- Kai Bockmann, Blue Diamond Growers (Sacramento, California; almond marketing cooperative of about 3,000 grower members) ceo, United States
Reorganized a 115-year-old almond co-op, first cutting and realigning corporate roles around a sales-growth strategy (2024), then closing its founding Sacramento plant and moving manufacturing to Turlock and Salida (2025, about 600 jobs).Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Plant employees were seen exiting the facility Friday morning after a meeting with Kai Bockmann, Blue Diamond Growers President and CEO.” source
- What they did 2025 “The move will begin later this year when roughly 10% of plant employees will exit. The move will then take place in phases during the next 18 to 24 months. An estimated 600 team members will be impacted.” source
- What they did 2024 “In response, Blue Diamond has outlined a robust growth strategy focusing on sales enhancement and market expansion, necessitating organizational adjustments to better align with these objectives.” source
- What they said 2025 “The challenges of running a plant from these historical buildings has become too costly and inefficient. Streamlining our manufacturing plants is the right business move to further strengthen our market-leading position and bring increased value to our grower members.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is enterprise software; no story in US ag trade press or co-op newsrooms surfaced him.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in ag press only as a vendor to co-ops; not a co-op, ag retailer or agribusiness leader.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian e-commerce CEO; out of scope for a US ag co-op and agribusiness sweep.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian; his cattle holdings are outside US ag trade press and the route is US only.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; out of scope for the US sweep.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; out of scope for the US ag sweep.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is apparel; its regenerative-ag sourcing did not surface in the outlets swept.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO; out of scope.
Route 64: Another sweep of Route 32: US law firms and legal services businesses led by a chair or founder who redesigned the firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 32 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search US legal trade press (LawSites, Legaltech News headlines, ABA Journal, Bloomberg Law news headlines, Texas Lawyer, Law360 Pulse headlines, Attorney at Work, Arizona ABS directory) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US law firm, alternative legal services provider, or Arizona or Utah licensed legal business changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The sweep works only after leaving the personal injury MSO spine that S-32 and S-40 exhausted. Bloomberg Law reports that estate, immigration and insurance defense firms are now taking MSO money, and that pointer, plus specialty-firm newsrooms (patent, immigration, estate) and new-model firm coverage, gave four new US names. LawSites, ABA Journal and Attorney at Work again gave mostly vendors, surveys and big-firm innovation staff.
Sources: LawSites (lawnext.com); ABA Journal; Legaltech News; Attorney at Work; Arizona ABS Directory; Utah Office of Legal Services Innovation; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase query through Bloomberg Law, ABA Journal, LawSites, Artificial Lawyer, Non-Billable (WebSearch with allowed_domains) gives story (joined on story URL)
- story through story text gives firm (joined on firm name (non-PI sub-sector: patent, immigration, estate, insurance defense, new-model))
- firm through firm newsroom or wire release gives founder, chair or managing partner (joined on person name plus title)
- person through dated 2025-2026 firm release, bio or wire copy gives control (joined on title line (co-managing partner, co-chairman, founder))
- person through second outlet or firm page gives costly act and signal year (joined on dated department, affiliate, capital raise or structure)
New names that passed every check
- John Harrity, Harrity & Harrity, LLP (Fairfax, Virginia patent firm) owner, United States
Rebuilding a patent prosecution firm around in-house software and AI tools, dedicated drafting teams and production-based pay instead of the billable hour.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “today announced that John Harrity and Paul Gurzo have been named Co-Managing Partners, effective January 1, 2026” source
- What they did 2018 “establishing an in-house analytics department in 2014 and a dedicated software department in 2018” source
- What they did 2026 “Team members choose when, where, and how much they work, with compensation tied to efficiency and production rather than face time.” source
- What they said 2026 “Now the industry is being reinvented by AI, and the next several years will define which firms set the standard and which firms follow.” source
- Greg Siskind, Siskind Susser, PC (Memphis immigration firm) and Visalaw.ai owner, United States
Running an immigration firm that builds its own AI through a firm-founded sister company and is redesigning its workforce around what the tools now do.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “says Greg Siskind, co-founder of both Siskind Susser and Visalaw.ai” source
- What they did 2022 “the immigration firm Siskind Susser and its technology affiliate Visalaw.Ai have entered into a collaboration agreement with the legal technology and publishing company Fastcase” source
- What they did 2025 “He says the firm has saved so much time and effort that it has opted to spend many hours training the team in using the tools, along with doing strategic planning on redesigning their workforce” source
- What they said 2022 “We are excited that lawyers relying on our Cookbook will now have a case management system customized to match the systems in the book” source
- Michael Pierson, Pierson Ferdinand LLP owner, United States
Built a 300-partner firm with no associates and no offices, using AI for junior work and a formula pay system, as a break from the leveraged Big Law model.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Michael Pierson serves as Co-Chairman of Pierson Ferdinand, a full-service law firm with hundreds of partners in 90+ practice areas” source
- What they did 2025 “a fully distributed, fully remote, partner-only law firm that uses AI to replace "almost all of the junior level work."” source
- What they did 2026 “Over the last twelve months, we proved the efficiency of our Partner-led, tech-enabled model in meeting growing client demands, empowering Partners to provide elite legal services at scale.” source
- What they said 2026 “From our founding in 2024, AI and other technologies have been deeply embedded in our practices and operations” source
- Jamie Hargrove, Hargrove Firm (Hargrove Online, PLLC) and NetLaw / Hargrove MSO owner, United States
Turned an estate planning practice into a national, technology-run firm delivered through wealth advisers, funding the platform with outside capital in a separate company.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Hargrove Firm, founded by Jamie Hargrove, a former BigLaw partner, provides malpractice-backed, attorney-led estate planning in all 50 states” source
- What they did 2022 “We knew we had something special. We raised $30 million in private equity to launch NetLaw.com.” source
- What they did 2025 “Conditor Equity finalized an agreement Dec. 5 to invest in NetLaw, a digital management services organization used by wealth advisory firms to access Hargrove Firm’s legal services.” source
- What they said 2022 “We’re going to be able to do thousands because the technology gives us the ability to scale the practice of law.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is apparel; its ownership move never appears in US legal trade press as a law-firm redesign.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is Canadian and not a legal services business; route is US law firms only.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box appears in legal press only as a vendor, never as a firm redesigning its own legal practice.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears only as a vendor (Copilot) in the receipts, not as the redesigning firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; Reliance is not a legal services business.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food company; outside the legal sector.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss pharma; outside the legal sector.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian manufacturing; outside the legal sector and the US.
Route 65: Another sweep of Route 33: US chief executives of mid-sized and private firms who published an operating memo rewriting how the firm works
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 33 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search published chief-executive memos and the coverage of them (company blogs and newsrooms, Axios Pro, Business Insider and Fortune headlines, Inc. and Fast Company, Every.to and Lenny's Newsletter interviews) where a chief executive tells staff how the work itself will change for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US mid-sized or private company (revenue roughly 50 million to 5 billion dollars) changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 2 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · signal led recognition by a median 0 years (2 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Revised: the CEO-memo genre is exhausted for US mid-sized firms; what yields is CEO-voiced structural deal stories in banking trade press (build partnerships, charter or fintech acquisitions) with the firm's release or a second trade outlet as the second source.
Sources: company blogs and newsrooms; Inc.; Fast Company; Fortune; Axios; Every.to; press wires
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- news story or tracker entry through CNBC, Fortune, American Banker, SF Standard (Charter), memo compilations gives firm (joined on firm name in headline)
- firm through same story gives chief executive quoted on the change (joined on CEO name plus firm in quoted attribution)
- chief executive through second outlet (American Banker) or firm release gives second dated source (joined on name plus firm)
- chief executive through 2026 story naming the person as CEO gives control check (joined on title line dated 2025-2026)
- change through same stories gives cost and signal year (joined on contract, agents built, hours saved, efficiency target, earliest year)
New names that passed every check
- Sam Sidhu, Customers Bancorp (Customers Bank, West Reading, Pennsylvania; $25.9 billion assets) ceo, United States
Rebuilding a mid-sized commercial bank as an AI-native bank, with OpenAI engineers embedded on site to turn lending, deposits and payments into end-to-end agent-led workflows.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The leader of the $25.9 billion asset lender laid out the reasoning behind his stunt: Sidhu was seeking to draw attention to the AI-enabled shift underway at Customers Bank.” source
- What they did 2026 “Customers Bank has signed a multiyear partnership with OpenAI in which the AI giant will embed engineers at the company to help it automate lending and client onboarding, CNBC has learned exclusively.” source
- What they said 2026 “"The execution of this call itself is a live demonstration of what we mean when we say AI is not an experiment at Customers Bank," Sidhu said. "We will be using it to transform our company."” source
- What they did 2026 “Sidhu said that more than 500 agents and custom AI models have been built by Customers' employees, including about two dozen in the past two weeks.” source
- What they said 2026 “"When you have an autonomous agent, you're essentially creating a digital worker … and they can work around the clock," Sidhu said.” source
- Chris Britt, Chime Financial (San Francisco; 2026 revenue guidance about $2.76 billion) ceo, United States
Turning a fintech that ran on partner banks into a chartered bank it owns, buying Stride Bank so product, compliance and lending run in one stack under its own control.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Chime CEO and co-founder Chris Britt said the acquisition will strengthen the company’s model” source
- What they did 2026 “Fintech Chime has entered an agreement to acquire Enid, Oklahoma-based Stride Bank for $590 million in cash” source
- What they said 2026 “When we look at all the innovation, how quickly things are changing in the age of AI, we have to have full control of the product output and delivery cycle.” source
- What they said 2026 “We are at a size and a scale when we need to have complete control of our destiny,” source
- Ira Robbins, Valley National Bancorp (Wayne, New Jersey; $66 billion assets) ceo, United States
Rewiring a relationship-led regional bank around an owned digital small-business arm and in-house engineering, so funding and software no longer depend on wholesale markets and outside vendors.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Ira Robbins, Valley’s Chairman, President & CEO commented that, “The acquisition of Bluevine directly advances the strategic priorities we have previously communicated to our shareholders.” source
- What they did 2026 “The bank will gain about 180 Bluevine research-and-development employees and engineers, and more in-house capabilities will reduce the bank’s reliance on third-party providers and improve its speed to market, Robbins said.” source
- What they said 2026 “Small-business entrepreneurs are less price-sensitive than larger commercial clients, "and the Bluevine model has really proven that out when you look at what they're paying" for deposits, Robbins said.” source
- What they said 2026 “Bluevine’s engineering, product, data science and AI talent will help accelerate Valley’s long-term technology strategy, which includes a focus on broader development of internal capabilities and less reliance on third-party software and service providers.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia ownership change is 2022 and not a staff memo; absent from every receipt.
- Missed Satya Nadella Appears in Fortune only as a general quote about AI and colleagues, not a memo rewriting how Microsoft works; Fortune 100 is outside the band anyway.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil, pre-2024; not in any receipt.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland; not in any receipt.
- Found Aaron Levie (signal in 2025) Box AI-first memo, 2025, in the Every memo compilation. Famous; downstream.
- Found Tobi Lutke (signal in 2025) The memo that started the genre (April 2025). Canadian, so the live US filter drops him.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; not in any receipt.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia; not in any receipt.
Route 66: Another sweep of Route 34: US independent marketing, advertising and communications agencies that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 34 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search agency trade press (Ad Age, Adweek, Digiday, The Drum, PRWeek US, O'Dwyer's, MediaPost, 4A's news) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US independent advertising, marketing, PR or media agency changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Second sweep of the US independent agency route using outlets S-34 did not use. The working spine is the MM+M Agency 100 (one index page links 100 dated agency profiles, all open with --text), plus press-wire releases and agency newsroom bylines for the leader's own voice. Provoke and Campaign US return 403 even through Jina. Yield is lower than S-34: 3 names from about 123 receipts.
Sources: Ad Age; Adweek; Digiday; The Drum; PRWeek; O'Dwyer's; MediaPost; press wires; agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase query or annual roster through MM+M 2026 Agency 100 index; WebSearch over press wires (prnewswire, globenewswire, einpresswire) and the open web gives agency story or profile (joined on story URL or mmm-online.com/companydetail/<agency>-agency-100-2026/ slug)
- agency story or profile through fetch.mjs --text on the profile or release; keep profiles whose fact box says Status Independent and whose body names a firm-wide change gives agency and leader quoted (joined on agency name plus leader title in the body (founder, owner, president and CEO))
- agency and leader through agency newsroom byline or release (broadheadco.com/news, specificityinc.com/news), vendor partner release (pubmatic.com/news), or a second roster (Adweek AI Power 50) gives leader own-voice quote and dated act at a second URL (joined on agency name plus act keyword (platform name, campaign, launch))
- leader through agency team or about page, founder bio, or the dated 2025-2026 release title line gives control check (joined on person name on the firm domain)
- act through the earliest dated release or byline that describes the act gives signal year (joined on date line of the release or byline)
New names that passed every check
- Dean Broadhead, broadhead (100% independent marketing agency, Minneapolis, 145 employees) owner, United States
Rebuilt how his 145-person independent agency does scoping, briefs, media planning and design by building and running its own AI platform, Butter, as the daily backbone of the work.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Dean Broadhead Founder & CEO, broadhead The proprietary AI platforms built by Dean Broadhead have reshaped his namesake agency’s internal and external operations.” source
- What they did 2024 “Last summer, we launched “Butter,” our proprietary, OpenAI-powered tool, and it already shows promise of being the most consequential advancement to benefit our clients in a generation.” source
- What they did 2025 “Today, more than 80% of employees use his signature GPT, Butter, to hash out scope, briefs, media planning, and more, with adoption more than doubling in the second half of 2025.” source
- What they said 2025 “This isn’t about jumping on the AI bandwagon just because it’s the new shiny object. We’re in this to help our people work smarter, not harder.” source
- What they said 2025 “A year ago, we looked generative AI in-the-eye and said, “We’re all in,” and it’s been a great decision that we’d make again and again.” source
- Kimberly Jones, Butler/Till (100% employee-owned media and marketing agency, Rochester, New York) ceo, United States
Moved her employee-owned agency toward media buying carried out by AI agents and hired its first chief product officer to build its own tools, so a mid-sized independent can compete with holding-company scale.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Under Kimberly’s leadership, Butler/Till has reached impressive milestones, including transitioning to a 100% employee-owned company, opening an office in New York City” source
- What they did 2025 “Butler/Till submitted a natural language brief through Claude, Anthropic’s Gen AI platform, and PubMatic’s agents interpreted the brief, generated the media strategy, initiated campaign setup” source
- What they did 2025 “There’s definitely still human ingenuity in the campaign, but we are directing AI agents to actually make the transaction.” source
- What they said 2026 “And in order to keep pace, we need to build proprietary tools and products. By hiring a chief product officer who’s got such a depth of knowledge in media and technology, it’s going to help us really compete with much larger agencies” source
- Jason A. Wood, Specificity, Inc. (OTC: SPTY; digital marketing agency, Sarasota, Florida) owner, United States
Is turning his small listed digital agency from a buyer of ad tech into a builder and owner of its own AI stack, and now sells AI buildouts clients own as a new revenue line.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jason A. Wood is the majority owner of one of the most innovative digital marketing firms in the United States, Specificity, Inc.” source
- What they did 2025 “Began designing, training, and refining a proprietary AI-powered marketing technology stack entirely in-house – now nearing launch.” source
- What they did 2026 “We have gone all in on AI and the actual buildout and ownership of the technology. We are using AI to deliver for our clients but are now offering AI buildouts our clients can own.” source
- What they said 2026 “Our bet for the future is that to be successful in the new paradigm, using AI will not be enough. Agencies will need to fully understand, build and evolve AI applications to keep up with both growing demand and evolving market conditions.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke runs Shopify (Canada), a commerce platform, not a US agency. The route joins agency story -> agency head, so it cannot reach this person. Miss by con
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya owns Chobani, a food producer; appears in agency press only as an advertiser. The route joins agency story -> agency head, so it cannot reach this
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; outside the route by sector and geography. The route joins agency story -> agency head, so it cannot reach this person. Miss
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in agency press as a platform and vendor, never as an agency redesigning itself. The route joins agency story -> agency head, so
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO; in MM+M he would appear only as a client of health agencies. The route joins agency story -> agency head, so it cannot reach th
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie Box is enterprise software, not a marketing, PR or media agency. The route joins agency story -> agency head, so it cannot reach this person. Miss b
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; not an agency and not US. The route joins agency story -> agency head, so it cannot reach this person. Miss by constr
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy; not an agency. The route joins agency story -> agency head, so it cannot reach this person. Miss by construct
Route 67: Another sweep of Route 25: US insurance agencies, brokers, MGAs and mutual carriers that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 25 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search insurance trade press (Insurance Journal, Carrier Management, Insurance Business America, Digital Insurance, Coverager, Risk & Insurance, Independent Agent magazine) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US insurance agency, broker, managing general agent, regional or mutual carrier changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: Insurance Journal; Carrier Management; Insurance Business America; Digital Insurance; Coverager; Risk & Insurance; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award year or monthly feature index through Agent for the Future award winner pages (Liberty Mutual, agentforthefuture.com) and Rough Notes Agency of the Month archive gives agency write-up (joined on agency name)
- agency write-up through winner citation or cover story text (fetch.mjs --text) gives US agency that changed how its own work gets done (roles, hours, AI in core service, in-house producers) (joined on agency name)
- agency through the owner's own byline on agentforthefuture.com, the Rough Notes cover story, or an IBA interview gives founder or CEO quoted on why the old model had a limit (joined on agency name + owner name)
- person through dated 2025-2026 page naming the title (Rough Notes 2025-2026, IBA 2026, firm newsletter 2026) gives control check (joined on person name)
- agency change through award citation or feature with the dated act (32-hour week, 18-month AI rollout, contractor-to-employee switch, wholesale restructure) gives cost check and signal year (joined on agency name + year)
New names that passed every check
- Jeff Arnold, RIGHTSURE (independent personal-lines agency, Arizona, licensed in 42 states) owner, United States
Founder rebuilding a 42-state personal-lines agency so AI handles nearly every customer-facing and operational process while staff are coached in real time, framed as customer advocacy rather than a cost cut.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jeff Arnold has been in insurance for over 30 years and founded his agency RightSure in 2007.” source
- What they did 2025 “In the past 18 months, RIGHTSURE integrated AI into nearly every customer-facing and operational process.” source
- What they said 2026 “Arnold says the goal is not underwriting gain or cost reduction, but customer advocacy.” source
- What they said 2024 “We wanted a solution that aligns with our mission of delivering an exceptional customer experience while preventing clients from waiting on hold” source
- Michael Cruz, Foresight Insurance, LLC (independent agency, North Bethesda, Maryland) owner, United States
Owner who rebuilt a small agency around a 32-hour, four-day week by standardizing procedures, pooling work into four team types and adding AI tools, to prove an agency can grow without burning out its people.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “That one word describes how Foresight Insurance Founder and Principal Agent Michael Cruz has run his agency since he started it in 2015.” source
- What they did 2024 “And third, they moved to a four-day workweek, reducing hours from 40 to 32, and emphasizing productivity over total hours worked.” source
- What they said 2025 “Most agencies are operating under an old model that silos employees and functions” source
- What they said 2025 “Almost no one else in the industry is doing this” source
- Mark Rodgers, Trailstone Insurance Group (independent agency, Littleton, Colorado; 67 staff in seven states) owner, United States
Founder turning a mom-and-pop agency into a layered firm where AI and automation do the first tier of work, offshore staff the second, and US staff only advise, because he judged a small agency would be left behind.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In this episode, our CEO, Mark Rodgers sits with Andy Neary on the Accelerate Your Insurance Sales podcast” source
- What they said 2025 “To compete with future players like Amazon and Google, agencies would need scale and technology. I realized that if Trailstone stayed small, we could be left behind.” source
- What they did 2025 “by 2023, Mark made a pivotal decision to transition from working with independent contractors to hiring in-house producers.” source
- What they did 2024 “They also hired 16 offshore employees to further improve customer service.” source
- What they said 2026 “Step 1 is AI and Automation, Step 2 is Offshore Virtual Employees” source
- Jay Mueller, Camargo Insurance (third-generation independent agency, Cincinnati, Ohio) ceo, United States
Third-generation owner who tore down a partner-run agency whose model had capped out and rebuilt it around a recruited sales team, an integrated AMS-CRM, EOS and fractional C-suite leaders.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “CEO of Camargo Insurance, shares what the Camargo Difference is by highlighting our commitment to personal, local service right here in Cincinnati.” source
- What they said 2024 “We needed a wholesale restructuring of the operation. This included making big changes in Camargo” source
- What they did 2023 “Five years ago, the agency leaders at Camargo decided to completely restructure the agency to drive long-term growth.” source
- What they said 2024 “It was a successful operation, but the growth potential of that model had reached its limit.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia; Fortescue is not a US insurance agency, broker, MGA or carrier, so step 2 drops it
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland; Novartis is not an insurance firm
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; Semco is not a US insurance firm and is absent from these award and trade indexes
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is not an insurance firm
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada; Shopify is not an insurance firm
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is not an insurance firm
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; Reliance is not covered by US agency trade press
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in insurance press only as a vendor
Route 68: Another sweep of Route 24: US healthcare services firms (physician groups, home health, dental and veterinary groups, labs) that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 24 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search healthcare services trade press (Becker's Hospital Review and Becker's ASC and Dental, Fierce Healthcare, Healthcare Dive, Modern Healthcare headlines, Home Health Care News, Hospice News, MedCity News) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US healthcare services firm, physician group, home health or hospice operator, dental or veterinary group, or lab company changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 6 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: Becker's Healthcare (beckershospitalreview.com, beckersasc.com, beckersdental.com); Fierce Healthcare; Healthcare Dive; Home Health Care News; Hospice News; MedCity News; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query through WebSearch with allowed_domains (prnewswire.com, medicaleconomics.com, nceo.org, homehealthcarenews.com, hospicenews.com, dvm360.com, todaysveterinarybusiness.com, veterinarypracticenews.com) gives story or release (joined on article URL)
- story through article or release body gives firm and quoted leader (joined on person name plus firm)
- firm through second outlet or firm release on the same act gives dated costly change (joined on firm name plus event)
- person through firm site or dated 2025-2026 release gives control check (joined on title line)
- firm through earliest dated release or story gives signal year (joined on firm name plus date)
New names that passed every check
- Nicholas Grosso, The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics (physician-owned orthopaedic group, Bethesda, Maryland) and MedVanta (its physician-owned MSO) owner, United States
Keeping orthopaedic care physician-owned by merging 20-plus independent practices under one tax ID and then selling that operating model to other practices through a physician-owned MSO.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Since that point, those challenges have only accelerated," said Dr. Nicholas Grosso , President of MedVanta and CAO.” source
- What they did 2022 “Now the nation's largest physician-owned and led organization of its kind, MedVanta's suite of solutions go beyond that of a traditional management services organization, and are designed by independent physicians, for independent physicians.” source
- What they said 2019 “Most private equity firms want to name a CEO or negotiate the rights so they are calling the shots. We didn’t want to avoid being owned by a hospital only to end up owned by Wall Street,” source
- What they did 2019 “Practices in the group function under the same tax ID number, and what started as 24 practices is now up to 160, with each practice allowed a great deal of autonomy.” source
- David Hoe, MOVES Managed Services (Mobile Veterinary Specialists and HomewardVet; family- and employee-owned, Davidson, North Carolina) owner, United States
Moving veterinary specialists out of the referral-hospital employment model into mobile practices they own as franchisees, then extending the same owned-franchise model to house-call general practice.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “MOVES Managed Services (MMS) is a family- and employee-owned company founded in 2018 by David and Lori Hoe.” source
- What they did 2024 “By launching the franchise option, we are demonstrating our commitment to help more veterinary specialists break free from the referral hospital employment model and achieve their dreams of career autonomy while being supported by the MOVES community.” source
- What they did 2025 “For an investment as low as $30,000 , this franchise-only model will enable more veterinarians to realize their dreams of professional independence, while benefiting from the organizational support of the MOVES network.” source
- Ben Bledsoe, Consumer Direct Care Network (Consumer Direct Holdings, in-home care, Missoula, Montana) ceo, United States
Moving a large Medicaid in-home care company into caregiver ownership through an employee ownership trust instead of an IPO or a private equity sale.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In a company press release about this exciting transition, CDCN CEO and President, Ben Bledsoe, shared,” source
- What they did 2025 “As part of the transition, CDCN is now Certified Employee-Owned, with more than 30% of the company dedicated to employee ownership.” source
- What they did 2025 “That focus shaped the company’s exploration and rejection of other options, such as going public or being acquired by a private equity investor.” source
- What they said 2025 ““The people who dedicate their lives to providing care deserve better than boardroom decisions that put profit over people,” he said.” source
- Dew-Anne Langcaon, Vivia Cares Inc. (in-home care, Honolulu, Hawaii; co-founded out of Ho'okele Health Innovations) owner, United States
Replacing hourly home care with task-based billing: caregivers on guaranteed 40-hour weeks with company cars visit 8 to 10 clients a day and clients pay per task, not per hour.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Vivia was developed nearly 20 years ago by Hoʻokele Home Care co-founders Bonnie Castonguay and Dew-Anne Langcaon.” source
- What they did 2026 “In response, Vivia decided to give caregivers guaranteed 40-hour workweeks, a 30% raise and a company car.” source
- What they said 2026 ““We had been a traditional hourly home care agency at the time for 15 years, and we said, this is just not working,” Langcaon said.” source
- What they said 2026 “Our mission is to transform home care with innovative models of in-home services paired with technologies to make it feasible for all seniors to live independently at home” source
- Dipesh Patel, Blueprint Smiles (doctor-owned dental group, nine locations, Georgia) owner, United States
Rebuilding the dental office around the operatory as a mini-practice with no treatment or financial coordinators, offshore remote admin teams and its own assisting schools, funded without private equity.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The company remains privately held, doctor-owned, and bank-funded, with multiple owner-doctors already on board and more to come.” source
- What they did 2026 “There are no treatment or financial coordinators. Each operatory functions as its own mini-practice, where clinical team members diagnose, treatment-plan, schedule, finance, and complete care.” source
- What they did 2025 “We’re international to some extent, with a team in Zimbabwe and another being built in the Philippines, alongside our local team supporting all our offices and leadership.” source
- What they said 2025 ““If I take care of my people the right way, they have less burnout, they enjoy their work, and they can provide better care for patients,” he explains.” source
- Kathleen Benton, Georgia Care Innovators (new nonprofit parent of Hospice Savannah, Savannah, Georgia) ceo, United States
Turning a single-service community hospice into a holding structure of eight owned entities (PACE, palliative care, caregiver institute, mobility, aging-in-place) that serve people long before hospice.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The Hospice Savannah brand did not sufficiently illustrate the full continuum of care that the Georgia-based nonprofit provides, according to CEO Kathleen Benton.” source
- What they did 2026 “The hospice itself will remain intact as a subsidiary of the new organization, along with seven other entities. These include the Edel Caregiver Institute, The Steward Center for Palliative Care, Ride-Well Mobility, PACE Georgia,” source
- What they did 2026 “Most recently, we brought PACE to Georgia because we saw older adults struggling to remain independent in a healthcare system that often makes aging more difficult than it needs to be.” source
- What they said 2026 “Most importantly, it tells a story about a community that has never been satisfied with accepting things as they are.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in this trade press only as a vendor (Nuance DAX, Azure); not a US healthcare services operator
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya US food maker; not a healthcare services firm, absent from healthcare services trade press
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO; outside the route (US services operators only)
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian commerce software; outside the route
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; outside the route
- Missed Yvon Chouinard US outdoor apparel; not a healthcare services firm
- Missed Aaron Levie Enterprise software vendor; outside the route
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial; outside the route
Route 69: Another sweep of Route 26: US construction contractors and engineering firms that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 26 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search construction and engineering trade press (ENR, Construction Dive, For Construction Pros, Building Design+Construction, Civil + Structural Engineer, Zweig Group news, Architect's Newspaper) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US general contractor, specialty contractor, engineering or architecture-engineering firm changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Second construction and engineering sweep on outlets S-26 did not use (EC&M Top 50, ENR Top 500 and Top 225 design overviews, ENR regional Contractor of the Year, BD+C Giants roundup, Jax Daily Record, Construction Dive Q&A on a family contractor). One future-legend name met the bar in attempt 1; list overviews quote CEOs on markets, not on their own redesigns.
Sources: ENR (enr.com); Construction Dive; For Construction Pros; Building Design+Construction; Zweig Group; press wires; firm newsrooms; ESOP announcements (NCEO)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase query through WebSearch restricted to trade outlets (ecmweb.com, enr.com, bdcnetwork.com, constructiondive.com, forconstructionpros.com, contractormag.com, constructionexec.com) gives story (joined on story URL)
- story through trade story body gives firm and quoted leader (joined on firm name plus 'CEO' role line)
- firm through regional business paper or permit story (jaxdailyrecord.com) and firm newsroom gives dated cost and second voice (joined on firm name plus project or act)
- leader through firm newsroom release with role line gives control check (joined on full name plus title)
New names that passed every check
- Nick Largura, Superior Construction (family-owned infrastructure contractor, Jacksonville, Fla.) owner, United States
Replacing the slow traditional path into the trades with an owned, in-house apprenticeship and training campus so crews move up faster.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As CEO of a fourth-generation family business, he’s guiding his firm toward the next step of drumming up excitement for careers in construction.” source
- What they did 2026 “The city is reviewing a building permit application for Stellar Group Inc. to construct the training facility at 7080 Business Park Blvd. at an estimated project cost of $8.25 million.” source
- What they said 2026 “And if you take the traditional path of entering into the trades, you only have so much upward mobility annually, which limits your ability to get to a really comfortable place financially in life.” source
- What they said 2026 “This facility allows us to expand hands-on training, invest in technology and create more opportunities for employees to learn, grow and advance throughout their careers.” source
- Dave Kievet, The Boldt Group (Appleton, Wis., 100% employee-owned contractor, 18 US offices) ceo, United States
Moving a 135-year-old general contractor toward industrialized construction by founding an owned modular and prefabrication manufacturer and restructuring the group around the whole built-environment value chain.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Appointed president and CEO of Appleton-based construction company The Boldt Group in February 2024, Dave Kievet has more than 35 years of experience across operations, strategy and enterprise leadership.” source
- What they did 2025 “Dave started to put together the architecture of what our modular business could look like and really wanted to invest in it from a company level,” source
- What they said 2025 “Bildt can deliver higher-quality work at a lower cost, with complex work broken down into simpler tasks that can be learned quickly in a manufacturing environment.” source
- What they did 2026 “He led Boldt’s transition to 100% employee ownership in early 2026 as well as the organizational restructuring to span the breadth of services within the built environment” source
- What they said 2026 “We exist for one reason, and that is to create extraordinary opportunities for people so that they can create their best lives.” source
- Brett Diamond, DeAngelis Diamond (Naples, Fla. general contractor, 326 employees) and its AI offshoot Future Bylt executive, United States
Turning a family-founded general contractor into a builder with its own AI software company, putting agents in every department and planning to sell the tools to other contractors.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Meet Our Founders David Diamond Co-Founder | CEO | Co-Chairman John DeAngelis Co-Founder | Co-Chairman Our Leadership Reggie Morgan President | Principal Brett Diamond CAO | Principal” source
- What they did 2025 “It founded an offshoot company, Future Bylt, in April 2025 that’s devoted to it. Future Bylt already has grown from six to 18 employees and is developing AI-powered software.” source
- What they said 2026 “When you have a separate company, you have a better way to track the financials of it and do a lot more research and development.” source
- What they did 2026 “By deploying agents across every department at DeAngelis Diamond, building custom AI integrations, and developing purpose-built web applications, FUTUREintel transforms how teams work, decide, and deliver” source
- What they said 2026 “Talent in construction is very scarce. We’re trying to figure out how to overcome that with this platform. There’s some really cool stuff that’s happening.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker; it appears in construction press only as a plant owner, not as a contractor or AE firm redesign.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel firm, outside a US contractor and engineering sweep.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining group; route is US contractors and AE firms only.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a software vendor; at most a supplier in construction press.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil-based industrial firm, outside the route's geography and sector.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in construction press only as a data center client.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is Indian; outside the route.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss pharma; outside the route.
Route 70: Another sweep of Route 52: Regional business press: US mid-market chief executives who rebuilt how their firm works
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 52 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search regional and state business press (Crain's editions, Twin Cities Business, Utah Business, Texas CEO Magazine, Colorado Biz, Indianapolis Business Journal, state business journals, Smart CEO and state CEO-of-the-year and innovation award write-ups; bizjournals.com only where it fetches) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US mid-sized or private company in any sector changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Works weakly as revised: regional business press supplies the dated CEO-voiced act (In Business Phoenix, San Diego Business Journal), and the firm's own wire releases supply the 2025-2026 control line and later costly act. Lists, awards and roundtables gave 0 names over three attempts. One of three names (Kopko) came off-route from a firm wire release.
Sources: Crain's regional editions; Twin Cities Business; Utah Business; Indianapolis Business Journal; state business journals; state award write-ups; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- mechanism or list query through WebSearch with allowed_domains on regional outlets not used by S-52 (inbusinessphx.com, azbigmedia.com, hawaiibusiness.com, businessreport.com, insideindianabusiness.com, crainsnewyork.com, ocbj.com, sdbj.com, seattlebusinessmag.com, lanereport.com, floridatrend.com, columbusceo.com, vermontbiz.com, pbn.com, bizneworleans.com, virginiabusiness.com) gives regional story or multi-profile leaders list (joined on story URL)
- regional story or list entry through same page fetched with fetch.mjs --text gives firm and its CEO, founder or managing partner, with the named change (joined on '<Name>, CEO of <Firm>' line)
- firm through firm newsroom or press-release page (or a second regional outlet) for the same act gives leader's own words on why the old model has a limit, at a distinct URL (joined on firm name plus act name)
- leader through dated 2025-2026 page naming the role (firm bio or bylined 2026 post, 2026 regional leaders list) gives control check (joined on name plus title)
- act through earliest dated release or story of the act gives signal year (joined on publication date)
New names that passed every check
- James Goodnow, Fennemore (Fennemore Craig, P.C.; Phoenix-based Am Law 200 law firm, privately owned by its shareholders) ceo, United States
Rebuilding a century-old law firm's delivery, pricing and labor model around a firm-wide AI system, flat and alternative fees, and a combination with an automation-driven flat-rate boutique.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “he became the youngest known chief executive of a major law firm in U.S. history when he started in his current role in 2018.” source
- What they did 2024 “announced the launch of Project BlueWave, an ambitious technology initiative designed to revolutionize legal services through the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and flat- and alternative-fee pricing.” source
- What they said 2024 “AI presents the greatest opportunity in our lifetime to rethink how we deliver legal services and provide better value to clients.” source
- What they did 2024 “To accelerate this initiative, Fennemore is combining with Lucent Law, a technology-driven boutique law firm in Spokane, Washington, effective October 1.” source
- Ralph Thomas, Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI), San Diego casino analytics software firm, privately held, co-founded 2020 ceo, United States
Replaced a management layer at his own software firm with an in-house generative AI operations engine (Jarvis) that runs project management and task escalation, then grew the firm by buying VizExplorer's IP and team.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Dr. Ralph Thomas is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Quick Custom Intelligence.” source
- What they did 2023 “Jarvis will be responsible for project management and task escalation. He currently reads and processes all the CEO’s emails.” source
- What they said 2023 “this democratizes our company by allowing organization and management skills to be facilitated, thus empowering our team members and removing the need for an additional management layer.” source
- What they did 2025 “By combining QCI’s innovation with VizExplorer’s intellectual property and operational depth, we have created a leadership team and technology stack that is unmatched” source
- Edward Kopko, Bold Business LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida, privately held workforce solutions and outsourcing firm he founded in 2015 owner, United States
Rebuilt his staffing firm's operating model so every associate works with a proprietary AI workbench and a dedicated AI integration team, selling outcomes instead of headcount.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Bold Business was founded in 2015 by seasoned workforce solutions executive, Edward Kopko, Bold’s Chief Executive.” source
- What they did 2025 “a suite of more than 150 proprietary AI tools, and is supported by a dedicated AI integration team and real-time performance systems.” source
- What they said 2025 “Companies don’t just need people; they need performance. And they want employees using AI tools. So we rebuilt everything” source
- What they said 2025 “And we’ve just done something bolder, our AI-Amplified Talent model. The people we place show up with the skills you’d expect, plus the AI tools and training to actually work faster and smarter.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a large private food maker; no 2024-2026 story in the fetchable regional outlets swept (Greater Phoenix In Business, AZ Big Media, Hawaii Business, B
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; outside the US regional press universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada; outside the US regional press universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia; outside the US regional press universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; outside the US regional press universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Mega-cap public company; Puget Sound coverage is bizjournals (403) and Seattle Business magazine had no Nadella redesign story in the sweep.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland; outside the US regional press universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public company; Bay Area regional coverage is bizjournals (403); no Box story in the swept outlets.
Route 71: Another sweep of Route 50: US auto, truck and equipment dealer groups that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 50 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search dealer trade press (Automotive News, CBT News, Auto Remarketing, Dealer Magazine, WardsAuto dealer coverage, Equipment World dealer coverage, Farm Equipment dealer news) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US auto dealer group, truck or heavy-equipment dealer changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The listed outlets (CBT, WardsAuto, Auto Remarketing, Farm Equipment) were S-50's and were not re-swept. New outlets did the work: the Car Dealership Guy newsletter and podcast recaps (news.dealershipguy.com, full text, 200) for auto dealers, and DTN/Progressive Farmer plus the firm newsroom for farm equipment. Truck, construction, RV and marine dealer press again quoted OEMs, vendors and managers.
Sources: Automotive News; CBT News; Auto Remarketing; WardsAuto; Equipment World; Farm Equipment; press wires; dealer group newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade story through Car Dealership Guy podcast recaps and newsletter; DTN/Progressive Farmer equipment desk gives dealer group or equipment dealer (joined on group name in the story)
- dealer group through same story (Featuring line names guest and title) gives owner, president or CEO (joined on 'Featuring <Name>, <Title> at <Group>' line)
- person plus group through press wire mirror (theautochannel.com), second outlet, firm or personal site gives second dated citation (joined on person name plus group name)
- person through dated 2025-2026 page with title line gives control check (joined on title line)
- act through earliest dated story of the act gives signal year (joined on publication date)
New names that passed every check
- Jeremy Beaver, Del Grande Dealer Group (DGDG) ceo, United States
Turning a 15-store family-owned Bay Area dealer group into a data company by building its own data lake and its own agentic CRM, DealerCloud LLC, which it now sells to other dealers.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"At DGDG, we've always been known in the industry for driving modernization through technology," said Jeremy Beaver, CEO at Del Grande Dealer Group.” source
- What they did 2026 “DealerCloud LLC, developed and incubated by DGDG, was designed to address the long-standing inefficiencies and limitations of current auto retail CRMs.” source
- What they did 2025 “To fix this, DGDG built a Microsoft Azure "data lake" in-house that aggregates everything (DMS transactions, service records, marketing touchpoints, industry data) into one normalized system.” source
- What they said 2024 “Beaver says it's exciting to challenge himself to modernize what has historically been an “older school business” and to modernize it “as fast as possible.”” source
- Sam Mahrouq, MEI Group (Automax dealerships) and Ikon Technologies owner, United States
Moving customer and vehicle data back from OEM apps to dealers by turning a tool built for his own lots (Ikon Technologies telematics and dealer-branded apps) into a company used by about 500 dealerships.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Today, Sam is chairman and president of Mahrouq Enterprises International Inc., a diversified company with ventures in auto sales, finance, insurance, technology, real estate and hospitality.” source
- What they did 2025 “Since its full launch in 2020, Ikon Technologies’ products have grown to be used in nearly 500 dealerships across the U.S., including locations in Hawaii and Alaska.” source
- What they said 2026 “He is a strong advocate for data sovereignty within the automotive industry, believing that dealerships must reclaim ownership of customer and vehicle data to maximize lifetime value and remain competitive in an increasingly digital marketplace.” source
- Aaron Zeigler, Zeigler Auto Group ceo, United States
Pulling warranty and service-contract risk in-house at a 41-location private group by leaving a third-party provider for a dealer-owned program, Zeigler Guard, run on the Hendrick model.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Under the leadership of President and CEO Aaron Zeigler, the Zeigler Auto Group has grown into one of the largest privately owned dealership groups in the country, with 41 locations and 88 franchises across four states.” source
- What they did 2026 “Aaron and Johnny break down what it actually takes to transition a 41-location group onto a new program, why two groups that compete on paper chose to partner instead” source
- What they said 2026 “In business, every business has certain moments that take it to a whole other level. I call them defining moments and I think this is a defining moment for our organization.” source
- Stacy Anthony, AgRevolution ceo, United States
Replacing the farm equipment store with a fleet of quarter-million-dollar mobile service trucks so that repairs happen on the farm, not at a dealership every 20 miles.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Stacy Anthony, CEO of AgRevolution, based in Evansville, Indiana.” source
- What they did 2024 “It means that a mobile service truck, with a mobile office in the front, digitally capable of clocking in on work orders, entering and editing comments, and a highly equipped mobile workshop on the back. These are quarter-million-dollar machines.” source
- What they said 2025 “So, we swiveled and adopted an on-farm mindset in everything we do. The farmer looks at (AgRev) and says, 'Maybe I don't need a dealership every 20 miles because I've got parts here and service right here.'” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Software CEO; Microsoft appears in dealer press only as a vendor (Azure in the DGDG story).
- Missed Aaron Levie Software CEO, not on the dealer beat.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO, not on the dealer beat.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer, not on the dealer beat.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining owner, not on the US dealer beat.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner, not on the US dealer beat.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel owner, not on the dealer beat.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate owner, not on the US dealer beat.
Route 72: Another sweep of Route 40: US regional, mid-size and plaintiff law firms led by a founder or managing partner who redesigned the firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 40 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search US legal and state bar press (LawSites, ABA Journal, Attorney at Work, state bar journals, Texas Lawyer and Daily Business Review headlines, Trial Lawyer magazine, Legal Talk Network transcripts) excluding firms already in output/candidates.json for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US regional or mid-size law firm, plaintiff or consumer law firm, or legal services business below the AmLaw 100 changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The listed outlets (LawSites, ABA Journal, Attorney at Work, state bar journals, Legal Talk Network) give surveys, vendor launches and roundtables, plus one usable owner story (ABA Journal on Siskind). The names came from Attorney at Law Magazine features, which quote plaintiff and immigration firm founders on firm-built AI, with owner podcast pages, firm sites and vendor releases as second sources.
Sources: LawSites (lawnext.com); ABA Journal; Attorney at Work; state bar journals; Legal Talk Network; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase query through Attorney at Law Magazine (legal-technology and attorney-feature), ABA Journal magazine gives story (joined on story URL)
- story through same story gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through same story gives founder or managing partner quoted on the firm-built change (joined on person name)
- person through The Earley Show pages (answeringlegal.com/blog), firm release or newswire, vendor customer story gives second dated source (joined on person name + firm name)
- person through firm website bio or 2026 firm post gives control line and signal year (joined on person name)
New names that passed every check
- Greg Siskind, Siskind Susser PC (Memphis immigration firm) and its spinoff Visalaw.ai owner, United States
An immigration firm founder who spun an AI software company out of his own firm and is now redesigning the firm workforce around the tools it built.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “instant summaries of new policies, cases, legislation and more,” says Greg Siskind, co-founder of both Siskind Susser and Visalaw.ai.” source
- What they did 2025 “He says the firm has saved so much time and effort that it has opted to spend many hours training the team in using the tools, along with doing strategic planning on redesigning their workforce” source
- What they did 2020 “2020 Ari Sauer becomes partner of the Firm. 2020 Siskind Susser creates a spinoff company, Visalaw.AI.” source
- What they said 2022 “We've been studying the immigration case management space for years, including conducting an annual in-depth survey of immigration law firms regarding their case management systems.” source
- What they said 2025 “I would like to make it possible for them to be here. So I really love the results. Every time I win, I feel great about it.” source
- Angel Reyes, Angel Reyes & Associates (Dallas personal injury firm, about 650 staff) owner, United States
A Dallas injury firm founder who rebuilt how his 650-person firm runs: an internally built AI platform, a 400-person nearshore team and a measured, all-digital intake model.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Angel L. Reyes, III is the Founder and Managing Partner of Angel Reyes & Associates.” source
- What they did 2026 ““Angel AI was built internally,” Reyes said. “It analyzes MRI reports, generates draft client communications, summarizes case activity threads across everyone touching a matter, and gives staff a chat interface to query any active case.” source
- What they did 2019 “the 2019 decision to shut off every TV ad, billboard and bus wrap and go 100% digital. He also explains his rule that "if you can't measure it, don't spend it,"” source
- What they did 2026 “More than 30 years later, the firm employs roughly 650 people, including 46 lawyers and more than 400 nearshore team members” source
- Michael McCready, McCready Law (Chicago personal injury firm, 170+ staff, four Midwest offices) owner, United States
A Chicago injury firm founder who moved staff tasks from intake to trial prep onto internally developed agentic AI and writes about building a firm that runs without its founder.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Michael has been practicing law since 1992. In 1999, he opened McCready Law behind the principle of helping the injured in Chicago.” source
- What they did 2026 “We use internal developed agentic AI to handle tasks which were originally handled by staff. We use AI for intake, it does not get tired, nor take breaks, not have a bad day.” source
- What they did 2025 “McCready shared insights on how his firm integrated EvenUp’s Claims Intelligence Platform to offload routine tasks, optimize daily operations, and improve settlements.” source
- What they said 2026 “Comfort kills. A field guide for founders ready to move from daily operator to business architect” source
- Nasser Abujbarah, Phillips Law Group (Phoenix personal injury firm, family-owned) executive, United States
The managing partner of a family-owned Phoenix injury firm who spent three years building its own case system and closed AI, then changed the service model to keep cases it used to refer out.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “While managing day-to-day operations, Abujbarah remains active in strengthening internal systems, driving efficiency in all departments, and integrating AI and technology.” source
- What they did 2026 “Abujbarah has focused much of his attention during the past three years on developing and implementing the firm’s case management software.” source
- What they said 2026 “We used to refer these cases out because the economics didn't justify the resources required to manage them ourselves," said Nasser Abujbarah , Managing Attorney at Phillips Law Group.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chair, not a US law firm leader; legal press sweep cannot surface him. Miss by construction: the route only reaches US law firm leaders.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner, not a US law firm leader. Miss by construction: the route only reaches US law firm leaders.
- Missed Satya Nadella Appears in legal press only as a vendor (Copilot), not as a law firm leader. Miss by construction: the route only reaches US law firm leaders.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian commerce CEO, outside the legal sector. Miss by construction: the route only reaches US law firm leaders.
- Missed Aaron Levie Vendor to law firms (Box), not a law firm leader. Miss by construction: the route only reaches US law firm leaders.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel owner, outside the legal sector. Miss by construction: the route only reaches US law firm leaders.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO, outside the legal sector. Miss by construction: the route only reaches US law firm leaders.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining owner, outside the legal sector. Miss by construction: the route only reaches US law firm leaders.
Route 73: Another sweep of Route 43: US boutique consulting, research and advisory firms that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 43 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search consulting and research trade press (Consulting magazine, Consultancy.org US, Source Global Research, Quirk's, Greenbook, Research Live, Insights Association news) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US boutique management consulting, market research, economic consulting or advisory firm (not the Big Four, Accenture or MBB) changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Release-first sweep through wires, The Consulting Report and firm newsrooms, widened to communications consultancies and executive search, gave 4 verified US names. Consulting and research trade press alone gave none. One name short of the gate; refine.
Sources: Consulting magazine; Consultancy.org; Quirk's Media; Greenbook; Insights Association; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade story or wire release through The Consulting Report, PR Newswire, Quirk's industry news, firm newsrooms gives firm (joined on firm name in headline)
- firm through same story gives leader quoted (joined on said <Name>, <title>)
- leader through firm newsroom or second outlet (Pulse 2.0, The Consulting Report) gives dated costly act (joined on firm name plus act name)
- leader through dated 2025-2026 release naming role gives control check (joined on name plus title)
New names that passed every check
- Mal Vivek, zeb (AI transformation consulting firm, founded in Delaware; AWS Premier Tier partner) ceo, United States
Rebuilt her consulting firm in 2025 into a flat, builder-only two-engine structure on a proprietary AI system, sold with a 100% outcome guarantee instead of staffed hours.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Pulse 2.0 interviewed zeb founder and CEO Mal Vivek to gain a deeper understanding of the company.” source
- What they did 2025 “Over the course of 2025, zeb restructured its delivery model into a two-engine system. The Foundry serves as the execution layer, where solution definitions transform into shipped artifacts inside Substrate” source
- What they did 2026 “Every engagement is backed by a 100% outcome guarantee, a commitment the firm describes as operational rather than promotional: it restricts the work zeb signs and the way engagements are scoped.” source
- What they said 2025 “Most existing players were either ticket takers operating on tasks given by IT departments or strategy consultants delivering expensive decks without much else.” source
- Kathy Bloomgarden, Ruder Finn (independent communications consultancy, New York) ceo, United States
Is moving an independent PR firm from billable account teams to an operating model where in-house engineers build AI tools that run inside nearly every core US account.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The International Communications Consultancy Organization (ICCO) has named Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO of Ruder Finn, a 2025 Hall of Fame inductee.” source
- What they did 2026 “Ruder Finn’s AI Accelerator actualizes a new operating model that moves AI from fragmented use cases into scalable, revenue-impacting tools and capabilities embedded across client work, agency workflows, and talent recruitment and development.” source
- What they did 2023 “RF Studio 53 will combine the creative and tech teams from recently acquired Osmosis Films and SPI Group with Ruder Finn’s US and UK-based design and video teams” source
- What they said 2026 “The real differentiator today is no longer access to AI tools, it’s whether organizations can apply and operationalize AI in ways that consistently and meaningfully improve outcomes.” source
- What they said 2025 “At Ruder Finn, we're constantly implementing new tools and solutions that define the standard of communications in the AI era, harnessing the power of innovation in a rapidly changing world.” source
- Pratap Khedkar, ZS (management consulting and technology firm, Evanston, Illinois; privately held) ceo, United States
Is turning a partner-owned consulting firm into a consulting-plus-software house, with a separate products business unit selling self-serve AI platforms alongside advice.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““Too often, organizations are rich in data but short on direction,” said Pratap Khedkar, CEO of ZS.” source
- What they did 2024 “ZS, a management and technology consulting firm headquartered in Chicago, announced on May 6, 2024 the establishment of a new platform and products business unit aimed at enhancing its software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings.” source
- What they said 2024 “Our work to transform ZS into a one-stop shop has not been easy, but it’s worth it to help our clients achieve their loftiest goals.” source
- Umesh Ramakrishnan, Kingsley Gate (executive search and talent advisory firm; he is based in Cleveland, Ohio) owner, United States
Co-founder of an executive search firm who rebuilt how its searches are run around an in-house multi-model AI platform, then turned that platform into a product sold to any hiring team.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Previously serving as the firm’s co-CEO and then CEO during its first decade, Umesh brings a unique perspective to executive talent acquisition.” source
- What they did 2026 “Kingsley Gate, a leading global executive search firm, today launched IGNYTE, an AI-native, end-to-end hiring intelligence platform. The launch represents a fundamental shift in how organizations approach hiring and not an incremental improvement to existing processes.” source
- What they said 2026 “Traditional search firms often leave a client meeting with “copious notes,” only to return days later with a draft position profile. Ramakrishnan argues this logistics-heavy approach is obsolete.” source
- What they said 2026 “Most AI platforms in this space were built by people who studied hiring. IGNYTE was built by people who still do it,” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Mining and energy conglomerate, Australia; outside the US consulting and research universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma; appears in this trade press only as a client, never as the firm that changed.
- Missed Aaron Levie Software company; not a consulting, research or advisory firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food producer; outside the universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian software company; outside the universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in consulting press only as a platform partner of the firms covered.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; outside the universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; outside the US consulting universe.
Route 74: Another sweep of Route 54: Fund formation: Form D funds and IAPD advisers to the principal
Looks for: world transformers · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 54 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search new Form D (a notice of private fundraising) filings for funds in frontier themes such as climate, longevity or AI.
- Write down the people the filing lists as running the fund.
- Look up the fund's adviser in the SEC adviser register (Form ADV) to find who controls it: a general partner or a family office.
- Write down the principal behind that general partner or family office.
- Confirm the principal's wealth or control in a dated source.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 2 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · signal led recognition by a median 9 years (2 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: bulk download
Verdict revised. Inverted S-54 as its own notes proposed: instead of guessing fund-name prefixes, the SEC quarterly Form D data sets (13 quarters, 2023Q1 to 2026Q1) were joined on related-person names to the 3,000-row Forbes list. 143 US Forbes names appear on pooled-fund Form Ds; most are career fund managers or name collisions, but a theme filter on issuer names surfaced principal-led frontier funds (Tull's USIT, Polsky's Energize III, Williams' Obvious V, Gracias' Valor Compute Infrastructure, Claure's Bicycle I). Known people found on the key sample is 2 of 8 (Khosla, Hohn).
Sources: SEC EDGAR Form D; IAPD Form ADV
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- quarter through SEC Form D data sets (RELATEDPERSONS, OFFERING, ISSUERS tsv) gives related person on a pooled investment fund (joined on ACCESSIONNUMBER)
- related person name through Forbes real-time billionaires API rows (US citizens) gives principal with wealth (joined on first name + last name)
- accession through EDGAR Form D primary_doc.xml gives verified role and offering size (joined on CIK + accession)
- principal through Forbes profile; fund or press page gives capacity and stated intent (joined on name)
New names that passed every check
- Thomas Tull, US Innovative Technology Fund (USIT) billionaire, United States
Rebuilding the US defense and dual-use technology base (AI, space, compute) by raising a multi-billion-dollar fund aimed at a technological edge over China.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In 2015, Tull inked a deal with Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin's Wanda Group to sell Legendary for up to $3.5 billion in cash, stock and debt.” source
- What they did 2022 “Total Offering Amount $ 5,000,000,000 USD or Indefinite Total Amount Sold $ 1,423,650,000 USD” source
- What they did 2023 “US Innovative Technology Fund, LP /s/ Thomas Tull Thomas Tull Manager of the GP of Issuer 2023-01-23” source
- What they said 2023 “He’s now focused on investing in AI startups that will give the U.S. a technological edge over China and looking to raise as much as $5 billion for a fund to back defense-focused firms.” source
- What they said 2026 “Tull is also Chairman of the U.S. Innovative Technology Fund, a defense-focused investment vehicle that invests in early- and growth-stage AI and technology companies, including Capella Space, ShieldAI and Anduril.” source
- Michael Polsky, Invenergy; Energize Capital (Energize Ventures Fund III) billionaire, United States
Moving the US power system toward renewables, storage and transmission through Invenergy, an energy-software fund he anchors, and a $75 million energy-transition center at WRI.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Polsky has sold big multi-billion-dollar stakes in Invenergy to Blackstone and Canadian pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec.” source
- What they did 2023 “Clarification of Response (if Necessary): Investment Manager of the Issuer Last Name First Name Middle Name Polsky Michael” source
- What they did 2025 “Michael and Tanya Polsky have given the World Resources Institute (WRI) $75 million to "accelerate pragmatic, scalable solutions" for the global energy transition, and $25 million to the University of Chicago” source
- What they said 2025 “"This progression isn't about ideology, it's driven by technology, economics and opportunity."” source
- What they said 2025 “Focused on technology, economics, and opportunity, Polsky pursues innovations that make practical sense, and his companies have developed some of the largest natural gas, solar, land-based wind, and storage projects in the world.” source
- Evan Williams, Obvious Ventures (Obvious Ventures V, L.P.) billionaire, United States
Steering venture capital toward 'world-positive' companies in sustainable systems, healthy living and people power, with his own money in each fund since 2014.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Williams' venture capital firm, Obvious Ventures, was one of the largest investors in Beyond Meat, which had a successful IPO in May 2019.” source
- What they did 2025 “Clarification of Response (if Necessary): Managing Member of the Issuer's General Partner Last Name First Name Middle Name Williams Evan” source
- What they said 2014 “the co-founder of Blogger and Twitter is looking for companies that are built to make positive changes in the world through a fund called Obvious Ventures” source
- What they did 2014 “Williams, Joaquin, and Vasishth have all put money into the inaugural fund, which will also include participation from other investors.” source
- What they did 2025 “Obvious Ventures, which launched a little more than a decade ago, has filed paperwork with the SEC to raise $400 million for its fifth fund.” source
- Antonio Gracias, Valor Equity Partners (Valor Compute Infrastructure L.P.; Valor Atreides AI I L.P.) billionaire, United States
Building privately owned AI compute capacity at frontier scale by turning GPU clusters into an investable fund asset (a $5.4B GPU lease vehicle for xAI) alongside a dedicated AI fund.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Antonio Gracias is the founder and CEO of Chicago-based growth equity firm Valor Equity Partners, which had $59 billion in assets under management as of December 2025.” source
- What they did 2025 “Clarification of Response (if Necessary): The General Partner of the Issuer. Last Name First Name Middle Name Gracias Antonio” source
- What they said 2026 “opportunity to invest in critical artificial intelligence compute infrastructure with quarterly cash distributions and upside through ownership of the compute assets,” said Valor Founder, CEO and CIO Antonio Gracias.” source
- Marcelo Claure, Bicycle Capital (Bicycle I, L.P.); Claure Group billionaire, United States
Redirecting his own capital and time to build Latin America's growth-stage technology economy through a first-time $500M fund anchored by his family office.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Much of his fortune is now tied up in shares of T-Mobile, which merged with Sprint in 2020. Claure sits on T-Mobile's board.” source
- What they did 2023 “Total Offering Amount $ 500,000,000 USD or Indefinite Total Amount Sold $ 440,350,000 USD Total Remaining to be Sold $ 59,650,000 USD or Indefinite Clarification of Response (if Necessary): The Total Amount Sold includes capital committed by the General Partner.” source
- What they said 2023 “Marcelo Claure is the Founder & CEO of Claure Group, a multi-billion-dollar global investment firm. He has made a commitment to focus his time, capital, and expertise to Latin America over the next several years.” source
- What they did 2025 “Bicycle is led by former SoftBank executives Marcelo Claure and Shu Nyatta . Claure previously led telecom giant Sprint and SoftBank Group International” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Jeff Skoll No related-person row for Skoll in any 2023Q1-2026Q1 Form D data set; Capricorn's filings list staff (as S-54 found).
- Missed Masayoshi Son Only 'Masayoshi Hasegawa' rows; SoftBank vehicles name GP directors, not Son.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Chouinard rows are other people (Roger, David, Sarah); Patagonia's Holdfast/Purpose structure files no pooled-fund Form D.
- Missed Laurene Powell Jobs No Powell Jobs row; a Reed Jobs fund GP appears, which is not her and is not counted.
- Found Chris Hohn (signal in 2004) Director of the GP of Children's Investment Fund LP on its 2023 Form D; the issuer's EDGAR history (raw/sub-tci-lp) starts with a REGDEX in 2004. Non-US, test o
- Found Vinod Khosla (signal in 2009) First related person on Khosla Ventures Opportunity II, L.P. (2023, $1B target) and 20+ other KV Form Ds; Khosla Ventures Seed, L.P. first Form D 2009-09-08 (ra
- Missed Andrew Forrest Forrest rows are other people (Roderick, John); Forrest's vehicles are Australian.
- Missed Michael Bloomberg Bloomberg rows are Jonathan and Lawrence Bloomberg of BloombergSen (Canada); Michael Bloomberg gives through grants and a family office, no pooled-fund Form D.
Route 75: Another sweep of Route 20: Trade press and wire announcements: firms that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 20 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Sweep the trade press and press wires for firm-wide changes: an AI workforce contract, a restructure, a new owned law or tax arm, a new pricing model.
- Take the chief executive, founder or managing partner quoted on why.
- Read the vendor's newsroom for other firms on the same model.
- Check control: ownership schedules in the firm's adviser registration, its own capital announcements, or the law-firm ownership register.
- Check cost: the change must be dated and expensive.
- Search back for the firm's earliest redesign move.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempt 1 of a fifth sweep of the S-20 route. Outlets not used by S-20 (CPA Trendlines, Journal of Accountancy, Above the Law, CFO Dive, vendor newsrooms for Eve, EvenUp and Supio) gave two qualifying US names in about 14 searches and 15 fetches. The wealth, accounting and law trade beat is close to exhausted by S-20, S-21, S-22, S-23, S-30, S-40, S-57 and S-64.
Sources: InvestmentNews, Transformation section (https://www.investmentnews.com/transformation); RIABiz (https://riabiz.com/); WealthManagement.com (Informa) (https://www.wealthmanagement.com/ria-news/neuberger-berman-buys-minority-stake-in-mariner); Business Wire releases via the Morningstar news mirror (https://www.morningstar.com/news/business-wire/20260714748378/mariner-and-humanity-labs-announce-five-year-partnership-to-leverage-an-ai-workforce-of-700-ftes); American Banker (https://www.americanbanker.com/news/mariners-ai-splits-firm-into-experience-and-execution); Financial Advisor magazine (FA-Mag) (https://www.fa-mag.com/news/mariner-adds-a-digital-workforce-to-its-staff-87812.html?section=126); Accounting Today (https://www.accountingtoday.com/); CPA Practice Advisor (https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/); LawSites (LawNext) (https://www.lawnext.com/); Arizona Supreme Court ABS Directory (https://www.azcourts.gov/cld/Alternative-Business-Structure/Directory)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- weekly sweep through trade press and wire releases (PR Newswire, InvestmentNews, CPA Trendlines, JofA) gives firm announcing a firm-wide change (joined on firm name in headline)
- firm through same release or story gives leader quoted on why (joined on 'said <Name>, Managing Partner')
- vendor named in the release through vendor case-study index (eve.legal/case-studies/<slug>) gives other firms on the same model and the leader's longer quotes (joined on firm slug)
- leader through firm's own newsroom post dated 2025-2026 gives current role (control check) (joined on name + title line)
New names that passed every check
- Amanda Farahany, Barrett & Farahany (Atlanta labor and employment law firm) executive, United States
She is rebuilding a 17-attorney plaintiff employment firm around AI across casework and operations, so lawyers spend their time on strategy and clients rather than drafting.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Barrett & Farahany Managing Partner Amanda Farahany is speaking on February 23, 2026, at the American Conference Institute (ACI)'s first annual National Plaintiffs' Summit” source
- What they did 2024 “Barrett & Farahany , one of the largest labor and employment law firms in the U.S., has partnered with Eve to transform into an AI-native law firm, accelerating the growth and innovation of its plaintiff law practice.” source
- What they said 2024 “The reason we implement AI is to let the computers do what they can, allowing our people to focus on what they do best,” source
- What they said 2024 “AI is integral to our operations and is a catalyst for redefining legal practice,” source
- Nasser Abujbarah, Phillips Law Group, PC (Phoenix personal injury firm) executive, United States
He has spent three years rebuilding how a large contingency-fee injury firm processes cases, with firm-built case software and a closed AI system used at nearly every step, so lawyers spend their time on the human work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Since joining the team 16 years ago, Abujbarah has risen from attorney to a position overseeing the whole operation.” source
- What they did 2026 “Phillips and Abujbarah decided to incorporate AI technology into their system, but unlike businesses relying on Chat GPT or Claude, they designed a closed-universe technology specifically for Phillips Law Group.” source
- What they did 2025 “Phillips Law Group deployed Supio across its entire case pipeline. The process is now systematic: once a case is rated C or above, it flows automatically into Supio.” source
- What they said 2026 “We bill on the contingency model, so our clients expect, and deserve, efficiency in what we do. Our AI system is a tremendous benefit with that” source
- Jayson Elliott, Bay Legal, PC (Palo Alto, California law firm) and XPRTS Inc. ceo, United States
He rebuilt a small California law firm around an AI-enabled operations framework and a remote global staff, then spun the operating system out as a separate company that sells it to other law firms.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"AI and systems automations now handle a substantial share of the firm's routine workflows, helping improve efficiency and freeing attorneys to focus on higher-level legal analysis," said Jayson Elliott, CEO & Managing Attorney.” source
- What they did 2025 “Central to this expansion is the firm's major transition toward an AI-enabled legal operations framework that supports routine and operational tasks.” source
- What they did 2026 “XPRTS Inc., the operator-led execution partner born inside the high-growth U.S. law firm Bay Legal, PC, today announced the formal expansion of its Systems & Automation business unit.” source
- What they said 2026 “Most law firms fail to scale not for lack of effort, but because of poor sequencing," said Jayson Elliott, CEO of XPRTS Inc. and Managing Attorney of Bay Legal, PC.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semler's firm is Brazilian; no US wealth, accounting or law trade story or wire release in the sweep names him.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in this beat only as a vendor; no story quotes Nadella on a firm-wide change at Microsoft.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is not covered by wealth, accounting or law trade press.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia appears in the beat only through syndicated non-advice stories (see S-20, S-21); none surfaced in this sweep.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining; outside the route's trade press.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is outside US professional services trade press.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify's memo was covered by general press, not by this route's outlets in this sweep.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is food manufacturing; not covered by wealth, accounting or law trade press.
Route 76: Another sweep of Route 1: Operating memos: leaders who rewrote how their firm works
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 1 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search public discussion and news indexes, and published collections of these memos, for the memo language.
- Open the memo or the report on it and take the firm and the author.
- Find later reporting or the firm's own posts showing the firm made the change, with dates and numbers.
- Confirm the author's role in the company's proxy statement or leadership page.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 2 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · signal lagged recognition by a median 18 years (2 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: open api
Verdict revised. Memo-language search through GDELT and HN returns only famous names or nothing. The route yields when memo search runs through the memo co-signer and operating-chief step of big US firms in finance, retail and biotech, with DEF 14A as both the power check and proof of the change.
Sources: GDELT DOC 2.0 API; Hacker News Algolia search API; company blogs and newsrooms; SEC EDGAR DEF 14A for role
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- memo phrase through HN Algolia, GDELT DOC (dead this run), web search of trade and business press gives memo story (joined on story URL)
- memo story through press article quoting the memo gives named signer (CEO, COO, CFO, function chief) (joined on signer name plus firm in the same passage)
- signer plus firm through follow-up interview or conference remarks with numbers gives proof the change was carried out (joined on firm name plus program name (OneGS 3.0, Enterprise Acceleration Office, People and Digital Technology))
- person through SEC EDGAR full-text search then DEF 14A gives role and credit for the program (joined on person name within issuer CIK)
New names that passed every check
- John Waldron, Goldman Sachs executive, United States
Goldman president and operating chief who co-signed and, per the proxy, led OneGS 3.0, a multiyear redesign of how the bank works around AI agents.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As President and COO, Mr. Waldron’s responsibilities include managing our day-to-day business, executing our firmwide strategy and other priorities” source
- What they did 2025 “He led the development of One GS 3.0 and maintained focus on automation and artificial intelligence-related workstreams.” source
- What they did 2025 “Goldman announced its “OneGS 3.0” strategy in a memo to staff Tuesday – which may sound innocuous enough, on its face. But Solomon, along with Goldman President John Waldron and CFO Denis Coleman, highlighted AI” source
- What they said 2026 ““I often describe Goldman Sachs as a human assembly line,” Waldron told CNBC earlier this year. “Our human assembly lines will become more digitized. Digital agents will be our robots.” source
- What they said 2026 “he said the bank is rolling out generative AI "digital agents" to automate what he calls the firm's "human assembly line,"” source
- Denis Coleman, Goldman Sachs executive, United States
Goldman CFO, who also oversees operations and technology, co-signed OneGS 3.0 and frames it as asking every employee to rethink the human processes they run.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As CFO, Mr. Coleman is responsible for managing the firm’s overall financial condition, financial analysis and reporting. In addition, he oversees various control functions, Human Capital Management, operations and technology” source
- What they did 2025 “Goldman announced its “OneGS 3.0” strategy in a memo to staff Tuesday – which may sound innocuous enough, on its face. But Solomon, along with Goldman President John Waldron and CFO Denis Coleman, highlighted AI” source
- What they said 2025 “He described the multiyear overhaul as an effort to integrate AI throughout the bank's operating model to reduce complexity and boost productivity” source
- What they said 2025 “This is a fundamental rethinking of how we expect our people to operate at Goldman Sachs” source
- Tracey Franklin, Moderna executive, United States
Moderna executive who runs the merged HR and technology department and is replanning work task by task between people and AI tools.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Ms. Franklin joined Moderna in October 2019 as our Chief Human Resources Officer, before becoming our Chief People and Digital Technology Officer in November 2024.” source
- What they did 2025 “The biotech company announced a new role of chief people and digital technology officer, helmed by the former HR chief, Tracey Franklin, who will oversee the merged department.” source
- What they said 2025 “We can move toward ‘work planning’, rather than siloed ‘workforce planning’ (historically HR’s focus) or ‘technology planning’ (historically IT’s focus).” source
- What they said 2025 “Franklin said the reorganization enables the organization to approach "work planning" not "workforce planning." That is, instead of allocating roles by headcount alone, managers assess tasks based on whether they should be automated, augmented or performed by a person.” source
- Tony Stubblebine, Medium ceo, United States
Medium CEO who cut staff and its own journalism operation and rebuilt the platform around member-paid writers and human curation, taking it to profit.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Ev Williams announced he was taking a step back from the company and passing the reins to Tony Stubblebine” source
- What they did 2022 “Today we made the painful decision to reduce the size of the company by 29 people. These employees come from our operations, marketing, design and creator relations teams.” source
- What they did 2023 “In 2023, Medium launched Boost, an initiative to curate high-quality articles for readers.” source
- What they said 2024 “We spent a lot of money bringing on our own journalists. The impulse was obvious. If you take the logic of a subscription, it’s got to be of a high enough quality that people would pay for it.” source
- Michael Fiddelke, Target ceo, United States
Target operating chief turned CEO who wrote the memo removing layers from headquarters and then moved savings into store hours.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Michael J. Fiddelke has served as Chief Executive Officer of Target Corporation since February 1, 2026. Mr. Fiddelke has been with Target since 2004, and most recently served as Chief Operations Officer from February 2024 through January 2026” source
- What they did 2025 “Too many layers and overlapping work have slowed decisions, making it harder to bring ideas to life. On Tuesday, we'll share changes to our headquarters structure as an important step in accelerating how we work.” source
- What they did 2025 “Fiddelke has also overseen the Enterprise Acceleration Office, an effort announced in May, which looked for ways to simplify company operations, use technology in new ways” source
- What they said 2026 “Fiddelke said in a memo to employees after taking charge that his priorities will include sharpening Target's merchandise mix while improving stores” source
- What they said 2025 “"The truth is, the complexity we've created over time has been holding us back," he said in the memo.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Piyush Gupta HN name search (raw/bt-hn-gupta) returns no DBS memo or redesign story; DBS change was never published as a memo that reached HN.
- Found Yvon Chouinard (signal in 2022) Published ownership letter, top HN story Sept 2022 (raw/bt-hn-chouinard). Downstream: he was already famous.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan HN has the 2019 Quartz un-bossing story (raw/bt-hn-narasimhan) but its title is 7 words and qz.com is 403 to fetch.mjs, so no quotable passage from the route so
- Missed Luis von Ahn Name search on HN returns 1,496 von Ahn stories, none of the top 50 is the 2025 AI-first memo; the memo is found by phrase (S-01) not by name.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Only profiles (Bloomberg 2020, Inc 2012) on HN; the employee share grant never appears as a memo story.
- Found Ricardo Semler (signal in 2009) 2009 HN story on Semco self-set hours and wages; the changes date from the 1980s, so the route sees him decades late.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani HN stories are capital plans (Jio, clean energy, AI infrastructure), not a memo changing how Reliance is organised.
- Missed Andrew Forrest HN name search returns nothing on Fortescue; no organising memo in this genre.
Route 77: Podcast transcripts: US firm leaders explaining in their own words how they rebuilt the firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Search published podcast transcripts and show notes in wealth management, accounting, law, insurance, healthcare services, construction, manufacturing, logistics and agencies.
- Write down each chief executive, founder or managing partner who describes a dated, costly change to how their firm does its work, and the firm.
- Confirm their current role in a dated 2025 or 2026 source.
- Find a second source on a different page, such as the firm's newsroom or trade press, that confirms the change.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself.
- Keep US people only, and skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Generic transcript searches (Listen Notes, Podscribe-style queries, sector keywords) return show directories, not change stories. One industry podcast does the work: the Collective 54 Pro Serv Podcast publishes a full transcript on every episode page, and its member-case episodes are founders of boutique US firms describing a dated change in their own firm. WealthTech Today transcripts gave one RIA chief executive. Second pages are firm sites, firm releases, trade press or a second episode.
Sources: podcast transcript pages; Listen Notes; firm newsrooms; trade press
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- sitemap slug filter through collective54.com/sitemap.xml (podcast URLs, slug carries guest name and topic) gives episode page with full transcript (joined on episode URL)
- episode page through same page: About the Guests bio + Full Transcript gives founder or CEO and firm (joined on guest name + firm name)
- person through episode date line plus guest bio, or firm team page gives dated 2025-2026 role line (joined on person name)
- person + firm through firm newsroom or team page, trade press (wealthmanagement.com), or the guest's earlier episode gives second page on the change or the intent behind it (joined on person name + firm name)
- transcript through same transcript gives cost check and earliest move (year) (joined on person name)
New names that passed every check
- Ravit Gutman, Extropy Advisors ceo, United States
Bought out her partner and rebuilt a mostly offshore finance-transformation boutique around a US director layer, then, when that broke, into client-owning pods.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Ravit Gutman is a member of Collective 54 and the co-founder and CEO of Extropy Advisors, a finance transformation firm she founded in 2019 and has led as CEO since 2024.” source
- What they did 2024 “I needed something different, I needed a different mindset, I needed… To be able to build my vision, and that meant getting a whole layer of directors. Which was a huge investment, and here in the U.S,” source
- What they did 2024 “At 2024, I decided, actually, to buy my partner out, move away from the Essentially, comfortable place of just being a boutique consulting firm, and decided to scale” source
- What they said 2024 “Extropy Advisors, a leading financial digital transformation advisory firm, is delighted to officially announce Ravit Gutman, its co-founder, as Chief Executive Officer.” source
- Brick Thompson, Blue Margin ceo, United States
Moved a Fort Collins data consultancy from time and materials to fixed price and then to a monthly managed-data subscription.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Brick Thompson is the CEO and co-founder of Blue Margin, a data intelligence consulting firm serving private equity-backed and mid-market companies” source
- What they did 2023 “We had been doing projects for 2 years as fixed price. Prior to that, it had all been time and materials. We didn’t want to go back to time and materials.” source
- What they said 2024 “I would say for our entire history, we always wanted to figure out how to have a product, have some kind of recurring revenue.” source
- What they said 2026 “deliver outsized results because we’re built to be adaptable to your needs. Brick Thompson Founder / Chief Executive Officer” source
- Kyle Walbrun, EfficientAide ceo, United States
Set a hard January cutoff to move an executive-assistant firm from task labor to a human plus AI outcome model, moving every legacy client and re-hiring on AI proficiency.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Kyle Walbrun is the founder and CEO of EfficientAide, a firm providing fractional executive assistant services” source
- What they did 2026 “hey, we're no longer doing what we previously were doing, and we're now gonna completely shift to a new model, which meant not only new clients going in that new model, but also moving all of our legacy clients over.” source
- What they said 2026 “old model, human labor focus, task focus. Here's a list of tasks, here's a human, and that human is going to complete those tasks.” source
- What they said 2025 “I always tell founders the reason that you’re successful is not because you’re great at checking your email or great at managing your calendar.” source
- Jonathan Slain, Autobahn Consultants ceo, United States
Froze junior project-manager hiring and hired a dedicated AI staffer to detach a growth consultancy's revenue from headcount.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jonathan Slain is the founder and CEO of Autobahn Consultants, a growth consultancy that helps companies scale from $50 million to $500 million and beyond” source
- What they did 2025 “What we’re really saying is that we don’t want to have to hire another APM going forward, and then something I learned from you is we need to figure out how to detach revenue growth from headcount growth.” source
- What they did 2025 “I started with making a hire. I’m back to, it’s about who. Not what. It really, I think, is an investment in the future.” source
- What they said 2026 “BE COURAGEOUS We pursue disruptive, 10x improvement, not incremental gains.” source
- Stan Gregor, Summit Financial ceo, United States
Rebuilt a New Jersey RIA's operating model from a clean slate, with an internal engineering team and a separate technology company instead of legacy big-firm systems.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “I’m excited to introduce our next guest. This is Stan Gregor , Chairman and CEO of Summit Financial Holdings . Stan, welcome to the program.” source
- What they did 2016 “We didn’t want legacy issues. So we started with a clean campus. We were not going to become the next Microsoft or Salesforce. So we created a technology company that works with the best technologies in the industry and built an internal team.” source
- What they said 2016 “My vision when I came here about nine years ago was to give advisors a different kind of technology stack. If you build it, they will come.” source
- What they did 2025 “We have spent a tremendous amount of time, effort and money canvassing the market to find the best tool for advisors and their clients and ensure it’s synchronized and works.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Route is US-only and limited to industry podcasts for mid-market firms; this person is outside the geography, and no receipt from the route sources (Collective
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Route is US-only and limited to industry podcasts for mid-market firms; this person is outside the geography, and no receipt from the route sources (Collective
- Missed Ricardo Semler Route is US-only and limited to industry podcasts for mid-market firms; this person is outside the geography, and no receipt from the route sources (Collective
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya US, but the route sources (Collective 54 Pro Serv Podcast, 270 episodes in the sitemap; WealthTech Today, 60 feed items; EMI Civil Engineering CEO index) never
- Missed Aaron Levie US, but the route sources (Collective 54 Pro Serv Podcast, 270 episodes in the sitemap; WealthTech Today, 60 feed items; EMI Civil Engineering CEO index) never
- Missed Yvon Chouinard US, but the route sources (Collective 54 Pro Serv Podcast, 270 episodes in the sitemap; WealthTech Today, 60 feed items; EMI Civil Engineering CEO index) never
- Missed Andrew Forrest Route is US-only and limited to industry podcasts for mid-market firms; this person is outside the geography, and no receipt from the route sources (Collective
- Missed Tobi Lutke Route is US-only and limited to industry podcasts for mid-market firms; this person is outside the geography, and no receipt from the route sources (Collective
Route 78: Third sweep of Route 41: US mid-market chief executives describing in their own words how they rebuilt the firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 41 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search long-form interviews and transcribed podcasts with chief executives (Inc. and Fast Company features, Forbes and Fortune interviews, Chief Executive magazine, Harvard Business Review case interviews, McKinsey and BCG interview transcripts, company podcasts with published transcripts) where the chief executive describes a dated change to how the work gets done for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US mid-sized or private company (roughly 50 million to 5 billion dollars revenue) changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. A third interview sweep works only through a sub-sector no earlier sweep touched: US language-services and interpreting firms, whose leaders explain on the record in Slator newsroom stories, SlatorPod episode pages and firm releases mirrored on slator.com why the old human-translation model hit a limit and what they paid to change it. Generic interview outlets were dead or empty: the HBS Managing the Future of Work podcast index serves a JavaScript bot wall, multilingual.com returns 403, Twin Cities Business AI features quote micro-firms, and CBT News dealer interviews are already mined. Yield is 5 names from about 25 fetches.
Sources: Inc.; Fast Company; Chief Executive magazine; Harvard Business Review; McKinsey and BCG interview pages; podcast transcript pages; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query through WebSearch on slator.com phrasing (financial results, SlatorPod CEO episodes, M&A, press releases) and Slator's annual 'Top 25 Language Industry Quotes' roundup gives Slator article or SlatorPod page (joined on article URL)
- article through Slator article body (text after 'Account Subscribe') gives named CEO and firm (joined on '<Name>, CEO of <Firm>' attribution)
- firm through firm newsroom or firm release mirrored on slator.com, or a second Slator story gives dated act (acquisition, reorganization, new service line) and leader's reasoning (joined on firm name)
- person through firm leadership page or dated 2024-2026 release gives current role and US base (joined on person name + firm)
- act through earliest dated move in the same receipts gives signal year (joined on date line ('3 Mar 2026', 'Austin, TX - October 23, 2025'))
New names that passed every check
- Phil Shawe, TransPerfect (New York; billed revenue 1.32 billion dollars in 2025) owner, United States
Moving a translation firm off its own core service: cannibalizing human translation with in-house AI and buying media, legal and AI firms until language services fell below half of revenue.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “TransPerfect President and Co-CEO Phil Shawe stated, “The TransPerfect team stands at the ready to assist clients who are facing an environment of vast and rapid technological change.” source
- What they did 2026 “Commenting on language services revenue representing less than 50% of overall revenues, Phil Shawe, Co-CEO at TransPerfect told Slator, “Some may interpret this milestone as headwinds for the language industry, but we see it as a true paradigm shift” source
- What they said 2025 ““We believe strongly in cannibalizing ourselves by always bringing the latest technological advances to our customers, even when it results in a short-term decrease in top-line revenue” source
- What they did 2025 “TransPerfect completed 10 strategic acquisitions during 2025, including Unbabel, creative production company The Mill, Blu Digital Group, and Swiss-German language services provider Apostroph Group.” source
- Paul Carr, Welo Global (parent of Welocalize; New York) ceo, United States
Reorganizing a localization services firm into five client-segment businesses, each with its own general manager and delivery teams, around an agentic AI translation platform.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Executive Team Paul Carr Chief Executive Officer Read BIO Chris Grebisz Chief Technology Officer Read BIO Dan O’Brien Chief Financial Officer” source
- What they did 2026 “Over the last two years, the company has been on a pathway of organizing the business around client segments and developing specialized solutions and expertise to better serve them.” source
- What they said 2026 ““Today, most of our clients and revenue come from outside the localization function,” said Paul Carr, CEO of Welo Global.” source
- What they said 2026 “The CEO emphasizes that AI has driven major change, particularly through the development of the company’s Opal platform.” source
- Paget Alves, Sorenson Communications (Salt Lake City; more than 10,000 workers) ceo, United States
Changing a human sign-language interpreting company into one that also builds automated sign language translation, by buying two AI startups and adding one-to-many translation services.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Sorenson Communications, a provider of communication technologies and services, has appointed Chairman of the Board, Paget Alves, to the role of CEO.” source
- What they did 2025 ““In keeping with our long history of introducing transformative technology, today, through the acquisitions of OmniBridge and Hand Talk , we are combining two elements of the AI-technology puzzle required to make automated sign language translation a reality,” said Alves.” source
- What they said 2025 “According to Sorenson CEO Paget Alves , the company conducted market research and even experimented with its own AI models for possible automated sign language translation.” source
- Bryan Forrester, Boostlingo (Austin, Texas; interpreting services and platform) ceo, United States
Changing how interpreting is delivered: a hybrid service in which AI handles lower-risk calls and rolls over to a network of 17,000 human interpreters, built after acquisitions that tripled the firm.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Bryan Forrester , Co-founder and CEO of Boostlingo , returns to SlatorPod for round 2 to talk about the company’s growth, the US interpreting market, and the evolving role of AI .” source
- What they did 2025 “With Boostlingo AI Interpreter, organizations can access artificial intelligence–powered interpreting for everyday, lower-risk conversations such as appointment scheduling or check-ins while maintaining instant rollover to Boostlingo’s massive network of 17,000 human interpreters at any time for any reason” source
- What they did 2025 “Bryan shares how the company has tripled in size since he last appeared on the pod , driven by strategic acquisitions, including VoiceBoxer and Interpreter Intelligence , and a rebranding effort to unify its product portfolio.” source
- What they said 2025 ““We are not just building smarter tools,” added Forrester.” source
- Josh Miller, 3Play Media (Boston; captioning, audio description and localization) ceo, United States
Extending a US captioning firm into AI-enabled global localization: a worldwide linguist marketplace plus AI dubbing with human review, and a planned shift to AI quality scores that let customers set the level of expert work.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Josh Miller, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of 3Play Media, stated, “In our conversations with numerous content publishers and localization buyers, a recurring theme emerged” source
- What they did 2025 “3Play Media, the industry leader in media accessibility solutions, today announced the launch of its global linguist marketplace along with its cutting-edge, AI-Enabled accessibility and localization solutions for video-forward businesses across media & entertainment and enterprise.” source
- What they said 2025 “Looking to the future, the co-CEOs are working on shifting their model to incorporate AI-generated scores and analytics, allowing customers to decide on the level of expert intervention.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard US and in the 2024-2026 window, but Patagonia is apparel; Slator and the language-industry outlets carry no Patagonia redesign story, and the 2022 transfer is a
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India, far above the 5 billion band; no Slator story on a Reliance operating redesign
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada and above the band; Shopify does not appear in the swept language-industry outlets
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil, redesign from the 1980s; outside the US 2024-2026 window
- Missed Aaron Levie US and in band, but no Box redesign story in Slator, CBT News or Twin Cities Business; S-41 found him only in Fortune, which this sweep excluded
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland, far above the band
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia, above the band
- Missed Satya Nadella Far above the band, excluded by design
Route 79: Third sweep of Route 53: long-form interviews on rebuilding the firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: what people say and who they gather with
Expected timing: could be early or late
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 53 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search podcast and interview transcripts for a leader explaining why each part of the firm exists and what they changed.
- Write down the leader and the firm.
- Find a second source on a different page that records a costly change to the firm itself, such as a restructure, a new arm or a new model.
- Confirm that the leader can decide today, using a dated source for their role or ownership.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 1 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · signal lagged recognition by a median 5 years (1 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Works only when the spine is an operations-improvement show (Lean Blog Interviews, WLEI) whose owner-CEO guests describe a whole-firm operating system change, followed by a trade-press or SEC second source for a costly act. General leadership shows (HBS Managing the Future of Work, Stanford View From The Top, Building Unbreakable Brands, Knowledge at Wharton) gave famous CEOs, nonprofits or coaches and no qualifying names. Two new US names this attempt, below the minimum of three.
Sources: podcast episode pages; company newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- podcast show through Apple podcast search / show RSS feed gives episode (joined on feedUrl, episode title)
- episode through leanblog.org episode page with full transcript gives owner-CEO (joined on guest name in title and intro)
- owner-CEO through trade press (ASI Counselor) or local press plus SEC Regulation A filings gives costly firm-redesign act and control line (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Mike Kaeding, Norhart (Forest Lake, Minnesota apartment developer, builder and manager) owner, United States
Rebuilt a family apartment developer as a vertically integrated, lean housing manufacturer with its own steel wall-panel factory to cut the cost of housing.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “CEO Mike Kaeding knew it was time to flip a switch, one he’d been working toward since he took over the family business in 2014.” source
- What they did 2021 “Norhart Apartments bought a facility in Forest Lake off 11th Street in the summer of 2021 to create a “steel stud factory” to manufacture its own materials and pre-construct wall panels for the apartment buildings the company owns and manages.” source
- What they did 2023 “Norhart is vertically integrated and owns the majority of the components of production from the manufacturing of wall panels and precast beams to the plumbing and electrical trades to management team leasing properties to the end customer.” source
- What they said 2023 “When we look at the world of construction, it's been mostly flatlined. Over the past 60 years, manufacturing has improved labor productivity by 760%, but construction has done only 10%.” source
- Randy Carr, World Emblem (Hollywood, Florida, family-owned emblem and promotional products maker) owner, United States
Moved a family emblem maker from consultant-led cost cuts to a firm-wide lean management system, then restructured its promo brands into one unit and reshored production to Georgia and Texas.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Carr – who took over running the business in 1998 – will be the first to tell you (and everyone else who reads his candid LinkedIn posts) that being part of a family business isn’t a day at a Dominican beach.” source
- What they did 2025 “The patch and emblem manufacturer announced a restructuring that will consolidate all promo products into a single unified brand called Custom Genie and reshore operations for the company’s promo arm to Norcross, Georgia.” source
- What they said 2024 “When we called our consultants in, they gave shock treatment to the business. So they came in and shocked everyone in the organization. And we got the margin we wanted. We got the results of the spend, and when they started to pull out, it just started to backslide. So we never changed the DNA.” source
- What they said 2025 “We’ve also doubled down on automation and technology to stay competitive regardless of global headwinds.” source
- Jay Multanen, Bestbath (Caldwell, Idaho, family-owned maker of accessible showers and tubs) owner, United States
Second-generation co-owner who runs a family shower maker as a build-to-order lean system with firm-wide profit sharing and a dedicated lean function, so every employee solves problems daily.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Today, under the leadership of second-generation owners Megan and Jay Multanen, we remain proudly family-led and future-focused.” source
- What they did 2018 “So, effectively we have 170 employees focused on the bottom line. And we take our profit sharing very seriously. That is how we ensure every member of the organization is committed to a company that is healthy, financially, and with a healthy pipeline.” source
- What they did 2023 “Gain insights into how Bestbath has built a problem-solving culture through methodical structural changes and targeted people development strategies.” source
- What they said 2018 “From an operating perspective, we like to focus on the value stream, and service that as best we can,” he states. “We utilize our assets and strive to eliminate waste in that value building process.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not a guest on Lean Blog, WLEI, HBS MFoW, View From The Top or Building Unbreakable Brands feeds.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not a guest on any of the five feeds, despite the lean-management fit.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not a guest; Australian and world-transformer.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya View From The Top 2022 episode is about culture ('Creating the Right Environment'), no change to how Chobani works.
- Missed Aaron Levie Not a guest on any of the five feeds.
- Found Satya Nadella (signal in 2019) View From The Top, December 2019. Host summary, not own words; weak hit and on the show that was rejected as a spine.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not a guest; Swiss.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not a guest; only Patagonia's hired CEO Rose Marcario on View From The Top (2020).
Route 80: Third sweep of Route 77: US firm leaders explaining in their own words how they rebuilt the firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 77 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search published podcast transcripts and show notes in wealth management, accounting, law, insurance, healthcare services, construction, manufacturing, logistics and agencies.
- Write down each chief executive, founder or managing partner who describes a dated, costly change to how their firm does its work, and the firm.
- Confirm their current role in a dated 2025 or 2026 source.
- Find a second source on a different page, such as the firm's newsroom or trade press, that confirms the change.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself.
- Keep US people only, and skip anyone already found by any route.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route as written (many sector podcasts, Listen Notes, Podscribe) again returns show directories and vendor or consultant guests: Lawyerist, Build a Better Agency, Earmark, Founding Partner, The ESOP Podcast and ESOP for Contractors gave nothing countable. It works when narrowed to a show whose format selects for one costly act: the Construction ESOP Collective (constructionesopcollective.com, launched July 2026) publishes a full transcript per episode with contractor CEOs explaining an ESOP sale they structured and paid for, and the adviser's own podcast (Menke ESOP Radio) or a registry page gives the second URL. One RIA name came from Sara Grillo show notes.
Sources: podcast transcript pages; Listen Notes; firm newsrooms; trade press
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- WebSearch on podcast show-notes phrasing (converted, switched, became an ESOP, stopped billing) through industry podcast episode pages with show notes or transcript gives episode page (joined on episode URL)
- episode page through same page: guest intro line gives leader and firm (joined on guest name + firm)
- person through firm newsroom, annual letter or team page dated 2025-2026 gives dated role line (joined on person name)
- person + firm through firm site page or trade press on the same change gives second page confirming the change (joined on firm name)
- episode notes through same page gives cost check and earliest move (year) (joined on person name)
New names that passed every check
- David Jaeger, Legacy Utility Group (Nor-Cal Pipeline Services), Roseville, California ceo, United States
Turned down a decade of private equity approaches and sold 49 percent of the family utility contractor to its employees in March 2025, then added a holding company and a Texas acquisition while carrying the transaction debt.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Dave is the CEO of Nor-Cal Pipeline Services out in Roseville, California.” source
- What they did 2025 “After years of significant growth in underground utility construction, CEO Dave Jaeger and the leadership team sought a succession plan that would preserve the company” source
- What they said 2026 “because we didn't go fully 100 percent ESOP, we did 49 percent. And then it was an opportunity for us to really put our money where our mouth is.” source
- What they said 2026 “Dave is a second generation owner of the company and has ambitious goals for the company and himself.” source
- Ralph Dumke, Waterline Industries, Seabrook, New Hampshire owner, United States
Sold his water and wastewater contractor 100 percent to an ESOP in 2018 and seller-financed the whole deal himself so the company would not carry bank debt, at the cost of losing the bank the day after closing.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Joining me today is Ralph Dumke, founder and CEO of Waterline Industries in Seabrook, New Hampshire.” source
- What they did 2018 “Chuck, I really was skeptical this was going to work, and I didn't want to overload the company with debt and have people stressed out about that. So that's why I did it that way. We set it up so they had eight years to pay the note” source
- What they did 2018 “Website: http://waterlineind.com Location: Seabrook, NH Employee Ownership Type: ESOP Employee-Owned Since: 2018” source
- What they said 2026 “Ralph Dumke, founder and CEO of Waterline Industries, joins Chuck Mazzanti to share how the Seabrook, New Hampshire water and wastewater contractor became 100% employee-owned through an ESOP eight years ago.” source
- Bob Whalen, HB Global (HB McClure), Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ceo, United States
Bought into a century-old mechanical contractor in 2008, moved it to an ESOP in 2010 and built a captive buyout arm, HB Capital, so that about 30 acquisitions end up employee-owned.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Today's guest is Bob Whalen, CEO of HB Global and author of the book Beyond Your Ownership.” source
- What they did 2026 “HB Global has done over 30 acquisitions, a few of which have been funded by its separate business unit, HB Capital, which acts as its own special-purpose private equity firm” source
- What they said 2026 “I believe that you should get a rate of return for the risk you take, but I also believe, probably because of my upbringing, my parents were blue-collar workers, that you should share in that upside for the labor that has to do the work.” source
- Jamie Menges, PDS Planning, Dublin, Ohio (RIA, about $1.7 billion AUM) executive, United States
Moved a 400-client RIA from asset-based fees to flat dollar fees starting in 2016, giving up the revenue that rises with markets in exchange for fees tied to the work.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jamie Menges, CFP®, CPA, President, Shareholder Rita Itsell, Shareholder” source
- What they did 2016 “They had 400 clients when they started their flat fee conversion in 2016. They now have 600 clients.” source
- What they said 2026 “Finally, our flat-fee business model is unique in our industry. Our fees are a representation of the work we perform, not the amount of assets our clients invest with us.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; outside a US-only route, and no US industry podcast in the sweep hosts him.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; outside the US route.
- Missed Satya Nadella US, but a Fortune 10 CEO; small-firm industry podcasts (Sara Grillo, Earmark, ESOP and remodeler shows) never host him.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada; outside the US route.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia; outside the US route.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland; outside the US route.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard US, but famous founder; the industry shows swept host small-firm owners, and Patagonia's 2022 ownership move did not surface in any receipt.
- Missed Aaron Levie US, but a public software CEO; not a guest on any industry podcast swept.
Route 81: Third sweep of Route 47: US electric cooperatives, municipal utilities and energy services firms that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 47 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search utility trade press (Utility Dive, NRECA America's Electric Cooperatives news, Public Power (APPA), T&D World, Canary Media, Smart Energy International US) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US electric cooperative, municipal or regional utility, or energy services contractor changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. AI, restructure and new-arm phrasings again gave nothing; three names came from costly supply and service-model moves outside the Colorado and Indiana exits that S-47 and S-59 worked: a Texas municipal utility building its own plant, a Texas co-op running its own DER software and virtual power plant, and a Nebraska public power district leaving its G&T.
Sources: Utility Dive; NRECA; American Public Power Association; T&D World; Canary Media; press wires; co-op newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade or state-association story through APPA Public Power Current, NRECA news, CFC Solutions, state co-op associations (NREA), Texas Tribune gives utility or co-op (joined on utility name)
- utility through utility or G&T newsroom, PR Newswire release issued by the co-op gives dated act and cost (joined on utility name + act)
- utility through same story or release gives chief executive or general manager quoted on the old model's limit (joined on name + title)
- chief executive through local paper (Kerr County Lead), second release, or association news gives dated 2025-2026 role line and tenure check (joined on name + utility)
- earliest move through earliest dated receipt gives signal year (joined on date)
New names that passed every check
- Mike Wittler, Kerrville Public Utility Board (KPUB, Kerrville, Texas municipally owned electric utility) ceo, United States
Facing the end of KPUB's main load-following purchase contract, he moved the municipal utility from buying all its power to owning a 122 MW gas plant financed by a Texas Energy Fund loan and bonds.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “this project is about planning ahead for our customers,” said Mike Wittler, KPUB General Manager & CEO. “By investing in our own generation, we are working to maintain stable, affordable rates for our community.”” source
- What they did 2025 “Three key factors drove the decision to build the plant: the expiration of a major power contract at the end of 2026, increasing energy scarcity driving up market prices, and the opportunity provided by the Texas Energy Fund’s low-interest financing.” source
- What they said 2025 ““One of KPUB’s largest power supply contracts, which supplies a significant portion of our power portfolio, will expire in the next few years,” Wittler explained. “This project is part of our strategic plan to explore the benefits of owning our own generation to maintain stable rates for customers in an increasingly vo” source
- What they did 2025 “The Kerrville City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve financing for a new natural gas power plant proposed by the Kerrville Public Utility Board (KPUB), marking a significant step toward securing the community’s energy future.” source
- Bill Hetherington, Bandera Electric Cooperative (BEC, Bandera and Boerne, Texas distribution co-op) ceo, United States
He turned a small distribution co-op into an operator of its own distributed-energy software (Apolloware), a battery-leasing service and a virtual power plant that sells member battery output into the ERCOT wholesale market.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Bandera Electric Cooperative CEO Bill Hetherington stands in front of a power box installed with Apolloware.” source
- What they did 2024 “proudly announces that its Aggregated Distributed Energy Resource (ADER) program, known as a Virtual Power Plant, successfully qualified for participation in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) wholesale power market.” source
- What they did 2025 “Bandera Electric’s program starts with Apolloware, a real-time energy management platform it developed to help customers control their energy usage.” source
- What they said 2025 “Smart thermostats already installed in Texas could offer the grid up to 2.6 gigawatts, according to Bandera Electric CEO Bill Hetherington.” source
- What they said 2025 “We are always looking for innovative ways to provide our members with greater energy resilience and cost savings,” source
- Curtis Kayton, Chimney Rock Public Power District (Bayard, Nebraska) executive, United States
He led a small Nebraska public power district to give binding notice to leave a 70-year wholesale supplier whose contract ran to 2050 or 2066, accepting a FERC-set exit payment to buy power elsewhere.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Chimney Rock General Manager Curtis Kayton told KNEB News recent changes in the policies, regulations and laws of Colorado are the big driver behind Tri-State’s new rates.” source
- What they did 2025 “provided not-for-profit wholesale power supply cooperative Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association non-conditional notices to withdraw from membership in Tri-State and terminate their wholesale electric service contracts (WESCs) early.” source
- What they said 2025 “Kayton noted the relationship between the public power districts in this part of the state and Tri-State goes back to the 1950s, and so while it’s an arrangement that’s difficult to walk away from, the step is needed as the district looks out for their members.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss pharmaceutical firm; this sweep reads only US electric co-op, public power and utility press, and no receipt mentions him.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel firm; no co-op, public power or utility receipt in this sweep mentions its ownership change.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in utility press only as a data-center load customer; no receipt quotes its CEO on a firm redesign.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian commerce firm outside the US utility universe; no receipt mentions him.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian firm outside the US utility universe; no receipt mentions him.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a software firm outside the US utility universe; no receipt mentions him.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food firm; utility press does not cover its workforce or ownership moves and no receipt mentions him.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian; its green energy moves are covered in non-US press, outside this US co-op and public power sweep.
Route 82: Third sweep of Route 46: US senior living, home care and post-acute operators that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 46 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search aging-services trade press (Senior Housing News, Skilled Nursing News, McKnight's Senior Living, McKnight's Long-Term Care News, Home Care Magazine, Argentum news) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US senior living operator, home care agency, skilled nursing or post-acute operator changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: Senior Housing News; Skilled Nursing News; McKnight's Senior Living; McKnight's Long-Term Care News; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- mechanism or format query through WebSearch with allowed_domains on seniorhousingnews.com, skillednursingnews.com, homehealthcarenews.com, hospicenews.com (Transform podcast write-ups, BUILD and RETHINK panel stories, 2025 watch lists, value-based care series) gives trade story (joined on story URL)
- trade story through same story gives operator and its founder, owner or CEO quoted in own words (joined on operator name plus named leader)
- leader through WebSearch '<operator> <leader>' without domain filter, then fetch the outlet's older interview (SHN+ TALKS transcript, NIC conference interview) or the firm's own history page gives second and third dated citation of the act at distinct URLs (joined on leader name plus operator name)
- leader through dated 2025-2026 trade story naming the role gives control check (founder, owner or CEO of a private firm) (joined on title line)
- redesign act through earliest dated story describing the act, or the year stated in it gives signal year (joined on publication date or stated year)
New names that passed every check
- Joel Theisen, Lifespark (St. Louis Park, Minnesota; senior living manager of about 50 communities plus home health, geriatric medical practice and hospice; founder-led since 2004) owner, United States
Turning a home-based care company into a senior living operator paid for outcomes: it took global risk for Medicare Advantage seniors, built its own medical practice, home health and hospice, bought a 40-community assisted living operator to run inside that model, and in 2026 put every service line under one model.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “according to Kiernan and Joel Theisen, CEO and founder of Lifespark.” source
- What they did 2018 “Motivated by his experience as a nurse to create a longitudinal experience for patients, in 2018 he launched a medical practice that took on full global risk – financial upside and downside – with Medicare Advantage plan partners that invested in the company, excited by the promise of its model to achieve the triple ai” source
- What they said 2021 “As I was in the home health business back in the early ’90s, I saw the flaws in this acute/reactive service model and the fact that we don’t really look at people holistically across their life journey.” source
- What they did 2026 “The model brings together four “key components” the company has in its wheelhouse – senior living property management, activities and wellness programming led by Lifespark Chief Independence Officer Dr. Bill Thomas, medical services and hospice services – under one unified effort, according to CEO Joel Theisen.” source
- What they said 2025 ““I believe we all need to think carefully about how to monetize and bring together all the assets around a person into one vehicle,” Theisen said.” source
- Greg Roderick, Frontier Senior Living (formerly Frontier Management; Dallas, Texas; 25 to 32 managed senior living communities; founded by Roderick in 2000) owner, United States
Rebuilding a shrunken senior living manager around one staffing and care model written to the strictest state rules, with care priced by minutes, agency labor cut out and back office outsourced, because the old 'build it and they will come' growth model stopped working.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Frontier President and CEO Greg Roderick said it also allowed the operator to refocus its operations and retool everything from staffing to resident rates and expenses and emerge on better footing.” source
- What they did 2022 “The operator also increased wages by 15% to 25% — with employees now earning between $16 and $22 — and invested more than $8.5 million in other benefits for employees.” source
- What they did 2025 “The company also redesigned its staffing model using Oregon’s state regulations – “the most stringent in America,” Roderick said – so it can do business in any U.S. state.” source
- What they said 2026 “The ‘build it and they will come’ mentality is gone and we’ve had to really reemphasize who we are, get the message out and perform extremely well.” source
- What they said 2026 ““We have one model that meets all states at a far higher level than anyone expected,” Roderick said.” source
- Pilar Carvajal, Innovation Senior Living (formerly Innovation Senior Management; Winter Park, Florida; middle-market and Medicaid-waiver assisted living, five to eight communities; founded by Carvajal in 2016) owner, United States
Running middle-market assisted living on a universal-worker, clustered-leadership staffing model and moving the firm toward serving seniors who stay at home, through an adult day and longevity program it builds itself.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Innovation Senior Living Founder and CEO Pilar Carvajal said the “visionary” concept could expand Innovation’s reach to serve new seniors.” source
- What they did 2025 “The operator uses a universal worker model where frontline staff take on a variety of roles, from food service to wellness activities.” source
- What they did 2025 “Innovation Senior Living is rolling out a new model for adult day that combines those services with cognitive engagement and socialization.” source
- What they said 2025 ““This is a little controversial, but I’m looking to focus on keeping individuals at home, which we all know is our biggest competitor,” Carvajal said.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in aging-services trade press only as a vendor (Azure, Copilot); not an operator.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker; no US senior living, home care or post-acute operation.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy; outside US aging services.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian commerce software; not an aging-services operator.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial firm; outside the US and outside aging services.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya US food maker; never an operator in SHN, SNN, HHCN or Hospice News.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma; drug makers appear only as suppliers to operators.
- Missed Aaron Levie Cloud software; not an aging-services operator.
Route 83: Third sweep of Route 37: US family-owned and private mid-market manufacturers that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 37 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search manufacturing trade press (IndustryWeek, Manufacturing Dive, Assembly Magazine, The Fabricator, Plant Engineering, Smart Industry, state manufacturers association news, Family Business magazine) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US family-owned or private mid-market manufacturer changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 2 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · signal lagged recognition by a median 10 years (2 cases) · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempt 1 of 3, refine. A third US manufacturer sweep on outlets S-37 and S-61 did not use (NIST MEP success-story index, IMEC, Insight on Manufacturing, BizTimes, Printing Impressions, Food Business News, Assembly Plant of the Year, IndustryWeek Leader of the Week) gave 2 thin names. MEP success stories are consultant-written and the acts are small (lean systems, ISO, an AI chatbot proof of concept with $12,000 savings). Generic AI, four-day week, restructure and EOT wire searches again returned vendors, giants and transactions. The one costly, dated, firm-wide AI change came from Manufacturing Dive's aerospace-supplier beat (Amca).
Sources: IndustryWeek; Manufacturing Dive; Assembly Magazine; The Fabricator; Family Business magazine; NCEO employee ownership news; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- keyword or beat through NIST MEP success-story index (?k=transformation, ?k=artificial+intelligence) or Manufacturing Dive operations/AI beat gives story naming a US manufacturer and its quoted leader (joined on firm name + quoted leader name)
- story through story body (fetch.mjs --text) gives leader quoted on a firm-wide change, with role line (joined on leader name + title)
- firm through second outlet: state MEP centre page (imec.org) or the firm's own wire release (prnewswire.com) gives dated act in a second voice (joined on firm name)
- leader through firm site or trade story role line gives control check (founder, owner, president of private firm) (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Jai Malik, Advanced Manufacturing Company of America (Amca) ceo, United States
He is buying and rebuilding aging certified aerospace and defense suppliers around one AI-powered engineering-to-production platform, funded by a $300M round.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Amca was established in 2024 by Malik and COO Eli Giovanetti” source
- What they did 2026 “The company is also deploying RAPID, Amca's vertically integrated, AI-powered product development platform across its entire manufacturing network.” source
- What they did 2025 “The startup raised $76.5 million in initial funding in April 2025 and acquired its first supplier, Electro-Mech Components, in South El Monte, California.” source
- What they said 2026 “What I saw firsthand while I was at Countdown was a supply chain problem where one capacity was actively declining” source
- Eileen Cunningham, Meyer Tool & Manufacturing, Inc. (Oak Lawn, Illinois; 30+ employees) owner, United States
She moved her precision fabrication shop to a firm-wide lean daily management system that hands every department its own scorecards and improvement ideas.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Cunningham, who took over as president of the company” source
- What they did 2025 “Meyer Tool partnered with IMEC to implement a customized Lean Daily Management System that integrates practical tools with cultural transformation.” source
- What they said 2025 “Lean principles and continuous improvement aren’t just tools here, they’ve become a voice for every person on our team.” source
- Hugh Burhans, St. Paul Corrugating Company (Columbia Heights, Minnesota; 20+ employees, founded 1885) owner, United States
He put his whole 140-year-old fabrication shop, from shipping to leadership, through a restructure of roles, accountability and HR because the siloed old model capped how much business he could take on.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Hugh Burhans, president and owner of Columbia Heights-based SPC, knew it was time to take action.” source
- What they did 2025 “The entire staff, from shipping and assembly to leadership, needed to change to grow the business, and he realized that the company lacked the internal resources to do so.” source
- What they said 2024 “The bottom line is, if I can’t have an organization that’s running in top form, it limits my ability to go out and get more business.” source
- What they did 2025 “$100,000 invested in workforce practices or employee skills $500,000 in increased investment in new products or processes” source
- Michele Derrigo-Barnes, Plattco Corporation (Plattsburgh, New York; employee-owned industrial valve maker, 55 employees) ceo, United States
She is moving a 126-year-old employee-owned valve maker off two aging buildings onto new machines, a new foundry furnace and a planned modern facility, retraining every manager for the move.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Michele Derrigo-Barnes, President & CEO of Plattco Corporation, the youngest and first woman to lead the organization in its 126 year history.” source
- What they did 2025 “Recognizing that this transformation affects every part of the organization, Plattco engaged CITEC, part of the New York MEP and the MEP National Network, to help build the organizational readiness and alignment needed to support their long-term growth and modernization goals over many years.” source
- What they did 2024 “We also started to invest in ourselves in 2023. For the first time ever, we bought two brand new milling machines. In the past, we have never been able to afford to buy anything new.” source
- What they said 2024 “At the beginning of 2024, we will install a new 2,000-pound furnace in the Foundry as well, which will allow us to be more efficient. This is an exciting time to be at Plattco!” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian; the route is US only and US manufacturer trade press does not cover Shopify.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian; out of the route's US geography.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is not a manufacturer; the route's outlets do not carry his firm redesign.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO; out of the route's US geography.
- Found Yvon Chouinard (signal in 2022) Family Business magazine, Oct 2022: the ownership change to a purpose trust. Found by searching the route's own outlets for the firm.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is software, not a manufacturer.
- Found Hamdi Ulukaya (signal in 2016) Food Dive, March 2016: employee share grant at a private food manufacturer. Hit only through a name query, not a cold sweep.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian; out of the route's US geography.
Route 84: Third sweep of Route 45: US behavioral health, therapy and specialty practice groups that changed how the work gets done
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- Read what the first run of Route 45 searched, then use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates from 2023 to 2026.
- Search specialty care trade press (Behavioral Health Business, Becker's specialty sections, Physician Practice, Medical Economics, PT in Motion, Healthcare Innovation) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US behavioral health provider, therapy practice group, or specialty physician practice (dermatology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, physical therapy) changed how its work gets done across the firm, for example an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm.
- Write down the firm the story names.
- Write down the leader the story quotes on why the old way of working had hit its limit: the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner.
- Find a second source on a different page that confirms the change: the firm's own announcement or another outlet.
- Confirm that this person can decide today, using a dated 2025 or 2026 source that names their role or ownership.
- Confirm that the change has a date and a real cost, and that it is more than a sale or change of ownership.
- Search back for the firm's earliest move to redesign itself, to date when the change began.
- Skip anyone already found by any route.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: Behavioral Health Business; Becker's Healthcare; Physician Practice; Medical Economics; Healthcare Innovation; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- CMS Innovation Center model through CMS ACCESS Model Participants page (cms.gov) gives participating organization with BH track (joined on Organization Name + Clinical Track column)
- participating organization through firm's own acceptance or deal release (PR Newswire, PRWeb) gives founder or chief executive quoted (joined on organization name, 'said <Name>, <title>' line)
- named chief executive through second outlet (TechCrunch, Healthcare IT Today, HIT Consultant) gives dated act on the core work (AI agent deployment, risk contracts) (joined on person name + firm name)
- named chief executive through same 2026 release boilerplate gives control check (joined on founder / CEO role line dated 2026)
New names that passed every check
- Neil Batlivala, Pair Team (AI-enabled medical group for Medicaid and Medicare safety-net patients, California) ceo, United States
Moving a safety-net medical group from human-only care teams paid per service to an AI voice agent at the front door paid on Medicare outcomes.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"At Pair Team, we've been building toward this moment for years," said Neil Batlivala, CEO and Founder of Pair Team.” source
- What they did 2025 “But for years, delivering that level of care required human teams, which limited how fast and cheaply it could scale. Then, about nine months ago, Pair Team deployed a voice AI agent called Flora as its primary patient-facing interface.” source
- What they did 2026 “Oaks Integrated Care Inc. BH One Brooklyn Health CKM Pair Team Medical Group of CA P.C. eCKM, CKM, BH Pair Team Medical Group P.A. eCKM, CKM, BH” source
- What they said 2026 “Flora is not just a layer on top of care, it is the engine that powers it, serving as a trusted, always-available companion that patients rely on every day.” source
- Steve Sidel, Mindoula Health (private behavioral health provider, founded 2013) ceo, United States
Moving a behavioral health provider from fee-for-service care management into outcome-paid Medicare and risk-based contracts across the continuum.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “and who are willing to do risk-based deals across the continuum of care," said Steve Sidel, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mindoula.” source
- What they did 2026 “Mid Michigan Health Centers, in partnership with General Cognitive and Teleph0s intelligence MSK, BH Milu Health Dr LLC eCKM, CKM Mindoula Health, Inc. BH” source
- What they said 2026 “Health plans, health systems, primary care practice groups, and hospitals are increasingly seeking out behavioral health providers who can offer a full range of solutions for complex and risking risk populations with behavioral health needs” source
- Dan Frogel, Thriveworks (private outpatient mental health provider, 2,000+ W-2 clinicians, Wellington-backed) ceo, United States
Moving a direct-to-consumer therapy chain into an enterprise model embedded in health systems, starting with the purchase of an AI-powered telehealth provider.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Dan Frogel, CEO of Thriveworks, said, “ Primary care and hospital settings have become the front door to mental health care, making behavioral integration essential.” source
- What they did 2024 “The deal is Thriveworks’ first acquisition, and more may be on the way after the company fully integrates with Synchronous.” source
- What they did 2024 “Nashville, Tennessee-based Synchronous Health pairs AI technology with telehealth behavioral health appointments, partnering with health systems, payers, employers and education systems.” source
- What they said 2024 “Thriveworks was founded and gained a lot of success in the direct-to-consumer marketing channels,” Frogel said. “It has started to evolve that into more of a partnership model on top of all the wonderful things that we do on the direct-to-consumer side.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO; not a US behavioral health or specialty practice group, and absent from CMS ACCESS and BH trade press
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft CEO; US but outside behavioral health providers; not an ACCESS participant
- Missed Aaron Levie Box CEO; US software, outside the route's sector
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify CEO, Canada; outside US behavioral health
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance, India; outside the route's sector and geography
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani owner; US food, not a behavioral health or therapy practice
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue, Australia; outside sector and geography
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco owner, Brazil; outside sector and geography
Route 85: Marty profile: independent wealth management and RIA founders
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search independent wealth management firms and registered investment advisers with 50 to 2,000 staff (Barron's and InvestmentNews top RIA lists, RIABiz, WealthManagement.com, Financial Advisor IQ, Citywire RIA headlines, firm newsrooms) for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Attempt 2 inverted the route: instead of topic sweeps of RIA trade press it walked named independent firms surfaced by interview series (WealthManagement.com Diamond Podcast, RIA Edge 100, firm newsrooms, found via the Hawkeye wealth archive). 1 leader passed all tests (Andy Schwartz, OnePoint BFG: 1099 to W-2 conversion, fee-only move, full-time coach role, own-words quote). Near misses: Brighton Jones (no own-words quote on fetched pages), Aspiriant (ownership story only), Halbert Hargrove (paraphrase only, 44 staff in older count), Claro Advisors (AI-native platform via NDVR acquisition, but headcount and ownership unconfirmed; release mirrors 403). The route works but yields slowly. Attempt 3 added Jon Jones (Brighton Jones: 350 staff, 100% employee-owned, majority-owned by the co-founders, OpenPlan virtual service, trust company chartered July 2026). Rejected in attempt 3: Maridea (119th Street and Pelican PE stake, Pelican makes control investments), Claro (about 22 employees), Procyon (news is hires and acquisitions), Savant (PE-backed), Gateway (affiliated-advisor network). Final: 2 of 3 names.
Sources: independent wealth management firms and registered investment advisers with 50 to 2,000 staff (Barron's and InvestmentNews top RIA lists, RIABiz, WealthManagement.com, Financial Advisor IQ, Citywire RIA headlines, firm newsrooms)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- phrase query through site-restricted WebSearch over wealthmanagement.com, investmentnews.com, riabiz.com, financial-planning.com, fa-mag.com gives story (joined on story URL)
- story through trade story text gives RIA firm and leader (joined on firm name plus named CEO or founder)
- firm through second trade story or firm newsroom gives ownership and headcount (joined on firm name; private-equity backer named in story or Form ADV Schedule A owner)
- leader through trade story quotes gives own-words why quote (joined on leader name)
- firm through firm newsroom or dated 2025-2026 story gives earliest redesign move (joined on firm name plus date)
New names that passed every check
- Andy Schwartz, OnePoint BFG Wealth Partners (formerly Bleakley Financial Group), Parsippany, New Jersey; RIA with about $18B, roughly 17 locations; Rise Growth Partners holds a noncontrolling minority stake ceo, United States
Rebuilt a Northwestern Mutual breakaway practice into one enterprise: moved advisors from 1099 to W-2, dropped the LPL brokerage tie for fee-based advice and put a full-time life coach on staff beside advisors.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Bleakley CEO Andy Schwartz and Joe Duran, the former United Capital CEO, first forecasted the rebrand after Duran’s Rise Growth took a noncontrolling, minority stake in the Parsippany, N.J., firm last summer.” source
- What they did 2026 “Andy describes the evolution from a predominantly 1099 structure into a firm where more than 85% of advisors and AUM are now W-2.” source
- What they did 2025 “OnePoint has launched an equity program for its advisors , hired a new chief growth officer, dropped its brokerage affiliation with LPL Financial in a move toward fee-based services, and grown assets by more than $2 billion to about $12 billion.” source
- What they said 2026 “Financial plans should serve lives, not the other way around. To do that well, someone needs to be present when clients figure out what kind of life they actually want. Most firms do not have that seat. We do, and we intend to keep it filled.” source
- Jon Jones, Brighton Jones, Seattle; RIA, 350 employees, 100% employee-owned, majority-owned by co-founders Jon Jones and Charles Brighton, no outside capital owner, United States
Co-founder who built the firm around an in-house Personal CFO model and keeps adding owned service arms (a virtual OpenPlan service for young professionals, then a chartered trust company in 2026) funded from cash flow instead of outside capital.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founded over 25 years ago, the firm serves more than 4,000 client households with over $18 billion in assets under management and a 98% client retention rate. Brighton Jones is majority-owned by co-founders Jon Jones and Charles Brighton.” source
- What they did 2022 “a newer institutional retirement planning business complemented by OpenPlan, a virtual wealth management service created for young investors in the early stages of their career.” source
- What they said 2026 “Having no outside shareholders is part of what enables that model to operate. As designed, it allows profits to be reinvested in deepening and expanding their service offering.” source
- What they did 2026 “BJTC was built around the core belief that trust services should feel like the rest of your Brighton Jones relationship” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public technology company, not an independent RIA; it never appears in RIA trade coverage of firm redesigns, and fails the Marty profile (public,
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; outside the US independent wealth universe the route sweeps.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public company; WealthManagement.com syndication of non-advice stories counts as a miss (LESSONS, S-21).
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; no RIA trade coverage as a firm leader.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; appears in RIA press only as a vendor, if at all.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; outside the route's population.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a private food maker, not a wealth or advisory firm; the RIA sweep does not reach it.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a private apparel firm; its ownership transfer appears in wealth press only as a syndicated planning anecdote, which is a miss by rule.
Route 86: Marty profile: multi-family offices, trust companies and outsourced CIO firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search multi-family offices, independent trust companies and outsourced CIO firms (Family Wealth Report, Private Wealth, Trusts & Estates, firm newsrooms) for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Two attempts (about 32 web searches and 26 fetch attempts) found no US multi-family office, independent trust company or OCIO leader who fits the whole Marty profile. Attempt 2 inverted the route (fit list first, then each firm's releases and interviews) and hit the same wall as attempt 1: firms big enough (50+ staff) and independent are run by hired CEOs under founders, families or member owners (Cresset's Susie Cranston, Fiducient's Sabrina Bailey, National Advisors Trust's John Sullivan, Fiduciary Trust's Adam Spector, Equity Trust), or publish AI programmes with no named leader voice (Brown Advisory, Cambridge Associates), while the one firm that built and spun out its own AI system (GenTrust, VIRA joint venture 2026) has 33 employees, a strategic outside investor (Kudu) and the quote comes from its CIO. Founder-led firms that did change were sold (Geller to Corient, 2025). The segment's public record is deals, appointments and vendor launches, not owner-voiced redesigns.
Sources: multi-family offices, independent trust companies and outsourced CIO firms (Family Wealth Report, Private Wealth, Trusts & Estates, firm newsrooms)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- weekly sweep through wealth trade press (WealthManagement.com, Family Wealth Report, Crain Currency, InvestmentNews, ai-cio.com) gives MFO, trust company or OCIO firm announcing a change (joined on firm name in headline)
- firm through same story or firm newsroom gives leader quoted on why (joined on 'said <Name>, founder and CEO')
- leader through second outlet or firm newsroom gives second dated page on the same change (joined on name + firm)
- firm through firm about page, Form ADV Part 2A, 2025-2026 speaker bio gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm legal name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not a multi-family office, trust company or OCIO firm; the route's sources never cover him.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian commerce platform; out of the route's universe and not US.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; wealth trade press does not cover it.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and not a wealth or trust firm; out of universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; out of universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; out of universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; out of universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a wealth firm; family wealth press does not carry its operating changes.
Route 87: Marty profile: regional accounting firms not owned by private equity
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search regional and mid-size CPA firms that remain partner-owned (INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400, Accounting Today regional leaders, CPA Practice Advisor, state CPA society news) for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route works only partly as written. Accounting trade and state-society press (Thomson Reuters Institute, Illinois CPA Society Insight, Journal of Accountancy podcasts, Accounting Today Best Firms for Technology, firm newsrooms) surface partner-owned CPA firm leaders who changed how the firm works, but most stories are about staying independent or about AI aspiration. Four names passed the Marty checks in about 30 fetches. The yield came from 'firms that said no to private equity' features and practice-management podcasts, not from the IPA Top 400 or regional leader lists, which carry no change stories.
Sources: regional and mid-size CPA firms that remain partner-owned (INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400, Accounting Today regional leaders, CPA Practice Advisor, state CPA society news)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query through WebSearch over accounting trade and state CPA society press (thomsonreuters.com Institute, icpas.org Insight, journalofaccountancy.com, accountingtoday.com, insidepublicaccounting.com, regional business journals) gives article (joined on article URL)
- article through article attribution line gives firm and leader (joined on leader name plus firm)
- firm through firm newsroom or bio page (ghjadvisors.com, aafcpa.com, topelforman.com, grfcpa.com) or a second trade outlet gives second dated page on the change and role line (joined on firm name)
- leader through same receipts: headcount, independence statement, title gives Marty checks (size, private ownership, control) (joined on name plus title)
- change through same receipts gives signal year (joined on earliest dated move)
New names that passed every check
- Tom Barry, GHJ (GHJ Advisors), Los Angeles; 250-person Top 100 accounting and advisory firm, partner-owned and declared independent executive, United States
Keeping a 72-year-old firm partner-owned by cutting partner payouts to reinvest, and rebuilding how the firm measures and allocates people's time with firmwide AI time capture.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Tom is GHJ’s Managing Partner and a key driver of the Firm’s long-term growth and innovation strategy.” source
- What they did 2025 “practical responses have included a less generous distribution of profits to the partners for reinvestment, and a complete turnover in senior leadership over the last eight years.” source
- What they said 2025 ““Time is the most precious resource our people have,” Tom told Fortune . “We want their time spent on value-added client activities, not administrative tasks.”” source
- What they did 2025 “GHJ’s investment in Laurel reflects a larger strategy to empower employees, enhance agility and ensure that the Firm remains at the forefront of innovation in the accounting and advisory space.” source
- Carla McCall, AAFCPAs, Boston area; Top 100 CPA and consulting firm, partner-owned Certified B Corporation executive, United States
Rebuilding how a Top 100 firm does its work through an in-house data analytics and robotic process automation team and an Automation Center for Excellence.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Carla is Managing Partner of AAFCPAs, a U.S. Top 100 CPA and consulting firm based in New England.” source
- What they did 2021 “Automation Initiative, supported by the firm’s in-house Data Analytics/Robotic Process Automation team, to help our teams realize measurable results through more efficient and effective working infrastructures.” source
- What they did 2024 “Carla has led the firm’s creation of an Automation Center for Excellence, designed to streamline operations and drive cutting-edge efficiencies across the organization.” source
- What they said 2025 “increasing efficiency, simplifying complexity for our clients, or giving our team more time to focus on higher-value work,” explained Carla McCall, CPA, CGMA, Managing Partner . “We make deliberate choices about the tools we use and the partnerships we form, always with the goal of delivering better insight, better res” source
- David Levine, Topel Forman LLC, Chicago; 150-person accounting firm, partner-owned, voted against private equity in May 2025 executive, United States
Reimagining what an accounting firm should be by over-hiring to cut busy-season hours and running a fully flexible, office-optional firm instead of selling to private equity.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Chief Information Officer David Levine Managing Partner Connor Lindemann Tax Associate Christopher Lohr Tax Manager Christina Lomahan Tax Supervisor Ashley Lucas-Bailey Project Assistant Christine Ludwig Member/Partner” source
- What they did 2025 ““We’ve been trying to reimagine what an accounting firm should be. We’ve ‘over-hired’ to lower our busy season hours,” Levine says. “We’re trying to make this more of a regular profession without killing our people a couple times a year during deadlines.”” source
- What they said 2023 ““We are confident that Christine’s strong dedication to our clients and our people will allow Topel Forman to continue to be a people-centric, growing, independent firm,” says MP Dave Levine” source
- Jackie Cardello, GRF CPAs & Advisors, Bethesda, Maryland (Washington, DC area); partner-owned regional firm, over 140 staff executive, United States
Replacing an eat-what-you-kill partner pay formula with a goal-based one-firm model so partners work as one team rather than as separate books of business.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jackie Cardello, CPA is President and Managing Partner of GRF CPAs & Advisors, a leading CPA firm with international reach headquartered in metropolitan Washington, DC.” source
- What they said 2023 “We had started with what we call a purely formulaic, or some people like to call it, eat-what-you-kill model, which is based purely on a book of business. That tends to drive very selfish behaviors, and we wanted to change that.” source
- What they did 2023 “It is driving the behaviors that we want, and it is de-incentivizing the behaviors that we don’t want, and it has changed the partner behavior so that we are acting as one firm.” source
- What they said 2022 ““These well-deserved appointments also underscore our commitment to cultivating leadership and fostering growth opportunities for all our staff at GRF.”” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not a CPA firm, outside the route's universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial and services group; the route only searches US CPA firm press.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not an accounting firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharmaceutical company; outside the universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public mining company; outside the universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; outside the universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian public conglomerate; outside the universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software company; outside the universe.
Route 88: Marty profile: mid-size law firm chairs and managing partners
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers led by a chair or managing partner who redesigned the firm (LawSites, ABA Journal, Attorney at Work, state legal press, firm newsrooms) for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers led by a chair or managing partner who redesigned the firm (LawSites, ABA Journal, Attorney at Work, state legal press, firm newsrooms)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- search query through WebSearch over legal press and firm newsrooms (law-adjacent business, in-house AI, integrated consulting model) gives story (joined on firm name)
- story through firm newsroom release (re-hosted trade press summary) gives firm leader (joined on Managing Partner / Chair title line)
- firm leader through leader interview (Lawdragon Limelight, firm news, AmLaw summary) gives own-words quote (joined on person name)
- firm through firm 'About' boilerplate in release gives headcount and partnership ownership (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Michael Martz, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP (Columbus, Ohio; nearly 375 attorneys; partnership) executive, United States
Managing partner of a 375-lawyer Ohio firm who is turning it into a law firm plus a set of owned ancillary businesses, including a home-built agentic AI product sold by subscription.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP announced today that Michael D. Martz will assume the role of firm managing partner on January 1, 2018.” source
- What they did 2026 “In the past three years, Vorys has launched four ancillary businesses that complement its legal services and create new value for clients.” source
- What they did 2025 “Due to the overwhelming success of the pilot, AIV, LLC, Vorys' ancillary business that operates AIV Labor business, is now offering subscriptions.” source
- What they said 2026 “We're also making significant investments in artificial intelligence and legal technology. We are becoming leaders in the exploration and adoption of AI tools that will help us better serve our clients with more efficient, effective, and innovative legal services.” source
- What they said 2025 “Vorys has a long history of being an innovative and forward-thinking law firm, and we are constantly exploring opportunities for law-adjacent services and products,” source
- Donna Wilson, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP (Los Angeles; integrated law and consulting firm; partnership) executive, United States
CEO of a mid-size law firm who is rebuilding it as a hybrid law and consulting firm, with consultants and advisors working beside lawyers across its industry groups.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “She discussed how this success is a culmination of the Firm's five-year strategic plan set forth during her first term as CEO and Managing Partner.” source
- What they did 2026 “Strategic investments in trial capabilities, consulting professionals and technology have strengthened the Firm's position as a national powerhouse and trusted partner to clients” source
- What they did 2020 “Second, we are in the process of expanding the consulting and business advisory side of the business across our platform. Currently we have over 150 consultants and advisors working in four of our six industry and cross-industry groups” source
- What they said 2020 “Our clients tell us that with the rapid changes in technology, business, and regulation, the challenges they face require multi-faceted advice that often cannot be obtained from a monoline or solely consulting or law firm.” source
- Tony White, Thompson Hine LLP (Cleveland; AmLaw 200 partnership) executive, United States
Managing partner of an Ohio AmLaw 200 firm who relaunched its whole service delivery model as one AI-integrated platform combining project management, value-based pricing and flexible staffing.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Thompson Hine LLP , a law firm recognized for innovation, announced today that it has elected Tony White as its managing partner.” source
- What they did 2026 “Thompson Hine LLP today announced the launch of SmartPaTH Plus , its unified legal service delivery platform that integrates legal project management, flexible staffing, value-based pricing, process efficiency and AI-powered tools into a single, coordinated model.” source
- What they did 2026 “SmartPaTH Plus extends that foundation, integrating AI across nearly 100 workflows to enhance speed, consistency, and decision-making.” source
- What they said 2026 “Our clients have told us clearly what they need: predictable costs, faster turnaround and confidence that their law firm is leveraging technology to deliver better outcomes.” source
- What they said 2026 “Thompson Hine has spent over a decade building the infrastructure to practice law differently, and SmartPaTH Plus is the realization of that vision,” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner (Semco), not a US law firm leader; a US legal press and law firm newsroom sweep cannot surface him.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chair, not a US law firm leader; out of the route's universe by construction.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify chief executive in Canada, a public software company; the route only reaches US law firm chairs and managing partners.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani founder, a food maker not a law firm; legal press does not cover his redesign.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis chief executive, a Swiss public pharma company; outside the US law firm universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box chief executive; Box appears in legal press only as a vendor, never as a firm whose leader redesigned a law practice.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft chief executive; appears in legal press only as a vendor of AI tools, not as a law firm leader.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia founder; outside the law firm universe and the route found no legal press story about him.
Route 89: Marty profile: privately held insurance agencies and brokers
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search privately held independent insurance agencies and brokers (Insurance Journal and Business Insurance top privately held broker lists, Insurance Business America, Independent Agent magazine, agency newsrooms) for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempt 1 swept the 2023-2026 insurance trade press and found 0 Marty-profile names: AI and operating-model stories belong to PE platforms, vendors or people already listed. Attempt 2 switched the spine to award indexes S-67 did not use (Liberty Mutual Agent for the Future 2019, 2021 and 2022 winner pages, 2020 and 2026 URLs 404) plus the Rough Notes write-up of each class, then the firm's own site for role, headcount and private ownership. That gave 3 names: Paradiso (owner, 50+ staff, co-backed an agency AI product launched February 2025), Trent Dailey (owner-CEO of IMG, owned analytics company Premium Logic, salaried non-commission staff) and Mike Ross (CEO of privately held 800-person INSURICA, in-house AI robot and digital revenue engine). Weak points are stated in write-up.md: Ross's control over INSURICA is not shown (CEO, not shown as majority owner) and both AFTF-sourced signals predate 2023.
Sources: privately held independent insurance agencies and brokers (Insurance Journal and Business Insurance top privately held broker lists, Insurance Business America, Independent Agent magazine, agency newsrooms)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade-press story or award/benchmark index through Insurance Journal features, IBA interviews, IA Magazine Best Practices profiles, Rough Notes Agency of the Year candidates, Business Insurance news gives privately held US agency or broker with a change to how the work is done (joined on agency name)
- agency through same story or agency newsroom gives leader quoted on why the old model had a limit (joined on agency name + leader name)
- agency change through second, different outlet or firm newsroom gives confirmation of the dated costly change (joined on agency name + year)
- person through firm site or dated 2025-2026 page gives headcount, private ownership (not PE), and control (joined on person name)
- agency through earliest dated story of the change gives signal year (joined on agency name)
New names that passed every check
- Chris Paradiso, Paradiso Insurance (Paradiso Financial & Insurance Services, independent agency, Stafford, Connecticut; 50+ employees) owner, United States
An agency owner who put his own money and time into building an insurance-trained AI knowledge engine for agency work, after earlier automating routine service so staff could spend time on clients.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Chris’s unwavering dedication to exemplary customer service has led him to build and grow his own agency to the 50+ employees that it is today.” source
- What they did 2025 “The other thought leader, Chris Paradiso, owner of Paradiso Insurance, joined Hunt during every step of the product’s development. Not only did the two back the project, but they helped architect it, drove strategic build decisions” source
- What they said 2019 “We use technology to automate some of our routine communications and service tasks so we can spend more time creating personal relationships with our customers.” source
- Trent Dailey, Insurance Management Group (IMG, locally owned independent agency, Marion, Indiana) owner, United States
Owner-CEO of a century-old Indiana agency who set up an owned data-analytics company (Premium Logic) and pays staff salaries rather than sales commission, and says agency owners cannot be trapped by conventional thinking.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Corporate Team Trent Dailey CEO Todd Dailey President, COO James Harness Chief Relationship Officer” source
- What they did 2022 “The agency’s president created a data analytics tool designed to give independent insurance agency leaders strategic insights into the state of their business.” source
- What they said 2022 “The insurance landscape is changing, and we as agency owners have a choice: We either embrace it or we fight it,” he explains. “We can’t be trapped by conventional thinking.” source
- What they did 2026 “Our staff are salaried employees, unlike most other insurance companies that pay sales commission.” source
- Mike Ross, INSURICA (privately held commercial insurance broker, Oklahoma City; 800+ colleagues, 35+ offices) ceo, United States
Long-serving CEO of a privately held 800-person broker that built its own AI robot for account processing, a digital revenue engine and its own data products, and frames the next chapter as transformational growth.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Mike Ross, after serving as President & CEO for the past 25 years, will transition to the role of Chairman & CEO.” source
- What they did 2022 “The agency developed an in-house AI “robot” to perform routine account processing tasks. They built a “digital revenue engine” that generates sales through customer relationship management and automated marketing.” source
- What they said 2025 ““I am excited to move toward our next chapter of transformational growth,” Ross added.” source
- What they did 2022 “Seven years ago, INSURICA set forth to prepare for the future by becoming the most innovative agency in the industry,” says Kylie Hubbard, director of innovation.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor-apparel maker, not an insurance agency; not in insurance trade press as a leader
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not an insurance agency or broker
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in insurance press only as an AI vendor; public company
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada; Shopify is not an insurance agency
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a software vendor, not an insurance agency
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia; Fortescue is not an insurance agency
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; Semco is not a US insurance agency
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; Reliance is not covered by US agency trade press
Route 90: Marty profile: Vistage, EO and YPO member chief executives
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search published stories and interviews of Vistage, Entrepreneurs' Organization and YPO member chief executives of mid-size private service firms (vistage.com blog and case studies, EO Octane magazine, YPO member stories, chapter features) for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Vistage, EO and YPO publish their member stories openly and fetch at 200, but the stories are membership marketing. Vistage Perspectives features, award blurbs and SBA write-ups are about growth, succession, ESOP sales, ownership buyouts and peer-group benefits. EO pages are advice columns and Inc. 5000 lists, and YPO stories are mostly non-US. Across 41 receipts (about 45 articles and profiles), 5 leaders described a change to how the work gets done. None fit the Marty profile. Mix Consulting has 12 employees. TriCore is a nonprofit sponsored by two health systems, so its CEO does not control it, and its automation programme predates her. ASCI's 2020 move was an ownership buyout. A 26-person law firm is too small, and Copper Sky's change is a bottom-up tool policy with no cost. Result: 0 names.
Sources: published stories and interviews of Vistage, Entrepreneurs' Organization and YPO member chief executives of mid-size private service firms (vistage.com blog and case studies, EO Octane magazine, YPO member stories, chapter features)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- mechanism query or issue index through Vistage Perspectives issue covers (perspectives.vistage.com/<season>-<year>/cover-<season>-<year>), Vistage research-center and awards pages, EO blog, YPO stories gives member feature article (joined on article URL)
- member feature through same article (Member / Company / Chair / Location box) gives firm and leader (joined on member name plus company)
- leader through article body quotes gives leader's own words on why the old model had a limit (joined on leader name)
- firm through WebSearch '<firm> <leader>' for a second dated page (local press, firm newsroom) gives second citation of the change (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm site About page or agency directory headcount gives headcount, ownership, control check (joined on firm domain)
- change through earliest dated mention gives signal year (joined on date)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya does not appear in any of the 41 Vistage, EO or YPO receipts (grep of every .txt). These outlets profile members who lead small and mid-size priva
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella does not appear in any of the 41 Vistage, EO or YPO receipts (grep of every .txt). These outlets profile members who lead small and mid-size priva
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani does not appear in any of the 41 Vistage, EO or YPO receipts (grep of every .txt). These outlets profile members who lead small and mid-size priva
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan does not appear in any of the 41 Vistage, EO or YPO receipts (grep of every .txt). These outlets profile members who lead small and mid-size priv
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard does not appear in any of the 41 Vistage, EO or YPO receipts (grep of every .txt). These outlets profile members who lead small and mid-size priv
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke does not appear in any of the 41 Vistage, EO or YPO receipts (grep of every .txt). These outlets profile members who lead small and mid-size private
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest does not appear in any of the 41 Vistage, EO or YPO receipts (grep of every .txt). These outlets profile members who lead small and mid-size priv
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie does not appear in any of the 41 Vistage, EO or YPO receipts (grep of every .txt). These outlets profile members who lead small and mid-size private
Route 91: Marty profile: employee-owned service firms (ESOP Association and NCEO stories)
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search employee-owned service businesses (NCEO and ESOP Association case studies and awards, Employee Owned magazine, firm newsrooms); the transformation must be in how the work is done, not only the ownership change for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The employee-ownership sources named in the route do not carry leader-voiced redesign stories. ESOP Association chapter award pages list company names and employee-owner winners with no leader quotes; the NCEO blog's AI post is anonymised CEO-network highlights; NCEO and channel press on employee-owned service firms are ownership transitions (succession ESOPs, trusts), which do not count. Names came only by pairing '100% employee-owned' or 'privately owned' with a firmwide AI or redesign phrase in WebSearch, then reading the firm's own release reprinted in trade press. Two names in 18 fetches.
Sources: employee-owned service businesses (NCEO and ESOP Association case studies and awards, Employee Owned magazine, firm newsrooms); the transformation must be in how the work is done, not only the ownership change
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query through ESOP Association chapter awards, NCEO blog, WebSearch for '100% employee-owned' plus firmwide AI phrasing gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm release (reprinted in trade press) or firm AI page gives leader and quoted reasoning (joined on firm name)
- leader through second outlet reprint or firm page gives second confirmation of the change (joined on person name + firm)
- firm through firm home page or dated 2025-2026 newsroom item gives ownership, headcount, role (joined on firm domain)
- firm through same pages gives earliest redesign move (signal year) (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Chad Nixon, McFarland-Johnson, Inc. executive, United States
Embedding AI into the drafting, review and compliance workflows of a 100% employee-owned engineering firm, with a dedicated AI implementation lead.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Chad Nixon, President and Chairman, framed the move not as a response to industry pressure but as a deliberate expression” source
- What they did 2026 “To lead the initiative, MJ has appointed Jason Kentzel as the firm’s AI Implementation Lead, a choice that reflects the firm’s commitment to governance as much as innovation.” source
- What they said 2026 “This initiative carries that same commitment forward. AI, implemented responsibly, makes our people more capable and our work more precise. We are not following the industry on this; we intend to lead it.” source
- Vince DiPofi, SSOE Group ceo, United States
Turning a privately owned architecture and engineering firm into one that thinks like an AI company, with an AI implementation and R&D team and self-built resourcing tools.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “SSOE Group, a global engineering and architecture firm headquartered in Toledo, announced today CEO Vince DiPofi , PE, will serve as keynote speaker” source
- What they did 2025 “Instead of waiting for the perfect tool, we’re building it. SSOE’s in-house technology team has developed and piloted a tool that aims to forecast optimal staff mix and duration for new projects against existing workload” source
- What they said 2025 “To truly transform the AEC industry, we must think like an AI firm aiming to deliver A/E services — not like an engineering firm merely trying to incorporate AI.” source
- Paul Decker, Mathematica, Inc. ceo, United States
Running an enterprise-wide AI transformation of how a 100% employee-owned policy research and data firm does its client work, with a dedicated director, tiger teams and an AI enablement lifecycle from 2025.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As president and CEO of Mathematica, Decker sets the company’s vision and strategy, oversees its operation and management, and shapes its values and standards.” source
- What they did 2025 “Loretta Cambron leads Mathematica’s enterprise-wide artificial intelligence (AI) transformation strategy, advancing the organization’s ability to harness emerging technologies to drive operational efficiency and strengthen client impact.” source
- What they did 2025 “Embedded digital transformation throughout the organization, integrating data science and analytics, including sophisticated data management, data mining, predictive modeling, and data visualization expertise to support effective policy and program decisions.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate, public; not in employee-ownership sources.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is public and Swiss; outside the route.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia went to a purpose trust, not an ESOP, and is not a service firm; the route's sources do not surface him.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public; outside the route.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian, public company; outside the route.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian; outside the route.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; US ESOP sources do not cover it.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a service firm, and its employee shares are not an ESOP story in these sources.
Route 92: Marty profile: family business leaders who rebuilt the family firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search family-owned service companies (Family Business magazine, Family Enterprise USA, university family business center awards and case studies, regional business journals) for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The family-business source category is public and fetchable (familybusinessmagazine.com, hartfordbusiness.com family business honorees, centerstateceo.com, familybusiness.org all return 200), but after 30+ logged fetches and 12 search variants it produced no person who meets the Marty profile. Family-business outlets and award programs select for succession, governance, legacy, growth and community, not for a dated costly change to how the work is done: of 22 Family Business CEOs to Watch 2025-2026 profiles, 11 Hartford family business honorees and the CNY Business Innovation winner, none has an owner-voiced, dated redesign of the work. The two real redesigns found (Grand Island Express AI dispatch, Sprague's internal operations center) are voiced by a VP or carry no date and no owner reason. Family ownership is orthogonal to the redesign signal, so filtering on it first discards the signal. Surveys these outlets publish (Prairie Family Business Association 2024: 17% of family firms report AI skills) explain the low base rate.
Sources: family-owned service companies (Family Business magazine, Family Enterprise USA, university family business center awards and case studies, regional business journals)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- family business outlet or award list through Family Business magazine CEOs to Watch; regional family business awards (Hartford Business Journal, CNY Family Business Awards) gives family firm and leader (joined on firm name)
- family firm through same profile or firm newsroom gives dated change to how the work is done, in the leader's words (joined on firm name + leader name)
- change through trade press or regional business journal gives second confirming page (joined on firm name + year)
- leader through firm site or dated 2025-2026 page gives headcount, private ownership, control (joined on firm name)
- firm through earliest dated story gives signal year (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia; Fortescue is public and not a service firm; not in family-business outlets fetched
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public, not family-owned
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; Reliance is public; route is US only
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; route is US only; Semco not covered by the US family-business outlets fetched
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public and founder-led, not a family firm
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a family-business-outlet subject in the receipts; not a service firm
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada; Shopify is public
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland; Novartis is public
Route 93: Marty profile: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators that are not PE-controlled (Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, operator newsrooms) for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. A fourth sweep of US aging-services trade press for Marty-profile leaders (private, not PE, 50 to 5,000 staff, founder or owner in control). The press is still open (HHCN, SHN, Hospice News fetch 200 with --text) but earlier sweeps S-24, S-46, S-60 and S-82 harvested most founder-owners; attempt 1 found 2 new names from 39 receipts and attempt 2 added a third (Dan Madsen, Leisure Care) from SHN Leadership Series and Changemakers interviews. Home care and hospice stories in 2024-2026 are dominated by PE platforms, franchisors, startups whose model is a founding design, and nonprofits.
Sources: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators that are not PE-controlled (Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, operator newsrooms)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- mechanism query through WebSearch with allowed_domains homehealthcarenews.com, hospicenews.com, seniorhousingnews.com (in-house tech, workforce housing, PACE launch, co-op or ESOP, new service line) gives trade story (joined on story URL)
- trade story through same story gives operator and leader quoted in own words (joined on operator name plus leader)
- leader through WebSearch '<operator> <leader>' to pull the older SHN+ TALKS transcript or Changemakers interview gives dated act and own-words reasoning at a second URL (joined on leader plus operator)
- leader through firm leadership page, NIC board profile or dated 2025-2026 story gives control and headcount check (joined on title line)
- act through earliest dated story naming the act gives signal year (joined on publication date or stated year)
New names that passed every check
- Fee Stubblefield, The Springs Living (McMinnville, Oregon; owns and operates 20 senior living communities in Oregon, Washington and Montana; founded by Stubblefield in 1996) owner, United States
Running senior living as an operating business built around frontline staff rather than real estate: converted independent living units into staff housing, puts a share of budget into operational experiments, and argues operators are hotels underpaid by real estate fee models.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Fee Stubblefield is the founder and CEO of The Springs Living, an investment, development, and management company dedicated to building communities and services for older adults.” source
- What they did 2020 “Faced with a housing shortage for its new workers, The Springs Living altered some of its existing studio apartments units previously earmarked for independent living, and in the process created workforce housing.” source
- What they said 2021 “The reality is that as an operating business, we’re closer in class to a hotel, if not beyond a hotel, where branding and management fees run 12-13% or higher.” source
- What they said 2022 “We have to make mistakes, we have to go forward and we have to innovate and we have to try it.” source
- Andy Kohlberg, Kisco Senior Living, LLC (Carlsbad, California; 32 communities in 10 states, 3,061 employees; founded by Kohlberg in 1990, merged with Balfour Senior Living in 2023) owner, United States
Rebuilding how a 3,000-person senior living operator delivers care around software it owns: built its resident and care services apps in-house instead of buying vendor systems, and is now embedding AI in those apps to take data entry off caregivers.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Andrew S. Kohlberg is the Founder, President and CEO of Kisco Senior Living, LLC.” source
- What they did 2021 “We rolled out a care services app, both created internally with our own platform” source
- What they said 2025 “The future is embedding AI in those apps and trying to automate workflows that really deliver our whole service package.” source
- Dan Madsen, Leisure Care (Seattle, Washington; privately held senior living operator founded 1976, 4,130 US employees per Great Place to Work; Madsen bought the company in 2003 and is chairman and CEO) owner, United States
Running senior living as a vertically integrated hospitality business: in 2008 pulled travel and other services into owned arms under Leisure Care 180, and since the pandemic has rebuilt programming around residents leaving the building and cut agency labor to near zero through internal training.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “I bought the company in 2003, going from general manager to owner.” source
- What they did 2008 “In June of 2008 you launched Leisure Care 180, which seems to have shifted to a hospitality model in a big way.” source
- What they did 2023 “In refocusing the company for the future, Madsen said Leisure Care is getting away from a long-held industry notion that residents have no need to ever leave their communities.” source
- What they said 2023 “I think we can get in the habit of managing what we have as leaders versus leading change and looking into the future.” source
- What they said 2023 “I think as a leader you need to learn to push through and commit and persevere and complete.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya US food maker; not an aging-services operator, so absent from HHCN, SHN and Hospice News.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma; appears in aging trade press only as a drug supplier, if at all.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian commerce software; outside the sector.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial firm; outside the sector and outside the US.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel; outside the sector.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in aging-services trade press only as a vendor (Copilot), not as an operator.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining; outside the sector and country.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; outside the sector and country.
Route 94: Marty profile: independent behavioral health and physician practice groups
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search independent, physician- or founder-owned behavioral health and specialty practice groups (Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, practice newsrooms) for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: independent, physician- or founder-owned behavioral health and specialty practice groups (Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, practice newsrooms)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- conference track through AMGA Annual Conference Independent Group Track session summaries gives physician-owned group and its CEO (joined on group name plus speaker title line)
- group and CEO through Medical Economics, firm release or local business press gives dated change and leader's own words (joined on group name plus CEO surname)
- group through trade or business press role line gives ownership, headcount and control (joined on group name)
New names that passed every check
- Jeff James, Wilmington Health ceo, United States
Moved a physician-owned multispecialty group off RVU-driven fee-for-service onto provider-owned ACO REACH risk, a C-corp model with legacy exit payouts ended, and revenue lines that do not depend on patient visits.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founded in 1971, Wilmington Health is a physician-owned primary care and multispecialty medical practice serving Wilmington, North Carolina, and its environs.” source
- What they did 2025 “By adopting a C-Corp model, halting legacy payout models, and building reserves, Wilmington Health shed outdated practices that rewarded physicians for exiting rather than staying.” source
- What they said 2025 “Wilmington Health CEO Jeff James said in the announcement. “This initiative represents our shared mission to transform the health care delivery system across the country.” source
- What they did 2025 “Jeff James emphasized anticipating "extinction events," embracing a "try it and figure it out" mindset, and relentlessly preparing for the future.” source
- Bryan Batson, Hattiesburg Clinic ceo, United States
Took Mississippi's largest privately owned multispecialty clinic from pure fee-for-service into Medicare Advantage, a Medicare ACO, a 50-nurse quality department and primary care capitation so it could stay physician-owned.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The physician-owned and -governed health system's journey as a value-based care organization started in 2007 and is still evolving, said Hattiesburg Clinic CEO Bryan N. Batson, MD .” source
- What they did 2024 “Also, as a result, the quality management department has grown from two to 50 nurses, and value-based payments have grown, helping mitigate the cuts to physician fee-for-service revenues, with Hattiesburg Clinic reporting savings to Medicare of more than $66 million.” source
- What they said 2024 ““How do we re-envision how our teams are composed as we look to the future?” he said.” source
- What they did 2024 ““Historically we've been pushed as an organization to adopt early, and ‘if somebody else out there in the country has access to it, I want it,’ is a recurrent theme for us,” Dr. Batson said.” source
- Anas Daghestani, Austin Regional Clinic ceo, United States
Runs a physician-owned Texas multispecialty group that has worked as a value-based ACO for over a decade and now spreads ambient AI documentation clinician by clinician, and argues nationally for paying physicians on outcomes.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “On January 30, 2024, as the current Chair of the Board of Directors for America's Physician Groups (APG), ARC President and CEO Anas Daghestani, MD, addressed a healthcare subcommittee of the U.S. Congress” source
- What they did 2024 “ARC has been a value-based accountable care organization (ACO) for over a decade. Its success in reducing the cost of care for Medicare patients was recognized nationally when ARC's accountable care organization (ACO) was ranked in the top 7%.” source
- What they did 2026 “ARC is a physician-owned, multispecialty medical group serving approximately 700,000 patients across 40 locations in Central Texas.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft CEO; public company, not an independent physician or behavioral health practice group, so outside the route's universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box CEO; public software company, not a practice group; does not appear on AMGA independent tracks or BH trade press.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify CEO, Canada; outside US healthcare services.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia; apparel, not a physician or behavioral health practice.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani; food manufacturer, not a practice group.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis CEO, Switzerland; public pharma, outside the universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue, Australia; mining, outside the universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco, Brazil; outside US healthcare services.
Route 95: Marty profile: employee-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms (ENR Top 500 Design Firms, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, Building Design+Construction, firm newsrooms) for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempts 1 and 2. The trade-press-first design (ENR, Zweig, BD+C) does not surface Marty-profile engineering leaders: list overviews and Zweig results carry growth, M&A and ownership talk. Mechanism-noun searches (firmwide AI initiative, AI implementation lead, on-premises AI lab, four-day 32-hour week) plus regional business journals and trade features found three private US AEC leaders with dated, costly changes: Chad Nixon (McFarland Johnson), Abul Islam (AI Engineers) and Dan Swift (BSB Design; ownership split not published).
Sources: employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms (ENR Top 500 Design Firms, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, Building Design+Construction, firm newsrooms)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- mechanism query (firmwide AI initiative, in-house AI lab, owned arm, AI lead appointment) plus 'employee-owned' or 'founder' through open web search, regional business journals, trade mirrors of firm releases gives firm release or feature (joined on firm name)
- firm release or feature through same page (quoted leader and title) gives leader (joined on leader name and title)
- leader through second dated release or feature (leadership appointment, anniversary, ranking) gives control and ownership line (joined on firm name plus leader name)
- firm through company fact box, anniversary release or ESOP announcement gives headcount and ownership (ESOP, family, management-owned) (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Chad Nixon, McFarland-Johnson, Inc. (Binghamton, NY; 100% employee-owned ESOP planning, engineering and construction management firm; 16 offices as of 2021) executive, United States
President and board chairman of a 100% employee-owned engineering firm who launched a firmwide programme, with a dedicated AI implementation lead, to embed AI into drafting, review and compliance work across the firm.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “With his exceptional skills and vast experience, Tom is poised to lead our engineering operations and drive the growth and innovation of our technical practices to new heights,” noted Chad Nixon, President and Chairman of the Board of McFarland Johnson.” source
- What they did 2026 “To lead the initiative, MJ has appointed Jason Kentzel as the firm’s AI Implementation Lead, a choice that reflects the firm’s commitment to governance as much as innovation.” source
- What they said 2026 “AI, implemented responsibly, makes our people more capable and our work more precise. We are not following the industry on this; we intend to lead it.” source
- What they did 2026 “This position makes sure every employee understands how to use AI tools that are applicable totheir job, help them understand why it matters, and identify where it adds value.” source
- What they did 2024 “Jason Shevrin will also continue to lead McFarland Johnson’s technology solutions division, InfraSolutions.” source
- Abul Islam, AI Engineers, Inc. (Middletown, CT; civil, structural and building-systems engineering; 420 employees, ESOP-owned, founder still president and CEO) owner, United States
Founder and CEO of a 420-person ESOP-owned engineering firm who is putting $2.5 million into an in-house AI lab and virtual workstation supercomputer to change how design, bidding and billing are done.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Abul Islam launched AI Engineers in 1991 as a one-man operation in the basement of his Cromwell condo” source
- What they did 2026 “Instead of buying into a third-party, cloud-hosted service, we’ve invested $2.5 million in creating our own AI environment on-premises.” source
- What they said 2025 “Islam said the AI system will help streamline key functions — like design, bidding and billing — making staff more efficient and generating long-term cost savings.” source
- What they did 2026 “Our Technology Department is also investing in premium Dell Technologies servers powered by the latest NVIDIA GPUs.” source
- Dan Swift, BSB Design (West Des Moines, IA; national residential and commercial architecture firm, 11+ studios; private, ownership split not published, no outside investor or parent named) ceo, United States
President and CEO of a private national architecture firm who cut the work week to 32 hours at full pay and rebuilt delivery around outcomes, charrettes and fixed huddles rather than hours billed.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Questions about BSB Design’s four-day work week? Contact Dan Swift, AIA, President & CEO.” source
- What they did 2021 “The transition to the new four-day work week officially begins the week of April 5, 2021, with the first scheduled Friday office “closure” occurring on April 9.” source
- What they said 2023 “That’s the problem with best practices. It takes off the table what is possible. I am the kind of guy who thinks I haven’t come this far only to come this far.” source
- What they did 2026 “In 2021, we launched a four-day work week. Not only has it enhanced productivity and efficiency, but it has also given us more time for shared experiences.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Owner of a food manufacturer (Chobani), not an engineering, architecture or construction services firm; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company CEO (Box); not an AEC services firm and fails the private-ownership test.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public e-commerce software CEO (Shopify); not US, not AEC, not private.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel company owner (Patagonia); not an AEC services firm, so AEC trade and firm-release searches cannot surface him.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining billionaire (Fortescue); not US and not an AEC services firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chair (Reliance); not US, public, outside the route by construction.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO (Novartis); outside the route by construction.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software CEO (Microsoft); far above 5,000 staff and public, outside the route by construction.
Route 96: Marty profile: privately held staffing and recruiting firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search privately held staffing and recruiting firms (Staffing Industry Analysts largest staffing firms and Best Staffing Firms lists, ClearlyRated, firm newsrooms) for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route works only as a firm-by-firm lookup, not as a list sweep. The Staffing Industry Analysts lists (Largest US Staffing Firms, Staffing 100, Best Staffing Firms) are 403 to fetch.mjs direct and via --jina, and the ClearlyRated winners page is 404, so the lists serve only as a WebSearch index. Change stories from privately held staffing firms exist (firm newsrooms and prnewswire, 200 with --text), but most fail one Marty test: the leader is a hired CEO (24 Seven, Prime Staffing), the firm counts deployed contractors as employees so the 50 to 5,000 band cannot be read off the page (Aquent 10,000, Pinnacle Group), or the change is AI exploration or a rebrand rather than a costly change. Attempt 2 added a third name from a staffinghub.com mechanism search (Atrium, woman-owned, founder-led, AI product incubator launched January 2026). Three names pass, each with a headcount caveat because staffing firms report deployed contractors as employees.
Sources: privately held staffing and recruiting firms (Staffing Industry Analysts largest staffing firms and Best Staffing Firms lists, ClearlyRated, firm newsrooms)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- staffing list or mechanism query through WebSearch over SIA list entrant pages and prnewswire (SIA pages 403, used as index only) gives privately held staffing firm with a change story (joined on firm name)
- firm through prnewswire release or firm newsroom gives leader quoted on the change (joined on firm name and leader name in the release)
- leader through firm leadership page or trade profile (latinastyle.com, noon.ai Talent 100, 24-7pressrelease.com) gives founder or owner role line, ownership (joined on leader name)
- change through second page: firm news index or a second release gives confirmation and date (joined on brand or programme name (PinnacleSI, Skill))
- firm through firm site headcount line gives size band check (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- John H. Chuang, Aquent (privately held marketing, creative and design staffing firm, Boston) and its sibling AI staffing agency Skill owner, United States
The co-founder of a staffing firm built a separate AI staffing agency on the view that recruiting firms must work like tech companies with engineering teams and proprietary matching.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “John H. Chuang started Aquent in his Harvard dorm room and for 35 years has led his company to become one of the largest work solutions company in the world” source
- What they did 2026 “Skill is a sibling company of Aquent, a global leader in marketing, creative and design staffing. Building on Aquent's decades of expertise, Skill applies patented machine-matching technology to make elite recruiting tools accessible to companies of all sizes.” source
- What they said 2026 “However, staffing agencies of the future won't resemble traditional recruiting firms” source
- What they did 2026 “Skill reimagines talent acquisition at From Day One Miami The launch of Skill signals” source
- Nina Vaca, Pinnacle Group (privately held, Hispanic-owned workforce solutions firm, Dallas) owner, United States
The founder of a workforce solutions firm split its advisory work into a stand-alone advisory and VMS delivery brand and rebuilt its staffing arm around proprietary platforms and automation.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Under the leadership of founder and CEO Nina Vaca, it has become a global force for good” source
- What they did 2026 “The launch of PinnacleSI formalizes the deep advisory expertise, methodology, and measurable impact we've developed and allows us to offer it more broadly” source
- What they said 2025 “Through our deep capabilities in business intelligence and analytics, we deliver proprietary platforms and RPA solutions that help clients make data-driven talent decisions at scale.” source
- Rebecca Cenni-Leventhal, Atrium (privately held, WBENC-certified woman-owned talent solutions and extended workforce firm, New York; founded 1995) owner, United States
The founder of a staffing firm set up an in-house AI product incubator and agentic AI platform so the firm builds its own workforce technology alongside its services.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As the founder of Atrium, Rebecca Cenni-Leventhal continues to strengthen the human value in work culture. Since initially disrupting the staffing industry in 1995, Atrium has evolved into a complete talent solutions company” source
- What they did 2026 “today announced the launch of Atrium Innovation & Research™ (AIR) , a technology innovation lab and product incubator designed to accelerate the development of forward-thinking workforce technology solutions.” source
- What they said 2026 “For years, leaders have struggled to make sense of disparate systems, outdated dashboards, and incomplete data. With ZephyrIQ, you can simply ask, and the insight appears” source
- What they did 2015 “Our AtriumWORKS™ division was further elevated with the introduction of our proprietary technology, Engagent®, which delivers unparalleled 1099 vetting and IC compliance solutions to our clients.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a staffing or recruiting firm; the route's sources do not cover him.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; outside staffing and outside the US private-firm profile.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not a staffing firm.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and world-transformer person; staffing sources do not carry him.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public; not a staffing firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; outside US staffing.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian manufacturing and services; not in US staffing sources.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; not a staffing firm.
Route 97: Marty profile: independent marketing, PR and creative agencies
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search founder-owned independent marketing, PR and creative agencies with 50 to 1,000 staff (Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, Digiday, agency newsrooms) for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Roster-first test of the independent agency route: the O'Dwyer's 2025 independent PR firm ranking gives 133 US firms with headcount, and searching named 50-plus-staff firms for a founder-voiced change gave 3 Marty-profile names (Matusky, Kempner, Torossian) in about 30 fetches. Ad-side indie stories in Digiday and The Drum quote UK shops, chief creative officers or pitch consultants, and most firm AI launches are voiced by a president of a practice, not the controlling founder.
Sources: founder-owned independent marketing, PR and creative agencies with 50 to 1,000 staff (Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, Digiday, agency newsrooms)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- roster through O'Dwyer's PR firm rankings, independents table (odwyerpr.com/pr_firm_rankings/2025/independents.htm), plus WebSearch on agency trade press for founder-led AI and pricing stories gives independent firm with headcount (joined on firm name and FT employee count)
- firm through O'Dwyer's PR Firm News and topic roundups (odwyerpr.com/story/public/<id>/<date>/<slug>.html), Digiday, Adweek AI Power 50 gives dated change and the leader quoted (joined on firm name plus act keyword (platform name, rebrand, retainer change))
- firm and leader through firm wire release copy on a mirror (financialcontent.com, martech360.com, mychesco.com) or a founder byline gives leader own-words quote at a second URL (joined on leader name plus act keyword)
- leader through O'Dwyer's ranking headcount plus a dated 2025-2026 profile or release stating founder ownership (everything-pr.com firm profiles, mychesco.com) gives control and size check (joined on leader name with founder / CEO title)
- act through earliest dated release describing the change gives signal year (joined on release date line)
New names that passed every check
- Greg Matusky, Gregory (formerly Gregory FCA), integrated communications firm, Ardmore, Pennsylvania; 124 full-time staff in O'Dwyer's 2025 ranking owner, United States
Founder and CEO who rebuilt a mid-size PR firm's workflow around in-house AI tools (Gladwrite, Influence Engine, CrisisCalm) and mandatory AI training, then rebranded it as an AI-era integrated communications firm.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “With 130 employees across New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and London, Gregory has built a portfolio of proprietary AI tools that underpin its expanded service offering.” source
- What they did 2023 “Concurrently, the firm has instituted an internal AI training program to assure competencies, compliance, client transparency and AI skill acquisition.” source
- What they said 2023 “AI disrupts the entire public relations game and how we communicate with clients, constituents and stakeholders.” source
- What they said 2025 “We've evolved from a traditional PR agency into a fully integrated communications partner, blending creative, digital and AI-driven capabilities," said Gregory founder and CEO Greg Matusky.” source
- Michael Kempner, MikeWorldWide (MWW), independent PR and integrated communications firm, New York and Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey; 195 full-time staff in O'Dwyer's 2025 ranking owner, United States
Founder who bought his firm back from IPG and in 2025 built a proprietary AI platform, PRISMA Labs.ai, that the firm uses as its own technology ecosystem for reputation work.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The firm has operated continuously for nearly four decades under founder ownership, never acquired by WPP, IPG, Omnicom, Publicis, or Stagwell.” source
- What they did 2025 “MikeWorldWide launches PRISMA Labs.ai, a proprietary platform that fuses PR, AI and strategic marketing intelligence.” source
- What they said 2025 “Our PRISMA Labs.ai platform reflects MikeWorldWide's commitment to innovation at the intersection of communication and technology," said Michael Kempner , founder and CEO of MikeWorldWide.” source
- Ronn Torossian, 5W Public Relations (5W AI Communications), independent PR firm, New York; more than 250 practitioners owner, United States
Founder who in 2026 rebuilt his PR firm's delivery model so every retainer carries an AI citation audit and quarterly citation-share measurement, and re-tooled staff for answer-engine work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founded in 2003 by Ronn Torossian , 5W has grown into a firm of more than 250 senior practitioners serving clients across B2C and B2B categories” source
- What they did 2026 “We rebuilt the delivery model second. Every PR retainer now includes a Citation Audit baseline, a quarterly Citation Share measurement, and a GEO infrastructure layer built on top of the earned-media program.” source
- What they said 2026 “The new positioning is not a brand exercise. It is a re-architecture of the entire operating model around where the buyer now goes first.” source
- What they did 2026 “In 2026, the firm formalized its positioning as 5W Public Relations , the AI Communications Firm.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker, not a marketing, PR or creative agency; agency trade press and the O'Dwyer's ranking never carry it as a future-legend ag
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian public conglomerate; outside the US independent agency universe the route searches.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public US software company; not an agency, so the route's rosters and agency news never surface Levie.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; not US and not an agency.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; not US and not an agency.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; agency press covers it only as a client.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker; it appears in agency press only as an advertiser, never as the agency led.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; not an agency, so out of scope.
Route 98: Marty profile: boutique consulting and professional services firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms (Consulting magazine Best Firms, Forbes America's Best Management Consulting Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, firm newsrooms) for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms (Consulting magazine Best Firms, Forbes America's Best Management Consulting Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, firm newsrooms)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Forbes America's Best Management Consulting Firms (via each firm's own award release) and Constellation AI-First Consulting Firms list gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom press releases 2024-2026 (AI transformation, new model, new arm) gives change story and leader (joined on CEO title line in release)
- leader through The Consulting Report CEO interviews, podcast pages gives own-words quote (joined on person name)
- firm through firm About/boilerplate, managementconsulted.com profile, leader bio page gives headcount, founders, private status (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Tom Finegan, Clarkston Consulting (Durham, North Carolina; about 350 staff; privately held, founder-led management and technology consulting) owner, United States
Co-founder CEO of a 35-year-old consultancy rebuilding project delivery around AI, training every client-serving professional and putting an enterprise AI engine (CLAIRE) into day-to-day delivery to cut cost-to-serve.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “When Tom Finegan co-founded Clarkston Consulting in 1991, the management advisory landscape was largely dominated by generalist firms utilizing revolving teams of corporate personnel.” source
- What they did 2025 “Over the course of the initiative, Clarkston has prioritized upskilling and enablement at scale. To date, client-serving professionals are trained to identify opportunities to apply AI in ways that reduce cost-to-serve, improve productivity, and deliver measurable outcomes.” source
- What they said 2026 “In many ways, this reinforces what we have long believed as a firm: Technology alone does not create transformation, and sustainable progress happens when organizations align around a shared vision.” source
- Larry English, Centric Consulting (Dayton, Ohio; 1,400 employees in 14 locations; co-founder-led business and technology consulting firm) owner, United States
Co-founder CEO of a virtual-first consultancy turning the firm toward AI, with a new solutions model that builds AI into every service line and a dedicated AI team.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Larry English is a workplace futurist, passionate about all things innovation, particularly technology that drives disruptive change. Well before remote work became the norm, Larry was at the forefront of the virtual model.” source
- What they did 2024 “The firm launched a new solutions model that integrates AI capabilities throughout its service offerings and established a dedicated AI team to drive innovation for clients.” source
- What they did 2026 “Larry is an expert on AI-driven transformation and has worked directly with organizations navigating large-scale business and technology change. He has also been leading AI adoption and operational transformation within his own company.” source
- What they said 2025 “Our consultants have stepped up in a big way this year to meet the challenges that agentic AI, economic conditions, and our dynamic business environment present to them every day.” source
- Lorna Croswell, Strong Tower Consulting (Vancouver and Seattle, Washington; 53 employees per Built In; founded 2014; certified Women-Owned and Disability-Owned Business Enterprise) owner, United States
Owner of a women-owned Washington consultancy that is rebuilding its delivery as a governed AI operating model across client execution, engagement management and internal operations.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Owner & Partner Lorna Croswell Lorna is an accomplished executive with a diverse background leading people, improvement initiatives, and business operations” source
- What they did 2026 “Strong Tower is celebrating this milestone as the firm undergoes a significant evolution, solidifying its position as a frontier AI firm by redefining modern consulting delivery through the industrialization of enterprise-grade, governed AI.” source
- What they said 2026 “Our inclusion-first foundation gives us a unique edge in helping organizations adopt AI responsibly, strategically, and humanely, truly redefining the future of consulting.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; the route only reads US private consulting and professional services firms.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia sells products, not client services, and is not a consulting or professional services firm; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not a private service firm, so the route cannot reach him.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; non-US and not a service firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate; non-US and not a service firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; the route is US only, and Semco is not in consulting firm rankings or newsrooms read here.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public US software company; outside the route's universe.
Route 99: Marty profile: privately held property management and real estate services firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search privately held property management, brokerage and real estate services firms (NMHC top managers, Inman, HousingWire, The Real Deal, firm newsrooms) for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Revised: the route yields owner-voiced redesigns at privately held brokerages and sponsors (Raveis, Matthews, Red Oak, Capital Square) but not at NMHC 50 property managers, whose stories are voiced by COOs, SVPs and vendors and whose roster page is JavaScript-rendered. Four names; refine toward the Real Estate News Independents' Day index and HousingWire firm tags.
Sources: privately held property management, brokerage and real estate services firms (NMHC top managers, Inman, HousingWire, The Real Deal, firm newsrooms)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- topic query through HousingWire, RISMedia, Multifamily Dive, Multifamily Executive, AltsWire gives story about a privately held real estate services firm changing how work is done (joined on firm name)
- story through same story gives leader quoted by name and title (joined on person name + title)
- firm + leader through second trade outlet or firm newsroom gives second dated page confirming the change (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm site boilerplate or trade profile gives headcount, ownership, role (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- William Raveis, William Raveis Real Estate (family-owned brokerage with mortgage, title and insurance arms; Shelton, Connecticut; 4,500+ agents, 140 offices) owner, United States
Founder-owner of a family brokerage rebuilding the agent workflow on an AI platform, adding a wealth management service and exploring leaving NAR to deal with MLSs directly.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founded more than five decades ago, Williams Raveis continues to introduce industry-first innovations under the leadership of founder and CEO William Raveis alongside Co-Presidents Ryan and Chris Raveis.” source
- What they did 2026 “William Raveis has introduced an enhanced version of its Raveis365+ platform, now integrating advanced AI tools designed to support agents, buyers and sellers with greater speed and efficiency.” source
- What they did 2026 “William Raveis Real Estate has partnered with Cloze to power its new Raveis365+ technology platform, adding AI-driven relationship intelligence to the brokerage” source
- What they said 2025 “To get into ChatGPT or Claude as a search result, you need content, so we are changing our websites, our blogs and strategizing new ways to get ourselves into the AI models,” source
- What they said 2025 “We have meetings every week about what we can do with AI and how to integrate that into our company,” source
- Kyle Matthews, Matthews (Matthews Real Estate Investment Services; commercial real estate brokerage, Nashville, Tennessee; 1,000+ agents and support staff in 30+ US offices) owner, United States
Founder-CEO rebuilding commercial brokerage work around an in-house AI platform built by brokers for brokers, aiming to cut the 80 percent of broker work that does not produce revenue.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Based out of Nashville, TN, and strategically positioned with over 1,000 agents and support staff in 30+ offices across the United States” source
- What they did 2025 “The firm leverages AI for a variety of purposes, from underwriting and lease abstracts to image and video generation. Recently, the company has used it for data management, including data cleaning and reconciliation.” source
- What they did 2025 “dealmaking will shift to surfacing opportunities, organizing follow-up, and teeing up the best next actions while keeping the broker focused on the art of brokerage” source
- What they said 2026 “Winning smarter means ruthless efficiency. It’s about eliminating 80% of the work that doesn’t help produce revenue,” source
- Louis Rogers, Capital Square (real estate investment sponsor with an owned property management arm, Capital Square Living; Richmond, Virginia; 55 communities, 14,000+ units at launch) owner, United States
Founder and co-CEO who internalized property management so one owned team runs each property from acquisition to sale, ending reliance on third-party managers.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Capital Square, a sponsor of tax-advantaged real estate investments, announced the launch of Capital Square Living, a wholly owned subsidiary that will oversee all management functions of the company” source
- What they did 2023 “Capital Square Living will provide comprehensive management services, including operations, maintenance, employee development and training, customer service, revenue management, marketing, budgeting, leasing, and resident retention.” source
- What they said 2023 “By internalizing property management, the same management team will be hands-on from acquisition/development until disposition of each property.” source
- Vanessa Bergmark, Red Oak Realty (independent residential brokerage, Oakland and Berkeley, California; 160 agents and 20 staff in 2023) owner, United States
Owner-CEO who bought her brokerage in 2010 and grew it by building salaried support staff instead of agent headcount, recruiting by production rather than numbers.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “After a year and a half, I took over both the Oakland and Berkeley offices as the general manager, and in 2010, purchased the company from the original four owners.” source
- What they did 2018 “Rather than putting our efforts into recruiting a lot of agents, we focused on staffing. We hired a great marketing director, beefed up our transaction department and brought on superior legal support.” source
- What they said 2018 “Having more agents isn’t what’s best for the consumer. Having agents that have resources that can protect and support the consumer is what matters.” source
- What they did 2023 “In a market like this, there are fewer new agents, and a lot of new agents are not surviving, so we shifted our strategy. This year we may take on two new agents, as opposed to 15 last year.” source
- What they said 2023 “But we recruit by unit growth not by headcount. We want to bring on fewer agents who do more business.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker, not a property management, brokerage or real estate services firm; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not a privately held real estate services firm; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharmaceutical company, not US real estate services; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial and services group, not a US property management or brokerage firm; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company, not a privately held real estate services firm; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian mining company, not US real estate services; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a real estate services firm; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate, not US real estate services; outside the route's universe.
Route 100: Marty profile: privately held freight brokerage and logistics services firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search privately held freight brokerages and logistics services firms (Transport Topics top freight brokerages, FreightWaves, Supply Chain Dive, firm newsrooms) for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Revised: change-story sweeps of freight trade press return vendors, AI-native startups, public brokers and CIO voices. The route works roster-first: Transport Topics Top 100 Logistics (with headcounts), then '<firm> founder CEO AI' per private firm, then the firm About page for founder control.
Sources: privately held freight brokerages and logistics services firms (Transport Topics top freight brokerages, FreightWaves, Supply Chain Dive, firm newsrooms)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Transport Topics Top 100 Logistics 2025 (ttnews.com/logistics/rankings/2025, carries employee counts) gives private brokerage or 3PL with 50 to 5,000 staff (joined on firm name)
- firm through WebSearch '<firm> CEO founder AI' then firm newsroom, globenewswire or freightcaviar gives change story with the leader named (joined on firm name)
- leader through firm About or leadership page gives founder/family control and private ownership line (joined on leader name)
- change through second, different page (later release, trade story) gives confirmation and date of the change (joined on firm name plus the tool or programme named)
New names that passed every check
- Eric Fortmeyer, Circle Logistics (privately held freight brokerage and 3PL, Fort Wayne, Indiana; about 750 staff per Transport Topics 2025) owner, United States
The co-founder of a private brokerage moved spot quoting, load-board bidding and carrier calls onto AI bots and voice agents so brokers handle far fewer manual calls.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Circle Logistics was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 2011 by Eric Fortmeyer and Chad Buchanan. Fifteen years later, we’re a privately held 3PL moving roughly 33,000 loads a month” source
- What they did 2022 “Using its Spot Quote system Circle Logistics has successfully built multiple AI-enabled bots to monitor those boards and bid in real-time using the rate engine.” source
- What they did 2024 “Circle Logistics announced that they have completed over 100,000 AI-driven calls in its operations. This achievement is credited to their partnership with Happyrobot.ai, an AI technology provider, and Transport Pro,” source
- What they said 2023 ““We are confident that his leadership will not only drive transformative change within our organization but also enhance the experiences of our valued customers and partners.” source
- Ryan Keepman, Evans Transportation (family-owned 3PL and freight brokerage, Delafield, Wisconsin; about 160 staff per Transport Topics 2025) owner, United States
The second-generation CEO of a family-owned 3PL added a Mexico service line and put AI agents on inbound carrier calls and order entry, the core manual work of a brokerage.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Evans is a family-owned, full-service, third-party provider of custom logistics solutions for a diverse range of North American shippers. A private company based in Wisconsin” source
- What they did 2024 “In 2024, Evans expanded its reach with a new service offering in Mexico, a region rapidly rising as the United States’ largest trading partner and a major player in the global supply chain.” source
- What they did 2026 “Huckeba said staff used to manually key 100 to 120 orders per person per day. Now, integrations and AI agents extract shipment details from emails and PDFs and place cleaned data into Evans’ transportation management system,” source
- What they said 2025 ““Our success stems from our team’s dedication to doing more than simply responding to industry challenges,” said Keepman. “We’re always exploring ways to enhance our value and strengthen our culture.” source
- Andrew Elsener, Spot (Spot Freight Inc., founder-owned 3PL and freight brokerage, Indianapolis; about 589 staff per Transport Topics 2025) and its wholly owned technology arm Red Technologies owner, United States
The co-founder of a self-funded brokerage rejected off-the-shelf broker software, built an in-house TMS, spun it into an owned technology company and now deploys AI through it in the core freight work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In 2009, without external investors or funding, Andrew Elsener and Andy Schenck founded Spot with the belief that there was a better way to move freight.” source
- What they did 2020 “Fast-growing Indianapolis-based logistics company Spot Freight Inc. has spun off the software portion of its business into a new independent company called Red Technologies.” source
- What they said 2020 ““While operating Spot, my business partner Andrew Elsener and I knew that there had to be a better way to use technology versus basic “out-of-the-box” software,” said Andy Schenck, Red Technologies co-founder.” source
- What they did 2025 “For years, Spot’s wholly-owned subsidiary and technology arm, Red Technologies, has been building and deploying AI in ways that reflect the real-world pace, pressure, and complexity of freight.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public drug maker; the route reads freight brokerage rankings and freight trade press only.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software firm, not a freight or logistics services firm.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia makes apparel; not a freight brokerage or logistics services firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public software; outside the freight brokerage universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; the route is US freight brokerages only.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; outside the route.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software firm; outside the route.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the route.
Route 101: Marty profile: family-owned home and facility services companies
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search family-owned HVAC, plumbing, cleaning, landscaping and facility services companies that are not PE-backed (Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, Lawn & Landscape, firm newsrooms) for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: family-owned HVAC, plumbing, cleaning, landscaping and facility services companies that are not PE-backed (Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, Lawn & Landscape, firm newsrooms)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade press query through ACHR News, Contracting Business, Plumbing & Mechanical (WebSearch plus fetch.mjs) gives story naming a family-owned or locally owned firm and its leader (joined on firm name)
- firm through second trade or local page, firm release (PR Newswire) gives leader role, ownership, headcount (joined on firm name plus leader name)
- leader through profile or podcast page gives own-words quote on why the old model had a limit (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Brady Jolly, Jolly Plumbing, Drains, Heating & Air (also styled Jolly Heating, Air, Plumbing, Electric), Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, family-owned since 1979, 58 employees owner, United States
The second-generation owner-CEO of a family plumbing and HVAC firm rebuilt how the work is dispatched and managed, with AI dispatch matching techs to jobs, a home-built reporting tool and an employee-first model, while staying independent of private equity.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Brady Jolly, owner and CEO of Jolly Heating, Air, Plumbing, Electric, about using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve contracting business operations.” source
- What they did 2024 “Jolly Heating Air Plumbing and Electric , which serves Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky and has been in business since 1979, began incorporating AI into its business in early 2024. Initially, the team added Dispatch AI and chat.” source
- What they did 2025 “We use ServiceTitan, but we also built our own reporting tool called Service Jack,” Jolly says. “It gives us custom dashboards and accountability.” source
- What they said 2025 “When I first took over, it used to be all about the customer, no matter what,” Brady says. “Middle of the night, drippy faucet, we’d go. But that meant we burned through employees. Now, we’ve flipped that. We focus on building a place where employees are extremely happy and engaged, and when that happens, they take car” source
- Mark Paup, Golden Rule Plumbing, Heating, Cooling and Electrical (Grimes, Iowa; Des Moines, Omaha and Salt Lake City; fleet of 100+ vehicles), owned by Mark and Miranda Paup owner, United States
The owner-president of a locally owned plumbing and HVAC firm treats AI as a design project with its own thesis, rebuilding dispatch around it after earlier remaking the firm from new construction into a service business.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Golden Rule Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Electrical is locally owned and operated. Owners Mark and Miranda Paup share the company’s 23-year history and how it is a family affair.” source
- What they did 2024 “Golden Rule hired the presenter to help them develop their AI strategy and has been intentional about how it explores and deploys AI.” source
- What they said 2026 “I ask everyone, 'Do you have a thesis? Does your company know how and why it's going to roll out AI? If not, you're leaving it vulnerable to people sabotaging it.” source
- What they said 2008 “We weren’t trying to pull out of new construction completely, but we were trying to be more specialized so that we could charge the margins we wanted and still be profitable,” source
- Jamie Vaughan, Jay's Heating, Air & Plumbing (Mount Airy, North Carolina; founded 2005) and its Altitude Academy owner, United States
A fourth-generation HVAC owner bought a second firm and turned its building into an owned training academy, moving the company to an earn-while-you-learn pipeline that builds its own technicians.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Not only will Jay's retain all of V & H's employees, but the acquisition is also a deeply personal one for owner Jamie Vaughan , a fourth-generation HVAC professional.” source
- What they did 2025 “While the company already has an apprenticeship program, it plans to use V & H's building, located at 4971 Carrollton Pike in Woodlawn, Virginia , as its new state-of-the-art training center.” source
- What they did 2026 “Altitude Academy offers a structured “earn while you learn” model, where students begin as apprentices and advance through defined development levels.” source
- What they said 2026 “At a time when the skilled trades face a growing workforce shortage, it’s a way for us to make a proactive investment in developing the next generation of qualified professionals while creating meaningful career opportunities within the communities Jay” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company, outside the route's universe of private US home and facility services firms; HVAC, landscaping and cleaning trade press
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; the route searches US family-owned home and facility services trade press only.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a home or facility services firm; the route's sources do not cover him.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not a home or facility services firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and an industrial and services group outside US home and facility services trade press.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not a home or facility services firm; not covered by these sources.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the route's US private-services universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the route's universe.
Route 102: Marty profile: owner-operators in their own words on podcasts
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search published podcast transcripts and long interviews with owners of mid-size private service firms (EOS and Traction community podcasts, The Family Business Podcast, industry podcasts, Inc. and Fast Company owner interviews) for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Podcast transcripts of owner-operators are open and pullable (Collective 54 sitemap and /podcast/<slug> pages, Construction ESOP Collective episode pages, Journal of Accountancy podcast transcripts, all 200 with --text), but for the Marty profile they yield nothing countable. 13 episode or show pages and 2 firm pages gave 0 of 11 guests who pass all tests: Collective 54 member-case guests describe tools or advice with no dated firm-wide change (Bratton, Doyle, Arnott, Ikosipentarhos, Witty, Miramant, whose firm search results also describe as investor-backed); the one real redesign (Innovia Consulting's switch from time and materials to fixed fee, voiced by CEO Alan Wyne in April 2024) fails control because the firm's About page lists the founder as chairman above him; the GWCPA busy-season rebuild is a firm of 'less than 20 people'; the remaining Construction ESOP Collective guests are a surety broker and a former CEO; ServiceTitan's Toolbox for the Trades features consultants and vendors. Prior podcast routes (S-77, S-80) found names only before the 50-to-5,000 staff and control tests applied. A show-first spine starts from change stories, which LESSONS (operator, 2026-10-06) says skew away from qualifying firms; use podcasts for the own-words pass after a roster finds the firm.
Sources: published podcast transcripts and long interviews with owners of mid-size private service firms (EOS and Traction community podcasts, The Family Business Podcast, industry podcasts, Inc. and Fast Company owner interviews)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- show through podcast sitemap or episode index gives episode page with transcript (joined on episode URL slug (guest name and topic))
- episode page through About the Guests bio on the same page gives leader and firm (joined on guest name + firm)
- firm through firm About or leadership page gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
- person + firm through firm newsroom or trade press gives second page confirming the change and its year (joined on firm name + change nouns)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie US, but Box is public and a software firm; the route's podcast spine (boutique pro-serv and contractor shows) never carries him
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; outside the US-only route
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia; Fortescue is public and not a service firm
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above 5,000 staff; not in owner-operator shows
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a service firm; not a guest in the shows fetched
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; Reliance is public
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland; Novartis is public
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a product company and far above the shows' guest profile; not in the shows fetched
Route 103: Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of partner-owned CPA and advisory firms based in the Mid-Atlantic (INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Works only weakly: the Mid-Atlantic CPA roster is mostly gone to private equity (Kreischer Miller and LMC to Ascend, Herbein to Cherry Bekaert, RRBB to Current, Aronson to Aprio), the Accounting Today Top 100 and Regional Leaders data is behind a registration wall, and the few independent firms put strategy or digital officers, not the controlling leader, forward on change stories. One name (YHB) passed in attempt 1. Attempt 2 added the 2025 Best Firms for Technology list, the 2026 leaders-on-AI roundup, the 2026 independence-vs-PE feature and the JofA and MACPA podcasts; no second or third name passed size, ownership and leader-voice together (GWCPA is under 20 people, WilkinGuttenplan's change is voiced by its IT shareholder, Sax has a Cobepa minority stake).
Sources: INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through Accounting Today Regional Leaders (Mid-Atlantic) and Best Firms for Technology; IPA Top 400 member releases; firm 'regional leader' releases gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through ownership screen: firm About page, 'independent' boilerplate, M&A news (Ascend, Current, Cherry Bekaert, Aprio, Sorren) gives independent firm (joined on firm name)
- independent firm through firm newsroom plus accountingtoday.com and cpapracticeadvisor.com 2023-2026 for AI, role, pricing or owned-arm changes gives dated change (joined on firm name)
- dated change through same release or a second outlet gives controlling leader quoted (CEO or managing partner elected by shareholders) (joined on name plus title)
- leader through Accounting Today fact box (employees) and firm page gives Marty checks and signal year (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Tom Milburn, YHB CPAs & Consultants (Yount, Hyde & Barbour), Winchester, Virginia; Top 100 accounting and advisory firm, about 300 employees, nine offices in Virginia and Maryland ceo, United States
CEO of a 79-year-old Virginia CPA firm that created a first-ever chief strategy officer role and is rebuilding its workflows and billing around AI, moving work from billable hours to fixed-fee and value pricing.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The introduction of the CSO role marks a pivotal moment in YHB’s evolution and reflects our commitment to forward-thinking leadership as an organization,” said Tom Milburn, CEO of YHB.” source
- What they did 2025 “While this role is common in the corporate world, it remains an innovative step in our profession, one that will help us stay ahead of industry changes and enhance the way we serve our clients and communities.” source
- What they did 2026 “As automation and AI reduce the amount of time needed for a task, the billable hour makes less and less sense. Consequently, the firm has been expanding its use of fixed-fee and value-based pricing, especially in areas where outcomes can be clearly defined.” source
- What they said 2026 “This recognition matters because it reflects where YHB is headed and where we believe the profession must go,” source
- Paul Peterson, Wiss & Company, LLP (Wiss), Florham Park, New Jersey; partner-owned accounting and advisory firm, about 325 people (May 2025) ceo, United States
Managing partner and CEO of a 1969 New Jersey accounting firm who moved the month-end close onto an AI platform and set up Wiss Labs, a division that runs outsourced accounting on AI tools in production, to build what he calls a whole new way of accounting.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “I’ve taken on separate roles leading up to my current position as a managing partner and CEO. What I love about Wiss is the hands-on approach” source
- What they did 2026 “Think of Wiss Labs as the engine inside the car. Every outsourced accounting engagement, every co-sourcing deployment, every client relationship runs on what we've built here - 150+ platforms evaluated, 9 deployed in production” source
- What they did 2025 “Our Partnership with Basis AI: Automating the Month-End Close One of the ways Wiss is pushing boundaries is through our partnership with Basis AI” source
- What they said 2025 “We’ve always wanted Wiss to be a place of hope for a better way for accounting. Our industry has been notorious for the lack of humanity, and it’s led to a shortage of accountants.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial and services group; the route only walks Mid-Atlantic CPA and advisory firm rosters and press.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company, not a partner-owned CPA firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel company, not an accounting or advisory firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; outside the roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a CPA or advisory firm; outside the roster.
Route 104: Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers based in the Southeast (state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query through WebSearch: Southeast firm names or region plus mechanism noun (subsidiary, AI director, firmwide AI, reorganization) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom release or vendor customer story gives dated change (joined on firm name)
- dated change through same release or firm leadership page gives controlling leader (managing partner, CEO and managing shareholder) (joined on title line)
- leader through second firm page, mirror (Mondaq) or job posting gives second URL confirming the change (joined on firm name plus change noun)
- firm through release boilerplate, JD Supra profile, firm About page gives headcount and ownership form (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Ben Mathis, Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP (FMG Law; Atlanta-headquartered litigation firm, 500 to 600 attorneys in 40 offices; partnership, co-founded 1997) owner, United States
Co-founder and managing partner of a 500-plus lawyer Atlanta litigation firm who put one AI and knowledge platform under every office and hired staff to run it, to keep a one-office firm consistent as it grows by acquisition.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “On April 1, 1997, Ted Freeman , Ben Mathis , Bart Gary , Phil Savrin , Mary Anne Ackourey , and Dana Maine embarked on the adventure of starting a new law firm.” source
- What they did 2026 “With CoCounsel Legal deployed firmwide in early 2026 and integrated with DeepJudge, the firm now has a unified experience that connects every office, attorney, and practice area to the same institutional knowledge and authoritative legal content.” source
- What they did 2026 “The Legal Technology Platform Administrator (DeepJudge) will serve as the firm’s primary resource for administration,” source
- What they said 2026 “Our firm has a one-office philosophy that's really integral to who we are, and DeepJudge in CoCounsel Legal allows us to utilize that platform throughout the country.” source
- What they said 2026 “The feature highlights FMG Law’s technology transformation efforts and its firmwide use of CoCounsel Legal to connect attorneys across offices and practice areas with authoritative legal content and the firm’s institutional knowledge.” source
- Bill Perry, Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, P.A. (West Palm Beach, Florida; more than 320 attorneys and consultants and 300 support staff; shareholder-owned professional association) executive, United States
CEO and managing shareholder of a 100-year-old Florida firm who launched two owned non-law businesses in one year, a lobbying arm and an AI eDiscovery company that sells to other mid-sized firms.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “H. William (Bill) Perry is CEO and managing shareholder of Gunster. In addition to managing the day-to-day operations of the firm,” source
- What they did 2025 “In 2025, we continued to expand our client services with the launch of two subsidiaries .” source
- What they did 2025 “Zest is a women-led eDiscovery service provider and a wholly owned subsidiary of Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, P.A. - one of Florida's most established commercial law firms.” source
- What they said 2024 “The addition of this talented team will significantly expand our statewide presence in public policy consulting while preserving Gunster’s commitment to serving our clients’ diverse needs through our deep subject matter expertise across all levels of government,” source
- Todd Rolapp, Bass, Berry & Sims PLC (Nashville; nearly 350 attorneys; member-owned professional company) executive, United States
Managing partner of a 350-lawyer Nashville firm who rebuilt the business side into new integrated C-suite roles after a strategic assessment, then added a firm AI director and a summer AI lab.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““We are excited about these leadership moves and the impact these individuals will have on our ability to excel in client service,” said Todd Rolapp, Managing Partner of Bass, Berry & Sims.” source
- What they did 2026 “Bass, Berry & Sims is pleased to announce a strategic reorganization that creates new executive roles, expanded leadership responsibilities for several professionals, and the addition of senior talent who will support strategic growth.” source
- What they did 2026 “Bass, Berry & Sims has added Rachel Shields Williams to serve in the newly created role of Director of AI & Knowledge Management.” source
- What they said 2026 “This reorganization is the result of long-term succession planning and years of deliberate decision-making aligned with our core values and an in-depth strategic assessment.” source
- Marshall Redmon, Phelps Dunbar LLP (New Orleans; 450-plus lawyers in 18 offices; partnership) executive, United States
Managing partner of a Gulf South firm who set up an in-house analytics lab with a business school to pilot AI in litigation strategy; weaker tier, since the move is a 2019 pilot with no stated cost.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The initiative will explore how AI, particularly data analytics, can be used to identify business trends, develop litigation strategies and increase efficiency, according to Phelps Managing Partner Marshall Redmon .” source
- What they did 2019 “The partnership was launched earlier this year under the auspices of the Phelps Analytics Lab (PAL) and the Freeman School's Master of Business Analytics program (MANA).” source
- What they did 2026 “Through PAL, we are studying and piloting programs that use AI to identify business trends, develop litigation strategies and improve efficiency.” source
- What they said 2019 “The legal industry is changing, and we embrace the opportunities that come with change. We are committed to being at the innovation forefront through technology,” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie: software CEO (Box), not a Southeast law firm leader; a roster of Southeast law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers and their newsrooms cannot surface this
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya: food manufacturer owner (Chobani), not a law firm; a roster of Southeast law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers and their newsrooms cannot surface this
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani: Indian conglomerate, outside US law roster; a roster of Southeast law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers and their newsrooms cannot surface this person
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan: Swiss pharma CEO, outside US law roster; a roster of Southeast law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers and their newsrooms cannot surface this person,
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest: Australian mining owner, outside US law roster; a roster of Southeast law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers and their newsrooms cannot surface this p
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke: Canadian software CEO, outside US law roster; a roster of Southeast law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers and their newsrooms cannot surface this person,
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella: public software company CEO, not a law firm; a roster of Southeast law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers and their newsrooms cannot surface this perso
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler: Brazilian industrial owner (Semco), not a US law firm; a roster of Southeast law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers and their newsrooms cannot surface
Route 105: Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in Florida
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups based in Florida (Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Roster-first and change-first searches over Florida physician, oncology, orthopedic, pediatric and behavioral health groups (13 web searches, 17 logged fetches) found no leader who passes all Marty-profile tests. Every lead failed one: Florida Cancer Specialists sold about 70% of its business arm Core Ventures to McKesson (NYSE) in June 2025 and its managing physician leaves at the end of 2026; Millennium Physician Group is a CD&R portfolio company built by acquisition; Watson Clinic's Orlando Health hospital is a branding affiliation voiced by Orlando Health; Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute's 2025 buyback from Baptist is an ownership change voiced by an executive director; Pediatric Associates hired an outside CEO in 2025 and its AI work is voiced by the COO; Elite DNA, Health and Psychiatry and Physicians' Primary Care of SWFL show only office expansion, no dated 2023-2026 change in how the work is done. Becker's, healthcarefinancenews.com and capitalanalyticsassociates.com block fetch.mjs. Florida health services, like the four earlier behavioral health sweeps, is consolidated into hospital systems, public companies and PE platforms.
Sources: Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- Florida health practice roster through WebSearch for 'Florida's largest independent', 'physician-owned', founder-led behavioral health; Florida Trend, Business Observer gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom (flcancer.com/?p=<id>) and regional press (WUSF, Business Observer) gives dated change (joined on firm name + year)
- dated change through firm release quote line gives leader (joined on 'said <Name>, <title>')
- leader through ownership release or portfolio page gives control and ownership check (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada and software; the route covers Florida health practices only.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia, mining; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public US software company; outside the roster and fails private ownership.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India, conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil, industrial; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard California apparel; not a Florida health practice.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland, public pharma; outside the roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya New York and Idaho food maker; not a Florida health practice.
Route 106: Owner-led service firms: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators in Texas
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in Texas (Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Texas home care and hospice redesign stories in 2024-2026 belong to PE-backed platforms (Choice, Heart to Heart) or firms over 5,000 staff (New Day); the two names that fit came from SHN senior living founder interviews (Belmont Village, Aspenwood). 2 of 3 names; refine.
Sources: Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- route through Hospice News, HHCN, SHN and SHN Leadership Series search restricted to Texas operators gives Texas operator (joined on firm name)
- Texas operator through trade story or firm newsroom, 2021-2026 gives dated change voiced by the leader (joined on firm name + leader name)
- leader through second trade page (SHN, Seniors Housing Business) gives second citation for the change (joined on leader name)
- firm through Great Place to Work certified-company page or trade fact line gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Patricia Will, Belmont Village Senior Living (Houston, Texas; privately held developer, owner and operator of about 30 assisted living and memory care communities; 4,105 US employees per GPTW 2023) owner, United States
Moves care that used to leave the building inside it: her own nurses run urgent-care telemedicine with geriatric emergency physicians, and a dedicated internal think tank works on rebuilding how caregivers are recruited and trained.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Belmont Village is a privately held company headquartered in Houston, Texas. COMPANY SIZE 4,105 U.S.-based Employees” source
- What they did 2020 “And I decided to do a pilot with them, determined that it was incredibly effective, and we have since rolled it out in about half of our communities. We intend to expand to the whole company.” source
- What they said 2021 “Just as we dedicated a think tank led by one of our top executives to deal with vaccinations, deal with the pandemic, we’re doing it today for workforce development,” source
- What they said 2021 “We said, we’d have to get this capability on the inside. We have an advantage in that we have real nurses in our buildings all the time” source
- Jim Gray, Bridgewood Property Company and The Aspenwood Company (Houston, Texas; owner-developer plus a separate luxury operating company, 12 communities at launch); also founder of Retirement Center Management owner, United States
Split the operating work for his luxury communities out of a middle-market management company into a purpose-built operator, so the owner hires its own operator rather than one firm serving two very different products.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “says Jim Gray, founder and CEO of Aspenwood, and president and founder of Bridgewood.” source
- What they did 2022 “Bridgewood property company is the owner and developer of the properties, and then we hire our management company, The Aspenwood Company, to manage our properties for us,” source
- What they said 2022 “Our main primary focus going forward is luxury senior living, independent living, assisted and memory care,” source
- What they said 2022 “The formation of The Aspenwood Company with Heather’s highly respected leadership provides a strategic alignment of our current and future business,” source
- Greg Roderick, Frontier Senior Living (Frontier Management; Dallas, Texas; founder-led senior living owner and operator; 6,209 US employees across 130+ communities in Feb 2023, cut to about 32 communities by Nov 2025, so roughly 1,500 staff by proportion) owner, United States
After shrinking his firm from about 130 communities to about 32, he rebuilt how front-line work is staffed and trained: an in-house skills development program launched in 2024 and a staffing model redesigned to the strictest state rules so it runs in any state.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “he launched his own company in 2000. Today with 76 properties and several under development, Frontier continues to grow as a senior living owner and operator” source
- What they did 2024 “Dallas, Texas-based Frontier has bolstered training and improved staff retention coming off of a 2024 campaign that saw the launch of the company’s in-house skills development and training program to solve staffing issues” source
- What they did 2025 “The company also redesigned its staffing model using Oregon’s state regulations – “the most stringent in America,” Roderick said – so it can do business in any U.S. state” source
- What they said 2025 “really investing in skills development, competence and building culture. I know this sounds really cliche, but we have really taken it to another level” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chairman; not a Texas home care, senior living or hospice operator, so absent from the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO; public company and not a Texas aging-services operator.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box CEO; public software company, not in Texas aging-services trade press.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian owner of Semco; not a US or Texas aging-services operator.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft CEO; public company, not an aging-services operator.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining owner; not a US aging-services operator.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia founder; apparel and California, not a Texas aging-services operator.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify CEO; Canadian public company, not an aging-services operator.
Route 107: Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the Midwest (Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin)
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the Midwest (Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin) (Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The Insurance Journal Top 100 Independent P/C Agencies 2025 page is a working public roster (20 Midwest firms, about 11 privately held and not PE-backed). Per-firm searches for a 2019-2026 leader-voiced change gave three names (M3, MJ, Gregory & Appel) out of about 12 firms checked. Most Midwest private brokers publish growth, office and award news, and their AI work is voiced by COOs or CIOs (Hylant, M3).
Sources: Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Insurance Journal Top 100 Independent P/C Agencies 2025 gives Midwest agency (joined on agency name plus Office state)
- Midwest agency through WebSearch on agency name plus CEO plus AI, new service, new model gives dated change story (joined on agency name)
- dated change story through regional business press or chamber newsroom (madisonbiz.com, insideindianabusiness.com, sbnonline.com) and trade press (insurancebusinessmag.com, coverager.com, fintech.global) gives leader quote and second URL (joined on leader name plus agency)
- leader through regional press 2020-2026 gives role, control and ownership line (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Mike Victorson, M3 Insurance (Madison, Wisconsin; privately held broker) ceo, United States
Co-founded a broker-owned accelerator and investment vehicle in 2019 so M3 could shape and test agency technology with startups rather than buy it off the shelf.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As CEO, he will continue to focus on the strategic direction, investment strategy, and culture of the agency to help further enhance the M3 brand.” source
- What they did 2019 “M3 Insurance president and BrokerTech Ventures co-founder Mike Victorson said, “The idea behind the alignment of BrokerTech Ventures as both an accelerator and an investment vehicle is that we, and our agency partners, have an opportunity to shape a product or solution alongside the startup.” source
- What they said 2019 “We intend on being active participants in the insurance technology space and offering a testing ground to benefit our customers.” source
- Michael Bill, The MJ Companies (formerly MJ Insurance; Carmel, Indiana; privately held) ceo, United States
Widened an insurance agency into a consulting firm with retirement planning, leave and absence management and compensation consulting arms, voiced as a need to evolve the firm.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The MJ Companies is one of the largest privately held agencies in America . Founded in 1964, it currently serves a client base encompassing local, regional, and national companies in over 50 countries and in every US state.” source
- What they did 2024 “Indianapolis-based financial services firm MJ Insurance announced Tuesday it is changing its name to The MJ Companies to better reflect its expanding range of services. The company said its offerings have grown to include retirement planning, leave and absence management, compensation and total rewards consulting.” source
- What they said 2024 “This mission has driven us for nearly six decades, and it remains our commitment. However, as we look to the future, we recognize that to stay true to our purpose, we must embrace evolution.” source
- Andrew Appel, Gregory & Appel Insurance (Indianapolis, Indiana; privately owned, majority owner-led) owner, United States
Reorganized a privately owned brokerage from generalist teams into cross-functional industry vertical teams, and says independent ownership is what lets the firm make that long-term change.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “A couple of additional employees will buy in as owners in January, bringing the number of employee owners to 34 and reducing Andrew Appel’s stake to 53%.” source
- What they did 2025 “announced a strategic evolution of its service model by implementing new vertical practices, each dedicated to a core specialty or market segment.” source
- What they said 2025 “This change allows us to continue to bring more specialized knowledge into every conversation, providing client value that is often lost in the insurance brokerage space.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; not in the Insurance Journal Midwest agency roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer (Chobani), not an insurance agency; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian manufacturer; outside US and outside the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining billionaire; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel company owner; not an insurance agency.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company CEO; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public commerce software CEO; outside the roster.
Route 108: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms in the Upper Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms based in the Upper Midwest and Plains (ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Works only after narrowing: the ENR and Zweig Hot Firm lists are not fetchable rosters, so the spine is the NCEO Employee Ownership 100 plus firm newsrooms, and the change most often voiced by the CEO is a new owned arm or software product rather than a redesign of the core work. Two names from about 25 fetches; short of three.
Sources: ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through NCEO Employee Ownership 100, TCB 100 People to Know, firm ESOP awards gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom (sehinc.com/news/<slug>) gives dated change + leader quote (joined on firm name)
- change through second firm release or trade press gives second URL (joined on firm name + change noun)
- leader through firm leadership and overview pages, regional business press gives role, headcount, ownership (joined on person name)
New names that passed every check
- David Ott, Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH), St. Paul, Minn.; employee-owned engineering and architecture firm, 900+ employee-owners ceo, United States
Ott is moving SEH's assessment and delivery work onto owned technology, buying RAM's patented assessment tools as a subsidiary in 2023 and in 2026 creating an enterprise AI role to scale AI-integrated workstreams.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “St. Paul, Minnesota-based engineering firm Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. named David Ott as the company’s next chief executive officer, president and chairman of the board.” source
- What they did 2023 “This pivotal move increases SEH’s service offerings and reinforces SEH’s commitment to leveraging technology for improved facility and infrastructure solutions. RAM USA, now RAM Companies, LLC, will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of SEH.” source
- What they said 2023 “Jeff and his outstanding team have been at the forefront of using technology for more cost effective and sustainable infrastructure solutions for their clients.” source
- What they did 2026 “SEH has established a Director o f Artificial Intelligence role, with Emily Honerbrink stepping into the position. Emily will lead the firm’s enterprise AI strategy with a clear objective of translating AI into measurable impact.” source
- What they said 2026 “By strengthening how we apply AI responsibly, we are improving the quality of insights we deliver, enhancing collaboration, and helping our clients achieve better outcomes, faster and with greater certainty.” source
- Doug Jaeger, Ulteig (Fargo, N.D.; 100% employee-owned infrastructure engineering and consulting firm) ceo, United States
Jaeger is moving an 80-year engineering services firm from pure professional services into software it builds and sells, starting with the PathFinder technology-evaluation tool in January 2024.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Doug Jaeger is President and CEO of Ulteig. As CEO, Doug sets the purpose, vision and strategy for the business while building an employee-centric, growth minded and engaged culture.” source
- What they did 2024 “Having provided professional services for eight decades, the announcement of PathFinder marks a new approach by Ulteig to equip utilities with software-based solutions to enhance their grid reliability and adapt to expanding federal mandates.” source
- What they said 2024 “Investing in innovation and developing technology solutions like PathFinder is a prerequisite for designing the infrastructure solutions our clients need and our future demands.” source
- What they said 2020 “We are a 100 percent employee-owned company and that means that I, and the rest of Ulteig leadership, have a responsibility to be as transparent as possible about finances, strategies, and results,” source
- Dave Kievet, The Boldt Group (Appleton, Wis.; 100% employee-owned construction services firm, 18 offices) ceo, United States
Kievet is moving Boldt from site-built general contracting toward industrialized construction, launching Bildt, an owned modular and prefabrication manufacturer in Oshkosh, in January 2025 as the firm's answer to the trades labor gap.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Dave Kievet has served as president and CEO of Appleton-based construction company The Boldt Group since January 2024.” source
- What they did 2025 “Building on its 135-year history in the construction industry, Boldt is reimagining how buildings are planned, designed and delivered by launching Bildt, a modular and prefabrication manufacturer.” source
- What they said 2025 “Bildt can deliver higher-quality work at a lower cost, with complex work broken down into simpler tasks that can be learned quickly in a manufacturing environment.” source
- What they said 2025 “Bildt represents our innovative response to this challenge, offering modular and prefabrication solutions designed to enhance efficiency and productivity across the construction sector.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a Ventura, California apparel firm, not an Upper Midwest or Plains engineering, architecture or construction services firm, so it is outside the ro
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; outside a US, private, Upper Midwest AEC roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company in Washington; not on any AEC or ESOP roster for the region.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public California software firm; not an AEC services firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho; not an AEC services firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is in Brazil; the route is US Upper Midwest and Plains only.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; outside the roster.
Route 109: Owner-led service firms: privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms in the Mountain West
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms based in the Mountain West (Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. A Mountain West roster of privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce firms gave 0 leaders who pass size, private ownership, control and a dated change in their own words, from 15 WebSearch queries and 22 logged fetches. The roster spines are closed to fetch.mjs: coloradobiz.com Colorado 500 staffing list is 403 direct and via --jina, staffingindustry.com is 403 (earlier lessons), ClearlyRated winners pages are 404. The firms that do surface split cleanly into two failing groups. Founder-controlled firms in the band (Blue Signal Search, Phoenix, founded 2012 by Matt Walsh, over 70 employees, privately held; Job Store Staffing, Colorado, family firm run by Julie DeGolier since 2012) publish awards, growth and commentary but no dated change to how the work is done. The one real redesign found, Your Employment Solutions (Utah, since 1995) replacing phone screening, intake and a 16-hour payroll process with AI agents after agentic models arrived late 2025, is voiced by its COO under a hired CEO (Tom Carlin, 2020), with owners unnamed, so it fails the control and own-words tests. Other leads were PE-owned (CHG Healthcare), acquired into PE platforms (Ascend buying Arizona and Colorado agencies), franchise ownership changes (NEXTAFF, PrideStaff), outside the region (Engage Partners) or software vendors (Crelate, Boise).
Sources: Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through WebSearch over Phoenix Business Journal, ColoradoBiz Colorado 500, ClearlyRated, SIA list pages (index only) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom or blog (bluesignal.com), staffinghub.com Staffing Show transcripts, Salt Lake Chamber Speaking on Business gives change story and speaker (joined on firm name)
- speaker through firm about pages, utahbusiness.com and slenterprise.com leadership releases gives controlling leader (joined on person name and title)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker, not a Mountain West staffing or workforce firm; the route's sources do not cover him.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company, outside the route's region, sector and ownership filter.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public mining group; world transformers, not a US staffing firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a staffing or recruiting firm; not in any Mountain West staffing roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian, outside the US Mountain West staffing universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software firm, not a staffing firm.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software firm, not a staffing firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software firm far above the size band, not a staffing firm.
Route 110: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in California
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies based in California (Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Works when the roster comes from O'Dwyer's independents ranking and Adweek's Fastest Growing Agencies filtered to California and 50+ staff, then one per-firm search for an AI tool, studio or owned arm. Ad Age agency coverage gave mostly holding-company or investor-owned shops (David&Goliath under Innocean, Mekanism under Plus Company). Yield is about 3 names from 12 firms checked; changes are new owned tools and studios more than redesigned roles.
Sources: Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through O'Dwyer's independents ranking; Adweek Fastest Growing Agencies gives firm (joined on firm name + city (CA) + staff count)
- firm through firm newsroom/blog; O'Dwyer's news; MediaPost; Adweek gives dated change (joined on firm name + AI/studio/launch)
- dated change through same release or trade story gives leader (joined on named founder or CEO)
- leader through O'Dwyer's directory profile; Everything-PR profile; Wikipedia gives control and headcount (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Curtis Sparrer, Bospar (PR and marketing agency, San Francisco; 74 employees and founded 2015 per O'Dwyer's directory; 62 staff in O'Dwyer's 2025 independents ranking) owner, United States
Co-founder of an independent PR agency who built the firm's own AI tools (Push*E, then Audit*E) to deliver agency counsel instantly and off-hours instead of only through billable staff time.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Leadership: Curtis Sparrer, Co-Founder & Principal; Chris Boehlke, Co-Founder & Principal; Tom Carpenter, Principal; Joseph Krasinski, CFO” source
- What they did 2024 “Bospar CEO Curtis Sparrer emphasized that Push*E is not meant to replace human interactions or any positions at the agency. Instead, it will augment Bospar's after-hours consultancy.” source
- What they said 2024 “While we are known for our rapid responses, we challenged ourselves to elevate our game even further. Push*E is the result - an AI tool that delivers immediate, expert-level answers for CMOs, CEOs and” source
- Lou Hoffman, The Hoffman Agency (technology PR firm, San Jose, California; founded 1987; about 270 employees in 2025; 305 staff in O'Dwyer's 2025 independents ranking) owner, United States
Founder-CEO of an independent tech PR firm who had the agency build its own AI-visibility software in-house (GEDI, 2025), moving the firm from earned media into measuring how AI engines represent clients.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “PROFILE SNAPSHOT Founded: 1987 Founder & CEO: Lou Hoffman Global Headquarters: San Jose, California Additional offices: Nine offices across the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific” source
- What they did 2025 “The Hoffman Agency launches Generative Engine Discovery Insights , a capability designed to help brands understand how they are represented in generative AI answers.” source
- What they said 2025 “That's how our AI visibility radar Generative Engine Discovery Insights (GEDI) was born, built 100% in-house, from the codebase to the interface, to show how brands are represented inside large language models” source
- Will Trowbridge, Saylor (social-first creative agency, Los Angeles; founded 2021; 51-100 employees per Adweek 2026 Fastest Growing Agencies) owner, United States
Founder-CEO of a young independent creative agency who has split the work into owned studios: Elevado for hybrid AI, live-action and VFX production (2025) and FLEET for creator-led content (2026).Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The launch, shared officially on Wednesday, is less a new offering than a formalization of a service that Saylor has offered since its founding, according to founder and CEO Will Trowbridge.” source
- What they did 2025 “While Elevado is part of Saylor, it operates as an independent creative/production entity, helping agencies and brands chart AI creativity and strategy. Saylor CEO Will Trowbridge partners with Rupert Cresswell” source
- What they said 2026 “The opportunity for brands isn't just showing up in creator content. It's building ideas with creators that people genuinely want to watch, follow, and talk about.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani leads Reliance Industries, an Indian public conglomerate. Not a California founder-owned marketing, PR or creative agency, so the route's roster (
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella leads Microsoft, a public software company. Not a California founder-owned marketing, PR or creative agency, so the route's roster (O'Dwyer's inde
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler owned Semco, a Brazilian industrial firm. Not a California founder-owned marketing, PR or creative agency, so the route's roster (O'Dwyer's indep
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke leads Shopify, a public Canadian software company. Not a California founder-owned marketing, PR or creative agency, so the route's roster (O'Dwyer's
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest leads Fortescue, an Australian public miner. Not a California founder-owned marketing, PR or creative agency, so the route's roster (O'Dwyer's in
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie leads Box, a public software company. Not a California founder-owned marketing, PR or creative agency, so the route's roster (O'Dwyer's independents
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya owns Chobani, a food manufacturer, not a service firm. Not a California founder-owned marketing, PR or creative agency, so the route's roster (O'D
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan leads Novartis, a Swiss public drugmaker. Not a California founder-owned marketing, PR or creative agency, so the route's roster (O'Dwyer's indep
Route 111: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the Pacific Northwest
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms based in the Pacific Northwest (Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Attempt 1 gave 0 qualifying new names. The Consulting magazine Best Firms to Work For winner pages (2025 and 2026) fetch cleanly and serve as a roster, but only three Pacific Northwest firms appear on them: Slalom (too large), Logic20/20 (Seattle, 300 staff, co-founder CEO Christian O'Meara) and The Gunter Group (Portland, about 100 staff, founder Mike Gunter). Neither of the two that fit on size showed a dated 2023-2026 change to how the work is done in a fetched source: Logic20/20's public items are a new AI offering credited to a senior manager and a vendor partnership, and Gunter's only change story is a 2019 rebrand with new practices. Inc. 5000 and GeekWire return 403 directly and via Jina, and the Daily Journal of Commerce is paywalled. Several obvious regional firms have left the profile: Point B partnered with Endeavour (Portland private equity), Perkins & Co went to CLA, Moss Adams merged into Baker Tilly. Coffman Engineers (Spokane, shareholder-owned, chair-CEO Dave Ruff) has only a 2017 federal-market initiative and a 2025 leadership release. Refine notes are in write-up.md under Probe.
Sources: Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award list through Consulting magazine Best Firms to Work For winner pages (events.consultingmag.com) gives firm name (joined on firm name, filtered to Pacific Northwest HQ by hand)
- firm name through Built In company page gives HQ and headcount (joined on firm name -> builtin.com/company/<slug>)
- firm through firm leadership page gives controlling founder or CEO (joined on firm domain /company/leadership or /about)
- firm and leader through firm newsroom, Oregon Business, regional trade press gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name plus mechanism nouns (AI, pricing, new practice))
- change through second independent page gives confirmation and signal year (joined on firm name and date)
New names that passed every check
- Jaime Drozd, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP (Seattle-founded national law firm, partner-owned) executive, United States
Runs a partner-owned Seattle law firm of 600+ lawyers that built an internal generative AI app, allied with Stanford CodeX to prototype AI tools, and in 2026 put Harvey and Copilot in every lawyer's workflow with a 90% adoption target.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Said Jaime Drozd , DWT's firmwide managing partner: "We are proud to be staking out a leadership position in the deployment of AI, in close collaboration with our clients and with exceptional partners like CodeX."” source
- What they did 2026 “Davis Wright Tremaine LLP today announced a significant expansion of its artificial intelligence capabilities through firmwide access to Harvey, a leading AI platform designed for legal work, and Microsoft Copilot” source
- What they said 2026 “Our goal is to equip our people to spend less time on routine tasks and more time solving difficult problems, advancing client objectives, and designing better ways to deliver legal services.” source
- What they did 2025 “Each week, more than a third of DWT's lawyers and professional staff draw on DWT.AI, a large language model that is known as one of BigLaw's first internal, generative AI apps.” source
- Dan Brown, Cascade Energy (Portland energy management services firm, 100% employee-owned via ESOP) ceo, United States
Runs a 100% employee-owned Portland energy services firm that is moving from efficiency consulting into grid demand flexibility, buying Yield Energy in 2026 to run a 200 MW flexible-load portfolio as a new business unit.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Cascade Energy announced today that Dan Brown will be succeeding Marcus Wilcox as Chief Executive Offer, effective January 1, 2022. The company also shares that it has established an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), making Cascade Energy a 100 percent employee-owned firm.” source
- What they did 2026 “Yield will operate as a business unit within Cascade, led by Tyler Nuss, with the team collaborating across Cascade to rapidly expand Cascade’s demand flexibility offerings.” source
- What they said 2026 “Utilities and their customers are under real pressure from load growth, and demand flexibility is one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to relieve it,” source
- What they said 2021 “it has become clear that we are entering a new phase - one in which our customers are setting big, bold greenhouse gas reduction goals and putting in place serious action plans to meet these new goals,” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel maker and retailer, not a Pacific Northwest consulting or professional services firm; not on the Consulting magazine rosters.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is in Brazil; the route is US Pacific Northwest only.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is Redmond-based but public and far above 5,000 staff; not a service firm on these rosters.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a New York food maker, not a PNW professional services firm.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian and public; outside the route.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is Indian and public; outside the route.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss and public; outside the route.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California; not on the consulting rosters.
Route 112: Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms in the South (Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas)
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held property management and real estate services firms based in the South (Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas) (NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route works only weakly and only after revision. The rankings named in the route are not readable, and most large Southern brokerages have sold or merged (Latter & Blum to Compass 2024, Benchmark into United Real Estate, Village/Parks/Pilkerton), while big managers voice change through hired executives. Revised to read trade-press Q&As and profiles (Multifamily Dive, MFE) for family managers and RISMedia Power Broker interviews, Hall of Fame pages and firm PR newsrooms for independent brokerages. Three verified names: Mark Fogelman, Harold Crye and George Wallace.
Sources: NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region (TN, KY, AL, LA, AR) through WebSearch over Multifamily Dive, MFE, Talk Business, RISMedia, firm newsrooms gives privately held Southern property manager or brokerage (joined on firm name and HQ city)
- firm through Multifamily Dive and MFE firm stories 2022 to 2026 gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name)
- change through same story or a second trade story gives the controlling leader and their words (joined on leader name and title)
- leader through MFE profile or firm page gives ownership, control and size (joined on firm name)
- leader through earliest dated story gives signal year (joined on article date)
New names that passed every check
- Mark Fogelman, Fogelman Properties, Memphis, Tennessee, third-generation family-owned multifamily investment and property management firm (about 32,000 units, 100+ locations) owner, United States
A co-owner of a family-owned Memphis apartment manager is moving the work online and off-site, raising technology spend by half, hiring the firm's first IT head and centralizing administrative functions while testing AI chat.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Today, the company is run by Rick and Mark Fogelman, Avron’s sons, who spent their high school summers working at the properties and in the corporate office.” source
- What they did 2022 “Fogelman is also interested in finding more efficiencies with technology. “Our technology and marketing spend have got to be up 50% in the last 24 months,” he told Multifamily Dive.” source
- What they did 2023 “Like most apartment operators around the country, Memphis, Tennessee-based Fogelman Properties is thinking about how to incorporate centralization in its management model.” source
- What they said 2023 “In something as a family-owned company for 60-plus years, competing against big institutional competitors, we truly believe that our culture of our people as being extended family, and a third-generation family business is something that does really set us apart.” source
- Harold Crye, Crye-Leike Real Estate Services, Memphis, Tennessee, privately held full-service brokerage (about 700 employees, 3,200 sales associates, 130+ offices) owner, United States
The co-founder and CEO of a Memphis brokerage changed how the firm pays and keeps its independent-contractor agents by funding a no-cost retirement pension for them, a model no other brokerage offered.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Crye has since expanded the company into a nine-state region throughout the mid-south, with more than 130 offices, 3,200 sales associates and 700 employees.” source
- What they did 2021 “The Wealth Building Program's key provisions are as follows: agents will receive 25% of their highest three years average 1099 earnings annually, monthly checks for 180 months, a $25,000 burial benefit, a lump sum $100K death benefit” source
- What they said 2023 “No other company has anything like this,” says company President Harold Crye. “We are already seeing our recruiting increase because of the value of this program.” source
- What they said 2023 “This game-changing program is a first of its kind in the real estate industry,” said Crye-Leike founder and CEO Harold Crye, “and is aimed at securing our agents’ financial future so they can live the retirement life they’ve always dreamed of.” source
- George Wallace, Wallace Real Estate, Knoxville, Tennessee, third-generation family brokerage owned by four partners (nearly 500 agents, six offices) owner, United States
The CEO and co-owner of a Knoxville family brokerage dropped its national franchise to run the firm independently, then turned its support stack into an alliance model it extends to other local brokerages.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The four partners and co-owners, brothers George Wallace and Jim Wallace, Claudia Stallings and Andrew McGranaghan, made the move to independence to provide more flexibility, support and opportunities for agents” source
- What they did 2023 “We made this change to be able to nimbly provide the best support and tools to our agents and service to our clients, while maintaining our warm and personable culture.” source
- What they did 2024 “Wallace Real Estate has formed a new real estate alliance model with Bender Realty to extend support and benefits to agents of the family-owned firm based in Cleveland, Tennessee.” source
- What they said 2023 “A company with nearly 90 years of success in any industry must have a strong commitment to innovation and the confidence to make big decisions.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Out of scope by design: the route only reads firms headquartered in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Louisiana or Arkansas, and this person leads a firm based else
- Missed Ricardo Semler Out of scope by design: the route only reads firms headquartered in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Louisiana or Arkansas, and this person leads a firm based else
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Out of scope by design: the route only reads firms headquartered in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Louisiana or Arkansas, and this person leads a firm based else
- Missed Satya Nadella Out of scope by design: the route's roster is privately held Southern property management and real estate services firms of 50 to 5,000 staff; this person leads
- Missed Aaron Levie Out of scope by design: the route's roster is privately held Southern property management and real estate services firms of 50 to 5,000 staff; this person leads
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Out of scope by design: food manufacturing in New York and Idaho, not a Southern property or real estate services firm.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Out of scope by design: apparel maker in California, not a Southern property or real estate services firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Out of scope by design: the route only reads firms headquartered in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Louisiana or Arkansas, and this person leads a firm based else
Route 113: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the Carolinas and Virginia
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms based in the Carolinas and Virginia (employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The Carolinas and Virginia hold almost no wealth firm that passes size, ownership and control at once. Fee-only RIA rosters by state (Financial Planning 2025, mirrored on hbwealth.com) show NC- and SC-headquartered independents at 8 to 33 staff (Veratis, Salem, Colony, Bragg, Permcap); the large local names are PE-controlled (Captrust under GTCR, Cary Street Partners under CIVC since April 2025), absorbed (Parsec into Modera, 2023), networks (Visionary Square) or out-of-region firms with a branch. The one fit firm, Davenport and Company (Richmond, about 500 staff, 100% employee owned), shows only promotions, awards and office moves in its newsroom, and Bogart Wealth (Virginia, minority investor) shows only senior hires. Zero names after 11 searches and 8 fetches.
Sources: employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- state through FINTRX city rosters; Financial Planning Top Fee-Only RIAs by state gives firm (joined on firm name + HQ city)
- firm through firm newsroom, RIA trade press, regional business press gives dated change (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm About page / dated deal story gives leader with control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; outside a regional wealth firm roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian company; outside the route's universe and not US.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; not a wealth firm, not US.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker in New York and Idaho; not a wealth firm in the Carolinas or Virginia.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; out of universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; out of universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; out of universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel company in California; out of universe.
Route 114: Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in New England and New York
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms based in New England and New York (Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The New England and New York slice of the freight and 3PL universe is too thin to yield Marty-profile leaders. The Transport Topics 2025 Top 100 Logistics and Top 100 Freight Brokerage rankings (the only public rosters with headcount) hold four firms headquartered in the region, and all four fail control: Odyssey Logistics (Danbury, CT) is private-equity owned, Lily Transportation (Needham, MA) was bought by the ZS Fund and merged under Transervice's hired CEO, ROAR Logistics (Buffalo, NY) is a subsidiary of Rich Products Corp. whose president answers to the parent's chairman, and Logistic Dynamics (Amherst, NY) reports 58 staff on an agent-office model and appears in a private-equity portfolio directory. A. N. Deringer (St. Albans, VT), the largest privately held US customs broker, has a President and CEO but no public statement of who owns or controls it and no dated 2023-2026 change to how the work is done. Topic sweeps (family-owned brokerage plus AI, regional business journals, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Long Island 3PLs) returned vendors, startups and out-of-region firms. Zero new names after 10 searches and 9 fetch attempts.
Sources: Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Transport Topics Top 100 Logistics 2025 and Top 100 Freight Brokerage 2025 gives firm (joined on firm name (no HQ column; region checked by search))
- firm through web search for HQ, ownership and parent gives firm with ownership status (joined on firm name)
- firm through FreightWaves / American Shipper, firm leadership page gives leader (joined on firm name plus title)
- leader through trade and regional press 2023-2026 gives dated change (joined on leader name plus firm)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Miss: Yvon Chouinard leads a outdoor apparel maker in California, not a New England or New York logistics firm. The route's spine (Transport Topics 2025 logisti
- Missed Ricardo Semler Miss: Ricardo Semler leads a Brazilian industrial firm, outside the US roster. The route's spine (Transport Topics 2025 logistics and brokerage rankings filtere
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss: Satya Nadella leads a public software company, not on any logistics roster. The route's spine (Transport Topics 2025 logistics and brokerage rankings filt
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Miss: Hamdi Ulukaya leads a yogurt manufacturer (Chobani is NY-based but a food maker, not a freight or 3PL firm). The route's spine (Transport Topics 2025 logi
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss: Aaron Levie leads a public software company, not on any logistics roster. The route's spine (Transport Topics 2025 logistics and brokerage rankings filter
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Miss: Vas Narasimhan leads a Swiss public pharma company. The route's spine (Transport Topics 2025 logistics and brokerage rankings filtered to New England and
- Missed Tobi Lutke Miss: Tobi Lutke leads a Canadian public commerce software company. The route's spine (Transport Topics 2025 logistics and brokerage rankings filtered to New En
- Missed Andrew Forrest Miss: Andrew Forrest leads a Australian mining company. The route's spine (Transport Topics 2025 logistics and brokerage rankings filtered to New England and Ne
Route 115: Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) based in the Mid-Atlantic (Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Mid-Atlantic family-owned HVAC, cleaning and facility firms are easy to list but rarely publish a dated change voiced by the controlling owner. Family-business rosters (CPBJ, Daily Record, NJBIZ In the Lead 2026) are 403 to fetch.mjs. Over two attempts the names came from building-service-contractor trade news (cleanlink.com, issa.com, pr.com: Commercial Cleaning Corp robots 2022, Allan Industries robots in union Philadelphia 2026) and from widening home services to moving (JK Moving, Sterling VA, guaranteed salaried drivers 2021). HVAC trade press gave changes voiced by COOs, GMs or service directors, never the owner. Three new names from about 30 fetch attempts.
Sources: Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and segment through trade press people-news and award pages (cleanlink.com, issa.com, ACCA awards, ACHR News, Contracting Business AI roundups) gives Mid-Atlantic family-owned service firm (joined on firm name plus HQ state)
- firm through WebSearch on firm name plus robots, AI, new division, owner gives dated change story (joined on firm name)
- dated change story through firm press release on pr.com and the trade reprint on cleanlink.com gives leader quote and second URL (joined on leader name plus firm)
- leader through business directory history text (scrapmonster.com company profile) and issa.com people news gives ownership and control line (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Michael Rosen, Commercial Cleaning Corporation (Trenton, New Jersey; janitorial and building maintenance across NJ, DE, PA and MD; founded 1927) owner, United States
Owner of a Mid-Atlantic janitorial contractor who is moving repetitive floor work to autonomous robots so cleaners do detail work, and who installed an integrator-run operating model.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In 1988, the company was purchased by its current owner, Michael Rosen, and its services expanded once again to include a full-service Janitorial and Sanitary Maintenance Supply Company” source
- What they did 2022 “Commercial Cleaning Corp, who has been in business nearly a century, was the first in the United States to adopt the new robot for a commercial cleaning application.” source
- What they said 2022 “Even our cleaners love it, no one likes to manually scrub a half mile long hallway, Cobi 18 does the monotonous work, and our cleaners get to focus on the details that make our service top notch.” source
- What they did 2019 “Commercial Cleaning Corp. has appointed Kevin Stoner chief operating officer (COO)/integrator. In his new role, Stoner will oversee Commercial Cleaning” source
- Chuck Kuhn, JK Moving Services (Sterling, Virginia; residential, commercial and data-center moving; about 1,300 staff; independently owned) owner, United States
Founder-owner of the largest independent US mover who rebuilt crew training around an in-warehouse training house and turned long-haul drivers into guaranteed six-figure salaried staff to fix the driver shortage.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As founder and CEO of JK Moving Services , the largest independent moving company in North America, Kuhn has seen his fair share of terrible moves.” source
- What they did 2021 “With demand high for professional drivers, JK Moving Services has increased annual guaranteed income for experienced Over-the-Road Class-A CDL Drivers to a minimum $100,000.” source
- What they said 2025 “We actually have a house built inside of our warehouse, and our people will train in our training house long before they'll ever be put in your house, and our industry doesn't typically train that way.” source
- What they said 2021 “We have a driver shortage in our country that has been exacerbated by growth in online retailing,” source
- What they said 2025 “Growing the business has been a never-ending, enjoyable challenge,” source
- Paul Allan, Allan Industries (Rockaway, New Jersey; janitorial, restoration and reconstruction services in 12 states; 2,200 employees; privately held) owner, United States
Founder-owner of a 2,200-person New Jersey janitorial contractor whose firm moved core vacuuming and scrubbing in union Philadelphia buildings to autonomous robots and grew owned restoration and reconstruction arms.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Allan Industries was founded in 1985 by Paul Allan, who remains the company’s owner, alongside a second partner, Michael Carroll.” source
- What they did 2026 “At a newly built commercial property on Market Street in Philadelphia, autonomous vacuums and a robotic scrubber now work alongside the company’s union cleaning crews, taking over the long hallways and open lobbies that used to eat up hours of every shift.” source
- What they did 2026 “Significantly, while we have evolved to offer additional services, such as Construction Clean-up Labor, Fire & Water Damage Restoration, Stone Floor Rehoning and Re-Construction Services, we have maintained our identity as a professional Janitorial Services Provider.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss: large public software company CEO. Not a Mid-Atlantic owner-led service firm (HVAC, cleaning, facility or home services); the route's roster and per-firm
- Missed Tobi Lutke Miss: Canadian public commerce platform CEO. Not a Mid-Atlantic owner-led service firm (HVAC, cleaning, facility or home services); the route's roster and per-f
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Miss: food manufacturer owner, not a service firm. Not a Mid-Atlantic owner-led service firm (HVAC, cleaning, facility or home services); the route's roster and
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss: public software company CEO. Not a Mid-Atlantic owner-led service firm (HVAC, cleaning, facility or home services); the route's roster and per-firm search
- Missed Ricardo Semler Miss: Brazilian owner. Not a Mid-Atlantic owner-led service firm (HVAC, cleaning, facility or home services); the route's roster and per-firm searches never rea
- Missed Andrew Forrest Miss: Australian billionaire. Not a Mid-Atlantic owner-led service firm (HVAC, cleaning, facility or home services); the route's roster and per-firm searches ne
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Miss: Indian billionaire. Not a Mid-Atlantic owner-led service firm (HVAC, cleaning, facility or home services); the route's roster and per-firm searches never
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Miss: Swiss public pharma CEO. Not a Mid-Atlantic owner-led service firm (HVAC, cleaning, facility or home services); the route's roster and per-firm searches n
Route 116: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms in the Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms based in the Southeast (CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Only works in a narrowed form. CRN SP500 (crn.com list pages 404) and the MSP 501 (channelfutures.com 403) cannot be fetched as rosters. Firm press releases about the ranking, found by WebSearch, gave five Southeast firms. Three fail control: iVision is CIVC-backed, MGT is owned by Vistria and Ares, and Pellera is H.I.G.-backed. Dynamic Quest has a hired CEO and no dated change. The one name came from office-technology dealer trade press (Cannata Report, ENX), where family-owned Southeast dealers that turned into MSPs are profiled with owner and headcount. Yield is 1 name from about 12 firms checked. Attempt 2: the 2026 MSP 501 is fetchable as five themspsummit.com article pages that print rank, firm, executive, city and state (about 75 Southeast rows), which fixes the roster gap. But most Southeast MSP 501 firms are under 50 staff (TechPulse 18, Digital Boardwalk 30, Net Friends) or fail control (XTIUM, Corsica under Inverness Graham, Entech's founder stepped back in 2025). The second name, Atal Bansal of Chetu (Sunrise, FL, about 2,800 staff, no outside capital), came from a founder-led software services search, not the MSP list. 2 names from about 30 firms checked.
Sources: CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through themspsummit.com 2026 MSP 501 list pages (rank, firm, executive, city, state) gives Southeast firm + named executive (joined on firm name + state)
- ranking press release through firm releases about CRN Solution Provider 500 / MSP 501 rank, found by WebSearch gives Southeast firm (joined on firm name + HQ city)
- firm through PE deal databases and news (privsource, businesswire mirrors) gives ownership verdict (joined on firm name + investor)
- firm through office-technology and channel trade press (Cannata Report, ENX, MSP Success) gives dated change + leader (joined on firm name)
- leader through firm newsroom leadership release gives control and headcount (joined on leader name + firm)
New names that passed every check
- Chip Crunk, RJ Young (Nashville, Tennessee; family-owned office technology and managed IT provider; over 700 employees in 27 offices per its 2025 release) owner, United States
The owner-CEO is turning a family copier dealership into a managed IT and automation provider through acquisitions and an internal AI and automation program.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “I have full confidence in AJ to lead the organization that has been a part of my family for decades” source
- What they did 2019 “By focusing on process automation and managed IT services, RJ Young is making the necessary changes to remain relevant to customers.” source
- What they said 2024 “We have several projects and initiatives to maximize automation and AI in the way we do business that will revolutionize our business for our team members and our customers” source
- Atal Bansal, Chetu (Sunrise, Florida; founder-led custom software development and IT services firm; nearly 2,800 software experts per its April 2025 release; grown without outside capital) owner, United States
The founder-CEO is moving a 2,800-person custom software services firm from staff augmentation toward packaged AI adoption work through a proprietary eight-step Track2AI delivery method.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Bansal said he was proud of the entirely organic, employee-driven growth that Chetu was able to experience despite the ever-changing nature of the technology services industry that increasingly relies on investors and external capital.” source
- What they did 2025 “an eight-step methodology designed to help organizations across more than 40 industries integrate and scale artificial intelligence (AI) effectively” source
- What they did 2021 “Regarding new services, Chetu implemented its new Block of Hours program, which includes both technical and non-technical support services for partner products and DevOps CI/CD automation.” source
- What they said 2025 “We expect 2026 to be even better as our teams continue to develop cutting-edge digital transformation solutions for our clients” source
- What they did 2025 “Track2AI™ is Chetu's structured AI adoption framework designed to help organizations move from AI exploration to measurable business outcomes.” source
- Brandon Powell, HatchWorks AI (Atlanta, Georgia; founder-led AI and nearshore software development services firm, HatchWorks LLC; 101 to 200 staff per directory listings, over 100 by 2020 per Nearshore Americas; offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Costa Rica, Colombia and Peru) owner, United States
The founder-CEO pivoted his software services firm around generative AI, retraining its teams and rebuilding delivery as Generative-Driven Development, which automates routine development work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Brandon Powell has led HatchWorks AI since its founding in 2016, steering the company through rapid growth and a strategic transformation into an AI-first development firm.” source
- What they did 2024 “Generative-Driven Development™ harnesses the capabilities of AI to automate and optimize various stages of the software development process. This method enables HatchWorks' teams to rapidly develop high-quality, scalable, and robust applications” source
- What they did 2023 “So we faced an existential fork in the road, and chose to pivot the entire company around generative AI. We dove in head-first, re-engineering our approach, retraining our teams, and refocusing our offerings.” source
- What they said 2024 “Our approach helps our engineers work more efficiently by speeding up and automating routine software development tasks. This lets our teams concentrate on tackling more complex challenges.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella: leads Microsoft, a public software company headquartered in Washington state, far above 5,000 staff. The route's roster (CRN Solution Provider 50
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya: owns Chobani, a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not an IT services firm. The route's roster (CRN Solution Provider 500 private firms, MS
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest: leads Fortescue, a public Australian mining company. The route's roster (CRN Solution Provider 500 private firms, MSP 501, Southeast business an
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani: leads Reliance Industries, a public Indian conglomerate. The route's roster (CRN Solution Provider 500 private firms, MSP 501, Southeast business
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler: owned Semco, a Brazilian industrial group. The route's roster (CRN Solution Provider 500 private firms, MSP 501, Southeast business and channel
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard: founded Patagonia, a California apparel company. The route's roster (CRN Solution Provider 500 private firms, MSP 501, Southeast business and ch
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke: leads Shopify, a public Canadian commerce software company. The route's roster (CRN Solution Provider 500 private firms, MSP 501, Southeast business
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie: leads Box, a public California software company. The route's roster (CRN Solution Provider 500 private firms, MSP 501, Southeast business and chann
Route 117: Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of partner-owned CPA and advisory firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Attempt 1 yields one Marty-profile name (Drew Andrews, Whittlesey, Hartford). The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic partner-owned CPA roster is largely gone to private equity or national firms (Anchin to Baker Tilly, Freed Maxick to Withum, DiCicco Gulman to PKF O'Connor Davies, Walter Shuffain to Ascend), BerryDunn's CEO stepped down in 2026, Baker Newman Noyes moved to board governance, and the independents that remain (MMB+CO, Gray Gray & Gray) publish independence and award news, not a dated change to the work. Regional business journals (Hartford Business Journal Power 50) were the only source that carried a leader-voiced change. Attempt 3 (2026-10-06) tried vendor case studies, the Journal of Accountancy podcast, Pittsburgh and Boston independents (Schneider Downs, Wolf & Company), ROI-NJ Power List pages and NYSSCPA news: no second or third leader with control, an in-band firm and a dated change in their own words on a fetchable page. The route stays at one counted name.
Sources: INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through WebSearch on regional business journals and firm newsrooms (Hartford Business Journal, Mainebiz, Rochester Business Journal via firm reprints) gives independent CPA firm (joined on firm name)
- independent CPA firm through M&A check: WebSearch '<firm> private equity OR merger OR joins' plus firm newsroom gives firm still independent (joined on firm name)
- firm still independent through regional business journal leader profile (Hartford Business Journal Power 50 honoree pages, one per year) gives managing partner and CEO with headcount and dated change (joined on leader name)
- managing partner through second year's profile on the same site or firm newsroom gives second dated citation in the leader's own words (joined on leader name plus firm)
New names that passed every check
- Drew Andrews, Whittlesey (Hartford, Connecticut), Connecticut's largest independent CPA firm, about 170 employees executive, United States
Managing partner and CEO of an independent Connecticut CPA firm who is pushing automation and AI into tax, audit and advisory work and adding new advisory lines rather than selling to a platform.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Under his leadership as managing partner and CEO since 2008, Whittlesey has evolved from a local firm with a single office to Connecticut's largest independent CPA firm.” source
- What they did 2026 “Andrews said basic generative AI tools, including Microsoft Copilot, have been rolled out firmwide to assist with business communications and internal operations. Whittlesey has also implemented tools that utilize AI in researching and delivering information for clients.” source
- What they said 2026 “Andrews said it has not yet been demonstrated that AI will lead to lower bills for clients, particularly because firms are incurring new technology expenses. Whittlesey spends about $30,000 annually on AI products, he said.” source
- What they did 2026 “Over the past year, Andrews said the firm expanded its advisory capabilities in areas including cybersecurity, HR advisory and outsourced accounting, while deploying artificial intelligence tools for specific tasks across tax, audit and advisory practices.” source
- What they said 2024 “We have to automate processes and stay ahead of technological advancements," Andrews told the HBJ last September. "I'm not just looking at what's coming down the line next year, I'm looking at 10 years down the road. The firms that don't modernize will become obsolete.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy figure; not a Northeast CPA or advisory firm leader, so outside this roster by construction.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chair; not a US partner-owned CPA firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Leads a food manufacturer, not a service firm; no CPA or advisory roster lists him.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software company CEO; outside the region, sector and ownership filter.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel company owner; not an accounting or advisory firm.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company CEO in California; fails sector, region and ownership tests.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public company CEO far above the 5,000 staff cap; not a CPA firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; outside the route by design.
Route 118: Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers based in the South and Southeast (state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route works as a firm-name plus mechanism-noun search in firm newsrooms (new owned subsidiary, firm's first Chief Innovation Officer role), not as a LawSites, ABA Journal or Law.com sweep. Virginia Lawyers Weekly (valawyersweekly.com) is 403 direct and through Jina; the firm newsrooms carried every step. Three new names, all managing partners of partner-owned firms between 60 and 500-plus attorneys.
Sources: state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query through WebSearch: Southern state names or firm names plus mechanism noun (consulting subsidiary, public affairs subsidiary, Chief Innovation Officer, firmwide AI) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom release gives dated change (new owned arm or new firmwide innovation role) (joined on firm name)
- dated change through same release quote line gives controlling leader (managing partner, CEO) (joined on title line in the quote attribution)
- leader through second firm release about the same arm or role gives second URL confirming the change (joined on subsidiary or role name)
- firm through release boilerplate (About the firm) gives headcount and ownership form (P.C., LLP partnership) (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Tom Inglima, Willcox & Savage, P.C. (Norfolk, Virginia; full-service firm founded 1895, more than 60 attorneys, offices in Norfolk, Richmond and Tysons; shareholder-owned professional corporation) and its subsidiary Willcox Savage Consulting, LLC executive, United States
Turned a 60-lawyer Virginia firm into a law-plus-lobbying business by forming an owned public affairs subsidiary in Richmond and growing it.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Tom Inglima, Managing Partner and CEO of Willcox & Savage, P.C.” source
- What they did 2024 “Willcox Savage has also formed Willcox Savage Consulting, LLC, for which Mr. Bishop will serve as a Senior Vice President of the new subsidiary.” source
- What they said 2024 “We continually evaluate opportunities to expand our service offerings for our clients, whether in Hampton Roads, Tysons or now Richmond," stated Tom Inglima , Managing Partner and CEO of Willcox Savage.” source
- What they did 2025 “His sector fluency, spanning public transit and infrastructure, energy and data centers, and healthcare, elevates what Willcox Savage Consulting can deliver for its clients and accelerates our growth strategy across the Commonwealth.” source
- Wade Cooper, Jackson Walker LLP (Dallas-founded Texas firm, more than 500 attorneys; partnership) executive, United States
Created a new C-level innovation role to roll generative AI and automation into every practice group of Texas's largest firm.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Greg and Bill have each demonstrated deep experience and visionary leadership," said Wade Cooper , Firmwide Managing Partner.” source
- What they did 2025 “Greg Lambert , formerly Chief Knowledge Services Officer, has been named the Firm's first Chief Innovation Officer (CINO) - a new role charged with accelerating the Firm's adoption of next-generation legal technologies.” source
- What they said 2025 “These appointments underscore our commitment to delivering exceptional value to clients through continuous innovation and rock-solid technology.” source
- What they did 2025 “BTI's recognition affirms our disciplined, client-first approach to innovation and the investments we've made in responsible AI and data and change management," said Greg Lambert , the firm's first Chief Innovation Officer, a new role tasked with accelerating the adoption of next-generation legal technologies across th” source
- Kyle Sanders, Gray Reed (Texas full-service firm, more than 160 attorneys; owns Gray Reed Advisory Services consultancy and its GRPR government relations practice) executive, United States
Runs a Texas law firm that owns a business consultancy and has now created a firmwide innovation role to bring enterprise AI into every practice group.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Skyler doesn't just understand these technologies - he has used them in real matters for real clients," Gray Reed Managing Partner Kyle Sanders says.” source
- What they said 2026 “By creating the Chief Innovation Officer position and appointing Skyler, we are making a deliberate investment in both the future of our firm and the capabilities we can offer clients.” source
- What they did 2026 “As CIO, Stuckey will oversee firmwide initiatives designed to enhance the quality, efficiency, and responsiveness of the firm's services and operations across all practice areas and offices. His work will include incorporating enterprise level AI offerings” source
- What they did 2023 “Gray Reed Advisory Services is a subsidiary of Gray Reed that provides strategy, operations, marketing and technology advisory solutions to help companies optimize business functions to maximize performance and drive growth.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a clothing maker in California, not a Southern law firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company chief executive; not a law firm and not privately owned.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil, industrial firm; outside the US South roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India, conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada, public software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company in California; not a law firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland, public pharma; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia, mining; outside the roster.
Route 119: Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups based in the Midwest and Plains (Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Works only in a narrow form: the roster has to be physician-owned multispecialty groups that issue or appear in a dated vendor or partner release quoting their CEO. Behavioral health and therapy firms in the region failed size, ownership or dated-change tests (CARE Counseling joined Optum Behavioral Care, Nystrom named an outside CEO in 2023, Peak Sport and Spine and Kinetic Edge show no leader-voiced dated change on a second page). 1 name of 3 required.
Sources: Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region plus segment through WebSearch over vendor releases, regional business press and trade press (globenewswire, Becker's, Medical Economics, iowaabi.org) gives physician-owned or therapist-owned group in the Midwest or Plains (joined on group name plus 'physician-owned' or 'privately owned')
- group through vendor or partner release (globenewswire) and a second reprint or independent writeup gives dated change with the CEO's own words (joined on group legal name (The Iowa Clinic, P.C.))
- group through group site senior leadership page gives ownership statement and current CEO (joined on CEO name)
- group through Revelio Labs company headcount page gives headcount 2023-2026 (joined on group legal name)
New names that passed every check
- Ben Vallier, The Iowa Clinic, P.C. (West Des Moines, Iowa; physician-owned multispecialty group, about 1,237 employees per Revelio Labs, March 2026) ceo, United States
Moving a physician-owned group's Medicare Advantage and shared-savings care onto an AI clinical assistant paid per member per month, and offering it to the group's clinically integrated network partners.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “We are physician-owned and professionally managed. We let the physicians and providers do what they do best - care for our patients - while our team of administrative leaders and staff work hard behind the scenes to support them. Home About Us Senior Leadership Ben Vallier, MBA Chief Executive Officer” source
- What they did 2024 “Under the terms of the agreement, clinicians serving The Iowa Clinic’s Medicare Advantage and Medicare Shared Savings Program patients will use Counterpart Assistant, Counterpart Health’s cutting-edge cloud-based software platform.” source
- What they said 2024 “We take great pride in being a leader in the adoption of innovative medical technologies and treatments, always with the aim of elevating the quality of care our patients receive,” said Ben Vallier, CEO of The Iowa Clinic, P.C.” source
- What they did 2024 “The Iowa Clinic, a prominent physician-owned multispecialty group, has taken a significant step towards modernizing healthcare delivery by signing a multi-year agreement with Counterpart Health, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) company in the healthcare sector” source
- Andrew Perry, McFarland Clinic PC (Ames, Iowa; physician-owned multispecialty clinic, more than 280 providers and 1,000 staff per its About page) ceo, United States
Moving a physician-owned Iowa clinic's documentation across 12 specialties onto an Epic-integrated ambient AI assistant, framed as part of its value-based care model.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The McFarland Clinic PC Board of Directors recently named Andrew Perry Chief Executive Officer of McFarland Clinic PC. Mr. Perry will begin his position with the physician-owned clinic November 3, 2014.” source
- What they did 2025 “The initial rollout with 70 of the 360 McFarland providers has demonstrated reduced administrative burden on documentation and improved provider-patient engagement.” source
- What they said 2025 “As part of our commitment to value-based care, we’re investing in tools that ease the pressure on providers and strengthen the patient relationship. Nabla is helping us do both by making documentation feel less burdensome and more aligned with how our clinicians want to practice.” source
- Don Deep, Central Ohio Primary Care (Westerville, Ohio; largest independent physician-owned primary care group in the US, 2,200 employees across 90 locations) ceo, United States
Rebuilding primary care at a physician-owned group around complete care teams, a new advanced practice provider fellowship, and value-based contracts that take on cost risk.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Dr. Deep will run one of the largest Central Ohio companies, directing 2,200 employees across 90 locations covering six counties.” source
- What they did 2023 “This fellowship aligns with COPC’s goals to modernize primary care by building complete care teams that include highly trained and compassionate Advanced Practice Providers to care for our patients in central Ohio.” source
- What they said 2023 “But health care spending remains a concern for patients and employers alike, and although we are proud of all we have brought to Columbus regarding advancing value-based care, we have to continue to improve on our promise to deliver outstanding health care.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the Midwest or Plains, so the roster never reaches this person; Semco is a Brazilia
- Missed Aaron Levie Not an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the Midwest or Plains, so the roster never reaches this person; Box is a public sof
- Missed Satya Nadella Not an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the Midwest or Plains, so the roster never reaches this person; Microsoft is a publ
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the Midwest or Plains, so the roster never reaches this person; Novartis is a publi
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the Midwest or Plains, so the roster never reaches this person; Fortescue is a publ
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the Midwest or Plains, so the roster never reaches this person; Reliance Industries
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the Midwest or Plains, so the roster never reaches this person; Patagonia is an app
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the Midwest or Plains, so the roster never reaches this person; Chobani is a food m
Route 120: Owner-led service firms: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the West and Mountain states (Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. West and Mountain privately held aging-services operators are easy to list from Senior Housing News, Seniors Housing Business and Spokane Journal, but most redesign stories are voiced by a COO (Koelsch), the firm has outside capital (Family Resource Home Care, healthcare investor partnership 2020) or there is no change to the work (HealthFlex). Two founder-led senior living operators passed: Anthem Memory Care (Oregon, developer turned operator, AI across the executive team) and Ascent Living Communities (Colorado, data lake plus points-based acuity billing and labor allocation). A third, Solera Senior Living (Denver, founder-CEO Adam Kaplan), came in attempt 3: a multi-partner AI-supported care model piloted in Las Vegas in 2025 and being extended across the portfolio; its caveat is a real estate capital partner (AEW) in the buildings. Home care and hospice in the region gave 0 names.
Sources: Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and segment through domain-limited WebSearch over seniorhousingnews.com, homehealthcarenews.com, hospicenews.com, skillednursingnews.com, seniorshousingbusiness.com with a West or Mountain HQ phrase plus a mechanism (AI, in-house, data platform, new model) gives operator story naming the HQ city (joined on firm name plus HQ city)
- operator through WebSearch on firm name plus founder, then Seniors Housing Business company profile or SHN interview gives leader who founded or controls the firm (joined on firm name)
- leader through second SHN story on the same firm (different date and URL) gives dated change to how the work is done, in the leader's words (joined on leader name plus firm)
- firm through SSB company profile, firm leadership page, regional business press (milehighcre.com, spokanejournal.com) gives ownership, size and control line (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Isaac Scott, Anthem Memory Care (Lake Oswego / West Linn, Oregon; founder-led memory care developer and operator, 19 communities in nine states) owner, United States
Turned a memory care development company into its own operator because he wanted to control how care is delivered, and is now putting AI into the executive and community leadership work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Isaac Scott is a founding Principal and CEO of Anthem Memory Care. As CEO, Isaac is responsible for setting the strategic direction for Anthem’s communities while directing the company’s day-to-day internal and external growth.” source
- What they did 2013 “Originally Scott intended to only develop and own the properties. Soon after starting, though, Scott says it became apparent that he wanted to serve the residents more directly. “Pretty soon after opening our doors, we realized what we wanted to do: We had to control operations. It was vital to carry out our mission.”” source
- What they did 2026 “That level of time back is being seen across Anthem’s entire executive and community leadership team, according to Scott. If only one leader saved eight hours per week, it would justify the spend, he said.” source
- What they said 2025 “Isaac Scott, founding principal and CEO of Anthem Memory Care, believes that AI is likely going to be the biggest innovative technology for senior living operators to implement and use.” source
- Susie Finley, Ascent Living Communities (Centennial, Colorado; co-founded with Tom Finley, six senior living communities) owner, United States
Rebuilt how her communities price care and staff shifts: a points-based acuity model reassessed weekly, with labor hours set from live data instead of last year's budget.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Susie Finley, founder and principal of Ascent Living Communities (ALC) , a Colorado-based senior living operator and developer, has been recognized as a 2021 Enterprising Women of the Year Award winner by Enterprising Women Magazine .” source
- What they did 2026 “The points-based system has helped the provider determine residents’ care needs on a weekly basis and allocated labor hours to executive directors based on real-time data rather than being based on past budget forecasts, according to Ascent Living Communities Founder and President Susie Finley.” source
- What they did 2025 “The shift to a data-driven operating system came after the company overhauled 12 of its previous operating systems to ensure data would flow directly into the company’s deepening “data lake,” mixed with a business intelligence platform.” source
- What they said 2026 ““It makes sure residents receive the services they need, which then equates to quality of care and resident satisfaction,” Finley said. “We’re really focusing as a company on matching resources to resident needs and not just budget history.”” source
- Adam Kaplan, Solera Senior Living (Denver, Colorado; founded 2016 as an owner-operator, 14 communities in nine states in 2025) owner, United States
Rebuilt how his communities deliver care: a connected multi-partner care model with AI-supported workflows and weekly cross-company clinical calls, piloted in Las Vegas in 2025 and being extended across the portfolio.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “But Adam's entrepreneurial spirit got the better of him and in 2016, he launched owner-operator Solera Senior Living in Denver.” source
- What they did 2025 ““We’re proving that senior living communities can evolve care models to drastically improve resident outcomes” said Adam Kaplan, Founder and CEO of Solera Senior Living.” source
- What they did 2025 “While Solera’s immediate plan is to extend this to the other communities in its portfolio, Kaplan and the other stakeholders hope their efforts will serve as a way forward for other operators to do the same thing.” source
- What they said 2025 ““These results validate that the right technology, implemented thoughtfully, can fundamentally transform care delivery,” said Adam Kaplan, Founder and CEO of Solera Senior Living.” source
- What they said 2023 ““There’s still a natural resistance to change,” says Adam Kaplan. “People are skeptical of the way we’re growing, but if you look at the growth and the capital and the talent, it’s evident that this model is very viable.”” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel firm, not a West aging-services operator; outside the route's roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer; not in aging-services trade press.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and industrial; route is US West aging services only.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is Canadian, public software; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian mining; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public software; outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software; outside the roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian conglomerate; outside the roster.
Route 121: Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The Insurance Journal Top 100 P/C agencies and Business Insurance 100 give about 20 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic rows, but most are PE platforms (USI, Accession, World, Hilb, Patriot, Keystone, Vantage), bank-owned (Towne, Tompkins) or took PE money (Lawley, Pritzker 2023). Per-firm searches on the private remainder gave succession, award and acquisition news. Names came from agency-culture features and regional business press, not the rankings.
Sources: Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Insurance Journal Top 100 P/C Agencies 2025 and Business Insurance 100 (2026) gives firm (joined on firm name plus 'Office <City>, <State>')
- firm through firm newsroom and WebSearch for PE, bank or ESOP ownership gives private firm (joined on firm name)
- private firm through Insurance Journal Best Agencies to Work For East features, Mainebiz, regional papers gives dated change (joined on firm name plus CEO name)
- dated change through second outlet carrying the same release or profile gives leader own words (joined on CEO name)
- leader through partner, owner or family line in press gives control (joined on CEO name)
New names that passed every check
- Ed Mackoul, Mackoul Risk Solutions (Long Beach, New York; family-founded independent agency, 54 employees in 2024) owner, United States
Rebuilt a Long Island agency as a fully remote firm after 2020 and hires service staff out of state rather than returning to the office model.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “After holding the president title and serving as partner alongside his father, Ed became CEO and changed the name to Mackoul Risk Solutions in 2018.” source
- What they did 2020 “Mackoul Risk Associates operated on a hybrid work basis before COVID-19 surfaced in early 2020. Since then, the staff has had the option to work fully remote, with 10 workstations available in the main Long Island office should employees choose to return to the office for a day or more.” source
- What they said 2025 “Many of our employees we have hired over the past few years are out of state, and they are all excellent. Some people think that you lose your culture, but we have found a way to maintain it.” source
- Zack Frechette, United Insurance (Portland, Maine; partner-owned independent agency, over 200 employees) owner, United States
Added an owned financial services and retirement division to a 156-year-old property and casualty agency so it advises clients beyond insurance.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “My partners and I are always looking to connect with agency owners who share our values and commitment to delivering exceptional customer service.” source
- What they did 2025 “Portland, Maine-based United Insurance announced it has acquired Barresi Financial, a financial services and retirement advisory firm with offices in Bangor and Presque Isle.” source
- What they said 2025 “Adding a financial services division to our organization has always been one United Insurance’s long-term goals” source
- What they said 2025 “Our focus has been on enhancing our team structure and providing additional resources to our frontline teams to better meet our clients” source
- Chip Gibson, Deland, Gibson Insurance Associates (Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts; co-owned by its CEO and president, more than 80 staff) owner, United States
Took a family agency off the producer-owned-book model into team-based service with in-house bots and its own training department, to stay independent at scale.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Since then, Chip has served as CEO, and Ted has been the agency’s president. The brothers are 50-50 partners” source
- What they did 2022 “Three years ago, we made a strong push into robotic process automation, so we’ve been working with bots and setting up our own processes internally for several years.” source
- What they said 2025 “We’ve also moved away from a model where producers owned their own book of business. With changes in laws regarding restrictive covenants and carrier compensation, that model wasn’t going to work with the amount of investment we wanted to make into the team.” source
- What they said 2024 “We got really disciplined around planning and breaking down our goals and attacking them” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not a privately held Northeast insurance agency; outside the roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; not on any US agency roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not an insurance agency; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and energy group; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public; outside the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; outside the roster.
Route 122: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms based in the South and Southeast (ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The named rosters (ENR Top 500 and regional editions, Zweig Hot Firms) did not serve as step 1: ENR lists are not fetchable and earlier routes found list overviews carry no change stories. The route works when step 1 is a change-first WebSearch (employee-owned plus a mechanism noun such as subsidiary, software, AI or digital transformation, plus Southern cities), then the firm newsroom for the CEO's words. 3 verified names from about 25 fetches; most hits were owned technology arms or new digital roles, not role redesigns.
Sources: ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through WebSearch change-first queries (employee-owned + subsidiary/software/AI + Southern states or cities) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom release or firm-authored trade post gives dated change (joined on firm name)
- dated change through same release (CEO quote line) gives controlling leader and own words (joined on leader name and title)
- dated change through second outlet (GREY Journal, BD+C, Water Online, Vanderbilt) gives confirming page (joined on firm name plus change noun)
- leader through firm leadership page, Top Workplaces, Zweig List, Nashville Post gives control, ownership and headcount (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Chad R. Brown, Thompson Holdings Inc. (Mobile, Ala.; 100% employee-owned ESOP parent of Thompson Engineering, Watermark Design Group, Thompson Consulting Services and Sourcetoad; nearly 800 employees in eight Southeastern states) ceo, United States
Brown is moving an employee-owned engineering and disaster-services group onto owned technology, buying a 60-person software and AI development firm as a subsidiary in January 2026 so technology can change its companies and operations.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Chad R. Brown serves as CEO of Thompson Holdings, which provides ESOP strategy, governance, and business services to its subsidiaries.” source
- What they did 2026 “Thompson Holdings kicks off 2026 with a significant expansion of its technology capabilities through the acquisition of Sourcetoad, a software development company.” source
- What they said 2026 “By bringing Sourcetoad onboard, we’re diversifying our businesses and opening up strategic opportunities for technology to positively impact our companies and operations” source
- What they did 2026 “Thompson Holdings has announced the acquisition of Sourcetoad, a move that reflects the company’s intention to strengthen its position in the technology sector.” source
- Rodney Chester, Gresham Smith (Nashville; employee-owned architecture, engineering and consultancy firm, 1,207 US employees, about $355 million gross revenue) ceo, United States
Chester is putting digital transformation into the firm's governance and structure: an innovation lead on the board in 2024, a newly created Chief Digital Transformation Officer in 2026, and internal AI platforms for space planning and design.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Members of Gresham Smith’s management team also include CEO and Board Chair Rodney Chester, Chief Operating Officer Peter Oram, and Chief Financial and Risk Officer Dwayne West.” source
- What they did 2024 “announced that Director of Innovation Mike Sewell, P.E., LCI, has been named to the firm’s board of directors, effective January 1, 2024.” source
- What they said 2024 “We need to be prepared to accelerate our digital transformation across all areas of our firm, and adding Mike to our board of directors is an important step in that direction.” source
- What they did 2026 “As Chief Digital Transformation Officer, Sewell will help guide technological evolution at Gresham Smith by defining and leading firm-wide digital strategies that integrate cutting-edge technologies, innovation, data analytics and new methodologies.” source
- What they did 2025 “First, we are enhancing the delivery of our existing services through a deeper understanding of client needs, leveraging AI and comprehensive data models to streamline and optimize our processes.” source
- Bob Higgins, Barge Design Solutions, Inc. (Nashville; 600+ person employee-owned engineering and architecture firm, 22 offices) ceo, United States
Higgins is taking generative AI into how an employee-owned engineering firm works, co-building an executive AI course with Vanderbilt in 2024, funding a research collaborative on disruptive business methods, and rolling AI into Barge's engineering and quality review.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “and Barge CEO and President Bob Higgins worked together to co-create a new course, ‘Generative AI for Leaders,’ which comprehensively addresses essential AI skills tailored for business leaders.” source
- What they did 2024 “In addition to the course, both parties are working together to establish a Generative AI Research Collaborative to identify and fund research projects to develop and test novel business opportunities and disruptive business methods involving generative AI.” source
- What they said 2024 “Generative AI is fundamentally transforming the landscape for business leaders and will unlock efficiencies and opportunities we can’t even imagine yet,” source
- What they did 2025 “At Barge Design Solutions, we are actively integrating AI into our operations, allowing us to analyze and visualize data faster, enhance communication to key stakeholders, and focus on critical decision-making.” source
- What they said 2024 “Higgins has been spearheading and/or involved with various artificial intelligence (AI) endeavors and featured in numerous pieces highlighting his work with AI and other evolving technologies. His focus is on helping leaders and others in the AEC industry capitalize on the power of AI.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public software firm in Canada, not a private Southern or Southeastern AEC services firm, so it is outside the roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer based in New York, not an engineering, architecture or construction services firm, so the roster never reaches it.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company in Washington state; outside a private Southeast AEC roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel firm, not an AEC services firm in the South or Southeast.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian mining company; outside a US private AEC roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate; outside a US private AEC roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian firm; the route is limited to US firms in the South and Southeast.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software firm in California; outside a private Southeast AEC roster.
Route 123: Owner-led service firms: privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms based in the Midwest and Plains (Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. A Midwest and Plains cut of privately held staffing firms gave 0 Marty-profile names from 9 searches and 20 logged fetches. The rosters behind the route are closed to fetch.mjs (staffingindustry.com Staffing 100, 40 Under 40 and SI 100 Women pages are 403 direct and via --jina), and the firms that do surface each fail one test. Elwood Staffing (Columbus, Indiana, privately owned, about 1,000 internal staff) has acquisitions and AI talk from its CTO and president, not a change voiced by the controlling family. QPS (Brookfield, Wisconsin, 100% ESOP since 2021, about 350 internal staff) shows only office acquisitions, and a succession ESOP is not a redesign. Doherty (Minneapolis, WBENC woman-owned, owner and CEO Valerie Doherty) rolled out an AI recruiter in 2025, but it was led by an executive vice president and the only pages describing it are 403. InnoSource (Columbus, Ohio) deployed a custom AI recruiting tool in 2024, but its CEO joined as an employee and the firm partnered with a venture fund, so control is not his. Strategic Staffing Solutions (Detroit, founder-CEO Cindy Pasky) shows a 2024 vendor alliance, not a change to how the work is done. Staffing Partners (Milwaukee) runs a 25-bus fleet for temps, but its CEO is a hired president on a paid Marquis page. The national staffing route S-96 already covers the few founder-voiced changes; a regional split only shrinks the pool.
Sources: Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and segment through WebSearch over SIA lists, ClearlyRated and regional business journals (SIA 403) gives privately held Midwest or Plains staffing firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom, regional business journal (biztimes.com), podcast transcript (layoftheland.fm) gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name)
- change through same pages gives leader who controls the firm and their words (joined on leader name and title)
- firm through Wikipedia infobox, Top Workplaces profile, firm About page gives internal headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public tech firm, not a Midwest or Plains staffing firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel maker; outside the roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a New York food maker; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining group; not US, not staffing.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a California public software firm; outside the roster.
Route 124: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies based in the West and Mountain states (Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The sources are public and fetchable, but the West and Mountain slice of founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies gave no person who passes all four tests. The rosters are thin: O'Dwyer's 2025 West ranking has four firms with 50+ staff, and two of them are already in candidates.json (Hoffman, Bospar). Adweek's 2026 Fastest Growing list has two West firms with 51+ staff, both in California. Every 50+ firm checked failed on control or had no dated change: Ignite Visibility is backed by Mountaingate Capital, New Engen is an Insignia Capital portfolio company, LaunchSquad is run by three partners with no announced change, Lavidge is ESOP-owned with the founder now chairman, Karsh Hagan merged into KHM in 2026, and Drake Cooper (ESOP) made an acquisition, which is not a redesign. Mountain-state independents (Vladimir Jones, Cactus, Penna Powers, Struck, R&R Partners) published no founder-voiced change to how the work gets done for 2023 to 2026.
Sources: Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through O'Dwyer's 2025 West PR ranking; Adweek 2026 Fastest Growing Agencies gives agency with 50+ staff (joined on firm name and city)
- agency through firm newsroom, firm AI-information page, investor portfolio page gives ownership and control (joined on firm name)
- agency through trade and regional press search 2023-2026 gives dated change voiced by the controller (joined on firm name plus leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company, not a West agency.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer, not a service firm or agency.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker; not in agency rosters.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public drugmaker.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian public miner.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial firm, outside US.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Public Canadian software company.
Route 125: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Founder-, partner- and employee-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic exist in number, but the named roster (Consulting magazine Best Firms) is 403 or rendered client-side, and most consulting firms in the region either have outside owners (CapTech under Markel) or voice AI change through a COO or practice head (Goodwin, FINN's AIristotle). What worked was the Hartford Business Journal: a January 2026 feature on Connecticut law firms quotes managing partners on AI with a dated licence, and Power 50 profiles give headcount and role. Three new names from about 28 fetches (the third, Robinson+Cole's managing partner, from a second HBJ feature); route works only after narrowing to regional-journal law and agency leaders.
Sources: Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region plus service segment through regional business journal features and honoree pages (hartfordbusiness.com article and Power 50), O'Dwyer's PR firm database, WebSearch for founder-led independents with AI moves gives firm and its leader (joined on firm name plus HQ city)
- firm through regional journal feature or vendor/firm release (hartfordbusiness.com, PR Newswire mirrors such as martechcube.com, legora.com/newsroom) gives dated change to how the work is done and who voiced it (joined on firm name)
- leader through HBJ Power 50 profile (No. of employees field), O'Dwyer's profile (headcount, leadership), firm newsroom leadership release gives headcount, ownership and control (joined on leader name plus firm)
- change through second page from a different site gives confirmation and signal year (joined on firm name plus change name)
New names that passed every check
- Leander Dolphin, Shipman & Goodwin LLP (Hartford, CT; partner-owned law firm; 318 employees per HBJ 2026) executive, United States
Managing partner of a partner-owned Connecticut law firm who put a licensed AI drafting and research platform into the firm's core legal work and says AI is reshaping its client service and pricing models.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Leander A. Dolphin Managing Partner Shipman & Goodwin LLP Industry: Legal No. of employees: 318” source
- What they did 2026 “The firm has now entered into a license agreement with an AI provider. The technology will be used to draft, analyze and review legal documents, conduct legal research and synthesize large volumes of information into clear summaries and timelines.” source
- What they said 2026 “AI is reshaping everything from our internal risk management protocols and professional responsibility standards to our client service and pricing models” source
- What they did 2025 “Over the past 12 months, Dolphin said the firm significantly expanded its footprint in the Northeast with the opening of a Boston office in the Prudential Center and the addition of 17 Boston-based attorneys.” source
- What they did 2026 “Shipman & Goodwin LLP is pleased to announce that its partnership has elected the firm’s Management Committee for the 2026–2027 term, effective January 1, 2026. Leander Dolphin will continue to serve as Managing Partner” source
- Peter Finn, FINN Partners (New York; independent, founder-led communications agency; more than 1,300 professionals) owner, United States
Co-founder and CEO of a large independent New York communications agency who launched an in-house AI platform as a new client service line inside the firm's Media Forensics practice.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “With more than 1,300 professionals in the Americas, Europe and Asia, we are ONE FINN, united by a shared vision, unwavering values, and a relentless commitment to driving positive change, for our people, our clients, and our world. Agency Leadership New York Peter Finn, CEO & Co-Founder” source
- What they did 2025 “FINN Partners today announced the launch of AIristotle™ , a proprietary new AI platform that addresses an important missing link in most communications strategies: understanding and aligning with the algorithms that serve as information gatekeepers.” source
- What they said 2026 “Our proprietary AI platform, AIristotle equips client teams to enhance narrative development and audience impact as well as uncover and anticipate risk, interpret fast-moving information environments, and respond with precision.” source
- J. Michael Wirvin, Robinson+Cole LLP (Hartford-founded, partner-owned law firm with 138 partners; about 274 attorneys and 242 support staff per HBJ 2026) executive, United States
Elected managing partner of a partner-owned Northeast law firm who is driving an agentic AI platform into its legal workflows, with a firm-controlled certification gate that more than 80% of its people have passed.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Michael Wirvin took over management of the firm March 1, replacing Rhonda J. Tobin, the firm’s first female managing partner, who had led Robinson+Cole since 2021” source
- What they did 2025 “has taken on technological changes, partnering with agentic AI builder Newcode.ai” source
- What they did 2026 ““Before they can access our AI products, whether it’s Newcode or Copilot, they have to go through a training process and a certification process that we control,” he said. “More than 80% of our people are now on that, and we track relatively carefully who’s using AI and for what.” source
- What they said 2026 “something Wirvin, a self-described technophile, said he plans to drive forward” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California; Outside the route's universe: the route only enumerates founder-, partner- or employee-owned consulting, researc
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public company of about 228,000 staff in Washington; Outside the route's universe: the route only enumerates founder-, partner- or employee-owned
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; Outside the route's universe: the route only enumerates founder-, partner- or employee-owned consulting, research and pr
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is in Brazil and not a US Northeast firm; Outside the route's universe: the route only enumerates founder-, partner- or employee-owned consulting, researc
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; Outside the route's universe: the route only enumerates founder-, partner- or employee-owned consulting, research and
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York, not a service firm, and has over 5,000 staff; Outside the route's universe: the route only enumerates founder-, part
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; Outside the route's universe: the route only enumerates founder-, partner- or employee-owned consulting, research
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss drugmaker; Outside the route's universe: the route only enumerates founder-, partner- or employee-owned consulting, research and prof
Route 126: Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held property management and real estate services firms based in the South and Southeast (NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The roster sources work (Multifamily Dive Q&As and topic pages, Multifamily Executive, Mann Report newswires, RealEstateNews independents tag all fetch 200 with --text) but Southern and Southeastern property managers mostly voice operating changes through hired SVPs, COOs, presidents and vendors, and many fit-looking firms failed control (UAG majority-owned by Brixton Capital since 2020, CARROLL sold to RMR in 2023, RKW merged with Quarterra Living, Bell Partners sold to SunLife), so after two attempts only one owner-led name cleared every test.
Sources: NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region (South and Southeast) through Multifamily Dive and Multifamily Executive operator stories; RealEstateNews independents tag gives privately held firm (joined on firm name plus HQ city)
- firm through trade press and firm newsroom 2023-2026 gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name)
- change through same article or firm release gives controlling leader and own words (joined on leader name)
- leader through second, different trade or newswire page gives confirming change (joined on leader name plus firm)
- firm through trade profile or firm boilerplate gives ownership, control and earliest redesign year (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Norman Radow, The RADCO Companies (Atlanta, Georgia; privately held multifamily investor and manager with an in-house third-party management arm, RADCO Residential, and a turnaround services arm, Radco Property Solutions) owner, United States
Turned an Atlanta apartment investor into a service firm for outside owners and lenders, moving site back-office work into a central processing unit and launching a turnaround arm that runs other owners' distressed properties.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “According to Norman Radow, CEO of The RADCO Cos., the firm had been approached about expanding into third-party management but opted to wait until it was prepared organizationally to serve outside clients.” source
- What they did 2023 “If you have 20 properties, we've removed 20 assistant managers. Now we have four people overseeing all of these aspects that I just mentioned.” source
- What they did 2025 “Radco Property Solutions has acted swiftly to deploy its proprietary Arlo system, overhaul operations, reduce bad debt, stabilize occupancy, address maintenance and life safety issues, and restore vendor confidence.” source
- What they said 2025 “Radco acts both as a principal investor and a service provider to a wide array of clients, including lenders, private equity firms, institutional investors and court-appointed receivers.” source
- Celia C. Flowers, East Texas Title Companies dba RecordsOnline, with Flowers Davis PLLC and East Texas Tax & Land Services (Tyler, Texas; owner-operated title, closing and title-plant group) owner, United States
Owner of a Texas title, closing and title-plant group who rebuilt title production so AI engines assemble the chain of title, runsheet and commitment and a human examiner signs off at each stage.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Celia C. Flowers owns and/or operates a group of affiliated companies created to provide a full menu of services to each other’s clients: Flowers Davis PLLC – a multi-disciplinary law firm founded in 1994 by Senior Partners Celia Flowers and Robert Davis.” source
- What they did 2026 “Every piece of AI-generated work, from the initial chain of title to the final commitment draft, is reviewed and approved by a human examiner before it proceeds.” source
- What they said 2026 “We didn’t build the AI Suite to replace that judgment — we built it to extend it. A chatbot that occasionally confuses Tuesday’s answer with Monday’s is fine. A commitment that occasionally hallucinates a release is not.” source
- What they said 2026 “AI without an Examiner in the loop is not a title product. It is a liability. We built THE loop.” source
- Matthew Whitaker, Evernest (Birmingham, Alabama; founder-led single-family and small multifamily property management, brokerage and repairs firm, 500+ employees) owner, United States
Founder-CEO turning a Birmingham property manager into a tech-enabled home services platform for rental owners, adding brokerage (2021) and buying the tech-led manager Poplar Homes (2025).Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The firm was established in 2008 amid the housing crisis, when CEO and Founder Matthew Whitaker found himself holding 30 investment properties that wouldn't sell.” source
- What they did 2025 “Evernest also announced it has secured $15 million in strategic funding to accelerate its vision of building the most advanced, tech-enabled home services platform dedicated to serving the needs of residential rental property owners, a 36-million unit market in the U.S.” source
- What they said 2025 “When we think about technology at Evernest, we don't think about it as replacing humans. We think about it as making humans superhuman.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss. Out of scope by design: leads Microsoft, a public software company in Washington state, not a privately held real estate services firm in the South or Sou
- Missed Andrew Forrest Miss. Out of scope by design: based in Australia; the route reads only US firms headquartered in the South and Southeast.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Miss. Out of scope by design: based in India and leads a listed conglomerate; outside the route roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Miss. Out of scope by design: Patagonia is an apparel maker in California, not a property management or real estate services firm in the South or Southeast.
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss. Out of scope by design: Box is a public software company in California; outside the roster by design.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Miss. Out of scope by design: based in Brazil; the route reads only US firms.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Miss. Out of scope by design: leads Novartis, a listed Swiss drug maker; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Miss. Out of scope by design: leads Shopify, a listed Canadian software company; outside the roster.
Route 127: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms based in the Midwest and Plains (employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Midwest and Plains wealth firms that pass size, ownership and control at once are few, and none of them shows a dated change to how the work is done voiced by the leader who controls it. The fit firms found (Johnson Investment Counsel, Cincinnati, 100% employee-owned, about 158 staff; Moneta, St. Louis, 100% partner-owned since 2004; Plancorp, St. Louis, 88 staff, majority employee-owned; Mesirow, Chicago, employee-owned) publish shareholder admissions, hires, office expansions and podcasts. The one structural move (Moneta Trust, Kansas charter, May 2021) was voiced by a former CEO and board member, not the sitting CEO, and predates 2023. The firms that do change the work (Savant's WiseOS, Chicago Partners' FinTurk CRM voiced by its COO and the vendor) are PE-backed, already listed or voiced by non-controllers. Buckingham is a Focus Financial affiliate, Sequoia and Wealth Enhancement are PE consolidators, Berger took an Investcorp majority stake. Zero names after 15 searches, 2 Hawkeye archive queries and 8 fetches.
Sources: employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through employee-owned RIA roster (Aspiriant summit story), St. Louis firm comparison, WebSearch for '100% employee-owned' plus state gives firm (joined on firm name + HQ city)
- firm through firm newsroom, RIA trade press (wealthmanagement.com, investmentnews.com, thewealthadvisor.com), Hawkeye wealth archive gives dated change (joined on firm name)
- dated change through same story or firm release gives leader who controls the firm, own words (joined on firm name + title)
- leader through second page (wire mirror, regional press) gives confirmation (joined on person name)
- firm through firm About/history page, dated 2025-2026 profile gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a Midwest wealth firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian firm; outside the US regional wealth roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; outside the roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel firm in California; not a Midwest wealth firm.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the roster.
Route 128: Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms based in the West and Mountain states (Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Works only firm by firm, and the West and Mountain slice of the freight and 3PL lists is thin. Three names from about 35 receipts: Flexport's founder CEO (AI agents run on Flexport's own customs entries, 2025-2026) and the family owner of 4 Gen Logistics and Duncan & Son Lines (Buckeye AZ), who is converting the whole drayage fleet to zero-emission trucks with owned 90-charger depots (first truck 2022, depots 2023). Family firms that stay independent (Allen Lund, Oak Harbor, Mesilla Valley, Pasha, Matheson) give terminals, results letters, ships and hires but no leader-voiced redesign; others fail control (Weber, TTSI, Cargomatic, England Logistics, Johanson's change voiced by a division president, Graebel under a hired CEO and a 2026 combination with Reside). Third name (attempt 3): TCI Transportation's co-president Andrew Flynn (Commerce CA, family-owned, 1,500 staff), found in the HDT 2025 Top Green Fleets list: 50 Tesla Semis ordered in 2018, Tesla Semis and owned chargers in service by 2026. Fleet-conversion names are borderline and flagged for review.
Sources: Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Transport Topics Top 100 Logistics 2025 (employee column) and Top 100 Freight Brokerage 2025 gives firm (joined on firm name (no HQ column; region checked by search))
- firm through WebSearch for HQ, ownership and parent (Wikipedia, firm About page, trade press) gives firm with ownership status (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm release (PR Newswire reprint) and trade or tech press 2025-2026 gives leader and dated change (joined on firm name plus founder or CEO title)
- leader through second outlet naming the same tool or release (FreightWaves) gives confirmed change (joined on leader name plus product name)
- firm through zero-emission fleet trade press (HDT Top Green Fleets, Electrify News, NACFE Run on Less) and the family firm's own news posts gives owner and dated fleet conversion (joined on firm name plus owner name)
New names that passed every check
- Ryan Petersen, Flexport (founder-led, venture-backed private freight forwarder and customs broker, San Francisco; about 2,100 staff per Transport Topics 2025) ceo, United States
Back as CEO after firing his successor, he is turning a freight forwarder and customs broker into an AI-agent execution engine, piloting agents on Flexport's own customs entries first.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The big product promotion comes as Petersen completed his first full year back as Flexport’s CEO after firing former Amazon executive Dave Clark in late 2023 in a bid to “get [Flexport’s] house in order.”” source
- What they did 2026 “"We first piloted the agent on our own entries," said Ryan Petersen, Founder and CEO of Flexport. "We have reduced our error rate on U.S. customs filings to 0.2%.” source
- What they said 2025 “Our teams can look at any place of [customer] pain and find some process that can be done better by an LLM or other form of machine learning, and just do it.” source
- What they said 2026 ““The future of global logistics is autonomous: intelligent supply chains that see problems before they happen, calculate the fix, and execute it in a recurring self-improvement loop,” said Ryan Petersen, founder and CEO of Flexport, in the release.” source
- David Duncan, 4 Gen Logistics and its sister firm Duncan & Son Lines (family-owned port drayage and intermodal trucking since 1943, HQ Buckeye AZ; over 220 company trucks) owner, United States
The family owner is converting the whole drayage fleet to battery-electric and fuel-cell trucks a decade before California requires it, building his own 90-charger depots to run the work differently.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “David Duncan, the visionary owner of 4 Gen, expressed his pride in the company’s mission, stating,” source
- What they did 2023 “The company is excited to announce the launch of construction for the first phase of its ambitious project, involving the installation of 60 cutting-edge 350 kW chargers at its Port of Long Beach facility.” source
- What they said 2023 “We are proud of our goal to be the first large fleet to operate a 100% zero-tailpipe emissions fleet ten years before it is required because it is the right thing to do, with our employee drivers in full support of this historic transformation.” source
- What they did 2024 “We have more than 15,000 miles on our first Volvo VNR Electric that was deployed in 2022. Driver feedback has been extremely positive and played a crucial role in our decision to invest in additional Volvo VNR Electric trucks” source
- Andrew Flynn, TCI Transportation (Transportation Commodities Inc., family-owned truck leasing, dedicated logistics and brokerage, Commerce CA; more than 1,500 staff; run by founder Gerry Flynn's sons as co-presidents) owner, United States
A second-generation family owner moving a leasing and dedicated-trucking fleet onto battery-electric and CNG trucks with owned charging, starting with a 50-truck Tesla Semi order in 2018.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Under the leadership of co-presidents Andrew and Ryan Flynn, TCI operates a substantial fleet of over 3,800 trucks, tractors, and trailers, with operations spanning coast to coast.” source
- What they did 2018 “TCI will run some of the trucks along routes that fall within the trucks' 300- to 500-mile range, and deliver others to leasing customers that have spoken for some of the units upon arrival, TCI Co-President Andrew Flynn said in a statement on the Tesla blog .” source
- What they did 2026 “The company deployed multiple Tesla electric semi trucks into service while expanding its fleet of Class 4, 5, and 6 electric vehicles. To support continued electric fleet growth, TCI installed: 10 high-voltage Level 3 chargers 18 Level 2 chargers across its Commerce and Fontana, California facilities.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss: Satya Nadella leads a public software company in Washington state, not a privately held freight, 3PL or logistics firm. The route's spine (Transport Topic
- Missed Ricardo Semler Miss: Ricardo Semler leads a Brazilian industrial firm, outside the US and outside logistics. The route's spine (Transport Topics 2025 logistics and brokerage r
- Missed Tobi Lutke Miss: Tobi Lutke leads a public Canadian software company. The route's spine (Transport Topics 2025 logistics and brokerage rankings, filtered to private West a
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Miss: Vas Narasimhan leads a public Swiss drug maker. The route's spine (Transport Topics 2025 logistics and brokerage rankings, filtered to private West and Mo
- Missed Andrew Forrest Miss: Andrew Forrest controls a public Australian miner. The route's spine (Transport Topics 2025 logistics and brokerage rankings, filtered to private West and
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Miss: Mukesh Ambani controls a public Indian conglomerate. The route's spine (Transport Topics 2025 logistics and brokerage rankings, filtered to private West a
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss: Aaron Levie leads a public software company in California, not a logistics service firm. The route's spine (Transport Topics 2025 logistics and brokerage
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Miss: Yvon Chouinard owned an apparel maker in California, not a freight or logistics service firm. The route's spine (Transport Topics 2025 logistics and broke
Route 129: Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempt 2 found 3 new names by widening 'facility and home services' to the Northeast's family-owned and employee-owned trade contractors (construction management and electrical), where owners do voice dated changes to how the work is done: robotic layout and AI (Consigli, 100% ESOP), prefabrication and an AI autonomous-design partnership (E-J Electric, Mann family), and a prefab operations center with lean construction (Interstate Electrical, Alibrandi family). Cleaning, pest, landscaping and HVAC searches in the region again returned vendors, job ads and non-owner voices.
Sources: Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region plus segment through WebSearch over trade press (cleanlink, issa, achrnews, contractingbusiness, wastedive, waste360) and regional business journals (wbjournal.com) gives family-owned firm (joined on firm name plus HQ city)
- firm through trade press and firm newsroom, 2023-2026 gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name)
- change story through same story or firm release gives leader who controls the firm and their own words (joined on person name plus title)
- leader through Wikipedia, regional honoree profile or firm About page gives headcount, ownership and control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Anthony Consigli, Consigli Construction Co. (Milford, Massachusetts; 100% employee-owned construction manager, 2,600+ staff) ceo, United States
Fourth-generation CEO of a 100% employee-owned New England builder who pushed robotic field layout into the firm's own jobsites and is folding AI into how it builds.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Anthony Consigli and his brother, company President Matthew Consigli, have propelled the construction company founded in 1905 by their great grandfather to a $2.5-billion powerhouse” source
- What they did 2021 “Company CEO Anthony Consigli recently asked Moran whether layout was one area that could be improved by using robotics.” source
- What they said 2025 “You still have to know how to build. You still have to know how to maintain a relationship. You still have to know how to work safely. AI and all other technology are tools in your toolbelt to help you to do that better.” source
- What they did 2024 “Consigli has grown from a local business into one of the largest employee-owned construction managers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. With more than 2,600 employees” source
- Anthony E. Mann, E-J Electric Installation Co. (Long Island City, New York; family-owned electrical contractor since 1899, 1,800+ staff) owner, United States
Third-generation head of a family-owned New York electrical contractor who moved the firm to prefabrication and in 2026 committed to an AI autonomous-design engine across its design work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Under his leadership the firm has completed over $10 Billion in projects over the past 25 years and the firm has grown to over 1,800 employees.” source
- What they did 2026 “The collaboration will integrate the Augmenta Construction Platform (ACP) into E-J's workflows, enabling the firm to automate complex electrical design, accelerate project timelines, and deliver superior, constructible outcomes for large-scale infrastructure projects.” source
- What they said 2006 “But if you can figure out how to bring major pieces of equipment in prefabbed, you can save months.” source
- What they said 2026 “Anthony E. Mann (Tony) continues the tradition as the third generation in this family business, cultivating and transforming The E-J Group (E-J) into one of the most preeminent electrical firms nationally.” source
- James Alibrandi, Interstate Electrical Services Corporation (North Billerica, Massachusetts; family-owned electrical contractor, 900 staff) owner, United States
President and CEO of a family-owned New England electrical contractor who rebuilt how the work is done around a 100,000 sf prefabrication center and lean construction.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founded: 1966 President/CEO: James Alibrandi Full-time/ FTE employees: 900 Headquarters: North Billerica, Mass.” source
- What they did 2016 “Employees from every Interstate office gathered inside the company’s new 100,000sf operations center, consisting of a warehouse and prefabrication facility, located at 515 Woburn Street in Tewksbury, Mass.” source
- What they said 2016 “Every one of us at Interstate is 100 percent committed to internalizing the concepts and philosophy of lean construction and to actively engaging in the process of continuous improvement.” source
- What they did 2023 “The company has offices in all six New England states, including an Operations Center in Massachusetts which houses industry leading prefabrication.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss: public software company CEO. Not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic owner-led facility, HVAC, cleaning or home services firm; the route's trade-press and regiona
- Missed Ricardo Semler Miss: Brazilian industrial-equipment owner. Not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic owner-led facility, HVAC, cleaning or home services firm; the route's trade-press an
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Miss: Indian public conglomerate chair. Not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic owner-led facility, HVAC, cleaning or home services firm; the route's trade-press and re
- Missed Tobi Lutke Miss: Canadian public commerce platform CEO. Not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic owner-led facility, HVAC, cleaning or home services firm; the route's trade-press a
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Miss: Swiss public pharmaceutical CEO. Not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic owner-led facility, HVAC, cleaning or home services firm; the route's trade-press and reg
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss: public software company CEO. Not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic owner-led facility, HVAC, cleaning or home services firm; the route's trade-press and regiona
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Miss: food manufacturer founder (manufacturing, not a service firm). Not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic owner-led facility, HVAC, cleaning or home services firm; t
- Missed Andrew Forrest Miss: Australian public mining chair. Not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic owner-led facility, HVAC, cleaning or home services firm; the route's trade-press and regi
Route 130: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms based in the South and Southeast (CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Route works only partly. Southern founder-owned IT services firms that fit size, ownership and control are thin after S-116 harvested the MSP 501 rows: this attempt found 2 new names (Softeq, Revature) from regional tech press and analyst profiles, and dropped InfoVision (control unclear), Sparq (Harvest Partners majority), DigitalNet.ai (PE co-funded), Acarin (change voiced by the CTO), CapTech (Markel majority), Coastal (Sverica, then TCS), Mainline (H.I.G.).
Sources: CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through regional tech press (Dallas Innovates AI 75, Houston InnovationMap, Technical.ly Power Moves) and analyst profiles (HFS Hot Tech) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom, PR Newswire reprints gives dated change (joined on firm name + year)
- dated change through same release or regional story gives controlling leader and own words (joined on person name)
- leader through firm About page, HFS vendor fact sheet, Wikipedia infobox gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
- firm through earliest launch story gives signal year (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Christopher A. Howard, Softeq Development Corp. (Houston, Texas; founder-led custom software, embedded and hardware engineering services firm founded 1997; 200+ engineers, consultants and technology professionals per its About page; offices in Houston, Munich, Los Angeles, Vilnius, Guadalajara and Warsaw) owner, United States
Turned a founder-owned engineering services shop into a services-for-equity builder by launching its own Venture Studio (2021) and a $40 million Venture Fund (2022), taking stakes in startups in exchange for development work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Christopher A. Howard is the founder and CEO of Softeq.” source
- What they did 2021 “"We take it several steps further with the Venture Studio providing technology business consulting, development services, and much-needed cash. We're a vested partner, so we also help secure follow-on funding for continued growth."” source
- What they did 2022 “I am proud to increase our support of the state’s early-stage tech community. Our investment fund is designed to attract tech visionaries from both inside and outside the state and grow innovative concepts in Houston,” source
- What they said 2023 ““With the significant growth of our engineering services business plus the addition of our Venture Studio and $40 million Venture Fund, we saw an opportunity to welcome new leaders with global experience and fresh thinking to continue evolving our business and scaling for the future,” source
- Ashwin Bharath, Revature (Reston, Virginia; hire-train-deploy technology talent services firm founded 2003; about 1,000 employees and privately held per HFS Research, July 2026; co-founder repurchased it from its private equity owner in March 2026; Tan Moorthy is CEO) owner, United States
Bought his firm back from private equity to rebuild its hire-train-deploy model around AI-native Forward Deployed Engineers, changing what the firm's people deliver to clients.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Co-founder Ashwin Bharath repurchased Revature from its private equity owner in March 2026 to pursue the FDE opportunity.” source
- What they did 2026 “On April 2, 2026, the company announced the Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) Accelerator, an extension of its established Hire‑Train‑Deploy (HTD) framework aimed at converting conventional developers into AI‑native engineers who can deliver production‑grade outcomes from day one.” source
- What they said 2026 “Ashwin Bharath, Co‑Founder and Chairman of Revature, reinforced the data: “These results aren’t theoretical projections. They reflect what happens when enterprises stop waiting for talent to emerge organically and instead invest in purpose‑built acceleration pathways like our FDE Accelerator Program” source
- What they did 2026 “Key executives: Ashwin Bharath (co-founder and chairman), Tan Moorthy (CEO) Number of employees: 1,000 Funding source: Privately held” source
- Delali Dzirasa, Fearless (Baltimore, Maryland; founder-owned digital services and software firm for government, founded 2009; more than 200 staff in 2023 and over 400 hires since 2016 per the founder in 2024; bootstrapped, with 2023 growth financed by bank and state debt, not outside equity) owner, United States
Split his bootstrapped government software firm into two business units in 2023, adding a people and organizational enablement arm (Fearless Guides) beside the software arm and appointing a president for each division, so the firm sells change to how clients' people work, not only code.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Dzirasa has grown the company for 14 years by bootstrapping, a funding option that allows an owner to run a company using personal finance or revenue instead of outside investment.” source
- What they did 2023 “Now, Fearless is expanding into two business units. The tech division, Fearless Digital, will continue the firm’s founding mission to build software.” source
- What they did 2024 “Bhave, who became president of Fearless Digital in 2023, sat down with Executive Mosaic to talk about who Fearless is, what it means to be a digital services integrator and what’s on the horizon for the company.” source
- What they said 2024 “"We will only take on projects that we think are going to benefit humanity; period," he added.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not reachable by this route: the spine is founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms of 50 to 5,000 staff headquartered in the
- Missed Satya Nadella Not reachable by this route: the spine is founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms of 50 to 5,000 staff headquartered in the
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not reachable by this route: the spine is founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms of 50 to 5,000 staff headquartered in the
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not reachable by this route: the spine is founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms of 50 to 5,000 staff headquartered in the
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not reachable by this route: the spine is founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms of 50 to 5,000 staff headquartered in the
- Missed Aaron Levie Not reachable by this route: the spine is founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms of 50 to 5,000 staff headquartered in the
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not reachable by this route: the spine is founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms of 50 to 5,000 staff headquartered in the
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not reachable by this route: the spine is founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms of 50 to 5,000 staff headquartered in the
Route 131: Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of partner-owned CPA and advisory firms based in the West and Mountain states (INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Attempt 1 yields one owner-led profile name (Jonyce Bullock, Squire, Utah). Rosters (Accounting Today Regional Leaders releases, AT Best Firms for Technology 2025 and 2026, AT Best Firms for Women 2026) name West firms but carry no leader-voiced dated change: Sensiba's change is voiced by its chief growth officer, Haynie's co-CEOs inherited a model built by their predecessors, Aldrich and Jones & Roth publish award and independence news only, and Jones & Roth's FlexPath career model is undated and unvoiced. Consolidation thins the pool (Aprio took Delap and HSS in Oregon in January 2026; Richey May became a five-firm national platform in September 2025; Moss Adams went to Baker Tilly). The name that worked came from a firm newsroom: an owned software subsidiary (Squire Technology, LLC) launched in 2023 and consolidated in 2024 with the CEO's own words. Attempt 2 added about 14 searches and 15 fetches (BPM, BeachFleischman, Tanner, Clark Nuber, Eide Bailly, Aldrich, Novogradac, AT MP Elite 2019, 2022 and 2023) and found no second name that passes: Eide Bailly took Reverence Capital money, BPM's CEO was named in September 2026 and the AI moves predate him, BeachFleischman's only dated move is promoting an innovation principal, Aldrich's owned arms are undated and unvoiced, and tannerco.com is 403 direct and via jina. Attempt 3 added Mark Erickson (Tanner, Salt Lake City, independent): the firm's newsroom is 403, but its releases are mirrored on utahbusiness.com/press-releases/<yyyy>/<mm>/<dd>/<slug>/ (200 with --text) and quote him on three dated 2026 moves (TAAG practice in February, AI & Business Systems Advisory practice in June, and the Emerson Winchester acquisition into that practice in September). Sensiba's 2025 AssuranceLab deal and its AI product roles were voiced by John Sensiba, who stepped down as managing partner on 2026-04-30, so he fails control and his successor inherited the change; not counted. Sorren is PE (DFW Capital), WSRP joined Richey May, and the AT 2026 Fastest-Growing West rows are all PE platforms. Route ends at 2 of 3.
Sources: INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and segment through Accounting Today Regional Leaders and Top 100 releases on firm sites; AT Best Firms lists (fact box: HQ, employees, chief executive) gives firm (joined on firm name plus HQ city)
- firm through firm newsroom (/resources/news/) and WebSearch on firm name plus subsidiary, LLC, AI, launch; utahbusiness.com/press-releases mirrors (attempt 3) gives dated change release (joined on firm name)
- change release through same release, CEO quote gives leader who controls the firm (joined on CEO name and title)
- leader and change through second site: utahbusiness.com press release mirror or regional press (ksl.com) gives confirmation of change and role (joined on firm name plus subsidiary name)
- firm through release boilerplate (locally owned), M&A check in CPA Practice Advisor and Pulse 2.0, IPA Top 200 rank gives ownership, control and size (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Jonyce Bullock, Squire & Company, PC (Squire), Orem and Salt Lake City, Utah; locally owned accounting and advisory firm, IPA Top 200 No. 122 (2026), with a wholly owned software subsidiary, Squire Technology, LLC executive, United States
CEO of a locally owned Utah CPA firm who moved the firm's software sales and development into its own technology company, so the firm sells and builds software alongside accounting work.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Bullock led Squire's Advisory practice from 2012 to 2017 before becoming CEO in 2018. In that role, she shifted her focus to governance, strategic planning and operations” source
- What they did 2024 “Jonyce Bullock, CEO of Squire, added, “This consolidation represents a significant step forward for our company. It reflects our commitment to innovation and our determination to provide our clients with the most advanced and effective software solutions available.”” source
- What they did 2023 “Squire Technology, LLC (Squire Tech), a leading provider of software products and related services and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Squire & Company, PC (Squire), announces the launch of a Cloud Financial Management Offering (Cloud FinOps Offering).” source
- What they said 2021 “Ultimately, we reimagined our services and combined technology and consulting into our advisory team.” source
- What they said 2021 “I was a small business consultant to businesses who knew nothing about accounting, and I fell in love with it” source
- Mark Erickson, Tanner LLP (Tanner), Salt Lake City, Utah; independent accounting and advisory firm founded in 1940, IPA Best of the Best 2024 executive, United States
Managing partner of Utah's independent Tanner who added two new practices in 2026, an AI and business systems arm and a technical accounting group, and bought a NetSuite consultancy to staff the AI arm.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““Our goal is to meet finance teams where they are,” said Mark Erickson, Managing Partner.” source
- What they did 2026 “The Emerson Winchester team will join Tanner’s AI & Business Systems Advisory practice , expanding the practice Tanner launched earlier this year to help organizations improve the systems, processes and technology behind their businesses.” source
- What they said 2026 “We’re seeing more companies frustrated by disconnected systems, manual workarounds, and uncertainty around how AI actually fits into their business,” source
- What they did 2026 “SALT LAKE CITY — Tanner LLP is pleased to announce the launch of its new advisory practice, the Technical Accounting Advisory Group (TAAG).” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chairman; not a leader of a West or Mountain partner-owned CPA or advisory firm, so outside this roster by construction.
- Missed Aaron Levie Leads a public US software company; not a CPA or advisory firm, so the roster never reaches him.
- Missed Satya Nadella Leads a public US software company; not in any CPA or advisory firm roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial and services owner; not a US West or Mountain CPA firm leader.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Leads a public Swiss pharmaceutical company; outside the roster by construction.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Owns a US food manufacturer, not a professional services firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy figure; not a US CPA or advisory firm leader.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Founder of a US outdoor apparel maker based in California, but not a CPA or advisory firm; the roster cannot surface him.
Route 132: Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Revised: the route works, but not through the outlets it names. LawSites, ABA Journal and Law.com regional pages were not needed (earlier routes found them vendor-heavy or paywalled), and 4 new names in about 17 WebSearch queries and 26 fetch attempts came from mechanism-plus-region searches that land on regional press (MyChesCo), vendor customer stories (harvey.ai, legal.thomsonreuters.com case studies), Chambers Associate firm profiles and firm newsrooms (pbnlaw.com, Business Wire mirrors). Two of the four (Kaplan, Bucking) rest on a bought AI platform rolled out firmwide, the weaker vendor tier; Porzio's move is a 2022 subsidiary sale plus kept incubator; Saxton is now founding chairman, no longer CEO. Short of 5, so REFINE.
Sources: state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region plus change mechanism (new AI role, firmwide AI licence, owned non-law subsidiary) through WebSearch over regional press (MyChesCo, ROI-NJ, NJBIZ), vendor customer stories (harvey.ai/customers/<slug>, legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/insights/case-studies/<slug>) and firm newsrooms gives law firm with a dated change (joined on firm name)
- law firm with a dated change through the same story or the firm newsroom (quoted leader and title) gives leader who controls the firm (founder, chairman, managing partner, managing principal or managing shareholder) (joined on leader name plus title)
- leader through a second page on a different site: firm newsroom, Business Wire mirror on markets.financialcontent.com, Chambers Associate firm profile, firm innovation or about page gives second confirmation of the change and the leader's own words (joined on firm name plus leader name)
- firm through dated 2025-2026 page with headcount and ownership form (firm release, Chambers Associate, Top Workplaces profile, Harvey case-study About block) gives size, ownership and control verdict (joined on firm name)
- firm through earliest dated release for the change (firm founding with affiliates, subsidiary sale, rollout date in a case study) gives signal year (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- James W. Saxton, Saxton & Stump (Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; shareholder-owned full-service law firm founded 2015; over 150 attorneys, about 300 professionals, 8 affiliate companies) owner, United States
Founder of a shareholder-owned Pennsylvania law firm who built it around affiliated non-law businesses and, as chairman, created a dedicated applied AI role to put AI into the firm's legal services, operations and client processes.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “James W. Saxton , after ten years, will step down as CEO at the end of the year and assume a role as Chairman during 2026 continuing to work on the firm’s numerous strategic initiatives.” source
- What they did 2026 “Saxton & Stump has appointed Ian Wood as director of applied AI, a newly created role focused on developing and managing artificial intelligence initiatives across the law firm and its affiliated companies.” source
- What they said 2026 “We have been working on a technology, software, and technical infrastructure plan for many years, and we believe someone with Ian’s extensive experience will be instrumental in the incredibly important step of accelerating value for clients,” Chairman James W. Saxton said.” source
- What they did 2025 “In just 10 years, Saxton & Stump has scaled 14 attorneys to more than 150 attorneys, 8 affiliate companies, and expanded to 10 offices with over 300 professionals.” source
- Jim Bucking, Foley Hoag LLP (Boston; partner-owned law firm, more than 310 lawyers; co-managing partner with Hathaway Russell) executive, United States
Managing partner of a partner-owned Boston firm who bet on early, firmwide AI adoption (an enterprise Harvey licence for every lawyer and staff member, mandatory training, new associates expected to build AI skill) so a 300-lawyer firm can compete with 3,000-lawyer firms.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““We are deeply embedded in innovative industries,” managing partner Jim Bucking tells us, pointing to life sciences, tech, and renewable energy” source
- What they did 2025 “Foley Hoag completed a firmwide rollout of Harvey in under one month, paired with mandatory ethics training and a coordinated communications program. Sponsorship from the firm’s Managing Partners and the Executive Committee reinforced that Harvey was a strategic investment.” source
- What they said 2026 ““We are a 300-lawyer firm often competing with 3000-lawyer firms, and we think that early adoption of AI will give us an edge,” Bucking says.” source
- What they did 2026 “There is a firmwide subscription to Harvey (available to legal and non-legal staff alike), and he reports that all new associates will be trained in its use and expected to develop their own expertise.” source
- Mitchell Kaplan, Zarwin Baum DeVito Kaplan Schaer, P.C. (Philadelphia; shareholder-owned professional corporation with offices in PA, NJ and DE; about 105 US employees, about 62 lawyers) owner, United States
Managing shareholder and named partner of a Philadelphia insurance-defense and business firm who led an early, firm-level move of document review, evidence comparison and research onto a closed generative AI system with on-site training for attorneys and staff.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “When it comes to GenAI, we knew we needed guardrails,” says Mitchell Kaplan, Managing Shareholder. “We’re in the legal industry. Data privacy, security, and the prevention of hallucinations are non-negotiable.” source
- What they did 2025 “As an early adopter of CoCounsel, Kaplan’s team has seen clear improvements. “It simply cuts down on the amount of time that an attorney needs to manually go through evidence, to go through documents, to compare documents.”” source
- What they said 2025 ““Efficiency is a key component,” says Kaplan. “Our clients are constantly asking us to create efficiencies, and there’s just no better efficiency than that created by generative AI.”” source
- What they did 2025 “Zarwin Baum leverages AI to transform legal practice management by automating routine tasks, including document review, scheduling, and billing.” source
- Vito A. Gagliardi, Jr., Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, P.C. (Parsippany, NJ; principal-owned professional corporation, about 90 lawyers in 2022; owns Porzio Compliance Services and Porzio Governmental Affairs) executive, United States
Managing principal of a principal-owned New Jersey firm that runs non-law businesses beside the law practice, sold its compliance software subsidiary in 2022 and kept a subsidiary to incubate further business and compliance products.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Brett Moore, Frank Fazio, Gary Fellner, and Gagliardi were unanimously re-elected to serve as Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and President/Managing Principal, respectively. This marks Gagliardi's tenth consecutive one-year term as Managing Principal.” source
- What they did 2022 “The firm plans to use one subsidiary, Porzio Compliance Services, to continue to incubate additional business and compliance solutions across a range of industries for future opportunities in the legal technology space.” source
- What they said 2022 “With this transaction, meanwhile, Porzio, Bromberg & Newman has gained new resources to continue developing innovative businesses that solve important problems for our clients.” source
- What they did 2026 “Porzio extends its impact beyond traditional legal services through its two wholly owned subsidiaries. Porzio Governmental Affairs (PGA) helps clients navigate the legislative and regulatory landscape” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker in California, not a law firm; outside the route's universe: the route only enumerates partner- or shareholder-owned law f
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York, not a law firm; outside the route's universe: the route only enumerates partner- or shareholder-owned law firms of 5
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial and services group, not a US law firm; outside the route's universe: the route only enumerates partner- or shareholder-owned law
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharmaceutical company; outside the route's universe: the route only enumerates partner- or shareholder-owned law firms of 50 to 600
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian mining company; outside the route's universe: the route only enumerates partner- or shareholder-owned law firms of 50 to 600 la
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California; outside the route's universe: the route only enumerates partner- or shareholder-owned law firms of 50 to 600 law
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company in Washington state; outside the route's universe: the route only enumerates partner- or shareholder-owned law firms of 5
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the route's universe: the route only enumerates partner- or shareholder-owned law firms of 50 to 60
Route 133: Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups based in the South and Southeast (Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Works only in a narrow form. Southern behavioral health and therapy providers that BHB covers are VC or PE backed (Brave, Hazel, Mindful Health, Sagent, Beacon), and the fit-sized Southern physician groups either sold control (Florida Cancer Specialists to McKesson in 2025, Holston Medical Group to Optum, Palmetto Primary Care to MUSC in 2026) or show only CEO hires, mergers and new offices. One lead came from a physician-owned group's own newsroom: EmergeOrtho's co-founding of PELTO Health Partners (Feb 2023), an owned non-PE services platform. 1 name of 3 required, and its control line is dated 2021.
Sources: Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region plus segment through WebSearch over BHB rosters, group newsrooms and oncology and ortho trade press gives independent physician or behavioral health group in the South (joined on group name plus 'physician-owned' or 'independent')
- group through group newsroom (emergeortho.com/news/) gives dated change (new owned arm or platform) with the leader's words (joined on group name)
- change through partner group's newsroom (proliancesurgeons.com) gives second page confirming the change (joined on platform name (PELTO Health Partners))
- group through group newsroom leadership release gives ownership, headcount and the leader's title (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Frank Aluisio, EmergeOrtho, P.A. (Durham, North Carolina; physician-owned orthopedic practice, 2,400 employees per its Oct 2025 release) owner, United States
Physician President of North Carolina's largest physician-owned orthopedic practice, who co-founded PELTO Health Partners with two other independent groups as a shared services platform built without outside private equity capital.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “the largest physician-owned orthopedic practice in the state and fifth largest in the country with over 1,800 employees statewide” source
- What they did 2023 “Three of the nation’s largest physician owned, independent groups – EmergeOrtho (NC), OrthoIndy (IN), and Proliance Surgeons (WA)– bring together their expertise to collectively devise a platform for optimizing clinical and business services” source
- What they said 2023 “PELTO is founded on creating a partnership to offer an alternative to external private equity which preserves independent private practice. We bring together our leaders, strength in numbers and build across each other’s infrastructure.” source
- Dale Owen, Tryon Medical Partners (Charlotte, North Carolina; physician-owned independent multispecialty practice, 412 full-time employees per its July 2025 release) owner, United States
Cardiologist who led about 90 doctors out of Atrium Health's employed medical group in 2018 to build a physician-owned practice in which every doctor is a partner, arguing hospital-controlled care is a failed system.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Lindsay is a proven leader who understands the evolving needs of patients, physicians, and employers,” said Dr. Dale Owen, founder and executive chair of Tryon Medical Partners.” source
- What they did 2018 “Tryon Medical was formed when a group of about 90 doctors split off from Atrium Health’s Mecklenburg Medical Group in 2018. The practice has since grown to about 325 staff members and 100 physicians.” source
- What they said 2019 “You can’t keep doing the same thing the wrong way and expect a different outcome. Hospital-controlled healthcare is a failed system. It’s been demonstrated over and over and over again.” source
- What they said 2019 “Physicians really did put it all on the line, and that’s a remarkable thing. It’s a cliche to say it’s inspiring, but it really is,” Owen said. “We’re setting a path that allows others to join us to do the right thing for humanity and for all the right reasons.” source
- Mohammed Baba, CLS Health (Houston, Texas; physician-owned multispecialty group, 225 to 300+ providers across 45 locations) owner, United States
Pulmonologist co-founder and President of a Houston physician-owned group that absorbs independent practices and takes over their billing, staffing and back office as an alternative to selling to hospitals or investors.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “CLS Health began in 2005, when Dr. Baba and Dr. Dweik founded Clear Lake Pulmonary. That practice grew into what CLS Health is today: an independently owned, physician-led multispecialty medical group with more than 300 providers across 40+ specialties” source
- What they did 2024 “The case study examined how CLS Health took over billing, staffing and all back-office functions and quickly achieved cost savings and added revenue.” source
- What they said 2025 “Twenty years later, that vision still guides us. When clinical decisions stay with the physician, care is faster, more coordinated, and more human.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software firm in California; not a Southern health practice, so the roster never reaches him.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and not a health practice group; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is apparel, not a Southern health practice; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is Canadian and public; outside the US South health roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; not a provider group.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker in New York and Idaho; not a health practice.
Route 134: Owner-led service firms: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the Midwest and Plains (Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Roster-first search of Midwest home care and hospice found only PE platforms and franchises; change-first search on owned arms (own CNA school, care-coordination network, value-based model) plus chamber and partner releases for control and headcount yielded 4 verified owner-led names.
Sources: Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and segment through WebSearch over seniorhousingnews.com, homehealthcarenews.com, hospicenews.com, mcknights and regional family-business honors (tcbmag.com) with Midwest or Plains states plus family-owned plus a mechanism (AI, care model, value-based) gives operator story naming the HQ city (joined on firm name plus HQ city)
- operator through firm 'our story' page or family-business award profile gives family owner or CEO who controls the firm (joined on firm name)
- leader through SHN story quoting the leader on the change gives dated change to how care is delivered, in the leader's words (joined on leader name plus firm)
- change through operator newsroom or partner release on the same change (different URL) gives second confirmation of the change (joined on program or vendor name)
- firm through firm site or dated award profile gives ownership, size and control line; earliest move sets signal year (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Andy Eby, Bickford Senior Living (Olathe, Kansas; family-owned and operated assisted living and memory care operator, about 60 communities in nine Midwest states; run by the founders' sons since 2010) owner, United States
Is moving his family's assisted living chain from fee-for-service housing to a value-based senior health model that coordinates primary care, data and care teams across every community.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Since he passed away in 2010, his sons Mike, Joe, and Andy Eby have continued the legacy of doing whatever it takes” source
- What they did 2023 “The Olathe, Kansas-based company has spent the last nine months building out a new “Higher Path” care model that aims to coordinate various health care services across its network of 60 communities in nine states, according to President Andy Eby.” source
- What they said 2023 ““We see ourselves as like a petri dish of what we believe needs to emerge throughout the country as far as stepping into value-based care for this industry,” Eby said.” source
- What they did 2023 “Bickford has been the petri dish for Serviam’s HigherPath model of care, with a focus on resources at the local level, being a key driver in better outcomes.” source
- Ryan Novaczyk, New Perspective Senior Living (Eden Prairie, Minnesota; family-owned developer and operator of about 40 senior living communities in eight states, founded 1998 by Todd Novaczyk; co-CEO) owner, United States
Is putting AI fall detection and labor-to-care-plan tools across his family's senior living portfolio to change how night care and staffing work.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Their son, Ryan, 49, is co-CEO of the company that serves about 5,000 residents in eight states.” source
- What they did 2024 “New Perspective Senior Living, a leading senior living provider dedicated to helping 10,000 seniors live with purpose by 2025, announced their decision to expand SafelyYou, the leader in empowering safer, more person-centered care across senior living through world-leading AI, industry-changing sensors, and remote expe” source
- What they said 2025 “He’s introduced technology to quickly detect when it appears that a resident has fallen.” source
- Carl Bossung, Senior1Care (Mishawaka / South Bend, Indiana; family-owned non-medical home care agency, 500+ employees, founded 2006 by Carl Bossung and his son Kyle; sister company Legacy Medical Academy, formerly Legacy CNA Training) owner, United States
Built his own CNA and medication-aide school to supply his family's home care agency, so most caregivers are credentialed staff trained in the firm's own model rather than hires from the open market.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Senior1Care proudly announces that its Co-Founder and CEO Carl Bossung has been honored with the Recognition of Lifetime Achievement” source
- What they did 2014 “Seeing a need in the community, and to meet staffing requirements of Senior1Care, Bossung helped launch Legacy CNA Training, LLC, in 2014.” source
- What they did 2024 “Unlike many non-medical agencies, most of Senior1Care’s caregivers are registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, home health aides or certified nursing aides (CNAs) trained through the company’s CNA school, Legacy Medical Academy in Mishawaka, Indiana.” source
- Philip Gisi, Edgewood Healthcare (Grand Forks, North Dakota; privately held senior living and home-based care operator founded 1992, about 63 communities in seven upper Midwest and Plains states, nearly 3,000 employees in 2019; owns the CaringEdge Health Network and home health and hospice agencies) owner, United States
Is turning his assisted living chain from housing with meals and activities into a care platform that runs its own care-coordination network, home health and hospice and puts clinical services inside the buildings.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““Edgewood Village in south Grand Forks is an example of our efforts to improve access and coordination of care for seniors that live in our communities,” said Philip Gisi, owner and CEO of Edgewood.” source
- What they did 2019 “Edgewood also owns the CaringEdge Health Network, which is responsible for coordinating care with physicians, therapists, home health and hospice providers in the communities it serves.” source
- What they said 2019 “Most assisted living facilities across the country provide meals and activities and things like that. What we’ve done is we’ve started implementing health care services right in the building.” source
- What they said 2019 “"We need to find ways to provide better access for elders going forward. We want to reduce admissions to hospitals and keep people in their homes longer."” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian conglomerate, not a Midwest or Plains home care, senior living or hospice operator; outside the route's roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel firm, not a Midwest or Plains aging-services operator; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian miner; outside the roster (non-US, not aging services).
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; outside the roster (public, non-US, not a care operator).
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public tech company; outside the roster (public, not a care operator).
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; outside the roster (non-US, not aging services).
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho; outside the roster (not a service firm, not aging services).
Route 135: Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the West and Mountain states (Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The West and Mountain slice of the privately held broker roster is too thin to support a route. The Insurance Journal Top 100 2025 lists about 30 firms with an office in the 13 western states, but after removing PE platforms (Alliant, EPIC, ALKEME, Inszone, Trucordia), carrier-owned AIS, IMA (already in candidates) and firms since sold (Atlas Hawaii, Bolton to IMA, Van Gilder to USI), about 12 private firms remain. Per-firm searches and newsroom fetches for 10 of them (Leavitt, Heffernan, Mahoney, Moreton, Buckner, CCIG, Crest, C3, Moody, James G. Parker) gave M&A, leadership appointments and office openings. The only dated costly change in the work (Heffernan cancelling an offshore provider after an AI rollout, $400,000 saved) is voiced by the CIO, and Leavitt's 2026 AI programme is voiced by the COO. No controlling leader voiced a redesign. 25 fetch attempts logged.
Sources: Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking row through Insurance Journal Top 100 P/C Agencies 2025 gives western private agency (joined on agency name plus Office state)
- agency through agency newsroom and WebSearch on trade press gives dated change story (joined on agency name)
- change story through insurancebusinessmag.com, coverager.com, businessinsurance.com gives leader quote (joined on leader name plus agency)
- leader through firm About and leadership pages, investment releases gives control and size (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer (Chobani), not an insurance agency; outside the western broker roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil, industrial and services group; not a US western insurance broker.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company; not a privately held agency.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; not in the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining; not in the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software company; not in the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma; not in the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker; not an insurance agency.
Route 136: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The named rosters (ENR Top 500 and regional ENR editions, Zweig Hot Firm lists, NCEO stories) did not work as step 1 for Northeast and Mid-Atlantic employee-owned or family-owned AEC firms: ENR lists are not fetchable, Zweig search returns Zweig's own pages, and NCEO and the Construction ESOP Collective carry succession and culture stories. Change-first WebSearch works instead: a CEO-quoted new-CTO release (KCI Technologies), an owned R&D and prefab program voiced by the co-owner of a family-owned contractor (HITT Contracting), and a spinout accelerator voiced by the chairman of a private engineering firm (Thornton Tomasetti). Yield is about 3 names from 30 searches and 27 fetches; the AI moves at most other firms are voiced by CIOs or task-force leads, not the controlling leader.
Sources: ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through WebSearch change-first queries (employee-owned or family-owned + AI, subsidiary, CTO, digital transformation + Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states), plus batches of named firms gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom release (kci.com/?p=<id>) gives dated change (joined on firm name)
- dated change through same release, CEO quote line gives controlling leader (joined on leader name and title)
- dated change through second outlet carrying the release (myusna.com news) gives confirming page (joined on firm name plus new role)
- leader through firm About page and GlobeNewswire leadership releases gives ownership, control and leadership history (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Christopher Griffith, KCI Technologies Inc. (Sparks, Maryland; 100% employee-owned multi-discipline engineering, consulting and construction firm) ceo, United States
As chairman and CEO of an employee-owned engineering firm, he put a board member in a new CTO seat that directs a digital transformation office, AI initiatives and an innovation incubator.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “This background uniquely positions him to guide our technological strategy, drive innovation, and ensure our solutions continue to align with the firm’s vision and goals.” – Christopher Griffith, PE, CCM, FCMAA, Chairman of the Board and CEO” source
- What they did 2026 “His responsibilities will include overseeing enterprise systems and business processes, guiding sector-specific technology and artificial intelligence initiatives, and directing the digital transformation office, the innovation incubator, and the technology sharing committee.” source
- What they did 2026 “Having previously served as an external member on KCI’s Board of Directors, Hardebeck will step into his new position by leading the firm’s technology strategy and integration.” source
- What they said 2026 “Operating as a 100% employee-owned firm, our team of experts is passionate about making a difference, making it easy to stand behind our work and deliver what we promise.” source
- Brett Hitt, HITT Contracting (Falls Church, Virginia; family-owned national general contractor, 1,600+ team members) owner, United States
As co-owner and co-chairman of a family-owned general contractor, he moved off day-to-day operations to run an R&D program (patented prefab building skin, robotic 3D printing, prefab factories, new project delivery methods) built into a new headquarters with a Virginia Tech lab.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Millar and Hitt remain sole owners of the firm, and will continue to be engaged in the company’s strategic direction while focusing on R&D, leadership development, and other areas of impact” source
- What they did 2023 “Notable ventures already in progress include a newly patented prefabricated building skin that reduces weight, increases speed to market, and creates more efficient buildings.” source
- What they did 2025 “over $80 million committed to R&D. HITT is building not just a smarter headquarters but an innovation ecosystem, factories for prefab construction, commercial-grade 3D-printed furniture, custom products, and even new methods of project delivery.” source
- What they said 2023 “One of the last big innovations in construction was post-tension concrete more than 50 years ago. As an industry, we have to do better to tackle the challenges of rising costs, labor shortages, and our environmental footprint.” source
- Tom Scarangello, Thornton Tomasetti (New York City; private engineering consulting firm, 2,000+ employees) executive, United States
As chairman and CEO and then executive chairman of a private engineering firm, he set up TTWiiN to turn in-house tools into spun-out companies (OnScale, Konstru, AI-powered T2D2) and an investment arm, changing what the firm sells beyond billable engineering.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Manhattan-based global AEC firm Thornton Tomasetti and its chief, Tom Scarangello, have been longtime leaders in proptech development and use.” source
- What they did 2016 “The organizations announced Dec. 16 The Combine will help Thornton Tomasetti spin off five new companies from its in-house startup accelerator, TTWiiN.” source
- What they did 2023 “Konstru and T2D2 were spun out just this year.” source
- What they said 2023 “Our leadership today stems from the vision of our leadership over 10 years ago, when we made the commitment to be the global driver of change and innovation in the AEC” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not an engineering, architecture or construction services firm, so a Northeast AEC roster never reaches Ulukaya.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company, outside a private US Northeast AEC roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate, outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial and services group, outside a US Northeast and Mid-Atlantic AEC roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner, outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public US software company, not an AEC services firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company, outside the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharmaceutical company, outside the roster.
Route 137: Owner-led service firms: privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms based in the South and Southeast (Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region + segment through WebSearch over ClearlyRated Best of Staffing business pages, SIA Staffing 100 headlines, staffinghub.com gives privately held Southern staffing firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through wire reprints (accessnewswire, newswire.com, techintelpro, webull) and firm newsroom gives dated change to how recruiting is done (joined on firm name + AI or division keyword)
- change story through same release gives leader quoted (CEO who is founder or founding family) (joined on person name)
- leader through firm home page or a second reprint at a different URL gives second confirmation of the change (joined on product name (Caroline, TRC TalentAI))
- firm through Built In company page, Cobb Chamber listing, firm About page gives headcount, privately held, family control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Thomas Ioele, TalentBridge (formerly Employee Relations Associates; Charlotte, North Carolina; talent solutions and professional staffing firm co-founded by Ioele and his father) owner, United States
The co-founder and CEO of a Charlotte staffing firm built an in-house AI recruiter, Caroline, that sources, texts, calls and scores candidates before a human recruiter steps in.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founded 40 years ago in Rochester, New York, by Ioele and his father, TalentBridge began as a traditional industrial staffing company.” source
- What they did 2025 “Interested candidates receive a follow-up phone call directly from Caroline where the AI assistant conducts an initial screening for information like salary requirements and updated experience.” source
- What they did 2026 “AI-Driven Virtual Contingent Bench A prequalified, skill-tagged talent bench built by Agentic bots and managed by SME recruiters.” source
- What they said 2025 “We combine the best of human and technology to get clients an almost 100% match for their open roles,” source
- Brian Robinson, TRC Talent Solutions (formerly TRC Staffing Services; Atlanta, Georgia; privately held, founded 1980 by his father; 850 employees per Built In) owner, United States
The second-generation CEO of a family-held Atlanta staffing firm moved recruiting onto proprietary agentic AI that now sources, screens and schedules for nine in ten placements.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Established in 1980, TRC is one of the largest privately held staffing firms in the country. Like his father, President and CEO Brian Robinson, remains focused” source
- What they did 2026 “TRC Talent Solutions today highlighted the maturity of TRC TalentAI, its proprietary agentic AI recruiting technology now assisting in 90 percent of all candidate placements.” source
- What they said 2026 “Technology should never isolate people in recruitment; it should bring them closer together,” source
- Tana Greene, MyWorkChoice (Charlotte and Cornelius, North Carolina; light industrial and warehouse staffing firm she started in 1988 and rebuilt as an app-based flexible-shift model in 2017) owner, United States
The founder-CEO of a 1988 North Carolina staffing firm closed the branch model and rebuilt it around an app where W-2 workers pick and drop their own shifts.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “When CEO Tana Greene started the company in 1988, she built on her experience as a college counselor.” source
- What they did 2017 “Our technology and flexibility- driven workforce solution, MyWorkChoice was founded in 2017 by Tana and Mike Greene.” source
- What they did 2021 “Greene realized quickly how profound the change could be. First, the company developed a proprietary web interface, which eventually led to its smartphone app growing across the country during the pandemic.” source
- What they said 2024 “Hear about her company's transition from brick-and-mortar offices to a completely virtual setup, details about the growth of MyWorkChoice, the challenges of building and maintaining software,” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not a privately held Southern staffing firm; outside the route's roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is in Brazil; the route only covers US Southern staffing firms.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not a staffing firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; outside the roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker in New York and Idaho, not a staffing firm; outside the roster.
Route 138: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies based in the Midwest and Plains (Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route works only weakly. Midwest and Plains 50+ staff agencies on the O'Dwyer's Midwest ranking and Adweek Fastest Growing lists mostly fail control (Fahlgren Mortine to The Shipyard, Lambert to LLYC, Bold Orange under Mountaingate Capital, Walker Sands after a PE stake) or have no leader-voiced dated change (Laughlin Constable, Ovative, Cramer-Krasselt). One name passed in attempt 1 (Jeff King, BarkleyOKRP) and one in attempt 2 (John January, Signal Theory, via the 4A's profile and the agency newsroom). Revision: add the Ad Age Midwest Agency of the Year list and the 4A's member directory as rosters, and treat management-owned ex-ESOP agencies as in scope.
Sources: Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through O'Dwyer's Midwest PR ranking; Adweek Fastest Growing Agencies (Region U.S. - Midwest rows) gives agency (joined on firm name, city, FT employees or Employees band)
- agency through WebSearch '<firm> <founder or CEO> ownership AI' then trade press (MediaPost, O'Dwyer's, Shoot) gives ownership verdict (joined on firm name)
- agency through MediaPost Agency Daily, firm newsroom gives dated change voiced by the leader (joined on firm name)
- change through second trade or regional story (MediaPost follow-up, Twin Cities Business) gives confirmation and headcount (joined on firm name + leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Jeff King, BarkleyOKRP (Kansas City, MO) owner, United States
Led the management buyout of an ESOP-owned Kansas City agency, then merged it with OKRP, bought Adlucent and spun the combined media practices into a standalone owned media agency, MissionOne.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The ESOP sold 100% of its shares back to the company at an all-time high valuation. As a result, a management group led by its executive team now owns 100% of the company's stock.” source
- What they did 2025 “MissionOne combines the media practices of Barkley and OKRP - which merged in March 2024 - and media, analytics and CRM agency Adlucent, which was acquired last May. It launches with 200 employees and more than $1.1 billion in billings.” source
- What they said 2025 “Media is the largest investment marketers make and they deserve to have a transparent partner that integrates completely and continuously with creative to deliver results. This is the promise and goal of MissionOne.” source
- What they did 2025 “The management changes follow the agency's launch in March of a new media agency, dubbed MissionOne Media and led by Sean Corcoran, the former US CEO of Interpublic's Mediahub.” source
- John January, Signal Theory (Kansas City, MO and Wichita, KS) ceo, United States
Co-runs a privately held, independent Kansas City agency that built its own closed AI model into the agency workflow and then put its AI lead on the committee that runs the firm.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “John January Co-CEO John helped Signal Theory establish its national reputation for creative excellence.” source
- What they did 2024 “Nearly 80% of Signal Theory employees are using AL, and nearly a third say AL has significantly impacted their work, improving efficiency, generating actionable insights and driving better outcomes.” source
- What they said 2024 “We made a conscious decision to incorporate AI into our workflow to streamline our internal operations and deliver real value for our clients.” source
- What they did 2026 “Kleinsmith's appointment to the EC signals the agency's commitment to treating technology and AI as a core leadership function.” source
- Kelly Ferguson, Meyocks (West Des Moines, IA; independent branding and marketing agency, AMIN Worldwide member) owner, United States
Bought majority control of a 40-year-old Iowa ag and food agency in 2024, then rebuilt its testing and research work around a proprietary AI audience simulator and a new in-house research and data science practice.Evidence (6 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Kelly Ferguson, a member of the firm’s executive team, will acquire a majority interest in the company and become its president, effective January 1, 2024.” source
- What they did 2025 “Meyocks, a West Des Moines-based branding and marketing agency, has launched a proprietary artificial intelligence technology that assists agricultural markers with testing and refining messaging by simulating farmer mindsets.” source
- What they said 2025 “They are in the room with us to pressure test and refine strategy, headlines, imagery, copy, ads and the myriads of other materials we create to support our clients.” source
- What they did 2025 “That same year, we launched Meyocks Research + Insights, a dedicated market research and data science practice that gives clients an in-house partner for everything from concept testing to brand health tracking.” source
- What they did 2024 “over a year ago, 11 of our team members from across disciplines formed a group they affectionately called the AI Outlaws.” source
- What they said 2026 “We’re energized by how fast AI is opening up new ways to test, discover, and refine creative and strategy before a single dollar is spent in market — simulating audience reactions, stress-testing messaging, uncovering insights faster than traditional research allows.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not a founder-owned marketing, PR or creative agency in the Midwest or Plains, so the route's rosters (O'Dwyer's Midwest ranking, Adweek Fastest Growing Midwest
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not a founder-owned marketing, PR or creative agency in the Midwest or Plains, so the route's rosters (O'Dwyer's Midwest ranking, Adweek Fastest Growing Midwest
- Missed Aaron Levie Not a founder-owned marketing, PR or creative agency in the Midwest or Plains, so the route's rosters (O'Dwyer's Midwest ranking, Adweek Fastest Growing Midwest
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not a founder-owned marketing, PR or creative agency in the Midwest or Plains, so the route's rosters (O'Dwyer's Midwest ranking, Adweek Fastest Growing Midwest
- Missed Satya Nadella Not a founder-owned marketing, PR or creative agency in the Midwest or Plains, so the route's rosters (O'Dwyer's Midwest ranking, Adweek Fastest Growing Midwest
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not a founder-owned marketing, PR or creative agency in the Midwest or Plains, so the route's rosters (O'Dwyer's Midwest ranking, Adweek Fastest Growing Midwest
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not a founder-owned marketing, PR or creative agency in the Midwest or Plains, so the route's rosters (O'Dwyer's Midwest ranking, Adweek Fastest Growing Midwest
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not a founder-owned marketing, PR or creative agency in the Midwest or Plains, so the route's rosters (O'Dwyer's Midwest ranking, Adweek Fastest Growing Midwest
Route 139: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms based in the West and Mountain states (Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempt 2 counts 3 names after narrowing the route from consulting firms to partner-owned West law firms, where the leader's own words on a firmwide AI change are published and fetchable. Chris Balch (Holland & Hart, Denver, 500+ lawyers) described the in-house Juvo Chat build in the open Law Week Colorado 2024 managing partner roundtable transcript; Jeffrey Higgins (Gunderson Dettmer, Silicon Valley) is quoted on the firm's homegrown AI tools, with a second site on the firmwide Perplexity rollout; Eric McCrath (Morrison Foerster, San Francisco) announced Legora as the core AI platform for 1,000+ lawyers in June 2026. Attempt 1's consulting-firm roster step stays blocked (Consulting magazine 403, image-only winners), and founder-owned West consultancies gave no leader-voiced change. Caveat: managing partners and chairs of partnerships are elected and lead without owning a controlling stake, and MoFo's total headcount (lawyers plus staff) is not confirmed under 5,000.
Sources: Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and segment through Consulting magazine Best Firms to Work For winners, Utah Business roundtables, Oregon Business press releases, WebSearch on segment plus region gives firm (joined on firm name plus HQ city)
- firm through firm newsroom and wire mirrors (aijourn.com, newswire.com) plus trade press (artificiallawyer.com, lawnext.com) gives dated change release (joined on firm name)
- change release through quote in the same release gives leader who controls the firm (joined on leader name and title (founder, CEO or managing partner))
- leader and change through second, different site (regional journal or trade press) gives confirmation of change (joined on firm name plus change name)
- firm through firm About page, regional journal, leadership-change and M&A search for 2024 to 2026 gives ownership, control, size, current tenure (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Chris Balch, Holland & Hart LLP (Denver, partner-owned, 500+ lawyers in 14 offices) executive, United States
As firm chair of a partner-owned Mountain West law firm, he had its in-house Innovation Lab build a private generative AI tool (Juvo Chat) and made it available to every lawyer after mandatory training.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “These accomplished leaders bring the collaborative spirit and strategic thinking essential to advancing our firm's mission in the year ahead," said Chris Balch, Firm Chair.” source
- What they did 2024 “This year, we have an innovation lab with these nine data scientists and technologists, and they actually developed our own version of OpenAI. We call it Juvo Chat and it meets pretty stringent security standards, and with mandatory training, each of our lawyers can now use it.” source
- What they said 2024 “Yeah, I mean, let's face it, it's disruptive, but our position has been we need to keep up with it. Our clients are going to require it, and we're going to embrace it.” source
- What they did 2024 “Balch explained, "We do have a firm-wide policy," and he added that this year, the firm's Innovation Lab "developed our version of Open” source
- What they did 2018 “Formally established in 2018, the Holland & Hart Innovation Lab (ILab) comprises a diverse group of technology professionals from software engineers to AI experts.” source
- Jeffrey Higgins, Gunderson Dettmer (Silicon Valley, partner-owned law firm; 129 partners and 157 associates) executive, United States
As global managing partner of a partner-owned venture law firm, he backs its homegrown generative AI tools and a firmwide AI rollout that is now moving into core transactional work.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jeff serves as Gunderson Dettmer's global managing partner, is a member of the firm's Management Committee, and is a founding partner of our San Diego and Los Angeles offices.” source
- What they said 2024 “Gunderson Dettmer has been pioneering the adoption of AI products for some time,” said Gunderson Dettmer’s Managing Partner Jeff Higgins. “In 2023, we went one step further and developed our own homegrown AI tools.” source
- What they did 2025 “Firmwide adoption paved the way Gunderson Dettmer began using Perplexity AI across all departments over a year ago. That initial rollout allowed attorneys to test the tool for research, document summaries, and other tasks.” source
- What they did 2023 “It was one of the first US-based firm to develop an internal tool using Gen AI back in 2023 – talk about ahead of the game. No one is resting on their laurels however, as the game is now afoot.” source
- What they did 2023 “As a leading law firm in the field of Artificial Intelligence, Gunderson Dettmer is proud to announce the launch of its own homegrown generative AI chat application, ChatGD .” source
- Eric McCrath, Morrison Foerster (San Francisco, partner-owned law firm; 1,000+ lawyers) executive, United States
As chair of a partner-owned San Francisco law firm, he made an AI platform the core tool for all of the firm's lawyers in a firmwide deployment, saying AI is reshaping how legal work is performed and delivered.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Law.com ’s California Legal Awards honored Morrison Foerster Chair Eric T. McCrath with its Distinguished Leader Award for 2026, recognizing leaders who have driven significant achievements within their organizations and the legal profession.” source
- What they said 2026 “As AI continues to reshape how legal work is performed and delivered, we see a significant opportunity to harness its potential to better serve our clients in our partnership with Legora.” source
- What they did 2026 “International law firm Morrison Foerster has announced a strategic partnership with Legora, deploying the platform across its global workforce of more than 1,000 lawyers, paralegals, and legal professionals.” source
- What they did 2026 “Morrison Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Legora, implementing it as a core AI technology platform for the firm’s attorneys.” source
- What they said 2022 “Morrison Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce that Eric T. McCrath has been elected by the partners as Chair of the firm.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company, not a privately owned West or Mountain service firm; outside the roster by construction.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; not a US privately owned service firm.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker (goods, not client service work); outside a consulting and professional services roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and resources; not a US service firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not a consulting or professional services firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharmaceutical company.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not a service firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is in Brazil; the route is limited to US West and Mountain firms.
Route 140: Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held property management and real estate services firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Works after a change: NMHC, NARPM and title rosters gave little; the names came from RealEstateNews independents coverage, Multifamily Executive leader Q&As and NYC co-op trade press, then a second site per person. Four names, two with venture or family-ownership caveats.
Sources: NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region (NY, NJ, PA, New England, MD, DE) through RealEstateNews independents tag; MFE NMHC Top 50 leader Q&As; Habitat and NYREJ co-op management coverage gives privately held firm (joined on firm name plus HQ city)
- firm through trade press 2023-2026 gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name)
- change through same story or interview gives controlling leader and own words (joined on leader name)
- leader through second trade site (RealTrends, HousingWire, NYREJ, Mile High CRE) gives confirming change (joined on leader name plus firm)
- firm through RealEstateNews interview, MFE profile, Wikipedia, funding stories gives ownership, control, headcount, earliest move (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Hoby Hanna, Howard Hanna Real Estate Services (Pittsburgh, PA; family-owned, privately held residential brokerage with mortgage, title and insurance arms, about 12,000 agents) owner, United States
Third-generation owner-CEO of the largest privately held US brokerage who pulled the firm's Cleveland listings out of the shared IDX feed in 2023 to put his own agents back at the center of each sale, then planned the same switch in other markets.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “And when it comes to key strategic decisions that impact the business and its 12,000 agents, the buck stops with Howard W. "Hoby" Hanna IV — not with shareholders and board members.” source
- What they did 2023 “Howard W. "Hoby" Hanna IV , newly minted CEO of the nation's largest independent brokerage, has made a bold move that will effectively keep Howard Hanna Real Estate listings off of competitors' websites.” source
- What they said 2023 “We were missing out on the ability to best represent the house and best represent the seller. In the last few years, we have looked at this more and more as new brokers pop up, and have tried to look at how we could be more at the center of the transaction.” source
- What they did 2023 “Using Cleveland as a test market has gone so well that brokerage is looking to make a similar switch in other markets as the company maps out its strategy for 2024, Hanna said.” source
- Yotam Cohen, Daisy (New York, NY; AI-native property management company for condos, co-ops and HOAs, 200+ buildings, venture-backed, founded 2020) owner, United States
Co-founder and CEO of a New York condo and co-op manager who is redesigning property management roles around AI agents that own repeatable workflows, with a support agent already handling a fifth of requests.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “m the Co-founder and CEO of Daisy, the fastest-growing AI-native property management company.” source
- What they did 2025 “already reshaping our org structure. Instead of throwing more people at problems, we’re designing roles around what humans do best—and giving agents full ownership of repeatable workflows.” source
- What they said 2024 “Our AI-driven platform has transformed how boards and buildings operate," said Yotam Cohen, CEO of Daisy.” source
- What they did 2025 “Within about a month, we launched a new internal platform designed specifically for on-site teams in large buildings.” source
- Toby Bozzuto, Bozzuto (Greenbelt, MD; privately held family-founded apartment manager, developer and builder, over 4,000 associates) ceo, United States
Second-generation CEO of a privately held Maryland apartment manager who has moved AI from a leasing chatbot into maintenance, delinquency and applications while saying site teams stay human.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Toby Bozzuto, president and CEO of Bozzuto, a leading multifamily property manager, developer, and owner, says his firm is optimistic about what AI can unlock” source
- What they did 2026 “Bozzuto started with an AI leasing chatbot, but it has now expanded to using it for maintenance, delinquency follow-ups, resident engagement, and applications.” source
- What they said 2025 “optimize the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and data insights to drive innovation and supercharge operations.” source
- Ryan Serhant, SERHANT. (New York, NY; founder-led residential brokerage and media company, venture-backed via SERHANT. Technologies) owner, United States
Founder-CEO of a New York brokerage who raised money to build an in-house AI platform that takes over agents' listing, marketing, transaction and compliance work, launched to his agents in 2024.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““Chatbots give you answers, but S.MPLE 2.0 gives you outcomes,” Ryan Serhant , founder and CEO of SERHANT., said in the announcement.” source
- What they did 2024 “The investment — which is going to SERHANT. Technologies, the umbrella company that includes the brokerage — will be used to develop the company’s AI platform known as S.MPLE.” source
- What they said 2026 “The last generation of real estate technology gave agents more software to operate. We built S.MPLE so agents can give it a goal and not have to think twice.” source
- What they said 2026 “AI tools through S.MPLE that take over the work that used to eat their day, and a media engine that puts their listings in front of millions,” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Miss. Out of scope by design: leads Reliance Industries, a listed Indian conglomerate; the route reads only privately held US real estate services firms in the
- Missed Tobi Lutke Miss. Out of scope by design: leads Shopify, a listed Canadian software company, not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic real estate services firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Miss. Out of scope by design: leads Novartis, a listed Swiss drug maker; outside the country, sector and ownership filter.
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss. Out of scope by design: leads Box, a listed California software company; not privately held and not in real estate services.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Miss. Out of scope by design: based in Australia (Fortescue, listed miner); the route reads only US firms.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Miss. Out of scope by design: Chobani is a privately held food manufacturer in New York, but a manufacturer, not a property management or real estate services f
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss. Out of scope by design: leads Microsoft, a listed software company in Washington state.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Miss. Out of scope by design: based in Brazil (Semco); the route reads only US firms.
Route 141: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms based in the South and Southeast (employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. A South and Southeast cut of employee-owned and founder-owned wealth firms repeats the S-85, S-86, S-113 and S-127 result. The regional roster (FINTRX Southeast spotlight) gives three firms in the 50 to 5,000 staff band outside the Carolinas and Virginia: Homrich Berg (Atlanta, 171 staff) has New Mountain and TPG minority stakes and a hired CEO who replaced the founder; Waverly Advisors (Birmingham) runs on Wealth Partners Capital and HGGC Aspire equity; SignatureFD (Atlanta, 99 staff) is partner-owned but its news is owner promotions. Houston's Linscomb is a Cadence Bank subsidiary and Mission Wealth took Great Hill money in 2025. The one owner-built redesign found (Jason Barber, Holistic Planning, Nacogdoches TX, an in-house agentic operating system built with Claude, June 2026) is a 2023 breakaway whose headcount is not published and looks under 50 (6 advisors on its Uptick platform in 2025), so it fails the size gate. 0 counted names from 9 searches and 9 fetch attempts.
Sources: employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through FINTRX Southeast RIA spotlight; Financial Planning Top Fee-Only by state (hbwealth.com mirror); Hawkeye wealth archive gives firm (joined on firm name + HQ city)
- firm through firm newsroom, wealthmanagement.com, investmentnews.com gives ownership verdict (joined on firm name + 'minority investment' OR 'private equity' OR 'employee-owned')
- fit firm through trade press and vendor custodial releases (altruist.com/news) gives dated change + leader quote (joined on firm name + CEO name)
- leader through second release or wire mirror (aijourn.com, businesswire mirrors) gives second page + headcount (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California; not in a Southern wealth-firm roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker in California; outside the route's sector and region.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian conglomerate; the route is US Southern wealth firms only.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian manufacturing and services; outside region and sector.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian miner; outside region and sector.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software company; outside region and sector.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company in Washington; outside the route.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker in New York and Idaho; not a wealth firm.
Route 142: Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms based in the Midwest and Plains (Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. After three attempts, about 30 privately held Midwest and Plains freight, 3PL and logistics firms were checked through TT rankings, TT company pages, regional sweeps and Smart 50 roundups. One owner-CEO with a dated, voiced change counted (John Ness, ODW Logistics). Most firms failed on control: hired CEOs, founders moved to chairman, private-equity partners or sales. The slice is harvested; run owner-led freight nationally instead.
Sources: Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Transport Topics Top 100 Logistics and Top 100 Freight Brokerage 2025 and 2026 gives firm (joined on firm name; employee column on the logistics list)
- firm through Transport Topics company page /logistics/companies/<slug>/<year> gives HQ city and named CEO (joined on TT company slug)
- firm through firm newsroom and trade press releases (DC Velocity press room) gives dated change voiced by the CEO (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm About or leadership page, dated 2025-2026 release gives ownership and control (joined on CEO name)
New names that passed every check
- John Ness, ODW Logistics (Ness family-owned 3PL, Columbus, Ohio; about 1,200 staff in 2018; $416M gross revenue 2025) owner, United States
Owner-CEO who folded ODW's separately run brokerage and managed-transportation unit into its contract logistics business in 2024 to sell one integrated service built around a retail freight consolidation program, then added autonomous inventory robotics.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said John Ness, Owner and CEO of ODW Logistics.” source
- What they did 2024 “Merging our transportation management solution with our contract logistics business enables better service and flexibility for our customers, including a compelling freight consolidation program. In October 2023, we opened a 565,000 square foot retail consolidation center that is fully operational.” source
- What they did 2025 “ODW Logistics has expanded its automation ecosystem with the deployment of Dexory’s autonomous robotics and data intelligence technology inside our Columbus, OH distribution center.” source
- What they said 2022 “A passionate entrepreneur, John has launched several new businesses at ODW and is an avid investor. He has strategically reorganized the company’s executive leadership team to scale the business.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not a freight or logistics firm; no row in the TT rankings.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining group; outside US Midwest freight and outside the TT rankings.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate; not a US logistics firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; not in the TT logistics or brokerage rankings.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer (shipper), not a logistics service firm; no TT row.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software firm; not in the TT rankings.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public software; not in the TT rankings.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software; not in the TT rankings.
Route 143: Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) based in the West and Mountain states (Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempt 2: roster-first (ENR, P&M, CleanLink awards) found family and employee-owned West and Mountain firms but no dated redesign; change-first searches (new owned arm, new trade division, prefab venture) found three controlling owners: Dean Allen (McKinstry, Overcast prefab venture), Edwin Eaton (iPro, self-funded Cinch software built from his own operations) and Levi Torres (High 5, HVAC and electrical divisions). Ownership deals alone (HACI, ACI, Metro Services ESOPs) and PE-recapitalized firms (Goettl, Baum Capital) were dropped.
Sources: Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and segment through trade press awards and regional rankings (P&M Mechanical Contractor of the Year, ENR Mountain States Specialty Contractor of the Year, CleanLink BSC profiles) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through same profile or firm newsroom gives headcount, ownership, controlling leader (joined on firm name)
- firm and leader through trade and regional press 2023-2026, firm newsroom gives dated change to how the work is done, in the leader's words (joined on leader name plus firm)
- change through a second, different publication gives confirmation and signal year (joined on firm name plus change)
New names that passed every check
- Dean Allen, McKinstry (Seattle, WA) owner, United States
Moving McKinstry's mechanical and electrical work off the job site into factory-built ceiling systems through its own prefab venture, Overcast Innovations.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Leadership Dean Allen Chief Executive Officer, Chairman Matt Allen Executive Vice President, Chief Client Officer” source
- What they did 2024 “entered a strategic partnership and equity investment in Overcast Innovations, a venture established by leading construction and energy services company McKinstry” source
- What they said 2025 ““We’re building out a truly integrated type delivery model, being able to not only prefabricate and build components, but then preassemble them, take them out in the field, and then install them on site,"” source
- What they did 2014 “McKinstry has grown from a $20 million company to an organization with 1,700 employees and $500 million in annual sales.” source
- Edwin Eaton, iPro Building Services (Wenatchee, WA) owner, United States
Turned the bidding, proposal, scheduling and work-order system he built to run his own cleaning firm into a self-funded software product, Cinch, for the trade.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “founding iPro Building Services in 2013. Fast forward to today, iPro celebrates its 10th anniversary with over 150 employees” source
- What they did 2023 “Not one to rest on his laurels, Edwin also founded BluePrint Janitorial Consulting in 2019, and this year, launched Cinch-Janitorial Software.” source
- What they said 2025 “everything that's within my software, my janitorial software system is everything that I use within my company to get me to where I'm at now.” source
- What they said 2025 “So, you know, the light went off and I thought, you know what, why don't I just start janitorial software?” source
- Levi Torres, High 5 Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electric (Golden, CO) owner, United States
Rebuilt a family-owned Denver plumbing shop into a multi-trade home services firm, adding HVAC and electrical divisions and a training facility in 2023-2024.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Being named to this list for four straight years demonstrates that our commitment to delivering essential home services, while giving back to our community, is a mission worth pursuing," said Levi Torres , Co-Owner of High 5.” source
- What they did 2024 “High 5 Plumbing, a family-owned and -operated company serving residents in the Denver, Colorado, metropolitan area, will begin offering HVAC services on Monday, April 29” source
- What they did 2025 “In 2024, High 5 raised its revenue by 71% over the previous year. In the same year, it added its HVAC service in April and its electrical division in September” source
- What they said 2023 “The Golden Shop is different as we are walking into it with our three-year vision, and each department is now set up to flow for production and creativity.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian, public mining and energy group; outside a US West service-firm roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company CEO; not a family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning or home services firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer in New York and Idaho; not a service firm, so the route's rosters never list Chobani.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel maker and retailer, not a service firm; absent from HVAC, cleaning and facility rosters.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; outside US geography.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India, public conglomerate; outside scope.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; outside scope.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public technology company CEO; outside scope.
Route 144: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The MSP 501 roster gives 70 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic rows in three fetches, but most rows fail the profile (under 50 staff, PE platforms, hired CEOs) and few founders voice a dated change to the work. Names came from firm-by-firm searches for a dated AI service or delivery launch, then the firm site for founder and control.
Sources: CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- regional roster through MSP 501 2026 list pages (themspsummit.com) gives firm plus named executive (joined on firm name and state code)
- firm through WebSearch for a dated AI service, delivery or pricing launch; firm newsroom; PR Newswire gives dated change with leader quote (joined on firm name)
- change through firm About or leadership page; second press mirror gives founder role and second page confirming the change (joined on leader name)
- firm through builtin.com company profile gives headcount and founding year (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Serge Bukhar, Atlas Technica (New York, MSP for hedge funds, 135 staff) owner, United States
Turning a hedge-fund IT outsourcer into a 'Managed Intelligence Provider' that runs AI strategy, security and governance for funds, with a new AI and Advisory arm.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Serge Bukhar is Founder & CEO of Atlas Technica, a leading MSP for alternative investment firms. A technology executive with 20+ years in MSP and financial services, he previously led storage at Bridgewater Associates” source
- What they did 2026 “today announced its formal evolution into the industry's first Managed Intelligence Provider (MIP), purpose-built for hedge funds and private equity firms. This transition marks the launch of a comprehensive suite of AI strategy, security, and intelligence ecosystem offerings” source
- What they did 2026 “Alex Vayner, Global Head of AI & Advisory at Atlas Technica, designs secure AI Safe Zones and governance for hedge funds and other investors. With 20+ years in data and AI, he has built global practices” source
- What they said 2026 “Infrastructure alone is no longer a competitive moat; the new frontier is the orchestration and governance of intelligence” source
- Manish Gupta, TestingXperts (Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, quality engineering and software testing, about 1,227 staff) owner, United States
Rebuilding a software testing firm around AI-led quality engineering and AI assurance, funded by a new delivery campus planned to reach 2,500 seats.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Speaking on the occasion, Manish Gupta, Founder and CEO of TestingXperts, said: "Hyderabad is far more than a new office for us. It is a strategic investment in one of the world's most vibrant technology ecosystems” source
- What they did 2026 ““We have a roadmap to develop a 2,500 seat campus in Hyderabad over the coming years,” he said. The company will use Hyderabad to build deep expertise in AI, agentic AI, AI assurance” source
- What they said 2026 ““Our clients are embracing AI at an unprecedented pace, and software quality must evolve just as quickly,” added Gupta. “The future belongs to organizations that can build trusted AI systems and deliver software faster without compromising quality, security, or governance.” source
- Todd Marks, Mindgrub Technologies (Baltimore, Maryland, digital product and IT consultancy, 110 staff) owner, United States
Changed how a Baltimore software consultancy gets paid and what it builds, by setting up an owned venture arm that takes startup equity in exchange for the firm's product development work, then (2025) an AI Labs group.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Todd Marks, founder and CEO of Mindgrub Technologies, is a two-time EY Entrepreneur of the Year nominee and Baltimore magazine 40 under 40 honoree. Since 2002, he has led Mindgrub, an Inc. 5000 digital agency” source
- What they did 2021 “In addition to financial capital, investment expertise, and strategic support, Mindgrub Ventures portfolio companies can exchange equity for product development services from Mindgrub Technologies.” source
- What they did 2021 “Baltimore-based tech agency Mindgrub is launching a venture capital arm that partners with early-stage tech startups. Mindgrub Ventures provides investment to startups working in areas such as augmented reality, service technologies and app-enhanced services.” source
- What they said 2021 “Mindgrub Ventures works with and invests in SaaS companies in disruptive markets that are driving the convergence of man and machine: the singularity point from which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate, not a Northeast founder-owned IT services firm; not in the MSP 501 regional rows.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is in Brazil; outside the route's geography and sector.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker in California; not an IT services firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; not on the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California; not an IT services firm.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; outside the route.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and a vendor, not a founder-owned service firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a New York food manufacturer, not an IT services or managed services firm; not on the MSP 501.
Route 145: Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of partner-owned CPA and advisory firms based in the Midwest and Plains (INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Rosters of firms (AT Best Firms for Technology, IPA Best of the Best) carry no change stories. Rosters of leaders do: the Accounting Today MP Elite pages profile managing partners with a dated paragraph on what they changed, and two Midwest rows (Anders, Barnes Dennig) passed size, ownership and control once trade mirrors (IPA, CPA Practice Advisor) and a firm release supplied the second page and headcount. The KSM name came from the Indianapolis Business Journal.
Sources: INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through Accounting Today MP Elite lists (2022, 2023, 2024) gives Midwest managing partner with a firm paragraph naming changes (joined on leader name plus firm name)
- region through Accounting Today Best Firms for Technology 2025 and 2026; IPA Best of the Best 2025 gives Midwest partner-owned CPA firm (joined on firm name plus HQ city)
- firm through regional business journal (ibj.com, insideindianabusiness.com) and firm newsroom gives dated change (new practice, owned arm, AI) (joined on firm name)
- change through INSIDE Public Accounting, CPA Practice Advisor, Pulse 2.0 mirror of the firm release gives controlling leader and own-words quote (joined on firm name plus release date)
- leader through IBJ headcount line and trade story on ownership (ESOP) gives size, ownership and control check (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Tim Cook, Katz, Sapper & Miller (KSM), Indianapolis; ESOP-owned accounting and advisory firm, about 790 employees ceo, United States
Turning an employee-owned CPA firm into a full advisory platform by building new owned practices (IT and AI consulting in 2025, investment banking in 2026) inside the firm.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““We are thrilled to have Charter Capital Partners join forces with KSM,” KSM CEO and President Tim Cook said in a statement on Jan. 20.” source
- What they did 2026 “As part of the transition, Charter’s Mike Brown and Mark Streekstra have joined KSM as partners and managing directors and will lead a 13-member team operating under the name KSM Corporate Finance.” source
- What they did 2025 “The firm announced this week that it has launched an IT consulting practice led by David Eckel, a long-time local IT executive who joined KSM in November.” source
- What they said 2026 “As our clients face increasingly complex decisions, they expect advisors who can see the full picture. Expanding into investment banking strengthens our ability to serve as a long-term strategic partner.” source
- Robert Minkler Jr., Anders CPAs + Advisors (Anders Minkler Huber & Helm LLP), St. Louis; partner-owned, single-metro, about 415 staff ceo, United States
Turning a single-office St. Louis CPA partnership into an advisory and technology firm by adding owned service lines (analytics, talent, outsourced CFO, then AI and automation) and pushing staff to adopt new tools.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Anders ended 2023 with 415 partners and staff members, with approximately $78.5 million in revenue.” source
- What they did 2020 “constantly refining their tech stack to support the long roster of new advisory offerings the 335-person firm has rolled out since 2020, including business analytics, talent, and outsourced accounting and CFO services.” source
- What they did 2024 “has announced the expansion of the firm’s technology services practice, Anders Technology. In response to increased demand for comprehensive technology solutions and co-managed services, Anders Technology has broadened its service offerings to include advanced capabilities in several areas, including: Artificial intell” source
- What they said 2026 “I consider myself a technologist at heart, I recognize that the technological landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace. Rather than viewing these changes with apprehension, we actively encourage our staff to embrace curiosity about new technologies and provide them with the resources and time to explore innovatio” source
- Jay Rammes, Barnes Dennig, Cincinnati; director-owned CPA and advisory firm, about 215 employees after the Greenwalt combination (Jan 2025) ceo, United States
Rebuilding a regional CPA firm around centralized strategy and a wider owned service menu, including its own RIA so wealth management moves in-house.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The combined firm will have about 215 employees and five offices in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. All locations will maintain their current offices and employees, Shareholders of Greenwalt CPAs will become Barnes Dennig directors. Rammes will be the managing director of the combined firm” source
- What they did 2024 “which helps explain the many new service lines it has launched recently, in areas ranging from HR and technology services, to CAAS, SOC reporting and transaction advisory services, as well as the RIA it's in the process of establishing so it can bring wealth management in-house.” source
- What they said 2024 “Combined expertise in fractional accounting and advisory services, strategic business planning, wealth management, SOC reporting, sales tax compliance, and many other practice areas will help drive our client businesses and non-profits forward” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy; outside a US CPA and advisory firm roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; not a partner-owned service firm, absent from Midwest CPA trade press.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya US founder-owner but of a food maker, not a service firm; CPA rosters cannot surface him.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software CEO; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard US owner but of an apparel maker, not a CPA or advisory firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian owner; route is US Midwest only.
- Missed Satya Nadella US public company CEO above 5,000 staff; outside the roster by design.
Route 146: Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers based in the West and Mountain states (state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. West and Mountain law firms of 50 to 600 lawyers are already harvested: the regional firms that announced a leader-voiced change in 2023-2026 (Holland & Hart, Fennemore, Davis Wright Tremaine, Gunderson Dettmer, Manatt, Phillips Law Group) are in output/candidates.json from S-139, S-111 and earlier routes. On this attempt 25 web searches and 19 logged fetches (10 firm newsrooms, vendor customer indexes, regional legal press) returned no new firm leader with a dated change in their own words. Newsrooms at Stoel Rives, Brownstein, Buchalter, Kirton McConkie, Parsons Behle and Ray Quinney carry rankings, hires and client alerts only; Snell & Wilmer, Schwabe, Miller Nash and Wheeler Trigg newsroom URLs are 404; the one real change found (Hanson Bridgett firmwide Claude, June 2026) is voiced by the COO and CFO, not the managing partner, so it fails the control-voice test. LawSites, ABA Journal and Law.com gave no regional names, as in S-40, S-64, S-72 and S-132.
Sources: state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through regional legal press and firm newsrooms (lawweekcolorado.com, utahbusiness.com, firm /news pages) gives law firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through firm newsroom and trade press (artificiallawyer.com, harvey.ai, legora.com customer pages) gives dated change (joined on firm name + mechanism noun (AI, subsidiary, platform))
- dated change through release or article quote gives firm leader (joined on managing partner or chair name)
- firm leader through firm leadership release gives control and headcount (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer based in New York, not a West or Mountain law firm; outside the roster by construction.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and energy group; not a US law firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate; not a US law firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company, not a privately owned West or Mountain law firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; not a US law firm.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California; the route reads only law firms.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel company, not a law firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software company; not a US law firm.
Route 147: Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Works only in a narrow form and short of the name target. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic behavioral health and therapy providers that trade press covers are PE or VC backed (PAX Health, AdvocateMH, Thriveworks), and many fit-sized physician groups fail control: Allied Physicians Group took Ascend Capital equity (Jan 2023), OrthoNY recapitalized with Zenyth into Evolve, Westmed went to Summit Health (2022). Groups still physician-owned (Advocare, Rothman, Starling, Connecticut Orthopaedics, ENT and Allergy Associates) show acquisitions and hired-CEO appointments, not dated changes in the leader's own words, and Becker's is 403 to fetch.mjs. The one name came from a regional business journal honoree profile: SoNE Health's 2024 exit from Trinity Health to become 100% doctor-owned, confirmed on Trinity's own FAQ. 1 name of the target.
Sources: Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region plus segment through WebSearch over Becker's, Medical Economics, BHB and regional business journals gives independent physician group, IPA/CIN or behavioral health provider in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic (joined on group name plus 'physician-owned' or 'independent')
- group through PE and sale check (WebSearch: '<group> private equity OR recapitalization OR acquired') gives groups still physician-, family- or employee-owned (joined on group name)
- group through regional business journal honoree profile (hartfordbusiness.com/honoree/<slug>/) gives leader, headcount, dated change and own words (joined on leader name)
- change through counterparty page (trinityhealthofne.org/cin/general) gives second page confirming the change and its date (joined on network name)
New names that passed every check
- Lisa Trumble, SoNE Health (Southern New England Healthcare Organization; Connecticut; physician-owned clinically integrated network for about 650 providers, 102 employees per Hartford Business Journal, June 2026) ceo, United States
Turned a hospital-affiliated physician network into an independent, fully doctor-owned value-based care organization that contracts directly with employers.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Today, Trumble is president and CEO of SoNE Health, a physician-owned network that coordinates care and negotiates value-based contracts for about 650 providers in Connecticut and Massachusetts” source
- What they did 2024 “One of her boldest moves was leading a decision to end SoNE’s affiliation with Trinity Health Of New England in 2024 to become an independent, 100% doctor-owned healthcare group.” source
- What they did 2024 “Ultimately, independent providers of the board made the recommendation for SoNE HEALTH to evolve into an independent provider network. As a result, the decision was made for TH Of NE and its hospitals and employed providers to exit SoNE HEALTH.” source
- What they said 2026 “I would shift payment from volume to outcomes that improve health, expand access and avoid unnecessary care.” source
- What they did 2026 “Trumble has also overseen partnerships including direct-to-employer contracts, a Medicaid accountable care organization collaboration and vendor relationships focused on at-risk populations.” source
- Paul Carlan, Valley Medical Group (Florence, Massachusetts; independent multispecialty practice, about 400 staff and 90 providers, clinician-owned) ceo, United States
Kept a 400-person primary care group out of hospital ownership by moving it into a physician-owned IPA and into Medicare and commercial risk contracts, paid for with layoffs.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In January, the practice laid off 40 employees — 10% of its 400-person staff — mostly in support positions. Despite patient demand — there are waiting lists to be seen — primary care providers take on more clinical responsibilities, and for less pay, than most medical specialists, said the group’s CEO, primary care phy” source
- What they did 2026 “That lag is one reason Valley Medical Group had to lay off staff after joining the Arches IPA, said CEO Carlan” source
- What they did 2025 “This collaboration facilitates Valley Medical's direct participation in commercial and Medicare risk contracts, which can be challenging for independent groups to access alone” source
- What they said 2026 “Joining a health system takes away the autonomy doctors need to make the best clinical decisions for their patients, Carlan said” source
- Chris Kryder, Arches Medical Partners and Arches Massachusetts IPA (Boston; physician-led primary care group and physician-owned IPA, 50 employed primary care physicians across 11 Rhode Island sites in 2024; no hospital, corporate or private-equity financing) owner, United States
Co-founded and runs a physician-owned primary care group and IPA that buys and joins independent practices and moves them into global risk contracts run on its own software, instead of hospital or private-equity ownership.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Kryder, along with partners Todd Stockard, Manoj Mathew M.D., and Carlos Rivera, formed Arches Medical Partners in 2023.” source
- What they did 2024 “A Boston-based medical group management company formed in 2023 has acquired the primary care practices in Rhode Island previously owned by VillageMD. Arches Medical Partners now employs 50 primary care physicians and operates eight office locations and three urgent care centers in Rhode Island.” source
- What they did 2025 “Arches is the only fully physician-owned and physician-led ACO model in Massachusetts positioned to operate across both commercial and government risk programs.” source
- What they said 2025 “Access has declined and services have become increasingly unaffordable. This needs fixing, now,” source
- What they said 2026 “If we keep people out of the ER, keep them out of unnecessary hospitalizations, we save money for the system and we create more income for the PCPs, which is dreadfully needed.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest does not lead an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, so the route's roster (trad
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie does not lead an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, so the route's roster (trade p
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella does not lead an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, so the route's roster (trade
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler does not lead an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, so the route's roster (trad
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan does not lead an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, so the route's roster (trad
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani does not lead an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, so the route's roster (trade
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke does not lead an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, so the route's roster (trade pr
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya does not lead an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, so the route's roster (trade
Route 148: Owner-led service firms: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the South and Southeast (Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Route works but thin: two Southern owner-led aging-services leaders pass (Kaushal, Farrow) from 30-odd receipts. Most Southern home care and hospice firms in the trade press fail control (Pinnacle to HCS-Girling, Agape is Ridgemont-backed), are nonprofits, are too big (PruittHealth, 13,000 staff) or have no leader-voiced change (Cavalier, 12 Oaks). Attempt 2 added Jesse Marinko (Phoenix Senior Living) via the operator newsroom.
Sources: Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region + sector through SHN, HHCN and Hospice News domain-limited WebSearch (Changemakers, operator profiles, staffing and AI features) gives Southern operator (joined on firm name + HQ city in story text)
- operator through trade story body (fetch.mjs --text) gives controlling leader (joined on founder / co-founder / CEO title line)
- leader through leader interview or Changemakers Q&A gives dated change in own words (joined on leader name)
- change through second outlet (vendor release, earlier trade story, local paper) gives confirming page (joined on leader name + firm name)
- firm through trade story or firm page gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Kunu Kaushal, Senior Solutions (Senior Solutions at Home, Brentwood, Tennessee; family-owned non-medical home care agency founded by Kaushal in 2010; all 95 Tennessee counties plus metro Atlanta; 1,000+ employees in 2019) owner, United States
Turning a family-owned sitter-style home care agency into a data-driven care provider: AI care monitoring placed in 500 Medicaid client homes as the standard of care, funded by a Tennessee Medicaid innovation award.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “according to CEO Kunu Kaushal, who founded his personal care company in 2010.” source
- What they did 2026 “Kunu Kaushal, a leading care operator serving 500+ seniors, was selected as one of 25 winners from over 150 applicants for the state of Tennessee's $10M Medicaid innovation fund with Sensi at the center of his proposal. The pilot will deploy more than 500 Sensi units.” source
- What they said 2026 “The biggest gap honestly is you don't know what's happening when you're not there, which impacts the quality of care. We finally have a tool that not only fills this gap but is our standard of care” source
- What they said 2026 “Finally, Kaushal asserts that agencies must transition from being perceived as mere "sitter services" to being recognized as legitimate healthcare providers.” source
- What they said 2019 “That is one of the things we did early on: When we were too small, we got a payroll system that was too big.” source
- Franklin Farrow, Morning Pointe Senior Living (Chattanooga, Tennessee; family owned and operated developer, owner and operator of 40+ assisted living and memory care communities in five Southeastern states; almost 2,000 employees in 2023; co-founded 1996 by Farrow and Greg Vital) owner, United States
Moving control of the schedule from the director of nursing to the frontline care team itself: teams self-regulate scheduling, call-offs and PTO and earn above-market bonuses for filling target hours.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Franklin Farrow is CEO and co-founder of Morning Pointe Senior Living.” source
- What they did 2023 “We’ve turned over the scheduling,call-offs, and the PTO engagement to them to self-regulate.” source
- What they said 2024 “It’s putting the ownership of the schedule and fulfilling the hours of service back on those who can best control that, not a DON, not a business office manager who’s managing a schedule.” source
- What they did 2023 “But that provided a learning opportunity which resulted in the development of new training programs for staff and the creation of an in-house “university” where workers can hone their skills.” source
- What they said 2024 “Yes, I think in the last decade, I have predominantly seen myself as a changemaker in our company.” source
- Jesse Marinko, Phoenix Senior Living (Roswell, Georgia; privately held operator of 55 assisted living and memory care communities in 10 Southeastern and Southern states; 2,812 associates at end of 2025; founded by Marinko in 2014) owner, United States
Rebuilding how a fast-growing Southern senior living operator runs: each community run like a small business under an entrepreneurial support model, with AI fall detection in clinical care and an AI concierge as the first contact for families.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Jesse Marinko, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Phoenix Senior Living.” source
- What they did 2026 “A radar-based platform passively monitors changes in movement, gait, mobility and routine without cameras or wearables inside a resident’s apartment, helping care teams identify elevated fall risk and intervene earlier.” source
- What they did 2026 “Beginning today, the AI Concierge – often the first warm welcome prospective residents and families experience when reaching out to Phoenix Senior Living – will carry her name: Teri.” source
- What they said 2024 “As its footprint grows, Phoenix is pursuing what Marinko calls an “entrepreneurial support model.” The goal is to empower every community to operate like a small business.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian owner of Semco; not a US home care, senior living or hospice operator, so absent from the Southern operator roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box CEO, a public software company; outside the aging-services roster this route starts from.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chairman; not a Southern US aging-services operator.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy figure; not a Southern US aging-services operator.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft CEO; public software company, absent from senior care trade press rosters.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify CEO, Canada; outside the route roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani founder; food manufacturer, not a care operator, so absent from SHN, HHCN and Hospice News rosters.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia founder; apparel, not a care operator, absent from the roster.
Route 149: Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the Midwest and Plains (Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through Insurance Journal Top 100 P/C Agencies 2025 (Office field) plus WebSearch for Plains brokers missing from it gives firm (joined on firm name and HQ state)
- firm through firm newsroom and WebSearch for ownership and PE status gives firm passing size and ownership (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom, coverager.com, regional business press gives dated change and controlling leader (joined on firm name plus CEO title)
- leader through second, different site (regional press or trade press) gives confirmation of the change in the leader's words (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Dan Keough, Holmes Murphy (Waukee, Iowa; employee-owned, privately held insurance broker, 1,400+ employees) ceo, United States
Holmes Murphy's chairman and CEO built a broker-owned accelerator and investor group so brokers find, test and adopt their own technology instead of waiting for carriers and vendors.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “carry on our tradition of being fiercely independent and employee-owned.” Using that same fiercely independent mindset, Holmes Murphy is also elevating and amplifying its commitment to independence and what this freedom affords the company to do — not only for its more than 1,400 employees” source
- What they did 2019 ““There is an ongoing need for technology solutions specific to agents and brokers, and we’re proud to be at the forefront of this cutting-edge initiative,” said Dan Keough, Holmes Murphy chairman and CEO .” source
- What they said 2022 “However, until BTV was formed, there wasn’t an effort to bring together brokers, innovators, investors, and the industry to find, vet, and bring to market products and solutions specific to clients’ needs.” source
- What they said 2021 “Keough recalled the precise day that he and other Holmes Murphy leaders decided they would launch the accelerator program — May 17, 2019.” source
- JD Powers, Powers Insurance & Risk Management (St. Louis, Missouri; family-owned independent agency, 74 staff with its sister agency in 2023) owner, United States
A family agency CEO moved the firm from placing policies to consultative risk management, handing off benefits, renaming the firm and building a licensed-intern pipeline because AI absorbs the routine work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As CEO, J.D. Powers credits the company’s growth to its rigorous hiring process of finding people who are interested in building a long career at the agency. Since 2008, Powers and its sister company, Valley Insurance Agency Alliance, have grown from nine employees to 74.” source
- What they did 2017 “About three years ago, the family owned, independent insurance agency began using what it calls a consultative risk management approach with its business and individual clients, according to the company’s president, J.D. Powers.” source
- What they said 2026 “"The placement of insurance policies is the easiest part of what we do," he said. "The real work is helping clients implement best practices and communicate their risk profile effectively to underwriters."” source
- What they did 2019 “POWERS Insurance and Risk Management, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, has launched an emerging risks division. This new sector will focus on insurance risk strategies that are aligned with cyber, technology, cannabis and green energy, the company said.” source
- Jim Kapnick, Kapnick Insurance Group (Adrian, Michigan; third-generation family-owned, privately held broker, 220+ colleagues) owner, United States
The third-generation owner of a family broker deliberately rebuilt the agency from a P/C shop into a holistic benefits and well-being adviser, adding an in-house corporate wellness arm that manages clients' healthcare costs.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Kapnick Insurance Group, now under third generation ownership by brothers Jim and Mike Kapnick, adopted the tagline Strength.Knowledge.Direction in 2013. This tagline is the backbone of our organization. We’re strong: family owned, Michigan grown, privately held, with over 170 employees.” source
- What they did 2013 ““We used to be heavily on the P/C side but purposely, over the last seven years, we wanted to get our benefits equal to our P/C and we are pretty much there,” Kapnick says.” source
- What they said 2013 ““We wanted to have a good balance and have a holistic approach for our clients.” Balance appears to be a common theme throughout the Kapnick organization.” source
- What they did 2026 “Kapnick Strive is a multifaceted, customizable, corporate wellness program designed to help companies manage healthcare costs, drive engagement, and enhance employee well-being.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and energy billionaire; not a US insurance agency or broker, so the roster never reaches him.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public technology company, not a privately held insurance broker.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial firm; outside the US broker rosters.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not on any agency ranking.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian conglomerate; outside the route.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not an insurance agency.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; outside the route.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the route.
Route 150: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms based in the West and Mountain states (ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through WebSearch change-first queries (employee-owned or family-owned contractor or engineering firm + launches innovation company, venture arm, prefab or equipment arm, AI + Western and Mountain states), plus the Oregon Business 2025 AE&D Power List as a roster gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through trade press (Construction Dive, Business View Magazine, Walls & Ceilings) and the firm newsroom gives dated change (joined on firm name)
- dated change through same article, the leader's quoted lines gives controlling leader (joined on leader name and title)
- dated change through firm newsroom or wire release on a later step of the same arm gives confirming page (joined on firm name plus arm name)
- leader through wire release on leadership, Wikipedia infobox, trade profile gives headcount, ownership and control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Brad Jeanneret, Hensel Phelps Construction Co. (Greeley, Colorado; employee-owned general contractor, about 5,000 staff in 2025) ceo, United States
As the executive who launched it and now CEO of an employee-owned contractor, he built Diverge, an owned company that pilots and invests in construction technology startups on the firm's own jobsites.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Brad Jeanneret, previously President and Chief Operating Officer, has assumed the role of President and Chief Executive Officer, overseeing the company's day-to-day operations.” source
- What they did 2023 “a new investment company that works directly with technology startups to mold industry-changing innovation.” source
- What they said 2023 “Diverge will add structure to our innovation efforts to enhance our communication across the organization” source
- What they did 2025 “opened the Diverge Innovation Center in Phoenix on September 24, 2025, marking a new chapter in advancing construction technology and cross-industry collaboration.” source
- James Barlow, BZI (Building Zone Industries, Kanarraville and Cedar City, Utah; steel erection, fabrication and wall contractor founded in 2006 by farm-family brothers and cousins; 800+ workers; ownership split not published, no outside investor named) ceo, United States
He runs a family-founded steel contractor that moved work from the air to the ground through panelized assembly and built an owned equipment arm, InnovaTech, to engineer its own tools for faster, safer erection.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “explains James Barlow, who has been the company's CEO since 2016.” source
- What they did 2023 “InnovaTech, LLC specializes in designing, engineering, and manufacturing innovative construction equipment and processes to enhance efficiency and safety on the job.” source
- What they said 2024 “rethinking steel is a commitment to always analyzing what we're doing and determining if there's an innovative solution that can make it even better.” source
- What they did 2025 “Innovatech designed Beam Champ to facilitate faster and safer beam loading and access for welding teams.” source
- Ron Klemencic, Magnusson Klemencic Associates (Seattle; private structural and civil engineering firm, about 200 staff; chairman and CEO; ownership split not published) ceo, United States
As chairman and CEO of a private structural engineering firm, he puts firm money into a foundation for shared, non-proprietary research and turns it into new design methods (performance-based seismic and wind design, SpeedCore) that change how his engineers design.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Purdue University has announced it will award MKA Chairman and CEO Ron Klemencic an honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the College of Engineering during its spring commencement ceremony on May 16, 2025.” source
- What they did 2023 “Klemencic championed the establishment of the MKA Foundation built upon the premise that “leadership in structural and civil engineering includes an obligation to engage and invest in non-proprietary research that is thoughtfully advancing our profession.”” source
- What they did 2018 “Current Chairman and CEO Ron Klemencic received the 2018 ENR Award of Excellence for "daring to innovate, for spearheading the age of cooperative R&D and for his relentless pursuit of a better and more constructible built environment."” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharmaceutical maker, not a West or Mountain owner-led AEC services firm; the roster never reaches him.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not an engineering, architecture or construction services firm; the roster never reaches Ulukaya.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker owned by a trust, not an AEC services firm; out of the route's sector.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not an owner-led AEC services firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian public conglomerate; out of the route's country, sector and ownership screen.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company of more than 5,000 staff; fails sector, size and ownership.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software company; fails country, sector and ownership.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian manufacturer and services group; outside the US West and Mountain AEC roster.
Route 151: Owner-led service firms: privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Attempt 3 of 3. 2 names that fit (Sean Cogdell, The Panther Group, OpenWorX AI hiring platform 2025; Kip Hollister, The Hollister Group, staffed Cultures division by 2021), short of the 3 required. The roster step works (Built In city rosters), but in this region the control and dating tests remove most firms. Attempt 3 leads that failed: Artech (founder control clear, but no dated change on any fetchable page; newsroom empty, ASA cover story members-only, SIA 403), Mitchell Martin (Talent Tech Labs is a separate venture), Diversified Search Group (hired CEO plus RLJ Equity Partners stake). Wayback CDX captures were the only way to date a small firm's new service line.
Sources: Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region + segment through Built In city staffing rosters (Philadelphia, Boston) and WebSearch over SIA and ClearlyRated headlines gives Northeast or Mid-Atlantic staffing firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through GlobeNewswire mirrors on markets.financialcontent.com, staffinghub.com reprints, newswire.com, regional business journals gives ownership screen (PE sponsor, hired CEO, ESOP) and dated change (joined on firm name)
- change through leader interview or release (Boston Fed advisory council interview) gives leader who controls the firm, in their own words (joined on person name + firm)
- leader through second page at a different URL (staffinghub reprint of a firm release) gives second confirmation of a service change (joined on person name)
- firm through Boston Fed director bio, firm home page gives role and control (chairman and CEO), locations (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Sean Cogdell, The Panther Group (Panther Global Holdings; Maynard, Massachusetts; staffing, recruiting and workforce solutions firm founded 1992, certified minority-owned) ceo, United States
The chairman and CEO of a Massachusetts staffing firm had it build its own generative AI hiring platform, OpenWorX, to match candidates on skills and trajectory rather than job titles.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Sean Cogdell is the Chairman and CEO of Panther Global Holdings, a staffing and recruiting firm.” source
- What they did 2025 “Panther has developed a generative AI hiring platform, OpenWorX, to help both employers and jobseekers realize these benefits.” source
- What they said 2023 “with practice strengths that are highly complementary and that will enable us to provide a new and broader set of services to our clients,” source
- Kip Hollister, The Hollister Group (formerly Hollister Staffing; Boston, Massachusetts; women-owned staffing and culture consultancy founded 1988) owner, United States
The founder and owner of a Boston staffing firm added a staffed Cultures division that sells leadership and culture programs next to placement, so the firm now works on why hires leave as well as on filling roles.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Leadership Team Kip Hollister Owner & Founder Phoebe Goldsberry Chief Executive Officer Allyson McCabe President” source
- What they did 2021 “Cultures Team Kip Hollister Founder, Retreat Leader & Speaker - Cultures Karla Driskill Vice President - Cultures Tracey Lukes Vice President - Cultures” source
- What they said 2026 “Our Cultures division helps organizations with people-centric leaders at the helm to develop effective teams, maximize individual contribution, and transform their work culture to allow for sustainable creativity and impact.” source
- What they said 2015 “When Hollister founded Hollister Staffing in 1988, her goal was to eliminate the transactional nature of the staffing industry and build her business one relationship at a time.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic staffing or workforce services firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian mining company; outside the route's US staffing roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is in Brazil and is not a staffing firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel firm in California; not staffing and not in the region.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; outside the roster.
Route 152: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies based in the South and Southeast (Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Attempt 1 found one verified name (Jeff Hahn, Hahn, Austin). The Southern roster is short: O'Dwyer's Southeast ranking has seven firms at 50+ staff and two (Alloy, Finn Partners) are already covered or national; Texas has one (Hahn). Adweek's 2026 Fastest Growing list adds two Dallas firms at 51-100. Founder-owned Southern agencies that publish AI moves mostly voice them through a VP or the firm (Zehnder, Trevelino/Keller DiscoverAI), or the dated move is an acquisition (Tombras buying Opinionated, January 2026), which does not count as a redesign. Revision: widen the roster beyond PR rankings to the 4A's and AMIN member lists for TX, GA, FL, NC, TN, AL, LA, and the Ad Age Southeast and Southwest Agency of the Year lists. Attempt 2 widened the roster (O'Dwyer's Florida and Miami, Adweek Dallas rows, Miami AI-first shops) and found no second name: Supreme Group is a Trinity Hunt platform, Zimmerman is Omnicom, Mod Op and Avenue Z were built by acquisition with outside capital, Tombras's AI work is voiced by its CDO and CTO under a hired CEO, and Archer, Wray Ward and MP&F are run by hired or rotating leaders. Attempt 3 added Jeffrey Herzog (Avenue Z, Miami): the firm's own August 2026 notice confirms he bought out the investment partner in 2025 and is sole owner, which settles the ownership question attempt 2 left open, and his February 2026 essay and the firm's record give the AI-first operating model. Thrive (Arlington, TX; AI voiced by its president, investor partner), Luquire (ownership extended to partners, no AI move), Moore (AI voiced by President and COO), rbb (no dated change), Designsensory (co-CEOs, small), Peak Seven (25 staff) and ROI Revolution (no dated change or own-words quote on the firm site) did not count. Final: 2 counted names, short of 3.
Sources: Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through O'Dwyer's 2025 Southeast and Texas PR rankings; Adweek 2026 Fastest Growing Agencies (Region U.S. - Southeast and Southwest rows) gives agency (joined on firm name, city, FT employees or Employees band)
- agency through O'Dwyer's independents ranking (independence screen), AgencyCompile profile, AMIN spotlight gives ownership and leader (joined on firm name)
- agency through WebSearch '<firm> <founder> AI' then wire release mirror (martechcube.com) or firm newsroom gives dated change voiced by the leader (joined on firm name + leader name)
- change through second trade page (mrweb.com DRNO, O'Dwyer's story) gives confirmation, headcount and earliest move (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Jeff Hahn, Hahn (Hahn Public Communications), Austin, Texas; founder-led marketing and communications agency, 50 FT staff in O'Dwyer's 2025 independents ranking owner, United States
Is turning an Austin PR and marketing agency into a measurement-led one by buying a data science firm (2021) and rebuilding its services around AI and its own patented earned-media measurement platform (2025).Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Hahn, a nationally recognized marketing and communications agency headquartered in Austin, proudly announces that its founder and CEO, Jeff” source
- What they did 2021 “In the US, marcoms agency Hahn Public has acquired data science and analytics firm Statistical Vision, for an undisclosed sum. The latter company has now been renamed Hahn Stats.” source
- What they said 2025 “engineered these services to meet the moment by injecting AI into our business for producing even better work products for our clients without losing our clients’ and their customers’ trust” source
- Jeffrey Herzog, Avenue Z, Miami, Florida; founder-led, privately held marketing, PR and AI search optimization agency, about 100 staff (2023), sole owner since 2025 owner, United States
Is rebuilding a PR and performance agency around an AI-first operating model (human strategy plus AI agents plus first-party data) and its own AI Visibility Index, after buying out the investor to own the firm outright.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Avenue Z today confirms that founder and CEO Jeffrey Herzog completed the acquisition of the company’s remaining ownership interest in 2025. Herzog now holds ownership of Avenue Z, which operates as a privately held, founder-led marketing, public relations, AI search optimization, and eCommerce agency.” source
- What they did 2026 “Evolved Avenue Z from a traditional agency into a cross-channel performance marketing company, integrating AI across content, PR, and media to deliver faster, measurable outcomes for clients.” source
- What they said 2026 “But beneath the surface, the operating model stayed largely the same: human teams, fragmented tools, rented data, and linear execution. That model no longer matches the moment we’re in.” source
- What they did 2023 “2023 Avenue Z was founded to address the convergence of marketing, AI technology (ChatGPT launched public access in November 2022), PR, and eCommerce.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Route starts from O'Dwyer's Southeast and Texas rankings and Adweek Fastest Growing Southeast/Southwest rows; this person leads no Southern founder-owned market
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Route starts from O'Dwyer's Southeast and Texas rankings and Adweek Fastest Growing Southeast/Southwest rows; this person leads no Southern founder-owned market
- Missed Aaron Levie Route starts from O'Dwyer's Southeast and Texas rankings and Adweek Fastest Growing Southeast/Southwest rows; this person leads no Southern founder-owned market
- Missed Andrew Forrest Route starts from O'Dwyer's Southeast and Texas rankings and Adweek Fastest Growing Southeast/Southwest rows; this person leads no Southern founder-owned market
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Route starts from O'Dwyer's Southeast and Texas rankings and Adweek Fastest Growing Southeast/Southwest rows; this person leads no Southern founder-owned market
- Missed Tobi Lutke Route starts from O'Dwyer's Southeast and Texas rankings and Adweek Fastest Growing Southeast/Southwest rows; this person leads no Southern founder-owned market
- Missed Ricardo Semler Route starts from O'Dwyer's Southeast and Texas rankings and Adweek Fastest Growing Southeast/Southwest rows; this person leads no Southern founder-owned market
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Route starts from O'Dwyer's Southeast and Texas rankings and Adweek Fastest Growing Southeast/Southwest rows; this person leads no Southern founder-owned market
Route 153: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms based in the Midwest and Plains (Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Midwest and Plains founder-owned consulting and research firms in the 50 to 5,000 band mostly fail before the change question: Daugherty sold to CGI (Dec 2024), Concord is an H.I.G. Capital portfolio company, Burke's CEO is new in post (Sept 2025), and Barr, Bolton & Menk, Shive-Hattery, DLR Group and SPR show no leader-voiced dated change. The first two names came from partner-owned Kansas City law firms, not consultancies: Husch Blackwell's chief executive voices a firmwide Transformation Office (March 2026) on the firm newsroom, and Polsinelli's chairman explains the firm's AI build in a Bloomberg Law podcast transcript while the Fortress AI rollout is mirrored on biontx.org. Three names in about 26 fetches over two attempts (the third, Tucker Ellis managing partner James Mizgala in Cleveland, from the firm's own news reposts of his Law360 and Crain's interviews); route works only after widening 'professional services' to law firms.
Sources: Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region plus service segment through WebSearch for Midwest and Plains founder-, employee- and partner-owned consulting, research, AEC and law firms with a named change (Transformation Office, firmwide AI platform, consulting subsidiary) gives firm (joined on firm name plus HQ city)
- firm through firm newsroom (huschblackwell.com/inthenews) or a mirror of a 403 newsroom (biontx.org GrowthZone member news for polsinelli.com) gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name)
- change through leader interview on a second site (Bloomberg Law On The Merits transcript, The American Lawyer summary on the firm newsroom) gives leader in their own words (joined on leader name plus firm)
- leader through firm leadership release gives role, headcount and control (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Jamie Lawless, Husch Blackwell LLP (Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri; national law firm partnership, nearly 2,000 partners, attorneys and business professionals; owns Husch Blackwell Consulting) ceo, United States
Redesigning a law firm's operating model around a firmwide Transformation Office that joins innovation, data science and AI under one leader.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As chief executive, Lawless will direct and oversee the overall performance, profitability, and finances of the firm, leading nearly 2,000 partners, attorneys, and business professionals.” source
- What they did 2026 “As our firm continues to grow, we must ensure our operating model scales with us so we can achieve those goals. The Transformation Office is designed to help us do that,” source
- What they said 2026 “pointed to multiple 'tectonic' changes across industries that Husch Blackwell is accounting for, including AI and tech advances, geopolitical and economic uncertainty, and changing expectations in the workforce.” source
- Chase Simmons, Polsinelli PC (Kansas City, Missouri; shareholder-owned law firm, more than 1,200 attorneys) ceo, United States
Rebuilding how a fast-growing law firm delivers routine client work by embedding AI into live matters and treating adoption as a business problem, not a tech one.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “the firm’s chairman, Chase Simmons, says a big reason for that is that it likes to take on routine matters for its clients and become what he calls their daily and weekly law firm.” source
- What they did 2026 “Polsinelli announced that it has expanded its implementation of Fortress AI by embedding the next‑generation platform throughout its transactional, regulatory, and litigation practices to enhance legal workflow automation and intelligence.” source
- What they said 2026 “we really came at it more as a business problem than a tech problem, and when we started doing that, that’s when we really started to see progress.” source
- James Mizgala, Tucker Ellis LLP (Cleveland, Ohio; partner-owned national law firm with 11 offices) ceo, United States
Changing how a Cleveland litigation-heavy law firm does its work by bringing a legal AI platform in across the firm, a project he ran before taking the managing partner seat.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “James will become the firm’s fourth-ever managing partner, succeeding Joe, who has served as managing partner for the past 16 years.” source
- What they did 2025 “We’re preparing to announce that we’ve taken the dive and are bringing in an AI platform; that’s one of the projects I’ve been working on since early this year.” source
- What they said 2025 “Since joining Tucker Ellis nearly 10 years ago, he has been instrumental in shaping the firm’s strategic growth, spearheading initiatives in artificial intelligence, information governance, and leadership development.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California, not a Midwest or Plains owner-led service firm; the route's roster never reaches it.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is in Brazil; the route is limited to US Midwest and Plains service firms.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not a service firm in the Midwest or Plains.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the region and the private-ownership screen.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the route's geography and size band.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel maker owned by a trust and nonprofit; not a Midwest service firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public company far above 5,000 staff; fails size and ownership.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss drug maker; outside the route's geography, size and ownership.
Route 154: Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held property management and real estate services firms based in the West and Mountain states (NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- segment and region (West and Mountain property management, brokerage, title) through trade press interviews and indexes (Real Estate News independents tag, RISMedia, Multifamily Dive, Multifamily Executive, MPA) gives firm and named leader (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm site about/team page or a profile story gives headcount, ownership, controlling leader (joined on firm name plus leader name)
- leader through a second trade or regional story (different URL) gives dated costly change and own words (joined on leader name plus firm)
- leader through earliest launch or deal story gives signal year (joined on firm name plus change)
New names that passed every check
- Patrick Stone, Williston Financial Group / WFG National Title (Lake Oswego, OR) owner, United States
Rebuilt the title insurance and settlement model around fewer people, less office overhead and in-house technology (the WEST tech subsidiary) to lower the cost of closing.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Prior to founding the company in 2010, WFG executive chairman Patrick Stone spent 15 of his 45 years in the industry at Fidelity National Financial” source
- What they did 2010 “In the six months since Stone's firm, Williston Financial Group, acquired the pieces that now make up WFG, it has become licensed in 33 states, with another 16 pending.” source
- What they did 2020 “Stone went a few steps further and helped form a separate entity, Williston Enterprise Solutions and Technology (WEST), where the company develops its own tech solutions.” source
- What they said 2020 “"I was watching what was happening and I thought there was an opportunity to create a different model in the title insurance business," he says, defining that model as one that could "operate with a lot less people, a lot less FF&E, and use technology to provide national coverage, but with a lower cost basis."” source
- What they said 2020 “In late 2009, he founded Williston Financial Group (WFG) with a goal of bringing together isolated elements of a real estate transaction to create efficiencies and improve costs.” source
- Matt Widdows, HomeSmart (Scottsdale, AZ) owner, United States
Runs a national brokerage as one centralized, flat-fee service operation out of Scottsdale on a homegrown integrated tech stack, now layering AI into compliance, auditing and marketing.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “the company he founded in 2000, HomeSmart, is increasingly hard to ignore. With roughly 25,000 agents across brokerage and franchise operations” source
- What they did 2025 “Every transaction and customer support request flows through its Scottsdale, Arizona, headquarters, regardless of geography. While agents still receive local support in major markets, the core systems and staffing are centralized.” source
- What they said 2025 “Widdows sees generative and predictive AI as the next layer of transformation, and HomeSmart is already using it to generate marketing content, automate compliance reviews and audit transaction data.” source
- What they did 2025 “Hitting the ground running after a year that brought an ambitious brand overhaul, several prominent strides in new tech launches” source
- What they said 2026 “HomeSmart remains privately owned to this day, a rarity among real estate giants.” source
- Tom Brenneke, Guardian Real Estate Services (Portland, OR) owner, United States
Turned a third-generation fee manager into a vertically integrated management, brokerage, development and investment firm, and in 2024 built a full-service management, asset management and development model for a nonprofit owner.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “This transaction represents a pivotal moment for Guardian as we advance our mission to preserve and expand quality affordable housing,” says Tom Brenneke, president of Guardian.” source
- What they did 2008 “We took a very large step when we went into brokerage, and we meant it,” says Guardian president Tom Brenneke of last July’s purchase of eight Sperry Van Ness offices and expansion rights to the multifamily brokerage firm across Southern California, Arizona, and Oregon.” source
- What they said 2009 “Brenneke describes the last decade as a long and challenging but ultimately successful quest to turn the fee manager into a vertically integrated firm.” source
- What they did 2024 “have partnered to create a new model for developing and managing the charity’s affordable housing portfolio.” source
- What they said 2026 “600+ team members in five states 225 communities under management” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian commerce software CEO; outside a US West real estate services roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and energy group; outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie US West, but cloud software, not a property management or real estate services firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard US West outdoor apparel maker; not a real estate services firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharmaceutical CEO; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella US West, but a public software company; not in the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; outside the roster.
Route 155: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Three attempts. The roster of employee-owned and family-owned Northeast and Mid-Atlantic RIAs gave one name (Kevin Grimes, owned tax arm); every other such firm failed on PE equity, size, prior discovery, or news that was only ownership or hires. Attempt 3 revised the roster to founder-owned, venture-backed flat-fee planning firms in the Mid-Atlantic (Facet in Baltimore, Range in McLean), whose leaders voice redesigns of the advice work itself (in-house tax filing, AI replacing the advisor layer). That revision added Anders Jones and Fahad Hassan; Range's size is a caveat (38 employees at the RIA).
Sources: employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through employee-owned RIA roster (WealthManagement.com and Family Wealth Report coverage of the Aspiriant Employee Ownership Summits) plus Hawkeye wealth archive and WebSearch on Northeast and Mid-Atlantic firm names gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through InvestmentNews, WealthManagement.com, firm newsroom gives dated change (owned arm, AI, service model) (joined on firm name)
- dated change through same story or release gives leader who controls the firm, own words (joined on person name)
- change through second outlet (pulse2.com release mirror) gives confirmation (joined on firm name plus event)
- firm through dated 2025-2026 story citing Form ADV and headcount gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Kevin Grimes, Grimes & Company, Westborough, Massachusetts; family-owned RIA, about $7 billion, 80 employees; Rise Growth Partners minority stake (2025), founder Tim Grimes chairman and sole voting shareholder ceo, United States
Second-generation CEO of a family-owned Massachusetts RIA bringing tax planning in-house by buying a CPA practice and adding a trust and estate build-out under a new COO, while keeping the family majority and refusing a sale.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Tim's son, Kevin Grimes, succeeded him as CEO while Tim remains listed as chairman of the board and sole voting shareholder according to the RIA's latest Form ADV filing.” source
- What they did 2026 “The acquisition adds approximately 800 tax clients and an experienced tax team to Grimes while bringing tax planning and advisory capabilities in-house alongside the firm’s existing financial planning and investment management services.” source
- What they said 2026 “"We're bringing in new clients every day, and we're just seeing a need for higher-end tax planning," Kevin Grimes told InvestmentNews. "There's a lot of additional complexity that we're seeing out there right now, things like equity compensation and lots of M&A, lots of business exits."” source
- Fahad Hassan, Range (Range Finance Inc. and its RIA Range Advisory LLC), McLean, Virginia; founder-led, venture-backed (Gradient, Cathay Innovation, Scale Venture Partners; no PE sponsor), flat-fee wealth management. Size caveat: the RIA files 38 employees on Form ADV; the parent's engineering and product staff are on top and not separately confirmed ceo, United States
Co-founder and CEO of a Virginia flat-fee RIA rebuilding advice delivery around its own AI agent (Rai) and planning to phase out its own human advisor base within one to three years.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Range, a Virginia-based registered investment advisor managing about $700 million in client assets, plans to eliminate much of its advisor workforce within one to three years as AI replaces their roles, according to CEO Fahad Hassan.” source
- What they did 2026 “Over time, let's say over the next one to three years, our plan is to eliminate our own advisor base” source
- What they said 2023 “We're able to deliver that same plan or better in a matter of days, and that's really because of the power of the technology we've built,” source
- Anders Jones, Facet (Facet Wealth), Baltimore, Maryland; flat-fee subscription financial planning firm, privately owned, 156 employees and 50 advisors; co-founder and CEO since 2016 (venture investors include Durable Capital, Warburg Pincus and Multiplier Capital as minority backers; no controlling sponsor reported) ceo, United States
Co-founder and CEO of a Baltimore planning firm that replaced the percentage-of-assets model with flat-fee memberships, moved from buying other advisors' small accounts to direct-to-consumer in 2019, and keeps folding tax filing, estate and AI automation into the planner's work.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The firm is based in Baltimore, MD and has zero offices, 156 employees, 50 financial advisors, & 14,535 clients. Facet Wealth (DBA Facet) is led by its Executive Chairman Patrick McKenna, CEO Anders Jones, & President Shruti Joshi.” source
- What they did 2025 “We already do tax planning and tax strategy, but then bringing in the actual filing in one seamless way is really the way to bring it all together,” source
- What they said 2026 “The future role of AI in financial advice Decreasing headcount & SaaS spend due to building AI automation tools” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chairman; not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic wealth firm, so the roster never reaches him.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian owner of Semco; outside the US wealth-firm roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public technology company, not an owner-led wealth firm.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining owner; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is apparel, not a wealth firm, and is West Coast.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is food manufacturing in New York, not a wealth management firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software company.
Route 156: Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms based in the South and Southeast (Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Attempt 1 checked about 20 privately held South and Southeast freight, 3PL and logistics firms from the Transport Topics 2025 Top 100 Logistics and Freight Brokerage lists plus per-firm searches (Axle, MegaCorp, Steam, Syfan, Trident, Cornerstone, Magellan, CargoBarn, Kenco, Saddle Creek, Dupre, Bennett, Southeastern Freight Lines, AJC, Lane One). None produced a controlling leader with a dated 2023-2026 change to how the work is done voiced in their own words on two pages. Firms failed on control (Kenco and Saddle Creek hired or newly promoted CEOs, Dupre sold to Stonepeak in 2025, Cornerstone run by a hired CEO under the founder chair) or on voice (Axle's AI scheduling move voiced by its president, Bennett's BridgeHaul deal by its CIO, MegaCorp by a sales manager, Syfan and Lane One by marketing copy or a vendor release). This repeats the S-114, S-128 and S-142 regional freight results: the slice is too thin to be a route.
Sources: Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Transport Topics Top 100 Logistics and Freight Brokerage 2025 gives firm (joined on firm name (no HQ column; region needs one search per firm))
- firm through firm newsroom, FreightWaves, AJOT, regional press gives dated change and who voiced it (joined on firm name)
- change through firm About page or dated profile gives controlling leader, headcount, ownership (joined on leader name)
- leader through second independent page gives leader's own words on the change (joined on leader name plus firm)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public commerce software firm; not a Southern freight or logistics firm, so the TT roster never reaches him.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian owner; outside the US South and outside freight.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public US software firm; not on any freight or logistics roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer, not a logistics service firm; not on the TT rosters.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker; not a logistics service firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate; outside the US and outside the size band.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public US software firm; not on any freight roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public drug maker; outside the US and freight.
Route 157: Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) based in the Midwest and Plains (Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Roster-first from HVAC and cleaning trade press gave no owner-voiced Midwest changes; change-first searches widened to specialty trade contractors and commercial landscapers gave 2 verified owner-led names (Faith Technologies, Sebert Landscape). Refine toward Midwest trade contractor leader profiles and NALP landscape features.
Sources: Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- change type plus Midwest region through trade association blogs and regional business press (NALP The Edge, Insight on Business, Robotics 24/7) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through second page on the same change (vendor or chamber release, trade reprint) gives leader quote (joined on firm name plus change)
- firm through regional business journal leader profile or trade field-trip feature gives leader, headcount, ownership (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Mike Jansen, Faith Technologies Incorporated (Menasha, Wisconsin; employee-owned electrical and specialty systems contractor) ceo, United States
Moving electrical construction off job sites into an owned smart-manufacturing arm (Excellerate) that builds modular electrical buildings for data centers.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “took on increasing responsibility to become a project manager, executive vice president, president and ultimately chief executive officer and chairman in 2013. With more than 2,500 employees, Menasha-based FTI is one of the largest privately held electrical contractors in the U.S.” source
- What they did 2019 “The Oshkosh and Neenah manufacturing spaces will continue to focus on manufacturing and assembly work for electrical construction, while the new Little Chute facility will be the hub for product innovation and research and development in the areas of energy, microgrids, modular-builds, e-houses and specialty engineerin” source
- What they did 2023 “MEBs are fully self-contained electrical units that can be quickly deployed into data centers, eliminating the majority of on-site electrical work.” source
- What they said 2023 “The safe, controlled manufacturing environment supports a diverse workforce, and with our focus on new technologies and increased automation, we've built a more productive, smarter and safer workplace than ever before.” source
- Jeff Sebert, Sebert Landscape (Bartlett, Illinois; privately owned commercial landscape contractor) owner, United States
Rebuilding commercial grounds crews around autonomous mowing robots and all-electric crews to answer the labor shortage.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Sebert says that the fact they are privately owned instead of private equity also resonates with new hires because they know they will be part of the family and not a number.” source
- What they did 2021 “In 2021, they started testing out EV mowers and they now have 18 crews operating fully EV. Sebert says both their customers and their employees appreciate the change.” source
- What they said 2023 “We believe that landscaping companies that are early adopters of autonomous technology will have a competitive advantage over those who are struggling to hire enough workers,” source
- What they did 2023 “Sebert Landscape plans to deploy RC Mowers' systems to a select group of clients who will be informed on what to expect from the self-driving mowers.” source
- Chad Peterman, Peterman Brothers (Greenwood, Indiana; family-owned heating, cooling, plumbing and electrical home services firm, about 600 staff) owner, United States
Rebuilt how a family HVAC and plumbing firm gets its workforce: a paid in-house academy, launched in 2020, that turns career-switchers into technicians on two-year contracts instead of hiring from a shrinking trade pool.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “CHAD PETERMAN is President and CEO of Peterman Brothers, a thriving home services company based in Indianapolis. IN. In 1986, Chad’s father started Peterman Heating, Cooling & Plumbing. Chad and his brother Tyler joined the company in 2011 and took it to the next level with 600 employees across 11 locations and revenue” source
- What they did 2021 “Students draw a paycheck while enrolled, and the curriculum includes both technical training and life skills like budgeting and cooking. Students sign a two-year employment contract, which helps the company ensure that its newly trained employees will stick around once they’ve finished their schooling.” source
- What they did 2023 “Approximately 70 students make up the current Top Tech Academy class, the largest since the program was launched in 2020. More than 100 technicians have graduated from the academy.” source
- What they said 2021 ““The one thing I love about our organization is, we move fast,” Chad Peterman said. “We’re always looking for a better way to do something.”” source
- What they said 2023 “"We've invested in this new facility in order to increase the opportunities available to talented, hard-working people in our community who are looking for a meaningful vocation."” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and green-energy billionaire; not a Midwest owner-led facility, HVAC, cleaning or home services firm, so the route's roster never reaches him.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer based in New York, not a service business in the Midwest and Plains; outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California; fails private ownership and the service-firm roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far over 5,000 staff; outside the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; outside US Midwest service firms.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel maker and retailer, not a Midwest service firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is in Brazil; the route covers US Midwest and Plains service firms only.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the roster.
Route 158: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms based in the West and Mountain states (CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Revised: the MSP 501 West and Mountain rows are mostly MSPs under 50 staff, PE platforms (NexusTek, New Charter, Zayo) or hired CEOs (Med Tech Solutions, Managed Solution). The names came from two other branches: family-owned office-technology dealers that turned into managed IT providers (ENX, Cannata Report) and founder-owned Microsoft services firms in Redmond.
Sources: CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- regional roster through MSP 501 2026 list pages (themspsummit.com) plus office-technology dealer trade press (thecannatareport.com, enxmag.com) gives firm plus named executive (joined on firm name and state code)
- firm through WebSearch for rebrand, new arm, AI or service-model change; trade press; firm newsroom gives dated change with leader quote (joined on firm name)
- change through second trade press page or firm About page gives owner or founder role and confirmation of the change (joined on leader name)
- firm through firm About page or dated trade press gives headcount and ownership (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Aric Manion, Kelley Create (formerly Kelley Imaging, then Kelley Connect; Medford, OR; family-owned office technology and managed IT firm, 500+ staff) owner, United States
Turning a 1974 copier dealer into an IT, cloud and professional services firm by buying an IT provider and rebuilding the company around those divisions.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “We're so much more than a printing company and our new brand needs to reflect that," said owner and CEO Aric Manion.” source
- What they did 2020 “We've grown more than 625% in our IT and professional service divisions making those offering exponentially more robust. We're an entirely new organization.” source
- What they did 2020 “Led by the acquisition of Core, Kelley Connect is now 29 offices with 302 people across 5 states. With the growth came a need to reposition the company.” source
- What they said 2024 “We use creative thinking every day. Whether it's smarter IT solutions, how we collaborate to bring more innovative document and sending solutions to help our customers grow their businesses” source
- What they said 2026 “Founded in 1974, Kelley Create delivers technology solutions across Cloud & IT, Security & Compliance, AI & Intelligent Solutions, and Printing & Sending. Our solutions portfolio grew well beyond the copiers” source
- Rajeev Agarwal, MAQ Software (Redmond, WA; founder-owned, privately held software and data services firm, about 2,000 engineers) owner, United States
Rebuilding a Microsoft data and software services firm around AI engineering, with a 2,500-engineer AI campus where engineers work with AI-powered tools.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “We thank our customers for trusting in our team to deliver innovative solutions consistently,” says MAQ Software Founder and CEO, Rajeev Agarwal” source
- What they did 2025 “The 12-story, 350,000-square-foot campus embodies our vision of a world-class AI Engineering Center. By equipping our engineers with the latest AI-powered tools, we maximize development efficiency and accelerate innovation.” source
- What they said 2025 “I also want to thank our team for their agility in adopting new Data + AI technologies.” source
- What they said 2025 “Our AI agent compares contracts clause-by-clause, highlights risky terms, and produces a structured summary. This reduced review time from 40” source
- Chris Taylor, Fisher's Technology (Boise, ID; office technology and managed IT, about 205 staff; owned since a 2010 buyout by Chris Taylor, Eric Strand and JT Jones) owner, United States
Moving a 1936 Idaho typewriter and copier dealer into managed IT services by buying IT firms across Idaho and Montana.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “2010 OWNERSHIP BUYOUT by Chris Taylor, Eric Strand, & JT Jones. FISHER'S ACQUIRES Digital Imaging” source
- What they did 2022 “The Fisher's team is honored and excited to support Microchips' awesome clients and bring them into Fisher's managed IT services,” said Chris Taylor, Fisher's president and CEO.” source
- What they did 2024 “Ty Grigsby announced new President of Fisher's Technology by Chris Taylor (CEO). FISHER'S ACQUIRES Alter Enterprise - an IT Company in Missoula, MT” source
- What they said 2022 “Mark Melni hand-selected Fisher's to carry on the Microchips' legacy and we take that honor very seriously. We love the Magic Valley” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not an IT services, MSP or technology consulting firm; not in the MSP 501 West rows or the IT channel pres
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker in Ventura, CA; the route starts from IT services and MSP rosters, and Patagonia is not on them.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the route's US West geography, its sector and its size band.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside geography, sector and ownership filters.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; not a US service firm and not on the MSP 501 or IT channel rosters.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; outside the US West geography and the IT services sector.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in Redwood City, CA; a product company rather than a service firm, and public, so the ownership filter drops it.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above 5,000 staff; the route excludes it at the roster step.
Route 159: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms based in the South and Southeast (employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This is the fifth Southern or region-cut wealth route to return 0 (after S-113, S-127, S-141 and the national S-85 and S-86), and it repeats S-141 almost word for word. With the roster widened to Census South (adding Maryland, Arkansas and Louisiana) and to private trust companies and family-owned broker-dealers, every firm in the 50 to 5,000 band failed before or at the change question. Brown Advisory (Baltimore, about 1,000 staff, every colleague owns equity) has co-CEOs who report to a board, and its AI page is firm-voice tool adoption. Stephens (Little Rock, family-owned) shows only a generational CEO handover. Argent (Ruston) shows a management roster with no voiced change. The Southeast FINTRX firms are PE-backed or ownership-only, as S-141 found. Change-first searches (in-house tax, trust company, AI operating system) surfaced only out-of-region buyers (Stevens Capital, Omaha), PE or NFP-owned firms (Wealthspire), sub-50 boutiques (Aviance, Naples; Trust Company of the South, 24 staff; Holistic Planning) or New York HQs (Farther). 9 WebSearch queries and 8 fetch attempts (7 saved, 1 at 403).
Sources: employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through FINTRX Southeast spotlight, regional business press, WebSearch for employee-owned and family-owned firms in Census South states gives firm (joined on firm name + HQ city)
- firm through firm newsroom and trade press gives ownership and control verdict (joined on firm name + 'employee-owned' OR 'private equity' OR 'co-CEO')
- fit firm through firm newsroom, wealthmanagement.com, investmentnews.com gives dated change voiced by the controlling leader (joined on firm name + leader name)
- leader through second independent page gives confirmation + headcount (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public software company in Canada; outside the route's sector, region and ownership filter.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; not a US Southern wealth firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; outside sector and country.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company in Washington state; outside sector, region and ownership filter.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker in New York and Idaho; not a wealth or service firm.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside sector and country.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker in California; outside sector and region.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian manufacturer and services group; outside country and sector.
Route 160: Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms based in the Midwest and Plains (Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. S-160 repeats S-142 (Midwest and Plains owner-led freight, 3PL and logistics), which three attempts declared harvested after about 30 firms and one name (John Ness, ODW, already a candidate). This attempt tried only angles S-142 did not: Midwest ESOP carrier stories, the BizTimes Milwaukee Notable Leaders in Supply Chain and Logistics roster, and Kansas City, Omaha, Des Moines and Chicago 3PL sweeps. Every lead failed a step. ESOP sales (Rapid Response, J&R Schugel) are ownership events, not redesigns. Smart Warehousing has growth-equity investors and a newly hired CEO. GP Transco is run by a merger partner with control split. Atomix's founder (Austin Kreinz) has only growth and facility expansion, voiced by a marketing manager. The BizTimes roster is mostly COOs, managers and academics. Supply Chain Solutions' brokerage release has expired. No new name passes, so the route yields nothing beyond S-142.
Sources: Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking or regional roster through Transport Topics Top 100 Logistics 2026; BizTimes Notable Leaders in Supply Chain and Logistics 2025; FreightWaves ESOP stories gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm site, FreightWaves, regional press gives ownership, control, headcount (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom and trade press 2023-2026 gives dated change voiced by the controlling leader (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software firm, not a Midwest freight or 3PL firm; outside the route's roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India, public conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada, public commerce software; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil, industrial firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker in California; not a freight or logistics service firm.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia, public mining firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland, public pharma; outside the roster.
Route 161: Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) based in the West and Mountain states (Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempt 2: the roster-first HVAC and janitorial path gave 0 owner-controlled West firms (PE roll-ups, GM voices). Names came from regional business magazine owner profiles (In Business Phoenix, Arizona Contractor and Community) and a state family-business award roster (Oregon State Excellence in Family Business), then a second page for the change.
Sources: Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- change type plus region query through WebSearch over trade press, regional business journals and firm newsrooms gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom or trade press article gives leader quote on the change (joined on firm name plus leader name)
- leader through firm leadership page or dated profile gives headcount, ownership and control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Sissie Roberts Shank, Chas Roberts Air Conditioning & Plumbing (Phoenix and Tucson, family-owned, about 450 staff) owner, United States
A third-generation owner-CEO who moved a residential HVAC firm off new-home installs into service and plumbing and paid to build her own installer pipeline.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Sissie Roberts Shank, current president and CEO and granddaughter of the original owners, says her grandfather handled the repairs while her grandmother stayed in the office and answered the phones.” source
- What they did 2021 “In an additional effort to further expand the partnership and help fill the growing skilled trades gap locally, Chas Roberts will provide ten $10,000 scholarships to current RSI students who are enrolled in the Refrigeration Technologies or Electro-Mechanical Technologies programs.” source
- What they did 2011 “Shank says this is not the case for her company, now Chas Roberts Air Conditioning & Plumbing since the company added plumbing services about three years ago.” source
- What they said 2014 “The answer, Shank says, was to change and expand the company’s specialties. “We encouraged our employees to get more education so they could start working in those domains,” she notes, adding that the company was willing to provide the necessary training.” source
- Stephanie Maderazzo-Hughes, Canyon State Electric (Tempe, Arizona, family-owned electrical contractor, about 170 staff) owner, United States
A second-generation co-CEO who built an in-house university for every employee and moved the firm into a building that puts prefabrication alongside the office.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “During this time, Maderazzo’s two children, Stephanie Hughes and Christopher Maderazzo, who had been with the company for some time, stepped into leadership roles.” source
- What they did 2021 “A fresh concept that Hughes brought on was a free education program she built to be an investment in CSE’s employees and to help with the retention of a talented workforce.” source
- What they did 2025 “The conjoined office and warehouse will give CSE the ability to house both office and prefabrication teams in the same building. “This marks a new chapter for Canyon State Electric,” said CEO Stephanie Maderazzo-Hughes.” source
- What they said 2025 “I look forward to how this new space will allow our growing team to complete construction projects more efficiently and collaboratively.” source
- Dean DeSantis, DeSantis Landscapes (Salem, Oregon, family-owned landscape design-build and maintenance, about 150 staff) owner, United States
A second-generation owner who bought his father's landscape firm in 2006 and runs all of its work on organic methods, a switch the family made cold turkey around 2002 and that he has kept while growing to 150 staff.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In 2006, DeSantis bought the company from his father. At first when he returned to the business, he felt he had to prove himself and struggled with imposter syndrome.” source
- What they did 2007 “Except for one thing: Gardens need to touch the land more lightly, believes landscaper Dean DeSantis. He knows that growing spotless flowers and unblemished ornamentals can take regular use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and water.” source
- What they did 2024 “A notable aspect of DeSantis Landscapes’ growth is the fact it is 100% organic. DeSantis says over the years, they’ve considered potential acquisitions but none of them were a good fit for them.” source
- What they said 2024 ““I’m excited about the growth plans that we have and the team that we’ve got,” DeSantis says.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India conglomerate; not a West or Mountain US service firm of 50 to 5,000 staff, so the roster never reaches him.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not a service firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far over 5,000 staff; fails ownership and size screens.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia; Fortescue is a public miner. Outside geography and segment.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; Semco is outside US geography, so the West and Mountain roster never reaches him.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia (Ventura, California) is an apparel maker and retailer, not a facility, HVAC, cleaning or home services firm, and is over 5,000 staff in some counts;
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland; Novartis is a public pharma company. Outside geography and segment.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; fails service, ownership and segment screens.
Route 162: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The MSP 501 roster still prints Northeast and Mid-Atlantic rows in one fetch, but the rows that pass size are PE platforms or hired presidents, and small founder MSPs announce nothing about changing their work (S-144 found the same). Names came instead from founder-owned federal and commercial IT services firms whose founders voice an in-house AI platform built into delivery, resolved through firm newsrooms, AWS partner blogs, CB Insights profiles and Indian trade press.
Sources: CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- regional roster through MSP 501 2026 list (themspsummit.com) plus WebSearch for founder-led federal and commercial IT services firms in VA, MD, DC, NY, NJ, PA gives firm plus named executive (joined on firm name and state code)
- firm through firm newsroom, AWS partner blog, trade press release gives dated in-house AI platform or new delivery model with leader quote (joined on firm name)
- change through CB Insights company page (carries Q&A interviews and HQ), Business India magazine features gives founder role, control and second page confirming the change (joined on leader name)
- firm through CB Insights company page, Business India feature gives headcount, HQ and absence of outside investors (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Sundar Vaidyanathan, Karsun Solutions (Herndon, Virginia; federal IT modernization services; co-founded 2009) owner, United States
Co-founder CEO who built an in-house agentic AI platform (ReDuX) and is embedding it into how Karsun's teams deliver modernization work, to do large programs with fewer resources.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In 2009, I co-founded Karsun with my business partner, Kartik Mecheri, to support acquisition modernization for GSA, and assumed the role of CEO at the company’s founding.” source
- What they did 2024 “ReDuX is a toolkit consisting of playbooks, mechanisms, and frameworks designed to expedite the modernization of mainframe applications.” source
- What they did 2025 ““We are thrilled to see this platform developed in-house by our Karsun Innovation Center now available to the commercial market through the AWS Marketplace,” said Sundar Vaidyanathan, CEO of Karsun Solutions.” source
- What they said 2026 “The “heartbeat” of our strategy is an AI-first approach. We aren’t just talking about AI; we are embedding it into the fabric of our delivery to increase speed, improve quality, and lower total costs for the agencies.” source
- Rajesh Sinha, Fulcrum Digital (New York, NY; IT services and enterprise AI; founded 1999) owner, United States
Founder and chairman who moved his New York IT services firm onto its own generative AI platform (Ryze, 2024) and an AI agents marketplace, reframing the firm from digital to AI delivery.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founder and Chairman, Fulcrum Digital The company, founded in 1999, currently serves over 100 global customers” source
- What they did 2024 “Commenting on the launch, Rajesh Sinha, Founder and Chairman of Fulcrum Digital, stated : “Ryze signifies a significant stride in our mission to harness AI’s transformative potential for businesses worldwide.” source
- What they said 2025 ““True transformation lies in amplifying human intelligence,” says Rajesh Sinha, Founder and Chairman of Fulcrum Digital.” source
- What they said 2024 ““With Ryze, we’ve engineered a transformative platform that embodies the future of AI-driven innovation.” source
- Shyam Salona, REI Systems (Sterling, Virginia; federal, state and nonprofit IT services; co-founded 1989; 100 percent employee-owned) owner, United States
Co-founder CEO of a 100 percent employee-owned federal IT services firm who is turning a pure services contractor into a services-and-own-platforms firm, launching its own governed agentic AI platform (GovOrch AI) in May 2026.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As Chief Executive Officer of REI Systems, company co-founder Shyam Salona spends his days focused on building a culture of empowered teams and developing the agility of our company.” source
- What they did 2026 “This new platform gives teams secure, governed access to answers from the systems they already rely on, reducing manual effort and accelerating mission outcomes.” source
- What they said 2026 “GovOrch AI was built to help government teams move from fragmented data to trusted decisions without creating another centralized platform or adding integration burden” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company, not a founder-owned Northeast or Mid-Atlantic IT services firm, so the route never reaches him.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Mining and philanthropy in Australia; outside the roster entirely.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; not an IT services firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is food manufacturing, not IT services; not on any IT services roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public California software company, not a privately held services firm in the region.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian manufacturing and services; out of geography and sector.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is apparel in California; not an IT services firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and a vendor, not a founder-owned services firm; the route excludes it by design.
Route 163: Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of partner-owned CPA and advisory firms based in the South and Southeast (INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempt 3 of 3: 3 counted names. Suzanne Forbes (James Moore & Co., Gainesville FL) from the AT 2023 MP Elite page; Jim Meade (LBMC, Nashville, 1,000+ staff, shareholder-owned) from chamber-mirrored firm releases (AI practice 2024, owned India subsidiary 2025); John Mackel (Weaver, Houston, 1,242 staff, independent) from AT M&A news on its owned SaaS arm (April 2026). Rosters alone gave PE-backed firms; change-first searches on the largest Southern independents worked.
Sources: INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through Accounting Today MP Elite pages (2022, 2023, current) and 2026 Top 100 leader roundups gives leader plus firm (joined on leader name plus firm plus HQ city)
- leader plus firm through firm releases mirrored on chamber member-news pages (talchamber.com, daytonachamber.com) and AGN member pages gives dated change and leader quote (joined on firm name)
- firm through M&A check in CPA Practice Advisor, IPA and firm newsroom; headcount from AGN or AT rows gives ownership, control, headcount (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Suzanne Forbes, James Moore & Co. (Gainesville, Florida) executive, United States
Turning a 1964 Florida tax and audit partnership of about 300 people into an advisory firm with its own technology, HR and digital divisions, voiced by its managing partner and CEO.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Managing partner since 2019; joined in 1987 Suzanne Forbes has led James Moore & Co. to some impressive stats.” source
- What they did 2024 “James Moore & Company is proud to announce the hiring of Tomas Sjostrom as the President of James Moore Technology Services. He will lead the strategic planning and business development operations and support his team as they provide more services and grow the company's customer base.” source
- What they said 2026 “Being on this list several years in a row is a testament to how embracing change, from new technologies and processes to focusing on advisory services, has promoted the growth and longevity of our firm.” source
- What they did 2024 “the consequent organizational transformation with the launch of several specialized divisions: James Moore Technology Solutions (managed IT services, cybersecurity, and more), James Moore HR Solutions (human resources services and consulting), and James Moore Digital (data analytics, business intelligence, automation, ” source
- Jim Meade, LBMC, PC (Nashville, Tennessee; shareholder-owned accounting and advisory firm, more than 1,000 team members) executive, United States
Rebuilding a Nashville CPA partnership's delivery model with an owned data and AI practice and a dedicated India subsidiary that frees US staff for advisory work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “LBMC CEO and Managing Shareholder Jim Meade emphasized that LBMC India is a client-first strategic investment designed to work with U.” source
- What they did 2025 “While LBMC has partnered with India-based teams for several years, the newly dedicated LBMC India location represents the firm's long-term commitment to delivering exceptional client outcomes while expanding capacity in ways that protect quality and client relationships.” source
- What they said 2024 “Charlie's expertise in data and AI strategy will significantly enhance our ability to develop forward-thinking strategies for our clients,” said Meade. “His insights will empower our clients to harness the full potential of their data, driving efficiency and strategic growth.” source
- What they said 2026 “LBMC India gives the entire LBMC organization more capacity to work strategically, innovate with clients, and build the relationships that define LBMC.” source
- John Mackel, Weaver (Weaver and Tidwell, L.L.P.; Houston, Texas; independent accounting and advisory firm, 1,242 employees) executive, United States
Turning a Texas CPA partnership into a technology-forward consulting firm by buying and running its own SaaS company, after redesigning management around service lines instead of office managing partners.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Mackel took over as CEO in 2015 and he, along with Rook and Muller, are all under the age of 50.” source
- What they did 2026 “Moving forward, the SaaS platform will operate as a separate Weaver legal entity and will continue operating under the Mass Ingenuity name for the time being.” source
- What they said 2026 “This transaction reflects our continued investment in technology‑forward consulting services that help organizations improve performance and execution,” John Mackel, CEO and managing partner at Houston-based Weaver, said in a statement on April 3.” source
- What they did 2018 “Weaver does not have office managing partners, instead managing employees along service lines and industry groups.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy leader; not a Southern US CPA or advisory firm leader, outside the roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chairman; outside the US Southern CPA roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software company CEO; not an accounting or advisory firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya US food manufacturer owner (New York and Idaho); not a CPA or advisory firm, not in the South.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public tech company CEO (Washington state); not an accounting firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; outside the US roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software CEO in California; not a CPA or advisory firm.
Route 164: Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers based in the Midwest and Plains (state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region + mechanism noun through WebSearch over firm newsrooms and regional business press gives law firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through firm newsroom (/insights/news, /news) gives dated change release with leader quote (joined on firm name + release slug)
- release through regional paper reprint (omaha.com Inside Business) gives second page on same change (joined on release title)
- leader through firm newsroom succession and headcount releases gives role, control and headcount (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Alex Wolf, Koley Jessen P.C., L.L.O. (Omaha, Nebraska; shareholder-owned law firm, over 120 lawyers in 2024) executive, United States
Putting dedicated staff and a renamed Chief Innovation and Operations Officer behind deploying AI across every practice group of an Omaha shareholder-owned law firm.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As President, Wolf will lead the Firm in day-to-day operations and in community initiatives.” source
- What they did 2026 “We're putting real people and real leadership behind it, because that's what it takes to do this well and to keep serving our clients the way they expect.” source
- What they said 2026 “These moves say a lot about how we think about AI at Koley Jessen," said Alex Wolf, President.” source
- Susan Lovern, von Briesen & Roper, s.c. (Milwaukee, Wisconsin; shareholder-owned law firm founded 1904, more than 180 lawyers and 320 total employees) executive, United States
Taking a Milwaukee law firm off vendor legal-AI platforms onto its own private multi-model AI instance, with a new in-house role to deploy AI across every practice area.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Lovern, a shareholder who chairs the firm's Commercial and Business Litigation Section, began her legal career at von Briesen 25 years ago as a summer associate.” source
- What they did 2026 “Our AI journey has really taken off and we are accelerating our investment in both AI talent and technology.” source
- What they said 2025 “Looking ahead, I see my job evolving into further growth strategy, shaping the next generation of leaders and continual process improvement.” source
- Allison Murdock, Stinson LLP (Kansas City and Minneapolis; partner-owned law firm, 500 attorneys in 17 offices) executive, United States
Embedding a legal AI platform in the daily work of a 500-lawyer Midwest partnership as a deliberate long-term operating change, after a firmwide pilot.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “These attorneys are dedicated to growing the firm and will play a vital role in driving the firm's success for many years to come," Stinson Managing Partner Allison Murdock said.” source
- What they did 2026 “With this firmwide integration, Stinson is embedding AI into its operations as a deliberate, long-term investment, signaling a commitment to innovation that goes beyond early experimentation.” source
- What they said 2026 “Our professional judgment is our stock-and-trade, always has been and always will continue to be, no matter what tools we are using in our profession,” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California, not a Midwest or Plains law firm; the route's roster never reaches it.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a law firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and energy; outside the US Midwest law firm roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel company in California; not a law firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; outside the roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; not a Midwest law firm.
Route 165: Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups based in the West and Mountain states (Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route as written (behavioral health and therapy rosters from trade press) yields nothing that passes ownership or voice; the names came from physician-owned multispecialty and surgical groups whose redesign is announced in vendor or partner newsrooms and regional business press. 2 of 3 names after attempt 1.
Sources: Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region plus segment through WebSearch over regional business press and group newsrooms gives physician-owned group (joined on group name plus physician-owned or provider-owned)
- group through PE, hospital and MSO-sale check (search and release boilerplate) gives group still physician-owned (joined on group name)
- group through vendor or partner newsroom release (ikshealth.com, emergeortho.com) gives dated change plus leader quote (joined on group name in release)
- change through second page: wire reprint (theweek.in) or regional press (425business.com) gives confirmation (joined on release title)
- leader through regional business journal profile (heraldnet.com) or group release gives role and how the leader was chosen (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- David Russian, Western Washington Medical Group (WWMG; Everett, Washington; independent multispecialty group of 100+ providers in 20+ specialties; providers own the company) ceo, United States
Split a provider-owned medical group into a clinical company and a separate AI-enabled management services organization that runs all non-clinical work, as a self-sustaining model for independent medicine.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Russian moved here permanently in 1998 and joined Western Washington Washington Medical Group, serving as a board member at one point and later, as president of the group for five years. Selected by the 18-member board last November to replace Jerry Tillinger as CEO” source
- What they did 2025 “As part of this expansion, IKS Health will make a strategic investment in a newly established management services organization (MSO) that will oversee all non-clinical operations of WWMG, including revenue cycle management, clinical documentation, HR, IT and finance.” source
- What they did 2024 ““Partnering with IKS will enable WWWG to significantly enhance our revenue cycle operations AND improve patient care and access. This strategic decision will help WWMG’s providers focus on what we do best: delivering exceptional patient care.” said Dr. David Russian, CEO of Western Washington Medical Group” source
- What they said 2025 ““This strategic partnership with IKS Health will create transformational value for WWMG with a self-sustaining model for independent medicine that benefits all stakeholders — clinicians, patients and the communities that we serve.”” source
- John Pryor, Proliance Surgeons (Seattle, Washington; physician-owned independent surgical group, 400+ providers, 100+ care centers and 16 ambulatory surgery centers; founding member of PELTO Health Partners) executive, United States
Co-founded a physician-owned shared services platform with two other independent groups so surgeons can run value-based care without outside capital, instead of selling to private equity or a hospital.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Dr. John Pryor, MD, PELTO Board Member and Proliance Surgeons’ President, “PELTO doesn’t distract from patient care or clinical autonomy.” source
- What they did 2023 “Three of the nation’s largest physician owned, independent groups – EmergeOrtho (NC), OrthoIndy (IN), and Proliance Surgeons (WA)– bring together their expertise to collectively devise a platform for optimizing clinical and business services, using their best-in-class knowledge to bring value back to their individual p” source
- What they said 2023 “We offer best-practice solutions to independent providers who choose to take advantage of the platform. At the heart of this collaboration lies innovative strategies to preserve our most important partnership — between each doctor and patient.” source
- Charlotte Flood, Northwest Primary Care (Milwaukie, Oregon; physician-owned, founded 1960, seven locations, 40+ providers) ceo, United States
Moved an independent physician-owned primary care group from upside-only risk to payer-funded care management, consolidating pharmacists, care coordinators and ancillary services into one owned Integrated Care center.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Northwest Primary Care is a physician-owned organization dedicated to providing comprehensive, patient-centered care at a low cost for the whole family. Since we are not owned by an insurance company or hospital system, we are able to make our patients our foremost priority.” source
- What they did 2025 “To standardize care delivery and improve quality metrics, Northwest built a 3,500 sq. ft. Integrated Care Services Center that consolidated care coordinators, nurse educators, pharmacists, behavioral health, and ancillary services like mammograms and DEXA scans into one location.” source
- What they said 2025 “The group negotiated care coordination PMPMs with four commercial plans, without sacrificing fee-for-service reimbursement. By aligning goals and demonstrating infrastructure investments, the team secured funds to sustain pharmacist, RN, and case manager positions.” source
- What they did 2026 “The NWPC Integrated Care location serves the greater Portland-Metro area with preventive ancillary services, diabetes support, patient education, anticoagulation services, chronic care management, and more.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan does not lead an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the West or Mountain states, so this route's roster (regio
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest does not lead an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the West or Mountain states, so this route's roster (regio
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani does not lead an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the West or Mountain states, so this route's roster (region
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard does not lead an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the West or Mountain states, so this route's roster (regio
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke does not lead an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the West or Mountain states, so this route's roster (regional
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya does not lead an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the West or Mountain states, so this route's roster (region
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella does not lead an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the West or Mountain states, so this route's roster (region
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler does not lead an independent behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group in the West or Mountain states, so this route's roster (regio
Route 166: Owner-led service firms: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The roster-first design (state association awards, operator newsrooms) was not used: rosters in this region are dominated by nonprofits, PE platforms and franchises. Change-first searches in HHCN and SHN restricted to Northeast and Mid-Atlantic place names, then a founder-name step, gave 4 owner-led names from 19 fetches.
Sources: Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- change mechanism + Northeast place name through WebSearch limited to homehealthcarenews.com, seniorhousingnews.com, hospicenews.com gives trade story naming operator and leader (joined on "<City>, <State>-based" operator name)
- operator through same-outlet CEO interview, Changemakers, podcast write-up gives leader own-words quote on the change (joined on operator name + leader name)
- operator through second outlet (Hospice News, PR Newswire, ROI-NJ, SHN Leadership Series) gives second page on change or founder role (joined on operator name)
- leader through ownership and control check (family, founder, investors) via WebSearch gives keep or drop (joined on operator name + "private equity" / "backed by")
New names that passed every check
- John Sneath, Tribute Home Care (Framingham, Massachusetts; private-pay non-medical home care in MA, MD, IL and Northern Virginia; founded by Sneath in 2012) owner, United States
Rebuilding the back office of a founder-owned home care agency around in-house AI tools, with a dedicated builder per department, so the firm grows without hiring at the old rate.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “John Sneath, founder and CEO at Tribute Home Care, pointed to large language AI models as the tool that is reshaping the home-based care industry.” source
- What they did 2026 “We tend to use Claude a lot, and we now have a dedicated person at Tribute who is doing nothing but creating these tools based on a vision that each one of our departments or functions at Tribute has about how their operations need to develop over the next number of years, and then what AI tools or what technology tool” source
- What they said 2022 “Tribute has reinvented home care with a caregiver experience that's unlike any other home care provider” source
- Tracy Ongena, Alvita Care (New York City; private-pay home care, private duty nursing and care management in New York and New Jersey; founded by Ongena in 2012; founder and executive chair) owner, United States
Rebuilding care coordination at a founder-led private-pay home care firm with an AI layer over its workflow automation, to coordinate more complex care without adding overhead.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founded by Ongena, Alvita Care provides private-pay home care services designed to help older adults and families age with dignity, independence and confidence.” source
- What they did 2026 “Alvita Care recently layered an AI tool on top of its workflow automation tools to help with care coordination tasks, Ongena said.” source
- What they said 2025 “I wanted to create a company that removed that friction” source
- Michael Leader, Country Meadows Retirement Communities and the George M. Leader Family Corp (Hershey, Pennsylvania; family-owned senior living operator in Pennsylvania and Maryland; owns Lifesong Hospice and Palliative Care and SeniorLivingU; Leader led it as president and CEO for over 30 years and is now executive chairman) owner, United States
Brought hospice and workforce training inside a family-owned senior living company so residents are served end to end by its own staff.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The deep roots in this region and consistent, family ownership have created competitive advantages for Country Meadows, Michael Leader told SHN.” source
- What they did 2019 “The George M. Leader Family Corp, a Pennsylvania-based retirement community operator, has added Lifesong Hospice and Palliative Care to its portfolio.” source
- What they said 2019 “we think that our residents will want to continue to be served by a Country Meadows-owned staff that understands our culture and our philosophy” source
- Jim Coughlin, The Northbridge Companies (Burlington, Massachusetts; co-founded 2004 by Coughlin and Wendy Nowokunski; locally owned and operated assisted living and memory care in Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire, plus an affordable Medicaid-waiver model in Washington DC) owner, United States
Re-engineering how care hours are staffed and measured (a proprietary caregiver-hours tool, an in-house CNA career ladder) and taking an affordable assisted living model to new markets.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Meet Jim Coughlin and Wendy Nowokunski, CEO and president, respectively, and co-founders of Burlington, Massachusetts-based Northbridge Companies.” source
- What they did 2024 “Northbridge has a proprietary tool that tracks work hours of caregivers, which the company used to better manage employee working hours with the goal of reducing burnout.” source
- What they said 2022 “it’s been surprising to see how simple it is to remove roadblocks by contributing $500 for books and paying a fee for CNA training.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella does not lead a privately held home care, senior living or hospice operator in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, so the roster this route starts from
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan does not lead a privately held home care, senior living or hospice operator in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, so the roster this route starts fro
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler does not lead a privately held home care, senior living or hospice operator in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, so the roster this route starts fro
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya does not lead a privately held home care, senior living or hospice operator in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, so the roster this route starts from
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest does not lead a privately held home care, senior living or hospice operator in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, so the roster this route starts fro
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard does not lead a privately held home care, senior living or hospice operator in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, so the roster this route starts fro
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani does not lead a privately held home care, senior living or hospice operator in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, so the roster this route starts from
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke does not lead a privately held home care, senior living or hospice operator in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, so the roster this route starts from ca
Route 167: Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the South and Southeast (Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. A roster of southern privately held insurance agencies and brokers is easy to build (IJ Top 100 2026 gives 35 rows in the 13 southern states; IJ Best Agencies to Work For 2026 adds 9 regional winners), but after removing PE platforms, PE-backed firms (IOA took Madison Dearborn and Navacord in November 2025), banks and people already in candidates (INSURICA's Ross), the remaining owner-controlled firms publish culture, award, succession and acquisition news, not dated redesigns in the leader's own words. The only 2023-2026 work change found (Houchens Insurance Group absorbing staff departures without rehiring after an AI rollout) is a vendor case study with no leader voice, at a subsidiary of Houchens Industries, so control fails. Higginbotham (employee-owned, 4,500 staff) is voiced only on culture and employee ownership, which is an ownership deal, not a redesign. Reliance Partners' usage-based product is voiced by a deputy and its CEO is a hired 2015 appointee. Zero names in 19 fetches and 16 searches; the sector is harvested by S-25, S-67, S-89, S-107, S-121, S-135 and S-149.
Sources: Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through IJ Top 100 P/C Agencies 2026 (Office field) and IJ Best Insurance Agencies to Work For 2026 regional winners gives firm (joined on firm name and HQ state)
- firm through firm site and WebSearch for ownership, PE status and headcount gives private, non-PE firm of 50 to 5,000 staff (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom, IJ features, trade and regional press 2023-2026 gives dated change to how the work is done and the controlling leader (joined on firm name plus CEO title)
- leader through second, different site gives confirmation in the leader's words (joined on leader name)
- leader through firm site or dated 2025-2026 source gives headcount, ownership, control and earliest redesign year (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and energy billionaire; not a US insurance agency or broker, so the southern broker roster never reaches him.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Leads an outdoor apparel firm, not an insurance agency or broker in the South or Southeast; outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software CEO in California; not an insurance agency or broker, so the roster never reaches him.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO of a public company; outside the US southern broker roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; not a US insurance agency or broker.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chairman; outside the US southern broker roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software CEO in Washington State; not an insurance agency or broker.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public e-commerce CEO; not an insurance agency or broker.
Route 168: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms based in the Midwest and Plains (ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The Midwest and Plains employee-owned and family-owned AEC universe has already been mined by S-26, S-69, S-95, S-108 and S-157. S-108 covered the Upper Midwest and Plains states. This attempt therefore worked the lower Midwest (Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas) with about 20 change-first and firm-name searches and 8 logged fetches. The one firm with a CEO-voiced, dated redesign was SSOE Group (Vince DiPofi, firmwide AI strategy since December 2022), and he is already in output/candidates.json. Every search for a new change kept returning names that are already listed (BSB Design's Swift, Boldt's Kievet, Burns & McDonnell's 1898 & Co.). The other firms failed a screen: Woolpert has a BDT&MSD private-equity partner; Fishbeck, Christman and McCownGordon news is succession or board changes; Alberici's change is a chief innovation officer hire with no CEO voice; Wade Trim's AI task force page is 404. ENR and Zweig rosters remain unfetchable (S-69, S-108). Result: 0 new names that pass the four traits.
Sources: ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region + firm type through WebSearch change-first and firm-name batches (ENR, Zweig, NCEO rosters not fetchable) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom or AI page gives dated change + leader quote (joined on firm name)
- change through second firm page or regional business press gives second URL (joined on firm name + change noun)
- leader through firm history or leadership release gives role, control, headcount, ownership (joined on leader name)
- firm through firm history timeline gives signal year (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not a Midwest AEC service firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside geography and industry.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel maker, not an engineering, architecture or construction services firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above 5,000 staff; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; outside geography and industry.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharmaceutical company; outside the roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a privately owned food manufacturer, not an AEC service firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; outside geography and industry.
Route 169: Owner-led service firms: privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms based in the West and Mountain states (Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempt 2: West and Mountain privately held staffing gave 3 names. Attempt 1 found Janice Bryant Howroyd (ActOne Group) via WebSearch on large West private firms. Attempt 2 found Tim Glennie (BridgeView, Denver: consulting arm and rebrand funded during COVID) and Dan Pollock (Advantis Global, San Francisco, and its Dallas medical arm: AdvantisConnect clinician portal, Oct 2021) from Staffing Show interviews on staffinghub.com, after SIA lists, OCBJ and AI-release searches gave nothing. Caveats: BridgeView is small (Built In 30 internal staff, DBJ Medium category); Advantis Medical is based in Dallas and Advantis Global was sold to PE-backed INSPYR in 2024.
Sources: Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and segment through Staffing Show interview archive (staffinghub.com/the-staffing-show/<slug>/, via WebSearch allowed_domains) plus Built In city rosters and WebSearch on named West private firms gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom (actonegroup.com/news.aspx) and wire reprints (einpresswire.com, blog.allswell.com) gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name plus product name)
- change through firm About page gives controlling leader (joined on person name (Founder and CEO))
- leader through second release at a different URL (EIN Presswire Aria launch) gives confirmation of the change (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm About page gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Janice Bryant Howroyd, ActOne Group owner, United States
The founder and CEO of the largest privately held woman and minority owned US workforce firm is moving it from filling positions to selling AI-plus-human orchestration of whole workflows, through an owned investment in Assembly Industries and the Aria platform.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Started in 1978 by Founder and CEO, Janice Bryant Howroyd (JBH). Operating in 47 countries across the world. Over 28,000 clients and 2,600 employees worldwide. Largest privately-held, woman and minority owned workforce management company in the U.S.” source
- What they did 2025 “ActOne Group's strategic investment in Assembly Industries is transforming how enterprises achieve business results, shifting from traditional 'who to hire' decisions to ‘what work needs to get done’ - a powerful combination of AI automation and human expertise that delivers measurable outcomes at an average 40% lower ” source
- What they did 2025 “ActOne Group today announced the launch of Aria Orchestration Solutions, an enterprise platform that coordinates teams of AI agents and human experts to automate full, end-to-end workflows such as shift scheduling, document generation, mass document searches, on-demand communication and more.” source
- Tim Glennie, BridgeView (BridgeView IT) owner, United States
The co-founder of a Denver IT staffing firm spent into the COVID downturn to build a consulting arm and rebrand, turning a pure-play staffing firm into a hybrid staffing and consulting firm.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As Managing Partner and Co-Founder of BridgeView, Tim blends sharp business acumen with deep technical understanding to help companies build scalable, future-ready technology teams.” source
- What they did 2022 “So when we went through the rebrand, we did that during COVID. We knew many companies went into retreat mode and we actually decided to spend more money and invest more in the company and further push our consulting arm and go through the rebrand.” source
- What they said 2023 “We're more than just a staffing firm or a consulting firm. We're a partner to well-known companies across industries, assisting them in a rapidly changing tech landscape," says Tim Glennie, Managing Partner of BridgeView.” source
- Dan Pollock, Advantis Medical Staffing (founded 2018 inside San Francisco-based Advantis Global) owner, United States
A staffing founder and owner started a medical staffing arm and rebuilt its recruiting around an owned self-serve clinician portal with full pay transparency, moving the firm toward a tech-centric model.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As CEO of Advantis Medical Staffing, he knows the best experience for travelers and facilities starts with an empowered team and an authentic, positive culture.” source
- What they did 2022 “We launched Advantis Connect, which is a clinician portal in October of 2021. It essentially allows a clinician to come, create a profile, give us all the documents we need in order to submit them to a facility, they can search all of our open positions, we have complete pay transparency.” source
- What they did 2021 “Launched in October 2021, AdvantisConnect allows candidates to create a profile, submit all documents which are necessary to submit them to a facility, then review thousands of roles and apply with a single click of their mouse.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate, outside a US staffing roster
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner, outside the region and segment
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software CEO, not a staffing firm
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software CEO, not a staffing firm
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker, not staffing
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food maker, not staffing
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software
Route 170: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through O'Dwyer's 2025 independents ranking (FT staff, city) gives firm (joined on firm name + city/state)
- firm through firm newsroom, O'Dwyer's PR firm news, trade press (The Drum, PPC Land) gives dated change (joined on firm name)
- dated change through firm release or trade interview gives controlling leader and own words (joined on leader name)
- leader through Everything-PR profile, O'Dwyer's directory, Drum interview gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Kamran Asghar, Crossmedia (independent global media agency, New York; 500+ people) owner, United States
Runs a founder-controlled media agency built against holding-company principal trading, and in 2025 folded every office into one global brand and operating standard under a hired Dentsu CTO.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Crossmedia has grown from a desk-share startup to a global media independent with over 500 people and managing over $1bn in billings” source
- What they did 2025 “Kamran will oversee all media operations worldwide as part of a more streamlined, single brand approach to media services, while continuing to deliver innovative, transparent, client-first solutions.” source
- What they said 2025 “Their margins are based on principal-based trading, which means they're making money off the client's money. Their economic incentives aren't aligned with client success.” source
- Tom Coyne, Coyne PR (independent PR firm, Parsippany NJ and New York; 145 FT staff in O'Dwyer's 2025 ranking) owner, United States
Founder-CEO of a privately owned PR firm that put OpenAI GPT models into client strategy in 2022 and rebuilt its offer around generative engine optimization.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Leadership Tom Coyne (CEO) Ownership Independent Services PR, social media, digital marketing, and advertising Employees 150+ professionals” source
- What they did 2022 “Our exploration into artificial intelligence began in 2022, when we became one of the first agencies to integrate OpenAI” source
- What they said 2021 “Our mission is not to be the best agency in America, but the best one to work for. If we are the best place to work, we will get the best people.” source
- Paul Dyer, /prompt (formerly Lippe Taylor and sister agency Twelvenote; independent PR and integrated marketing agency, New York) ceo, United States
Folded two independent agencies into one AI-native firm, /prompt, saying AI is the base of how the work is done rather than an added layer.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Paul Dyer became CEO of Lippe Taylor in 2020 and continues to lead the combined agency as /prompt.” source
- What they did 2026 “In 2023, the agencies launched /prompt as an AI-focused joint venture to expand their product offerings. Now, they are shrugging off their existing company names, joining forces, and rebranding to /prompt entirely.” source
- What they said 2026 “It isn't a technology layer that underpins things, but the life blood of how we work” source
- What they did 2026 “the /prompt merger was an independent, founder-and-CEO-driven decision between two agencies that had already tested a joint venture structure” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Miss: yogurt manufacturer, not a marketing, PR or creative agency. The route only lists Northeast and Mid-Atlantic marketing, PR and creative agencies.
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss: public software company, not an agency roster member. The route only lists Northeast and Mid-Atlantic marketing, PR and creative agencies.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Miss: Swiss public pharma company, outside the US agency roster. The route only lists Northeast and Mid-Atlantic marketing, PR and creative agencies.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Miss: Australian mining billionaire, outside the US agency roster. The route only lists Northeast and Mid-Atlantic marketing, PR and creative agencies.
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss: public software company, not an agency. The route only lists Northeast and Mid-Atlantic marketing, PR and creative agencies.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Miss: apparel maker, not an agency; route roster is Northeast and Mid-Atlantic agencies. The route only lists Northeast and Mid-Atlantic marketing, PR and creat
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Miss: Indian conglomerate, outside the US agency roster. The route only lists Northeast and Mid-Atlantic marketing, PR and creative agencies.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Miss: Brazilian industrial firm, outside the US agency roster. The route only lists Northeast and Mid-Atlantic marketing, PR and creative agencies.
Route 171: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms based in the South and Southeast (Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Consulting magazine Best Firms to Work For rosters (2025 and 2026) fetch cleanly but are national and list few Southern founder-owned firms in the 50 to 5,000 band. The one fitting name came from a mechanism search (first acquisition plus AI) on Dallas regional press, not from the roster. Attempt 2 added two names from firm newsrooms found by mechanism searches (a new owned AI arm; a CEO-announced firm-wide digital transformation role after an AI redesign of the design process): Rohan Bhobe (Nava PBC, DC) and Rodney Chester (Gresham Smith, Nashville, employee-owned).
Sources: Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award roster or regional press search through Consulting magazine Best Firms to Work For winners pages; WebSearch on regional press (hoodline, D Magazine, Dallas Innovates) gives Southern consulting firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom release on accessnewswire or prnewswire gives dated change and named leader (joined on firm name plus release date)
- leader through trade interview (managementconsulted.com Q&A) gives leader's own words on why (joined on leader name plus firm)
- firm through consulting.us news profile or firm About page gives headcount, founding year, control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Bret Farrar, Sendero Consulting (Dallas, TX) owner, United States
Founder-CEO of a 22-year organically grown Dallas consultancy who made the firm's first acquisition to add AI-powered custom development to an industry-led delivery model, betting that AI makes bespoke software cheaper than packaged systems.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Management Consulted spoke with Bret Farrar, founder and CEO of Sendero Consulting , about why the firm chose to buy rather than build” source
- What they did 2026 “This strategic move adds approximately 90 consultants to Sendero's roster, significantly expanding the firm's technical capabilities in digital transformation, AI-powered custom application development and advanced data analytics.” source
- What they said 2026 “Building these capabilities ourselves would have required changing how our people think - from a primarily vertical orientation to a horizontal one - and then persuading clients to see us differently.” source
- What they said 2026 “AI is dramatically expanding the range of situations in which custom development makes economic sense, and we believe Sendero and Torq are on the leading edge of that change.” source
- Rohan Bhobe, Nava PBC (Washington, DC; public benefit corporation, over 500 people) owner, United States
Co-founder and CEO of a DC public benefit corporation of over 500 people who set up Nava Labs, a philanthropically funded arm that builds and pilots AI tools for benefit caseworkers, to change how public services are delivered rather than only building websites for agencies.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “must involve constant learning and testing centered around people’s actual needs,” said Nava CEO and Co-founder Rohan Bhobe.” source
- What they did 2024 “Nava Labs, along with two partner organizations, received a $3.6 million grant from the Gates Foundation to pilot artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools that support benefit navigators” source
- What they did 2024 “It’s located within Nava Labs, the company’s research and development arm that experiments with new technologies to change government policies and practices.” source
- What they said 2024 “Technology advancements in AI, Machine Learning, and Large Language Models over the last 18 months hold great promise for supporting government services that are simple, effective, and accessible to all, but only if correctly applied in a public sector context.” source
- What they said 2026 “Our mission is not about better websites; our mission is about better government. We are building capacity deep within our public institutions” source
- Rodney Chester, Gresham Smith (Nashville, TN; employee-owned architecture, engineering and consultancy firm, nearly $355 million gross revenue) ceo, United States
CEO and board chair of an employee-owned Nashville design firm that rebuilt its design process around AI tools and then created a firm-wide Chief Digital Transformation Officer role reporting into the management team.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Members of Gresham Smith’s management team also include CEO and Board Chair Rodney Chester, Chief Operating Officer Peter Oram, and Chief Financial and Risk Officer Dwayne West.” source
- What they did 2025 “Over the past 18 months, Gresham Smith has redefined the firm’s design process through AI-driven tools, computational design and innovative client engagement platforms.” source
- What they did 2026 “Gresham Smith is pleased to announce that Mike Sewell has been selected for the firm’s newly created position of Chief Digital Transformation Officer.” source
- What they said 2026 “As our clients and communities navigate rapid change, digital innovation and an exceptional client experience are more important than ever to our long-term success” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company, not a Southern US founder-owned service firm; outside the route by design.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and in Washington state; not on any Southern consulting roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; the route is US South only.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not a service firm in the South.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel maker; not a professional services firm.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate.
Route 172: Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held property management and real estate services firms based in the Midwest and Plains (NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through Land Report America's Best Brokerages Midwest; Multifamily Dive; Real Estate News independents tag gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom or blog gives dated change plus leader quote (joined on firm name)
- leader through firm team bio page and trade press gives control, headcount, earliest move (joined on person name)
New names that passed every check
- Steve Bruere, Peoples Company (Clive, Iowa; farmland brokerage, land management, appraisal, capital markets and energy services; 24 offices and more than 175 professionals) executive, United States
Turned a small-town Iowa farmland brokerage into an integrated national farmland services platform with new owned service lines and a proprietary data toolkit.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In 2004, Steve became President of Peoples Company and began to transform the business from a small-town brokerage into a full-service farmland transaction firm serving the largest landowners and investors in the U.S.” source
- What they did 2025 “Our Corporate Services division represents our latest endeavor to offer clients a fully integrated transaction platform, serving as a one-stop-shop for clients with complex and geographically diverse portfolios,” source
- What they did 2004 “to grow from a small, respected Iowa firm into a national platform that provides the same professional, localized service to clients everywhere it operates.” source
- What they said 2025 “This new division started as it became clear that C-Suites understood that it all starts with land. Whether a company is seeking to build a new facility, diversify its investment portfolio, or build a renewable energy project, land is always at the core of those decisions.” source
- Scott Steffes, Steffes Group, Inc. (Steffes Auctioneers; West Fargo, North Dakota; family-owned land, farm equipment and construction auction firm founded 1960, operating in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Colorado, Nevada and Canada) owner, United States
Moved a family farm and land auction house from live sales on site to an online-first auction business, first with its own online division (2009) and then an auction platform built in-house (2024).Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Steffes Auctioneers was started in 1960 by Robert Steffes. Scott has been running the family business since 1994.” source
- What they did 2009 “They created IQBid.com as a trademark division in November, licensing a new software platform that was created in 2008.” source
- What they did 2024 “We believe that by developing our own auction platform in-house, we have the adaptability required to continue our evolution as our customers change how they want to engage in online auctions.” source
- What they said 2025 “The "death of distance" is something my dad used to talk about 50 years ago, back when driving a couple hundred miles for an auction was a big deal.” source
- Steve Baird, Baird & Warner (Chicago; family-owned independent residential brokerage founded 1855, with its own mortgage (Key Mortgage) and title companies; nearly 2,000 agents) owner, United States
Fifth-generation owner-CEO who rebuilt a Chicago brokerage around owned mortgage and title arms instead of joint ventures, and in 2025 put an in-house trained AI assistant into every agent's workflow.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Baird joined the firm run by his father, John Baird, in the 1980s. He spent time in each department before taking over the commercial mortgage division. He became president of the company in 1991.” source
- What they did 1995 “During the 1990s, Baird sold off the company’s commercial divisions to focus exclusively on residential brokerage and ancillary services like title and insurance.” source
- What they did 2025 “Developed exclusively for Baird & Warner by BrokerBot.ai , Remi currently resolves about 90% of agent inquiries within minutes, according to the company.” source
- What they said 2021 “We’ve always believed in controlling our own destiny. We generally don’t like partnerships, because it just limits our ability to build our businesses out and do things the way we want to do them.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan: Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company, not a Midwest property or real estate services firm; absent from every roster this route reads.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya: Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not a real estate services firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard: Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker in California; outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie: Box is a public software company in California; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest: Fortescue is an Australian public miner; outside US scope and the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke: Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler: Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; outside US scope and the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella: Microsoft is a public software company; outside the roster.
Route 173: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms based in the West and Mountain states (employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. West and Mountain employee-owned and founder-owned wealth firms that pass size, ownership and control at once (Aspiriant, Los Angeles, 100% employee-owned; Coldstream, Bellevue, 230 staff, employee- and director-owned; Ferguson Wellman, Portland, 67 staff, no outside investors; Bailard, Foster City, majority employee-owned; TCI Wealth Advisors, Tucson; D.A. Davidson, Great Falls, about 1,600 staff, employee-owned) publish partner classes, awards, hires, CEO transitions and acquisitions, not a dated change to how the work is done voiced by the leader who controls the firm. Aspiriant's founder-CEO Rob Francais is credited with expanding employee ownership and convening employee-owned firms, which is an ownership story, not a redesign. Coldstream's CEO took over in 2025 and its news is acquisitions (Arnerich Massena 2024, HBC 2025). Ferguson Wellman's first acquisition was voiced by a managing director as a learning exercise. Arrowroot Family Office's no-minimum model dates from its 2013 founding and the firm has no dated later change. Brighton Jones, the region's one fit name, is already in candidates.json. Zero new names after 10 web searches, 4 Hawkeye archive queries and 9 fetches; this is the fourth region-cut wealth route to return 0 (S-113, S-127, S-86).
Sources: employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through employee-owned RIA roster (WealthManagement.com summit story), Hawkeye wealth archive, WebSearch for employee-owned plus West and Mountain cities gives firm (joined on firm name + HQ city)
- firm through firm newsroom (aspiriant.com/fathom, bailard.com/news-insights, tciwealth.com/in-the-news), InvestmentNews company pages, trade press gives dated change (joined on firm name)
- dated change through same story or firm release gives leader who controls the firm, own words (joined on firm name + title)
- leader through second page (trade or regional press) gives confirmation (joined on person name)
- firm through firm About page or dated 2025-2026 profile gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker, not a West or Mountain wealth firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; outside the US wealth roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian miner; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer; outside the roster.
Route 174: Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic owner-led freight, 3PL and logistics is the fifth regional freight slice tested, after S-114, S-128, S-142 and S-156, and it repeats the result. The Transport Topics 2026 Top 100 Logistics and Freight Brokerage lists hold only a handful of firms based in the region. NFI and Penske Logistics have far more than 5,000 staff, Odyssey is PE-owned, Lily Transportation sits under Transervice, Logistic Dynamics and Logistics Plus failed control in S-114 and S-100, and Trinity sits under Burris. JK Moving is already a candidate. Off-list family firms checked by search and fetch (A. Duie Pyle, PITT OHIO, Burris Logistics, Jillamy, Port Jersey Logistics, PLS Logistics) gave terminal openings, acquisitions, culture rebrands and job postings, and no change in the owner's own words that a second page confirms. No name passed the future-legend gates, and I counted none rather than stretching a rebrand into a redesign.
Sources: Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Transport Topics Top 100 Logistics and Freight Brokerage 2026 gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom, Wikipedia, TT articles gives leader and ownership (joined on firm name)
- leader through trade and regional press search gives dated change in own words (joined on leader name plus firm)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; a world-scale conglomerate, not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic freight or 3PL firm, so it is outside the roster the route starts from.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland; leads a public pharma company, so it is not in a US freight or logistics roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel firm, not a freight brokerage or 3PL, so the route's roster cannot reach him.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software firm in California, not a logistics services firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not a freight or 3PL firm; it is a shipper, not a provider.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; Semco is outside the US roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia; Fortescue is a public miner, outside the US roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software firm; not in any freight or 3PL roster.
Route 175: Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) based in the South and Southeast (Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- change type + Southern state + family-owned through WebSearch over trade press (ACCA, ACHR News, CleanLink, PCT) and firm newsrooms gives firm with a dated change (joined on firm name)
- firm through award profile or firm release (ACCA Contractor of the Year, firm press page) gives leader who controls it, own words (joined on firm name + founder/owner/CEO)
- change through second outlet (army.mil, local business press, vendor case study) gives confirming page (joined on program or arm name)
- leader through 2025-2026 firm release or regional source gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name + privately-owned / family-owned / private equity)
New names that passed every check
- Jimmy Hiller, Hiller Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electrical (Nashville, Tennessee; founder-owned residential home services, 900+ associates, 20 locations) owner, United States
Rebuilt how a family-owned home services firm gets its technicians by buying a trade school and turning it into an owned training pipeline for veterans, instead of competing for scarce licensed workers.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Hiller is one of the nation’s largest privately-owned home services companies, and its original founder, Jimmy Hiller, still serves as the Chief Executive Officer to this day.” source
- What they did 2016 “That partnership worked out so well that Hiller acquired the school, investing over $2.5 million into developing state-of-the-art training and equipment in both classroom and lab settings, and expanding its offerings to include plumbing and electrical work.” source
- What they said 2016 “One of our biggest problems is always getting good people and I can't think of a better group of people than ex-military,” source
- What they said 2018 “I knew our soldiers would be a great value to our company, but I didn’t realize the value our company would be to the soldiers” source
- Erin Richardson, All-American Pest Control (Nashville, Tennessee; third-generation family-owned, 74 US employees per Top Workplaces) owner, United States
Redesigned how a family-owned pest control firm schedules its field work, spending 18 months rebuilding routes, teams and processes so technicians do five days of work in four at full pay.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “This month, we profile Erin Richardson, third-generation owner of Nashville, Tenn.-based All-American Pest Control. Six years after taking over from her father, Al Foster Jr., in 2012, Richardson has implemented a four-day workweek for her team.” source
- What they did 2018 “Our service team moved to a four-day workweek in January 2018. They now work 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a 30-minute lunch break. Our outside sales team moved to a four-day schedule in November 2018.” source
- What they said 2016 “We knew we had to restructure our time, scheduling and processes so our service team could get five days of work done in four days.” source
- What they did 2024 “We’ll also hear from one employer about how she transitioned her family business to a four-day workweek and what it’s like to work there now from one of the company’s team members.” source
- Tommy Stalvey, Ace Electric Inc. (Valdosta, Georgia; family-owned electrical contractor, 1,000+ employees; co-president with his cousin Rob Stalvey, Bobby Stalvey chairman) owner, United States
Moved more of a family-owned electrical contractor's field work into a purpose-built 72,000 sq ft offsite fabrication plant (2021) to answer the labor shortage, rather than staffing every job site.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “the company remains family owned. The Stalvey brothers’ sons, Tommy and Rob, both of whom have literally grown up in the company, share the duties of president.” source
- What they did 2021 “Ace Electric, Inc. is a family-owned electrical contractor based in Valdosta, Georgia with additional locations throughout the Southeast. Allstate, as their design-builder, completed this state of the art electrical prefabrication / production facility.” source
- What they said 2024 “added a dedicated 72,000-sq-ft engineering and fabrication building in 2021. “Given the aggressive schedule of projects and shortage of labor, offsite fabrication plays a big role,” Tommy Stalvey says.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; the route only reads rosters of private, family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services firms in the South and
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is in Brazil; the route is US South and Southeast only, and Semco is not a facility, HVAC, cleaning or home services firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not a service firm in the South or Southeast; no trade-press or regional roster in the route lists it.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the route's country, sector and ownership filters.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker in California owned by a trust; not a service firm and not in the South or Southeast.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the route on country, sector and ownership.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the route on country, sector and ownership.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharmaceutical company; outside the route on country, sector and ownership.
Route 176: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms based in the Midwest and Plains (CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through MSP 501 2026 list pages and regional business-leader lists gives firm (joined on firm name plus HQ state code)
- firm through firm newsroom, trade and regional press 2023-2026 gives dated change (joined on firm name)
- dated change through release or interview quoting the leader gives leader (joined on leader name and title)
- leader through firm About page or dated 2025-2026 profile gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Raman Ohri, SEP (Software Engineering Professionals), Westfield, Indiana; 190 staff, 100% ESOP ceo, United States
Ohri leads an employee-owned custom software firm that rebuilt its whole delivery process, not just coding, around in-house AI tools.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As President & CEO Raman Ohri describes it, “The tech is the easy part. Our work is actually all about people” source
- What they did 2025 “Across discovery, development, and release orchestration, SEP built dozens of AI‑powered tools that fundamentally changed team workflows.” source
- What they said 2025 “SEP explored AI not just as a code-generation tool, but to rethink the economics of software delivery.” source
- What they said 2025 ““The tech is the easy part. Our work is actually all about people — our teams, our clients, and the people who use and benefit from the things we build.”” source
- What they did 2025 “SEP is 100% employee-owned through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) — a structure that makes every SEP employee a stakeholder in the company’s success.” source
- Mike Marsiglia, Atomic Object, Grand Rapids, Michigan; 125 staff, employee-owned ceo, United States
Marsiglia co-leads an employee-owned software consultancy whose engineers redesigned their workflow around AI and which is changing how it estimates and prices work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In May 2019, co-founder Carl Erickson transitioned from chief executive officer and appointed Shawn Crowley and Mike Marsiglia as co-chief executive officers.” source
- What they did 2026 “They automated the review. They established patterns to capitalize on the speed. They didn’t just use the tool. They redesigned the workflow around it.” source
- What they said 2026 “FBSC still works in my opinion. What changes is how we estimate. We need to track at the level of higher-level features, not tasks.” source
- What they said 2024 “My partner Mike and I felt the urgency of being early adopters. Staying competitive through quality and productivity drives us, but we couldn’t confidently prescribe a perfect set of tools or processes.” source
- Todd Kaufman, Test Double, Columbus (Westerville), Ohio; 115+ staff, 100% ESOP since 2020 ceo, United States
Kaufman, co-founder and CEO of an employee-owned Ohio software consultancy, moved the firm off staff-augmentation requests toward outcome targets and phase-by-phase specialist staffing as AI cut the cost of writing code.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The founders converted the business to a 100% owned ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) in 2020, wanting to share the equity with all employees contributing to the company’s success. Test Double now has more than 115 agents” source
- What they did 2026 “Our new vision: By 2030, achieve 1,000 client outcomes by solving real problems through people, process, and technology consulting. This specificity has already changed how we operate.” source
- What they did 2026 “That shifted how we staffed it. Instead of assigning one or two consultants for a block of time, we rotated in the right subject matter expert at the right phase” source
- What they said 2026 “slightly contrarian viewpoint I've held for a while: every line of code written that doesn't further the goals of an organization is complete and utter waste. It's a liability.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public California software company, not a founder-owned Midwest IT services firm; the roster never reaches him.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker in California; outside the Midwest IT services roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is in Brazil; the route is US Midwest and Plains only.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public, Washington-based and far above 5,000 staff.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian conglomerate; outside the roster entirely.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not an IT services firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharmaceutical company.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian mining; outside the roster entirely.
Route 177: Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of partner-owned CPA and advisory firms based in the West and Mountain states (INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This route repeats S-131 (same West and Mountain partner-owned CPA roster, same sources), which stalled at 2 of 3 after three attempts, and both of its names (Bullock at Squire, Erickson at Tanner) are already taken. Fresh angles in this attempt (Orange County, LA and San Diego business journals, Utah Business release mirrors, Accounting Today Top 100 2026 and BPM pages, an IPA AI-adoption recap, and change-first searches across all Western states for AI rollouts, pricing changes and owned technology arms) gave 0 new firm leaders who pass size, independence, control and a dated costly change. The leads were sub-50 or cautious adopters (RJI, 42 CPAs, still evaluating tools), new-in-post CEOs (BPM) or firms gone to private equity platforms (Sweeney Conrad to Ascend). The Western partner-owned CPA pool has been mined out.
Sources: INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through Accounting Today Top 100 and Regional Leaders, IPA lists, regional business journals gives CPA firm (joined on firm name)
- CPA firm through firm newsroom and trade press (AT, IPA, CPA Practice Advisor) gives dated change (joined on firm name)
- dated change through firm leadership page or dated 2025-2026 article gives leader who controls the firm (joined on firm name plus title)
- leader through second outlet gives confirmation and own-words quote (joined on person name plus firm)
- firm through dated 2025-2026 source gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and green-energy owner, not a West US CPA firm leader
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya food manufacturer (Chobani), not a CPA or advisory firm
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner, outside US and outside the CPA roster
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO, public company, not on any CPA roster
- Missed Aaron Levie public software CEO (Box), not a CPA or advisory firm
- Missed Yvon Chouinard outdoor apparel owner (Patagonia), not a CPA or advisory firm
- Missed Satya Nadella public software CEO (Microsoft), not a CPA or advisory firm
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate owner, outside US and outside the CPA roster
Route 178: Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region + mechanism noun through WebSearch over firm newsrooms and regional press (firm names joined with OR, or mechanism nouns: AI-native office, subscription, subsidiary) gives law firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through firm newsroom release (frblaw.com/<slug>, mcneeslaw.com/insights/firm-news/<slug>/) gives dated change with leader quote (joined on firm name + release slug)
- release through second release or regional press (mychesco.com/a/news/regional/<slug>/) gives second page on the change (joined on firm name)
- leader through firm bio, promotion release, llm-info page gives role, control, headcount (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Moish Peltz, Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP (FRB; Rockville Centre, NY, partner-owned law firm founded 2018, 75+ attorneys, offices in NY, NJ, CT, FL, TX, DC) executive, United States
A founding-era co-managing partner who is moving his firm's litigation work off the billable hour onto an AI-native subscription model run from a purpose-built AI incubator office.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Falcon Rappaport & Berkman (FRB) is thrilled to announce the promotion of Moish E. Peltz to Co-Managing Partner of the firm. He joins Kenneth J. Falcon in leading the firm into its next chapter of growth.” source
- What they did 2026 “Clients who choose the subscription model leave behind six-minute billing increments and benefit from predictable monthly pricing for covered recurring litigation work. Discrete contested events are scoped and priced separately as flat fees rather than hourly charges, eliminating the billable hour for business owners.” source
- What they said 2026 “The firm’s robust adoption of AI makes the death of the point-one a foregone conclusion,” said Moish Peltz, Co-Chair of FRB’s Artificial Intelligence Practice Group. “Clients deserve to know what litigation is going to cost before it starts, not after.” source
- What they said 2026 “We have successfully rolled out AI tools over the past couple of years, including increasingly integrating those tools into our legal workflows. But we also recognize that we will need to redouble our efforts to fully embrace the power that these AI native tools unlock.” source
- What they did 2025 “Falcon Rappaport & Berkman (FRB), a New York-based law firm known for its entrepreneurial approach to the practice of law, is proud to announce it has entered into an agreement with Harvey, the legal generative AI platform” source
- Brian Jackson, McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC (Harrisburg, PA; partner-owned law firm founded 1935, more than 340 professionals including more than 170 attorneys in April 2026; owns Ryepeck Ventures and other non-law affiliates) executive, United States
The elected chair of a central Pennsylvania firm who is turning a law firm into a group of owned professional businesses, adding C-suite consulting and commercialization to legal work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Brian serves as chair of McNees Wallace & Nurick, leading the firm’s strategic direction.” source
- What they did 2026 “The launch expands the range of professional solutions McNees and its affiliated companies provide to businesses and organizations, adding C-suite business consulting and commercialization support to legal, human resources, public relations, and marketing services.” source
- What they said 2026 “Over the last several years, McNees intentionally invested in the technology and infrastructure necessary to support a group of this size” source
- What they did 2026 “Under Brian’s leadership, McNees has pursued a strategy of geographic and service expansion. The firm has opened offices in York, suburban Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Frederick, and suburban Baltimore, and has launched several complementary professional businesses.” source
- Martin Fletcher, Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP (Baltimore; partner-owned law firm, 190 lawyers in 2025, offices in DE, DC, FL, KY, MD, NY, NC and VA) executive, United States
A long-serving managing partner who piloted and then licensed generative AI for every lawyer in a 190-lawyer Mid-Atlantic firm, framing it as a new era for how the firm delivers legal work.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As Managing Partner of Whiteford since 2009, Mr. Fletcher leads a law firm of 190 lawyers that has seen rapid recent growth across its East Coast footprint” source
- What they did 2024 “Whiteford undertook to pilot Harvey beginning in January in order to understand the scope of this new technology, the potential value to clients and some of the most effective potential use cases.” source
- What they said 2024 “This is a new era for Whiteford and the legal profession generally,” said Whiteford Managing Partner Martin Fletcher. “We are thrilled to be an industry leader in deploying this exceptionally innovative technology. By rolling out Harvey to our lawyers, we are empowering them with cutting-edge legal AI” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic law firm; the route's roster cannot surface him.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy figure; outside the US law firm roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker in California; not a law firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; fails both the industry and ownership screens.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not a law firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside roster and geography.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; outside roster and geography.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; outside roster and geography.
Route 179: Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups based in the Midwest and Plains (Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Three attempts and about 30 fetches across trade press (Medical Economics, Behavioral Health Business, Becker's), the AMGA independent group track, firm newsrooms, state medical society news and congressional hearing transcripts produced no qualifying owner-led behavioral health, therapy or physician group in the Midwest and Plains. Every roster lead failed control (hired CEOs at Wichita Urology, Revo Health, Ortho groups), ownership (PrairieCare to PE-backed Newport, behavioral platforms VC or PE backed) or voice (Clarity Clinic's service line voiced by its COO, MNGI Health 360 voiced by its program physician, not CEO Scott Ketover). Becker's sites are 403. The single verified name, Keith Smith (Surgery Center of Oklahoma), came from a Senate hearing seam outside the roster and his employee headcount is unpublished, so the route as written does not work.
Sources: Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through AMGA independent group track, WebSearch for physician-owned Midwest and Plains groups and ASCs gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm site about page (ownership, control) gives leader (joined on leader name and title)
- leader through trade press, podcast pages, congressional hearing transcripts gives dated change and own words (joined on leader name)
- change through second distinct outlet gives confirmation (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Not a Midwest or Plains behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group; the route's rosters and searches never surface this person.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not a Midwest or Plains behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group; the route's rosters and searches never surface this person.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not a Midwest or Plains behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group; the route's rosters and searches never surface this person.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Non-US and not a healthcare practice group; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Non-US and not a healthcare practice group; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Non-US and not a healthcare practice group; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Non-US and not a healthcare practice group; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Non-US and not a healthcare practice group; outside the route's universe.
Route 180: Owner-led service firms: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the West and Mountain states (Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Roster-first fails again for West and Mountain home care and hospice: HHCN and Hospice News stories in the region are franchisors, PE platforms, startups, operators over the 5,000 cap or firms already in candidates. Both new names are West senior living and post-acute operators found through Senior Housing News and Skilled Nursing News interviews, then confirmed on the operator or NIC page.
Sources: Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region + mechanism query through WebSearch limited to homehealthcarenews.com, hospicenews.com, seniorhousingnews.com, skillednursingnews.com gives operator story (joined on operator name)
- operator story through SHN / SNN / HHCN article body gives leader who controls the firm + change (joined on operator name + leader name)
- leader through second same-outlet story found by '<operator> <leader>' search gives second dated page on the change (joined on operator name)
- leader through nic.org/profiles/<slug> or operator leadership page gives ownership, control, headcount (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Phil Fogg Jr., Marquis Companies (Milwaukie, Oregon; founder-led, family-run skilled nursing, assisted and independent living, home health and home care operator, 22 campuses in Oregon, California and Nevada, 4,000+ employees; owns the AgeRight Advantage I-SNP and sister company Consonus Healthcare) owner, United States
A founder-owner who turned a nursing home operator into a population-health company that owns its own physician services, pharmacy, rehab and Medicare Advantage insurance plan so it can take risk on its residents' care.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Even with dire financial challenges facing providers in Oregon, he started Marquis Companies in 1989, and assumed the management of his first skilled nursing facility.” source
- What they did 2016 “So, to be able to do care management effectively, we’ve developed our own physician services, [introduced] liaisons into hospitals and SNFs, and changed the way we’ve done home health and home care.” source
- What they did 2023 “To this end, Marquis has launched its own Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans. Doing so is a daunting endeavor, which Fogg has spoken about frequently over the years” source
- What they said 2021 “We’re managing that population and anything that enables us to do that and achieve the triple-aim goal of creating efficiencies, better customer experience and satisfaction, and better quality outcomes, we’re going to probably try to own it ourselves and do it ourselves.” source
- Caryl Ridgeway, Milestone Retirement Communities (Vancouver, Washington; senior living operator and manager, about 18 to 23 communities in seven Western and Southwestern states; wholly owned by Caryl and Scott Ridgeway since July 2023) owner, United States
An owner-CEO redesigning middle-market senior living by collapsing memory care and assisted living into one enhanced assisted living product with leaner staffing so care costs less per resident.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Caryl Ridgeway, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Owner of Milestone Retirement, leads a senior housing management organization operating communities in the west-coast and southwest regions.” source
- What they did 2023 “The middle-market community had struggled as a private-pay assisted living property, so Milestone converted it into a dual-occupancy community with memory care beds, and in the end managed to fill beds at a lower per-resident rate than before.” source
- What they did 2025 “For example, Milestone took an assisted living and memory care community and consolidated the property to all assisted living, while modifying pricing to meet assisted living rates rather than more costly memory care.” source
- What they said 2025 “We changed the product type to a more enhanced version of assisted living and we can staff at levels needed within AL” source
- What they said 2023 “Specifically, she sees a big opportunity to change community design and operations for a middle-market crowd. To achieve those kind of rates, she believes that operators must evolve to models that more creatively use space and house residents.” source
- Dave Lewis, Rocky Mountain Assisted Living (Denver, Colorado; family-owned small-home assisted living and memory care operator, 14 buildings at 11 locations, about 200 beds; headcount not published, estimated well over 50 from staffing ratios) owner, United States
A founder-owner who moved his own Denver home care business into clustered 10 to 16 bed care homes and then rebuilt staffing around clusters, with one nurse and two care managers per four homes.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Dave Lewis, founder and CEO of Rocky Mountain Assisted Living, a senior living owner and operator with a portfolio of 14 small-home communities located throughout Denver” source
- What they did 2022 “staffing model runs lean, with one nurse and two care managers for every four homes and executive directors who oversee eight communities at a time.” source
- What they did 2018 “Lewis also drew upon his background in home health care in founding the company. The small-home setting seemed like a good way to help bridge the gap between home-based care and assisted living or skilled nursing options.” source
- What they said 2021 “I really liked that model for staffing efficiency. And we feel that the families who are touring us really love the idea of knowing that if they needed more care or memory care, it was right next door.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian manufacturer and services group; the route reads only privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators in the US West and Moun
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate; not a US aging-services operator, so the West and Mountain trade-press roster cannot surface him.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the US and outside home care, senior living and hospice.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; the route only reads private West and Mountain aging-services operators.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian commerce software company; not a US aging-services operator.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharmaceutical company; pharma suppliers are not covered by HHCN, SHN or Hospice News operator stories.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a Ventura, California outdoor apparel firm; West-based and privately held, but not a home care, senior living or hospice operator, so it never appe
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not a US aging-services operator.
Route 181: Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. After real attempts the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic slice of privately held insurance brokers yields no person who passes control plus a dated, leader-voiced change. The IJ Top 100 2026 (fetched via insurancejournal.com/?p=881636) has about 20 rows with an office in New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland or Virginia. Most are PE platforms (USI, EPIC, World, Hilb, Keystone, Patriot, Vantage) or bank owned (Towne, OneGroup), and the obvious owner-led ones are already in candidates (Mackoul; United, Paradiso and Deland Gibson come from the same region). The remaining private firms fail on the change or the voice: Starkweather & Shepley (trust held since 1935, about 300 staff) has a September 2024 AI application platform, but a practice-level SVP voices it and the CEO is a hired, promoted executive under trustees. Marshall+Sterling (100% employee owned) has CEO Eric Diamond from January 2023, but no dated redesign in his words. Cross Insurance (family owned, 1,100 staff, Jonathan Cross) grew by acquisitions, and acquisitions are not a redesign. Lawley (third-generation private, 500+ staff) voices AI through its Director of Operations. Cleary Insurance (Boston, owner Bill Cleary, IJ East Gold 2025) describes a flat structure with no middle management, but gives no date and looks under 50 staff. The vendor customer list (outmarket.ai/customers) quotes COOs and CFOs at non-Northeast firms. This repeats S-135 (West) and S-167 (South): regional insurance slices are a thin pool.
Sources: Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through Insurance Journal Top 100 P/C Agencies 2026 and Best Agencies to Work For East gives agency (joined on agency name plus Office city/state)
- agency through agency newsroom, IJ East news, Mainebiz, Insurance Business gives dated change plus speaker (joined on agency name)
- speaker through agency about page or leadership release gives control and headcount (joined on person name plus agency)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (IJ Top 100 2026, IJ Best Agencies to Work For East). Sat
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (IJ Top 100 2026, IJ Best Agencies to Work For East). Aar
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (IJ Top 100 2026, IJ Best Agencies to Work For East). Yvo
- Missed Ricardo Semler Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (IJ Top 100 2026, IJ Best Agencies to Work For East). Ric
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (IJ Top 100 2026, IJ Best Agencies to Work For East). Muk
- Missed Tobi Lutke Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (IJ Top 100 2026, IJ Best Agencies to Work For East). Tob
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (IJ Top 100 2026, IJ Best Agencies to Work For East). Vas
- Missed Andrew Forrest Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (IJ Top 100 2026, IJ Best Agencies to Work For East). And
Route 182: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms based in the South and Southeast (ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through ENR Texas & Southeast 'of the Year' award posts (Contractor, Specialty Contractor, Design Firm) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through ENR Texas & Southeast full profile article gives owner-leader plus dated change (joined on firm name)
- change through firm site or builder/partner project page gives second confirmation (joined on facility or program name)
- firm through firm about page or regional paper gives ownership and control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Tommy Stalvey, Ace Electric Inc. (Valdosta, Ga.; family-owned electrical contractor, more than 1,000 employees, $215.8 million national revenue) owner, United States
Stalvey, a second-generation co-owner and co-president, has moved a family electrical contractor's field work into an owned offsite engineering and fabrication plant completed in 2021, in answer to labor shortages and compressed schedules.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The Stalvey brothers’ sons, Tommy and Rob, both of whom have literally grown up in the company, share the duties of president.” source
- What they did 2021 “The company, which has significantly expanded these capabilities over the past decade, added a dedicated 72,000-sq-ft engineering and fabrication building in 2021.” source
- What they said 2024 ““Given the aggressive schedule of projects and shortage of labor, offsite fabrication plays a big role,” Tommy Stalvey says.” source
- What they did 2021 “Allstate, as their design-builder, completed this state of the art electrical prefabrication / production facility.” source
- What they said 2026 “We will redefine the industry by continuously striving to work safer, smarter and more efficient by utilizing preconstruction processes, planning, innovation and fabrication in work environments where all employees are treated fairly and with respect.” source
- Keith Wayne, Wayne Brothers (Davidson, N.C.; founder-led, family-run concrete, civil and industrial specialty contractor, more than 750 employees, $236.5 million revenue) owner, United States
Wayne, who founded the contractor in 1985, is turning a concrete subcontractor into a design-build firm with its own engineering subsidiary and an engineering-to-fabrication operations center, and has rebuilt how all staff work around 25 weekly behaviors.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Built on a Solid Foundation 1985 • Keith Wayne founds and incorporates Wayne Brothers” source
- What they did 2020 “Additionally, the contractor’s recent acquisition of Southern Engineering Co.—a century-old firm—provides the contractor with a subsidiary entity to support project design needs.” source
- What they said 2025 “From there, Wayne says, “We took these 25 fundamental behaviors that we felt needed to occur across all employee groups and tied them back to those core values.”” source
- What they did 2024 “Wayne Brothers’ new facility, located at 101 Venture Way in Walterboro, will serve as a regional office and operations center, including several divisions from engineering to fabrication.” source
- Ty Crane, FL Crane & Sons (Fulton, Miss.; fourth-generation family-owned wall, ceiling and exterior panel contractor founded 1947, workforce of about 600 per the firm site, 18 locations across the South) owner, United States
Crane, the fourth-generation family president, is moving a 79-year-old wall and ceiling contractor from field framing to panels built in its own off-site facilities, cutting on-site manpower on large jobs by about 75 percent.Evidence (6 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Upon graduating from MSU, Crane dedicated himself to work at all levels of the family company – from field laborer to estimator/project manager to operations officer. He was just recently promoted to president.” source
- What they did 2022 “One of the most attention-grabbing implementations has been F.L. Crane’s new Off-Site Construction Facilities.” source
- What they did 2022 “We produced more than 4,500 interior/exterior load bearing wall panels for this project while utilizing 75 percent less manpower on-site” source
- What they said 2022 “This foundation remains a core aspect of our company, and mixed with our drive for innovation we have built a team that can deliver in an industry where condensed schedules and lack of manpower has become the norm.” source
- What they said 2022 “But what does he truly love about the industry? “The constant change and innovation that we are seeing,” Crane says.” source
- What they said 2024 “Crane’s long-term vision for FL Crane & Sons is to become the go-to contractor in its region for prefabricated interior and exterior wall panels, as well as exterior metal panel systems.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public US software company, not a privately owned Southern engineering, architecture or construction services firm, so it never enters the ENR Texas &
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the US South roster and not an AEC services firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company far above 5,000 staff; not on any ENR Texas & Southeast list.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; not a US Southern AEC firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; not an AEC services firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; not on any US regional AEC roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel maker owned by a trust, not a Southern engineering, architecture or construction services firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian firm; the route is limited to the US South and AEC services.
Route 183: Owner-led service firms: privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms based in the Midwest and Plains (Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempt 1: Midwest and Plains privately held staffing gave 2 names, short of 3. Nick Shah (Peterson Technology Partners, Chicago, founded 1997, 350+ staff) tested about 30 AI staffing tools and built his own AI ATS (Jan 2024 webinar), then the Rebecca AI recruiter (Jul 2026). Jeremy Langevin (Horizontal Talent, Minneapolis, privately held, minority-owned, co-founder and CEO) deployed the Alex voice AI recruiter for first-round screening (Mar 2025). Both came from searches for a named in-house AI recruiter, not from a roster: the Built In Chicago roster, Staffing Show archive, ESOP and city-based searches gave 0. Caveats: Horizontal's change is voiced in firm blogs and a podcast summary, and its minority-owner certification may sit with another co-founder.
Sources: Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and segment through WebSearch on Midwest metro plus 'proprietary AI ATS' or 'AI recruiter', Built In Chicago roster, Staffing Show archive gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through wire reprints of the firm release (scnwire, tribuneindia) and conference or webinar listings (bigmarker) gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name plus product name (Rebecca AI))
- change through firm About page (ptechpartners.com/about-us/) gives controlling leader (joined on person name (Founder and CEO))
- leader through second page on the same change (bigmarker webinar, Jan 2024) gives confirmation and earliest date (joined on person name plus firm)
- firm through firm About page and Built In company profile gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Nick Shah, Peterson Technology Partners (PTP), Chicago and Park Ridge, Illinois; IT staffing and recruiting firm he founded in 1997, 350+ employees owner, United States
The founder of a Chicago IT staffing firm replaced bought tools with his own AI applicant tracking system and then an AI recruiter that runs first-round interviews, moving recruiter work onto an owned platform.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founded in 1997 by CEO Nick Shah, PTP began Solutions 2000. Since then the company rebranded to become Petersons Technology Partners in 2003, and has since expanded to have a global footprint with a staff of over 350 employees, and practices in consulting, AI, and recruiting.” source
- What they did 2024 “After using, testing, and demo'ing nearly 30 AI staffing tools, this is what the CEO of Peterson Technology Partners, Nick Shah, learned. He then worked with a team to build his own, proprietary AI ATS platform that solves some of the problems that he experienced in other tools.” source
- What they did 2026 “To solve these challenges, PTP built Rebecca AI, its AI recruiting platform shaped by 30 years of talent acquisition experience, with two core workstreams: AI-generated video interviews customized to suit each candidate, and automated hiring processes for candidate outreach, text message follow-ups, pre-qualifying phon” source
- What they said 2026 “"Rebecca AI is most effective when it's part of a broader AI strategy and integrated tech stack that automates and improves hiring workflows," said Nick Shah, CEO and founder of Peterson Technology Partners.” source
- Jeremy Langevin, Horizontal Talent (Minneapolis; privately held, NMSDC-certified minority-owned IT and professional staffing firm co-founded in 2003, about 2,100 global employees including consultants) owner, United States
The co-founder and CEO of a Minneapolis staffing firm moved first-round candidate screening to an in-house voice AI recruiter so recruiters do only the human final-mile work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"Treat your clients, consultants and internal employees well, and never stop innovating." Jeremy Langevin, Cofounder & CEO, Talent Horizontal's history Since our founding, Horizontal has grown into one of the top 2% of staffing companies worldwide” source
- What they did 2025 “We use VoiceAI to conduct an initial screening with our candidates as soon as they apply to an open position. Alex, our AI Recruiter, asks general questions that are not found on a resume to learn more about your experience as it relates to the position you applied to.” source
- What they said 2025 “He reveals the tactical framework for "human-in-the-loop" AI deployment, where voice agents handle 20,000 candidate pre-screens simultaneously while recruiters focus on storytelling, empathy, and cultural assessment” source
- What they did 2025 “With our recent deployment of Alex, our VoiceAI recruiter, and our commitment to tech-forward innovation through tools like GliderAI, Sense, Staffing Engine and GetOptimal, we're building the future of talent acquisition.” source
- SueAnn Naso, Staffing Solutions Enterprises (Independence, Northeast Ohio; woman-owned recruiting and staffing firm founded 1974, bought by Naso in October 2019, added BV Staffing in Pittsburgh in 2024) owner, United States
The owner-CEO of a Cleveland-area staffing firm put a virtual AI recruiter, Jamie, into the core recruiting work, which by her firm's count produced $1.6M of revenue and 451 job offers in its first year.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “SueAnn Naso is President and CEO of Staffing Solutions Enterprises, Inc. In October 2019 she purchased the business from Founder, Carmella Calta.” source
- What they did 2024 “Additionally, Naso led the launch of Jamie, SSE’s virtual AI recruiter, streamlining the recruitment process and improving efficiency across the organization.” source
- What they did 2024 “AI-Driven Results at SSE $1.6M in revenue generated from AI agents last year 451 job offers extended through AI-powered recruiting” source
- What they said 2025 “We remain dedicated to leveraging emerging technologies, like AI and automation, to enhance our offerings while preserving the personal touch that sets us apart.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software CEO, outside a Midwest staffing roster
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner, outside the region and segment
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is apparel, not staffing, and based in California
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California, outside the roster
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO, outside the region and segment
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining billionaire, outside the region and segment
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public software, outside a privately held staffing roster
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate, outside a US staffing roster
Route 184: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies based in the West and Mountain states (Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempt 1 of a re-promoted S-124 (same region, invalidated). The O'Dwyer's and Adweek rosters were already exhausted, so this attempt used the AMIN Worldwide Americas roster (independent agencies only) and the indieagency.news WordPress API searched by West city. One name passed: Eric Ayzenberg (Ayzenberg Group, Pasadena), founder and CEO of a private 250-500 person agency that built an owned AI arm (Soulmates.ai, May 2025). Riester (acquisitions only), Cactus (promotions only), Rain (hired CEO under a founder chair) and Duncan Channon (under 100 staff) failed. Attempt 2 added two Southern California founder-owned digital agencies that the ad and PR rosters miss: Erik Huberman (Hawke Media, bought Morphio in 2022 to automate strategy work as Hawke AI) and Garrett Mehrguth (Directive, rebuilt around Customer Generation with its own Pulse database, 2021). R&R Partners, Logical Position and Drake Cooper failed on control, and Siege Media is PE-backed.
Sources: Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through AMIN Worldwide Americas roster; indieagency.news wp-json search by West city; WebSearch for founder-led West digital and performance agencies (attempt 2) gives independent agency (joined on firm name and HQ city)
- agency through WebSearch '<firm> <founder> AI' and martech wire mirrors (martechseries, martechedge, martechcube) gives dated change voiced by the leader (joined on firm name plus leader name)
- leader through Owler company profile gives founder/CEO, private status, headcount band (joined on firm slug)
- change through second wire mirror or the product site gives confirmation and signal year (joined on product name)
New names that passed every check
- Eric Ayzenberg, Ayzenberg Group (a.network), Pasadena, California owner, United States
Founder-owned social-first agency that built its own native AI and measurement products (Soulmates.ai, Social Index) and sells them alongside its managed services.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founder & CEO Eric Ayzenberg CEO Approval Rating 74/100 Weigh In 1993 Pasadena California Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Private” source
- What they did 2025 “We have been incubating the technology for Soulmates.ai for over a decade now, rebuilding and expanding to create our own native AI that is now available for enterprise and white label use,” said Eric Ayzenberg, CEO of a.network and Ayzenberg Group.” source
- What they said 2026 “The industry asked for these channels for years, and we deliberately didn’t add them until we could measure them properly,” said Eric Ayzenberg, CEO of Ayzenberg Group.” source
- What they did 2026 “Ayzenberg Group today announced that Social Index, the earned media value (EMV) benchmarking standard it established in 2016, has expanded coverage from 10 social platforms to 15” source
- What they said 2025 “Soulmates.ai represents the culmination of years of innovation, giving marketers the power to transform audience insights into clear, actionable strategies.” source
- Erik Huberman, Hawke Media, Santa Monica, California owner, United States
Founder-owned outsourced-CMO agency that bought an AI martech company to automate the strategy and benchmarking work its marketers did by hand, and sells it as a $99 a month SaaS beside its services.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founder & CEO Erik Huberman CEO Approval Rating 88/100 Weigh In 2014 Santa Monica California Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Private Professional Services Marketing Services” source
- What they did 2022 “By February 2022, he had a deal to acquire Morphio, and just a few months later, the company launched the first version of its new software-as-a-service (SaaS) product, dubbed Hawke AI, with 2,000 subscribers paying $99 per month each.” source
- What they said 2023 ““This is stuff we do manually already,” he told me recently. “The question is, how do I automate that?”” source
- What they did 2022 “Hawke AI is the outcome of combining Hawke Media’s data, insights, and product roadmap with Morphio, an acquired Canadian-based MarTech platform.” source
- What they did 2022 “Hawke Media has acquired Canadian AI company Morphio and integrated its technology into a new product, hawke.ai, an AI-powered marketing strategy and insights plat” source
- Garrett Mehrguth, Directive (Directive Consulting), Irvine, California owner, United States
Co-founder and CEO who rebuilt his B2B marketing agency around a single pipeline-and-revenue method (Customer Generation) in place of lead-volume work, backed by an in-house account database.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Directive Consulting has a revenue of $4.5M, and 93 employees. Directive Consulting has 16 followers on Owler. President & CEO Garrett Mehrguth” source
- What they did 2021 “Mehrguth's team at Directive also built their own database called Pulse to give them unique data insights.” source
- What they said 2021 “By simply creating MQLs as the starting point instead of the endpoint, you completely change the way you go about your start. Mehrguth says it has improved Directive's own product quality, transformed their company, and allowed them to grow exponentially.” source
- What they did 2025 “Customer Generation is the only kind of marketing we do. In the ever-changing world of digital marketing, the need for high-value customers is constant.” source
- What they did 2022 “Co-founded by Garrett Mehrguth and Tanner Shaffer, Directive is the top performance marketing agency for SaaS that delivers what others only promise.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company, not a West founder-owned agency; it cannot appear in AMIN or indieagency.news rosters.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian public miner; outside the US and not an agency.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public drugmaker; outside the US and not an agency.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial firm; outside the US and not an agency.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not a service agency.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate; outside the US and not an agency.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a service agency.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company, not an agency.
Route 185: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Founder-, partner- and employee-owned professional services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic are easy to find, but the named rosters (Consulting magazine, Inc. 5000) were already shown dead by S-43, S-111, S-125 and S-139, and most firms that surface from change-first searches are already in output/candidates.json (Ruder Finn, Gregory, Coyne, FRB, Zarwin Baum, Fearless, Nava, Mindgrub, Mathematica, Morning Consult) or fail ownership (Cadmus took Enlightenment Capital money; Keystone was recapitalized by Audax) or leader voice (Crowell GovCon Strategies is voiced by an executive committee partner and the chair is changing). Two new names in this attempt: Ballard Spahr's elected chair (in-house generative AI suite, then agentic litigation platform with fixed-fee pricing) and KJT's CEO (employee-owned healthcare research firm that built a separate AI brand and folded it into the core offer). The trade dailies of the research industry (MRWeb DRNO, Research Live) were the productive spine.
Sources: Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region plus service segment through trade daily news (MRWeb DRNO, Research Live) and firm newsrooms found by change-first WebSearch gives firm with a dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name plus HQ city)
- firm through firm newsroom release or trade item quoting the leader gives leader who controls the firm and their own words (joined on firm name)
- change through second page on a different site (trade daily, rival trade outlet, later firm release) gives confirmation and signal year (joined on firm name plus change name)
- leader through firm release or trade item stating ownership, headcount and role gives headcount, ownership and control (joined on leader name plus firm)
New names that passed every check
- Peter Michaud, Ballard Spahr LLP (Philadelphia; partner-owned law firm, more than 750 lawyers in 19 offices) executive, United States
As elected chair he is moving a partner-owned Philadelphia law firm onto tools it built in-house and onto agentic litigation work priced by task instead of by the hour.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Peter Michaud has been elected to serve a second three-year term as Chair of Ballard Spahr, a national law firm with more than 750 lawyers in 19 offices across the country” source
- What they did 2026 “Ballard Spahr has launched a firm-wide rollout of Syllo's unified Litigation AI and Litigation Agent platform, the law firm announced, extending its use of advanced AI capabilities across the entire litigation life cycle and to staffing and pricing models for client matters.” source
- What they said 2025 “Ballard Spahr's proud and distinguished history stands as the foundation as we go beyond to lead the way into an exciting future for our clients, where technology helps create better companies and better communities,” source
- Michaela Gascon, KJT Group (Rochester, NY; employee-owned healthcare research and consulting firm, more than 50 full-time staff) ceo, United States
She is rebuilding an employee-owned healthcare research firm around AI-run interviews and digital-twin modeling, first as a separate brand and then inside the core service.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Rochester, NY-based KJT Group was founded in 2007 and is owned by its staff, who number more than 50 full-time across the US.” source
- What they did 2026 “Healthcare consulting firm KJT has brought its AI research business Sparq Intelligence into the KJT brand.” source
- What they said 2026 “'These AI capabilities are already being embraced by our healthcare clients and embedded into how we work together every day,' comments company President and CEO Michaela Gascon” source
- What they did 2025 “Sparq is launched as an independent brand with its own web site, and aims to provide brand teams with fast, actionable insights tailored to their unique needs without sacrificing the necessary rigor and thoughtfulness.” source
- Pat Walsh, Withum (New Jersey-founded independent, owner-operated accounting and advisory firm, more than 2,400 team members) ceo, United States
As managing partner and CEO he keeps a partner-owned accounting firm out of private equity while moving its audit practice onto an AI platform so it can serve clients with fewer people.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Pat Walsh steps into the role of Managing Partner and CEO. 50 Years Strong Withum reaches over 2,400 team members worldwide and over half a billion in revenue.” source
- What they did 2026 “Withum has deployed the DAS Suite, including DAS, DAS PCR and DAS EBP, to support the firm’s audit and assurance practice transformation.” source
- What they said 2025 “Withum's philosophy is rooted in stewardship rather than ownership, Walsh says, adding that the firm sees itself as a custodian of its legacy, aiming to pass on a better firm to the next generation.” source
- What they said 2025 “Looking ahead, Walsh identifies technology as a key driver of industry transformation. He dismisses fears of AI replacing accountants, likening it to past disruptions like blockchain and QuickBooks. Instead, technology will enable firms to right-size their service offerings and maintain high-quality service with fewer ” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil, outside the US route; Semco is not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic service firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada; Shopify is a public software company, not an owner-led service firm.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California; the route filters to private service firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel maker, not a professional services firm; outside the region.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer (New York), not a service business; the route's roster is consulting, research and professional services.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland; Novartis is a public pharma company.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; Reliance is a public conglomerate.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company in Washington state; outside the ownership and region filters.
Route 186: Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held property management and real estate services firms based in the South and Southeast (NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Property-manager rosters (NMHC, NARPM) and AI-in-leasing searches for the South and Southeast gave no owner-voiced change: large managers exceed 5,000 staff (RPM Living, Asset Living, Associa) or speak through vendors (EliseAI, Funnel). Names came from owner-led commercial and residential brokerages with owned service arms, read through The Real Deal people profiles, RISMedia newsmaker profiles and firm press releases.
Sources: NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through RealEstateNews independents tag, TRD Texas people profiles, RISMedia newsmakers, WebSearch for Southern owner-led brokerages and managers gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm press releases and trade press (partnersrealestate.com, rismedia.com, housingwire.com) gives dated change with leader quote (joined on firm name)
- leader through The Real Deal people profile or RISMedia newsmaker profile gives role, ownership, headcount (joined on person name)
- leader through earliest dated move on profile pages gives signal year (joined on person name)
New names that passed every check
- Jon Silberman, Partners Real Estate (Houston, Texas; commercial real estate services and investment firm, more than 300 professionals, private partnership) owner, United States
Silberman, CEO and largest shareholder, took his commercial brokerage out of the NAI Global affiliate network in 2022 and is rebuilding it as a partnership where the professionals who produce revenue own the firm.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As Partners’ CEO and largest shareholder, Silberman has overseen the firm’s evolution from a small regional brokerage into one of Texas’s most active independent commercial real estate firms, with more than 300 professionals” source
- What they did 2022 “The firm was affiliated with commercial brokerage NAI Global for about 25 years but elected not to renew its affiliate agreement and rebranded to Partners in 2022.” source
- What they said 2024 “We are a true partnership where our colleagues have ownership in the firm; similar to what you see in every other professional services vertical: accounting, consulting, legal, etc.” source
- What they said 2025 “Will and Hunter joining Partners is a significant endorsement of our unique private partnership structure, where the professionals who create the value also own a piece of the firm and participate in all of the firm’s wealth building opportunities” source
- Mike Pappas, The Keyes Family of Companies (Miami, Florida; family-owned since the 1920s; brokerage plus owned mortgage, title, insurance and property management arms; over 3,500 associates and employees) ceo, United States
Pappas runs Florida's largest independent brokerage as a family business that has rebuilt its sales process on its own integrated platform and owned service arms, aiming to own the consumer relationship for life.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As president and CEO of the Keyes Family of Companies, Mike Pappas oversees strategy and vision for The Keyes Company, Illustrated Properties, Platinum Properties, Capital Partners Mortgage, Home Partners Title, Keyes Insurance and Keyes Property Management.” source
- What they did 2019 “In the past year, Pappas has led Keyes through the successful roll-out and launch of a new technology platform with full integration, a real-time property activity tracking task manager and a smart CRM.” source
- What they said 2023 “puts us in a strong position to adapt to the industry’s evolution. She is well-suited to lead the integration of advanced technology that makes the real estate sales process more efficient and consumer-friendly” source
- What they did 2023 “Florida -based Keyes Company , an independent real estate brokerage , partnered with housing data aggregator BHR , the company announced Tuesday. Through this collaboration, all Keyes agents will benefit from RealReports, BHR’s flagship product. The latter gathers property data , ranging from climate risk to property v” source
- Dean Saunders, Saunders Real Estate (Lakeland, Florida; land and commercial brokerage with owned land management, property management, auction and valuation arms; over 100 advisors; independent since January 2025) owner, United States
Saunders, founder and managing director, took his land and commercial brokerage out of the SVN franchise in January 2025 to run it as an independent firm built around specialized land advice across the Southeast.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “With this update in leadership, Mr. Saunders will maintain his current role as Founder and Managing Director, continuing to be actively involved in guiding the firm's future.” source
- What they did 2025 “has transitioned from the SVN franchise to operate as an independent brokerage, concentrating on large-acreage land and commercial real estate across Florida and the southeastern United States.” source
- What they said 2025 “We're excited about this next chapter and the opportunity to further refine our approach to serving clients with more specialized focus and regional agility.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial group, outside a US Southern real estate services roster
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate, outside roster and US scope
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software company, outside roster
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma, outside roster
- Missed Yvon Chouinard apparel maker, not a real estate services firm
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian miner, outside roster and US scope
- Missed Aaron Levie public software company, outside roster
- Missed Satya Nadella public software company, outside roster
Route 187: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms based in the Midwest and Plains (employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This route is a re-promotion of S-127 (same region, same roster, invalidated 2026-10-06) and change-first searches did not rescue it. Every Midwest and Plains wealth firm that turned up failed one gate: Plancorp (St. Louis, 87 professionals) took TRIA Capital as a minority partner in 2024 and its 2025 news is a COO hire, not a change to the work; its hybrid-robo platform dates to 2017. Stevens Capital Partners (Omaha) bought a Dallas tax practice in August 2026 but reports roughly 9 to 21 staff. Cambridge Investment Research (Fairfield, Iowa) launched its Indy AI assistant in March 2026, but the move is voiced by a president of innovation and a chief experience officer, not by the controlling owner, and is tool adoption. Berger Financial Group gave Investcorp a majority stake in 2026. Moneta's trust company is a 2021 move. The Hawkeye wealth archive's Midwest items are all PE consolidator and aggregator M&A or breakaway teams. Zero new names after 9 web searches, 3 Hawkeye archive queries and 7 logged fetches.
Sources: employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through change-first WebSearch (in-house tax, trust company, flat fee, AI platform) plus Midwest states and metros; Hawkeye wealth archive gives firm (joined on firm name + HQ city)
- firm through firm newsroom (plancorp.com/awards-and-press/<slug>), RIA trade press (investmentnews.com, dwealth.news, americanbanker.com, planadviser.com) gives dated change (joined on firm name)
- dated change through same story or firm release gives leader who controls the firm, own words (joined on firm name + title)
- leader through second page (regional press, wire mirror) gives confirmation (joined on person name)
- firm through firm release boilerplate, Form ADV mirrors (aum13f.com, firmtracer.com), dated 2025-2026 profile gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name or CRD)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company led by a hired CEO, not a Midwest wealth firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian firm, not a US wealth manager; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker in California, not a wealth firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; outside the roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a Midwest wealth firm; outside the roster.
Route 188: Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms based in the West and Mountain states (Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. S-188 repeats S-128 word for word (West and Mountain owner-led freight, 3PL and logistics). S-128 spent three attempts here: it used up the Transport Topics Logistics and Brokerage lists and the AI angle, and it found three names (Ryan Petersen, David Duncan, Andrew Flynn), all already in output/candidates.json. This attempt tried only source families S-128 had not used. Employee-ownership stories turned up KKW Trucking (Pomona CA, ESOP in 2019 with a hired successor CEO) and Stewart Transport (Arizona, ESOP in January 2025). Both are ownership successions, which the standing rules say are not redesigns. Pacific Northwest and Mountain-state sweeps turned up Pasha Group's August 2025 Tacoma acquisitions, which are expansion and not a change to how the work is done, and Child Logistics (Ridgefield WA), whose warehouse division dates from 2013 and has no leader-voiced change. Denver and Utah searches returned only venture-backed AI freight startups and vendors. Five fetches were logged (two failed with 404) across eight searches. No name passed the future-legend gates.
Sources: Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through trade press search (ESOP stories, regional sweeps, business journals) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through trade article or firm page gives leader, ownership and control (joined on firm name)
- leader through trade and regional press 2023-2026 gives dated change in own words (joined on leader name plus firm)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not a freight or 3PL firm, so a West freight roster cannot reach him.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; out of scope for a private logistics roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; outside region, sector and ownership.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; the route is US West only.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and not a logistics service firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software company.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner.
Route 189: Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Third pass at the same segment and region after S-115 and S-129, both of which reported that family-owned HVAC, cleaning and home services in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic give 0 owner-voiced changes and only cleared by widening to trade contractors and movers. This attempt tried new source families only: Hartford Business Journal Connecticut Family Business Award rosters for 2022, 2024 and 2025 (about 60 honorees, 7 profiles fetched), Worcester Business Journal Best of Business honorees, ServiceTitan customer stories, Lawn & Landscape (Incapsula 403, also via --jina), cleanlink and ISSA building service contractor news, and change-first searches for in-house training centers, four-day weeks, robots and new divisions. 22 logged fetch attempts and about 14 searches gave 0 counted names. In-region service firms that pass size and control (SMG Corporate Services, about 4,000 staff, four co-owners) show no dated change. Those with a change are under 50 full-time staff (Savy & Sons 34, Degree Heating & Cooling) or have a firm-voiced, undated or marginal move: Niro Facilities Management (a 2024 rename and residential hardscape arm, 60 full-time staff, three brother co-owners), Best Cleaners (a planned 2024 sorting system, 55 full-time staff, chairman father above the president) and United Home Experts (customer portal). The one strong employee-owned fit, HB McClure (2025 tech center), is already in candidates.json as Bob Whalen. The roster is harvested for this region.
Sources: Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and segment through Hartford Business Journal Family Business Award roster pages gives family firm (joined on honoree slug)
- family firm through honoree profile (HQ, family members, full-time employees block) gives leader and headcount (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm site and trade press search 2023-2026 gives dated change (joined on firm name plus leader surname)
- leader through candidates.json and second page gives new name or drop (joined on normalized name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India, conglomerate; not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic family service firm, so outside every source this route reads.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; outside the US regional rosters.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California; not a service firm in the region.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel maker; not in Northeast family service rosters.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland, public pharma; out of scope.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer and over 5,000 staff; not a service firm in these rosters.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia, mining; out of scope.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada, public software; out of scope.
Route 190: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms based in the South and Southeast (CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region + mechanism query through CRN MSP AI round-ups (mirrored in CB Insights news rails) and regional CEO award lists gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom and wire mirrors (accelirate.com, einpresswire.com, newswire.ca) gives dated change (joined on firm name + year)
- firm through firm leadership page or release boilerplate gives controlling leader (joined on founder/CEO title)
- leader through second page (cbinsights.com/company/<slug>, sessionize, wire release) gives confirmation + own words (joined on person name)
- firm through release boilerplate, CB Insights profile, ownership cues (PE investment lines, MBE certification) gives headcount, ownership, control verdict (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Ahmed Zaidi, Accelirate Inc. (Sunrise, Florida; co-founded 2016; AI-enabled automation services and UiPath Diamond Partner; privately held per directory listings, ownership split not published) owner, United States
A co-founder who moved his automation services firm from RPA bots to AI-agent delivery, buying an AI analytics partner in 2024 and re-centering the firm on agentic automation with a fixed five-week delivery plan in 2025.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Ahmed Zaidi is the Chief Executive Officer of Accelirate. As the CEO, Ahmed is responsible for overall company strategy and execution.” source
- What they did 2024 “SUNRISE, FL – March 12, 2024 – Accelirate, a leading provider of AI-enabled automation services, announced today the acquisition of Revelation AI, a Platinum Salesforce Partner specializing in AI & Predictive Analytics.” source
- What they said 2025 ““Automation is evolving, and so are we. Our new website provides businesses with a clear roadmap to leverage Agentic Automation effectively,” said Ahmed Zaidi, CEO of Accelirate. “We now have a laser focus on AI Agents-driven Automation” source
- What they said 2025 ““Enterprises today are not looking for more tools — they’re looking for faster outcomes. While, product vendors will market the ease of development, Agentic Automation remains to be a new paradigm that requires technical skills and a different design thought process.”” source
- Sidd Ahmed, VDart Group (Alpharetta, Georgia; founded 2007; technology staffing, digital services and BPM; more than 3,500 people per its November 2025 release; holds MBE certifications) owner, United States
A founder who answered AI-enabled resume fraud in his own staffing business by building owned identity-verification platforms, after earlier moving delivery work to an owned center in a small Indian city.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Sidd Ahmed, the founder and chief executive officer of VDart Group, a global leader in digital technology staffing, product development and solutioning firm” source
- What they did 2025 “In response to rising AI-enabled résumé fraud and impersonation, he led the creation of BeRecognized.io and VerifiedID, identity-verification platforms expected to support more than 20 million consumers.” source
- What they did 2026 “Sidd decided VDart needed a proper facility, but he wanted something that would make young engineers from small-town India feel like they had arrived.” source
- What they said 2026 “As Group CEO, Sidd also leads multiple ventures, VDart Digital, VDart BPM, Vouch, BeRecognized, Hidden Curve, and Verified ID ,driving expansion across key global markets such as Japan, Australia, Malaysia, and the UAE” source
- Sanjeev Tirath, Pyramid Consulting, Inc. (Atlanta, Georgia; co-founded 1996; IT staffing, technology services (Celsior) and training (GenSpark); engages 6,500+ consultants per its own boilerplate, above the 5,000 band if all are counted as staff; no outside investor found, ownership split not published) owner, United States
A co-founder who moved his IT staffing firm from placing contractors to a combined talent, technology and training model, adding an owned hire-train-deploy division, an acquired Indian training firm and a proprietary skills-first talent platform.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “We are pleased to share that Sanjeev Tirath, co-founder and CEO of Pyramid Consulting, has been named on the prestigious Staffing 100 North America list for 2025” source
- What they did 2019 “We launched a new training division, GenSpark, that helps businesses close talent gaps, boost productivity, and build future-ready teams.” source
- What they said 2025 “He pioneered a business development model that has become an industry standard and has redefined the way Pyramid Consulting operates” source
- What they did 2026 “Powered by Hoonr's AI Builders ecosystem, Pyramid delivers Agile Pods, project teams, and Teams-as-a-Service models that help organizations execute faster, scale efficiently, and achieve measurable business outcomes.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not an IT services, managed services or technology consulting firm in the South; outside the route by desi
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company in Washington state; the route keeps only privately owned Southern IT services firms of 50 to 5,000 staff.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker in California, not a Southern IT services firm; outside the route by design.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; the route is US South only and excludes public firms.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian mining company; outside the US and outside IT services.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public California software company, not a privately owned Southern services firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the US and outside the size band.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company, not a Southern US founder-owned service firm; outside the route by design.
Route 191: Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of partner-owned CPA and advisory firms based in the Midwest and Plains (INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This route re-promotes S-145 (Midwest and Plains partner-owned CPA firms), which already harvested the one seam that worked here, the Accounting Today MP Elite pages (Cook, Minkler, Rammes, all now in candidates). A fresh roster of in-band independent Midwest firms from the AT 2026 Best Midsized Firms to Work For list (KerberRose, Porte Brown, Hungerford, Maner Costerisan, HBE, Vesta, Mahoney, Varney, Global Tax Network, Packer Thomas: HQ, staff and chief executive per row) gave no leader-voiced, dated change to how the work is done in searches or newsrooms. Change-first searches (owned subsidiary, India or offshore arm, fixed fee or four-day week, built-in-house AI) across Midwest states, ICPAS Insight features (quote consultants and the AICPA, not firm leaders) and the CPA Practice Advisor 2025 Innovation Awards (vendors) returned no new Midwest leader. The one owned arm found (AdamsBrown Technology Specialists, 2023) is voiced by the subsidiary CEO, not the firm leader. Consolidation keeps thinning the pool (Mueller Prost to Wipfli, Smith Schafer to CohnReznick, Mize to Aprio, Copeland Buhl to Frazier & Deeter). Zero new names after 12 logged fetches.
Sources: INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through Accounting Today 2026 Best Midsized and Large Firms to Work For (HQ, staff, chief executive per row) gives firm and chief executive (joined on firm name plus HQ city)
- firm through firm newsroom, IPA, CPA Practice Advisor, regional business journals via WebSearch gives dated change voiced by the leader (joined on firm name)
- change through second trade page gives confirmation (joined on firm name plus date)
- leader through firm site or dated 2025-2026 list row gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate; outside a US Midwest CPA roster
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining; outside a US CPA roster
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; route is US Midwest CPA firms only
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software company
- Missed Satya Nadella US public company far above 5,000 staff; not a CPA firm
- Missed Yvon Chouinard US owner, but an apparel maker, not a service firm
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya US owner, but a food maker, not a service firm
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma
Route 192: Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers based in the West and Mountain states (state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. S-192 repeats S-146 (West and Mountain law firms of 50 to 600 lawyers, invalidated 2026-10-06). The region is harvested: Holland & Hart, Fennemore, Davis Wright Tremaine, Gunderson Dettmer, Manatt, Phillips Law Group, Bay Legal and Aprio Legal are already in output/candidates.json. This attempt used only source families S-146 had not tried, the ones that worked for S-178 in the Northeast: harvey.ai customers, Thomson Reuters case studies, consulting-subsidiary, first chief innovation or AI officer and subscription-pricing queries, and Arizona ABS searches. These ran as 9 WebSearches and 6 logged fetches (2 of them 403). None gave a new West firm leader with a dated change in their own words. The harvey.ai customers page and the TR case-study archive name no West firms in the band. The new chief innovation and AI officer roles are all outside the region (Arnold & Porter, Cleary, Mintz, Chamberlain Hrdlicka, Croke Fairchild). West firm news in 2025 is managing-partner succession (BBK, Procopio). The one real change, Hanson Bridgett going firmwide on Claude in June 2026, is still voiced only by COO and CFO Laura Long, and hansonbridgett.com still returns 403 direct and via Jina.
Sources: state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through vendor customer indexes (harvey.ai/customers, legal.thomsonreuters.com case studies) and mechanism-noun web search gives law firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through firm newsroom, artificiallawyer.com, regional press gives dated change (joined on firm name + mechanism noun)
- dated change through release quote gives firm leader (joined on managing partner or chair name)
- firm leader through firm leadership page or dated 2025-2026 article gives control and headcount (joined on leader name)
- firm leader through earliest dated redesign move gives signal year (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella (Microsoft) is not the leader of a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so a regional law-firm roster cannot reach them.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan (Novartis, Switzerland) is not the leader of a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so a regional law-firm roster cannot reach them.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia) is not the leader of a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so a regional law-firm roster cannot reach them.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke (Shopify, Canada) is not the leader of a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so a regional law-firm roster cannot reach them.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest (Australia) is not the leader of a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so a regional law-firm roster cannot reach them.
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie (Box) is not the leader of a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so a regional law-firm roster cannot reach them.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya (Chobani) is not the leader of a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so a regional law-firm roster cannot reach them.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani (India) is not the leader of a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so a regional law-firm roster cannot reach them.
Route 193: Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. S-193 repeats S-147 word for word (same region, same sector), and S-147 already harvested the Northeast honoree lists, public media and IPA seam (SoNE, Valley Medical, Arches). Run change-first on a new noun, a physician-owned services company (MSO) built as the alternative to private equity, it gave one new Mid-Atlantic name: Nicholas Grosso (Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics and MedVanta, Bethesda MD). Behavioral health again gave only a bootstrapped merger (Well Behavioral Health) with no costly change after it, and the NJ MSO lead (Redefine Healthcare) shows only M&A. Attempt 2 switched to group-name-first searches on the largest independent groups in NY, NJ and PA, read through GlobeNewswire mirrors on markets.financialcontent.com and the Philadelphia Inquirer. It added Alexander Vaccaro (Rothman Orthopaedics, 2019 co-owned surgical-center joint venture) and Daniel Blum (ENT and Allergy Associates, owned MSO copying the partner-owned model into PA in 2025 and TX in 2026, plus an AI and automation CIO role). MAX Surgical (PE-backed), NYCBS, Capital Digestive Care and Advocare were rejected.
Sources: Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region plus change noun (physician-owned MSO, remain independent, no capital partner) through WebSearch over trade press (ryortho.com, bhbusiness.com, beckersspine.com as index only) gives independent practice group (joined on group name)
- independent practice group through Orthopedics This Week launch story gives leader quote and dated change (joined on group name plus leader name)
- leader and change through partner or counterparty release (varevolution.com/news/<slug>/) gives second dated page confirming the change (joined on owned arm name (MedVanta))
- leader through firm leadership page (medvanta.com/about/leadership) gives role, ownership, physician and site count (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Nicholas Grosso, The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics (CAO) and MedVanta (Bethesda, Maryland; physician-owned orthopaedic group and its physician-owned MSK services company, 160+ physicians across 60+ locations) owner, United States
A practicing surgeon who leads a physician-owned orthopaedic group, he built an owned services company (MedVanta, 2022) with centralized billing and AI movement tools so independent practices can scale without selling to private equity or hospitals.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “He is a founder and President of MedVanta. In addition to his responsibilities with MedVanta, Dr. Grosso serves as the President of The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics (CAO), one of the largest private orthopaedic groups in the nation” source
- What they did 2022 “Earlier this month, the private practice physicians who were behind the creation of The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics (CAO) launched MedVanta.” source
- What they said 2022 “We understand and support the private practice model of care delivery, and we are hyper focused on preserving the independent practice of medicine while increasing efficiency for musculoskeletal providers.” source
- What they did 2026 “Through Pronesis, athletes can complete AI-powered movement assessments designed to identify movement inefficiencies and potential MSK risk factors before they become larger issues.” source
- Alexander Vaccaro, Rothman Orthopaedics (Rothman Orthopaedic Institute; Philadelphia; physician-owned, 1,600 employees and 200+ doctors, owns nine surgical centers) owner, United States
A spine surgeon and president of a physician-owned orthopaedic group, he moved its procedures out of hospitals into surgical centers the practice co-owns, through a 2019 national joint venture, to cut cost per case while staying independent.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Rothman, which describes itself as the nation’s largest private orthopedics group, has 32 office locations, 1,600 employees, more than 200 doctors, and surgical privileges at about 70 facilities” source
- What they did 2019 “They have done an outstanding job over the years and this is why we are expanding our relationship through a national joint venture with their MUVE Centers.” source
- What they said 2025 “We really wanted to continue to move patients out of high-cost facilities to lower-cost facilities,” said Alexander Vaccaro, a spine specialist and Rothman’s president.” source
- Daniel Blum, ENT and Allergy Associates, LLP (ENTA; Tarrytown, New York; physician-partner-owned ENT, allergy and audiology group, 475+ clinicians in 80+ locations in NY, NJ, PA and TX) and its management services company Hümi (formerly QMMS USA) ceo, United States
CEO of a physician-owned specialty partnership, he is turning its owned management company into a vehicle that copies the partner-owned model into new states (Pennsylvania 2025, Texas 2026) and created a CIO post to lead AI and automation in operations.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “This marks ENTA’s first presence in Texas and extends its physician owned, patient-centered specialty care network beyond New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.” source
- What they did 2025 “Quality Medical Management Services USA, LLC (QMMS USA), an affiliate of ENT and Allergy Associates, LLP, is excited to announce the formation of ENT and Allergy Associates of Pennsylvania (ENTA - PA).” source
- What they did 2025 “At ENTA, Osbourn will spearhead AI, efficiency, and automation initiatives, ensuring the practice’s technology platforms are seamless, user-friendly, and highly effective.” source
- What they said 2025 “Our goal is to replicate our success, building a national confederation of independent practices that come together to grow, compete, and succeed while maintaining physician leadership and patient focus at the center.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian software CEO; a Northeast physician and behavioral health roster cannot reach him.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel owner outside healthcare services; out of the route's sector.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company CEO; out of sector, size band and ownership screen.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chair; not US, not a practice group.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining chair; not US, not healthcare services.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; not US, not a practice group.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya US food manufacturer owner; manufacturing is outside this healthcare services route.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; not US, not a practice group.
Route 194: Owner-led service firms: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the South and Southeast (Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region + subsector through WebSearch limited to SHN, HHCN, Hospice News, SNN gives operator (joined on '<State>-based' or city in story text)
- operator through trade story or operator release gives controlling leader (joined on founder / principal / managing partner title)
- leader through trade interview gives dated change in own words (joined on leader name + firm name)
- change through second trade story, PR Newswire mirror or operator newsroom gives confirmation (joined on firm name)
- firm through operator release or team page 2025-2026 gives ownership, control, size (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Marc Vorkapich, Watercrest Senior Living Group (Vero Beach, Florida; co-founded 2012 by Vorkapich and Joan Williams, who remain its two principals; more than two dozen assisted living and memory care communities in Florida, Texas and Virginia in 2026) owner, United States
Rebuilding how a founder-owned Southeastern assisted living and memory care operator delivers care: a budgeted company-wide overhaul of memory care programming and a staff culture that replaces job titles with personal core values.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"Fourteen years ago, we set out to build a senior living company unlike any other, a place where excellence in care and character mattered above all else," says Marc Vorkapich, Principal and CEO of Watercrest Senior Living Group” source
- What they did 2019 “On the whole, Watercrest is making a sizable investment in its programming for residents and company culture, according to Watercrest CEO and Principal Marc Vorkapich. “Our initial investment, which we consider to be over the next two to three years, is just over $1.25 million, with additional resources of $250,000 all” source
- What they did 2026 “rather than job titles, associates wear name tags bearing their personal core values instead.” source
- Johny Chacko, Angel Hands Hospice and Palliative Care (Richardson, Texas; founded by Chacko, led by him with two managing partners; offices in Dallas, Fort Worth/Denton, Tyler and Denison serving North and East Texas) owner, United States
Changing how a founder-led Texas hospice works upstream of hospice: an individualized, largely unreimbursed palliative and pre-palliative program and training staff and volunteers as end-of-life doulas.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Hospice News recently sat down with Johny Chacko, founder and managing partner of the Texas-based hospice and palliative care provider, and Arti Patel-Cheadle, its administrator and managing partner. Patel-Cheadle brings more than a decade of experience to the organization.” source
- What they said 2025 “Chacko: What we’ve figured out is that each patient is specific and different. So, we created a method to address patient needs based on their specific and different situations, rather than just starting a palliative program.” source
- What they did 2025 “Texas-based Angel Hands Hospice and Palliative Care is led by managing partners Johny Chacko, founder, and Arti Patel-Cheadle, administrator. The hospice provider recently expanded its volunteer-based doula program. Among the goals is to develop a doula-certification training program.” source
- What they said 2025 “That’s why we’re working on training more of our team to be a doula or to be able to talk to any senior population differently than others about the end of life, palliative and hospice care.” source
- Tim Gary, Galerie Living (Atlanta, Georgia; founded by Gary, who is CEO; integrated owner, developer and operator of Village Park and Corso senior living communities; 650 US employees on its Top Workplaces profile) and its sister tech company Fynn owner, United States
Rebuilding how a founder-owned Atlanta senior living operator runs: an owned operations and health-data platform (Fynn) built in a sister company, a hospitality management layer over care, mandatory in-house training and tracked staff workloads.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Gary continued innovating, building up the Noble Village brand in a family-owned company; when his father retired, Gary struck out on his own and started Galerie.” source
- What they did 2021 “He is aiming to change that by creating such a technology platform, starting a separate company to build the product, which has been dubbed Fynn.” source
- What they said 2024 “pouring tons of money into building our Fynn platform, which helps reduce the employee turnover rate and create more efficiencies.” source
- What they did 2024 “To that end, the company has a training program called Galerie University that all workers must go through. Galerie also uses technology to track staff workloads, with the intention of using that data to support them if their burden becomes too great or they start burning out at work.” source
- What they said 2024 “I thrive off of change. That’s what motivates me every day to go do this.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chairman; not a Southern US aging-services operator, so absent from the roster this route starts from.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia founder, apparel; outside the home care, senior living and hospice roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani founder, food manufacturing; outside the aging-services roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft CEO, public software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box CEO, public software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify CEO, Canadian public company; outside the roster and the US South.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco owner, Brazil; not a US aging-services operator.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue chairman, Australia; mining, outside the roster.
Route 195: Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the Midwest and Plains (Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Midwest and Plains privately held insurance brokers are already harvested by S-107 (Victorson, Bill, Appel) and S-149 (Keough, Powers, Kapnick), and Camargo (Mueller) and INSURICA are also in candidates. The IJ Top 100 2026 (insurancejournal.com/?p=881636) has about 30 rows with a Midwest or Plains office; after PE platforms (HUB, BroadStreet, Alera, Highstreet, Relation, Superior, Robertson Ryan), Lockton (over 5,000 staff), banks (Huntington), the Unison perpetuation platform and names already found, about 12 private firms remain. Per-firm and change-first searches gave M&A, succession and culture news. IJ Best Agencies to Work For Midwest 2025 winners talk about internal perpetuation and profit sharing (DSP, a hired president). Hylant's CEO is a hired non-family executive with no dated change. The only real redesign is old and not in the leader's own words: John Butler's 1981 founding of Self Insured Services Company at Cottingham & Butler, now voiced only by bios, with Butler as chairperson and a new president from 2026. AI vendor case studies (outmarket.ai/customers) quote COOs and technicians. Zero new names pass the profile.
Sources: Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through Insurance Journal Top 100 P/C Agencies 2026 and Best Agencies to Work For Midwest 2025 gives agency (joined on agency name plus Office city/state)
- agency through agency newsroom, IJ Midwest news, Business Insurance, regional press gives dated change plus speaker (joined on agency name)
- speaker through agency leadership page or state hall of fame bio gives control and headcount (joined on person name plus agency)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Miss. The route's universe is privately held Midwest and Plains insurance agencies and brokers (IJ Top 100 2026 rows, IJ Best Agencies to Work For Midwest 2025)
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Miss. The route's universe is privately held Midwest and Plains insurance agencies and brokers (IJ Top 100 2026 rows, IJ Best Agencies to Work For Midwest 2025)
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Miss. The route's universe is privately held Midwest and Plains insurance agencies and brokers (IJ Top 100 2026 rows, IJ Best Agencies to Work For Midwest 2025)
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss. The route's universe is privately held Midwest and Plains insurance agencies and brokers (IJ Top 100 2026 rows, IJ Best Agencies to Work For Midwest 2025)
- Missed Andrew Forrest Miss. The route's universe is privately held Midwest and Plains insurance agencies and brokers (IJ Top 100 2026 rows, IJ Best Agencies to Work For Midwest 2025)
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss. The route's universe is privately held Midwest and Plains insurance agencies and brokers (IJ Top 100 2026 rows, IJ Best Agencies to Work For Midwest 2025)
- Missed Tobi Lutke Miss. The route's universe is privately held Midwest and Plains insurance agencies and brokers (IJ Top 100 2026 rows, IJ Best Agencies to Work For Midwest 2025)
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Miss. The route's universe is privately held Midwest and Plains insurance agencies and brokers (IJ Top 100 2026 rows, IJ Best Agencies to Work For Midwest 2025)
Route 196: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms based in the West and Mountain states (ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ENR regional award keyword page through ENR Specialty Contractor of the Year and Contractor of the Year keyword pages gives winning firm profile (joined on enr.com/articles/<id>-<slug>)
- firm profile through ENR Mountain States & Southwest and ENR West print profiles gives leader quote and dated change (joined on firm name + named leader)
- firm through firm site history/fabrication pages, regional business press, PR Newswire reposts gives control, headcount and second page on the change (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Rick Kinning, RK Industries (formerly RK Mechanical; Denver and Aurora, Colorado; second-generation family-owned mechanical, steel, electrical and modular contractor, nearly 1,400 employees in 2020) owner, United States
Turned a family plumbing and mechanical contractor into a set of owned manufacturing businesses, most recently RK Mission Critical, which builds modular data center and power units in its own Aurora plants.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Kinning, who has led RK since becoming majority owner in 1985, says that diversity, coupled with deep resources and expertise, leaves few projects beyond RK’s capabilities.” source
- What they did 2020 “The most recent addition, RK Mission Critical, aims to apply RK’s extensive prefabrication expertise in steel components and mechanical and electrical systems to providing modular construction services for data centers and other key industries.” source
- What they did 2025 “RK has a large fabrication space for its RK Steel and RK Energy subsidiaries in Henderson, while Aurora hosts two facilities dedicated to producing customized modules for RK Mission Critical, a subsidiary that serves aerospace, financial, tech and agricultural clients.” source
- What they said 2020 ““We also value creativity and nimbleness,” he adds. “If there’s a new market or new opportunity, we’re able to jump into it.”” source
- Neil Nelson, Engineered Structures Inc. (ESI Construction; Meridian, Idaho; privately owned general contractor and design-builder, more than 1,000 employees, $941.9 million 2025 revenue) ceo, United States
Is putting AI into every function of a regional general contractor, with leaders held to it in weekly training, and built an in-house academy that turns career changers into superintendents.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “ENR Senior Editor Jennifer Seward sat down with Neil Nelson, president and CEO, and Ben Davee, vice president of strategy and growth, to learn more.” source
- What they did 2026 “Unlike other firms with a targeted approach, we’re using AI holistically across the organization. We’re looking at it for soft skills and coaching, leadership, legal, business development and operational excellence. Our leaders make it part of their weekly trainings and workflow, and we’re holding them accountable in t” source
- What they did 2026 “ESI has responded by investing in training, mentorship, and career development initiatives designed to prepare employees for long-term success. Programs such as the ESI Academy provide structured opportunities for professional growth, while leadership development efforts help prepare future generations of company leade” source
- What they said 2026 “The other talent pool is our field engineer program, like Ben mentioned, whether it’s ex-military or ex-athlete or someone coming from another career with passion but no hard construction skills yet. We provide targeted training around both hard and soft skills, and they become our future superintendents and project ma” source
- Dustin Harder, Harder Mechanical Contractors (Portland, Oregon; fifth-generation family-owned mechanical contractor, 2,350 US employees, $744 million 2024 revenue) owner, United States
Is shifting a family mechanical contractor from field installation toward off-site manufacturing, moving fabrication and modular work into owned plants so field crews do less of it.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Eighty years after the company’s founding, Dustin Harder transitioned to president of Harder Mechanical Contractors in 2014. As the fifth generation of Harder leadership, Dustin continues the legacy his great-great-grandfather began nearly a century ago.” source
- What they did 2025 “A key driver of efficiency and success for the firm has been moving more fabrication and modular work to its offsite manufacturing shop. This strategy has improved safety, productivity and cost control while allowing field crews to focus on higher-value tasks.” source
- What they did 2026 “Harder operates more than 250,000 SF of fabrication facilities across four states” source
- What they said 2025 “These projects require speed, precision and innovation, areas where Harder Mechanical’s off-site manufacturing (OSM) capabilities give us a major advantage,” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software company; not a US West AEC firm, so cannot enter the ENR regional award rosters.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial group; outside the US West and Mountain AEC rosters.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker, not an engineering, architecture or construction services firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma company; out of sector, region and ownership screen.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company; not AEC services.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining group; out of region and sector.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer; not AEC services.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate; out of region, sector and ownership screen.
Route 197: Owner-led service firms: privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region + segment through WebSearch over SIA list headlines and firm names (staffingindustry.com is 403), mechanism queries (AI-native, agentic, AI recruiter) plus Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states gives privately held Northeast or Mid-Atlantic staffing firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom and press release pages (compunnel.com, digital.compunnel.com, integritystaffing.com/news) gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name)
- change through same release, quote attribution gives leader who controls the firm, in their own words (reject EVP- or hired-CEO-voiced releases) (joined on person name + firm)
- leader through second release at a different URL on the same change gives second confirmation (joined on person name)
- firm through firm About page (founder line, private-company award, staff count) gives control, ownership and size (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Andy Gaur, Compunnel Inc. (IT staffing, workforce, digital and cybersecurity services; Plainsboro, New Jersey; founded 1993-94; 6,000+ professionals) owner, United States
Rebuilding a 30-year New Jersey IT staffing firm around agentic AI, from an owned AI hiring platform (Eximius) to a new AI hub and incubator.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Andy Gaur is the CEO and the Founder of Compunnel Inc. With his entrepreneurial drive, value-based leadership, and focused approach, Andy has evolved a successful, profitable business to continually meet the changing market and customer demands” source
- What they did 2026 “Compunnel’s strategic investment in Eximius – an agentic AI hiring platform – exemplifies the company’s shift towards autonomous intelligence in talent acquisition.” source
- What they said 2026 ““From Eximius transforming how we staff enterprises, to OneGuru revolutionizing HCMS, to incubating the next generation of AI startups – this workplace represents our commitment to leading, not following, the AI transformation.” source
- What they did 2026 “Compunnel has launched an AI startup incubator at its Noida and New Jersey facilities, inviting applications from AI-native companies building enterprise solutions. The initiative, run under Compunnel Ventures AI (CVai) , builds on Compunnel’s prior investments in Eximius (talent acquisition), TestGrid (software testin” source
- What they said 2026 “But the world changed and so did we. Artificial Intelligence is no longer a trend. It is the new infrastructure of business. And Compunnel is not just adapting to it — we are rearchitecting around it. We’re not layering AI on top. We’re rebuilding from the core.” source
- Ben Thakur, eTeam Inc. and the eTeam Group of Companies (High5, Totam, Elevance, Compass); founder-led IT and workforce staffing, Somerset and Edison, New Jersey; founded 1999 owner, United States
Turning a New Jersey contract staffing firm into a technology-led talent platform by building and owning High5, a digital marketplace for independent consulting talent, alongside the traditional staffing business.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In 1999 I started eTeam Inc., with the goal of helping companies stay ahead of that curve. This year, we launched High5 as a continuation of that goal.” source
- What they did 2016 “The first High5 platform launched in 2016, delivering a technology-enabled experience for talent, clients and recruiters. More recently we have developed this platform, integrating into an industry-leading marketplace and innovating how talent and clients connect.” source
- What they said 2024 “Through this partnership, High5 and Talmix can now provide clients with an end-to-end digital talent solution across all talent categories.” source
- What they said 2021 “While those events are very challenging in many ways, each has resulted in new opportunities to emerge stronger than before. To do so, businesses have to be willing to reinvent themselves.” source
- Ann Ramakumaran, Ampcus Inc. / Ampcus Group (Chantilly, Virginia; founder-led, woman- and minority-owned technology consulting and staff augmentation firm; founded 2004; 3,000+ employees per its 2024-2026 timeline) owner, United States
Moving a Virginia staff augmentation firm into owned technology: buying the SmarterD AI data-convergence platform in 2026 and launching owned arms such as Ampcus Forensics, under its founder and CEO.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Ampcus is a woman- and a minority-owned and -certified company by both of these organizations.” source
- What they did 2026 “Ampcus has acquired SmarterD, an AI-powered platform that brings together IT, security and compliance data across enterprise systems, the companies announced Monday. The acquisition will place SmarterD within Ampcus’ cybersecurity and risk management division.” source
- What they did 2023 “Ampcus Group launches Ampcus Forensics to better assist the insurance industry with fraud investigations and BI claims.” source
- What they said 2024 “There's so much that we've learned in this 20 years, and because of having that right attitude of continuous learning, adapting and embracing change, Fred, we've continued to grow, thrive, and succeed in the marketplace.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company, not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic privately held staffing or workforce services firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian commerce software company; outside the route's US staffing roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharmaceutical company; outside the roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the route's US staffing roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker in California, not a staffing or workforce services firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian mining company; outside the route's US staffing roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic staffing or workforce services firm; outside the roster.
Route 198: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies based in the South and Southeast (Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The Southern and Southeast roster of founder-owned agencies at roughly 50+ staff is already harvested. S-152 took Hahn and Herzog, and S-34 and S-66 took Popstefanov (PMG) and Kerner (Mighty & True). The rest fail screening. O'Dwyer's 2025 Southeast ranking has 7 firms at 50+ FT staff. Of those, Zimmerman is Omnicom, Edelman, Finn and APCO are national firms, and French/West/Vaughan, Jackson Spalding and rbb were already searched with no change found. MP&F's own site and its Agility PR coverage return 403 to scripts. The new spines also failed. AMIN spotlights give employee-owned Zehnder, but there a VP speaks and the only change is a merged PR and social department. Indie Agency News interviews (Doe-Anderson, Lewis, The Variable) give culture and continuity, not a dated redesign by the person in control. Adweek Fastest Growing 2025 and 2026 list only one Southern 51-100 firm not already screened (The Infinite Agency), with no leader-voiced change. Otter PR has a founder-voiced guaranteed-results model, but it has 33 FT staff, several co-founders, and its AI moves are plans. 0 new names from 20 fetch attempts and 15 searches.
Sources: Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through O'Dwyer's 2025 Southeast PR ranking; Adweek Fastest Growing Agencies 2025 and 2026 (Southern locations) gives agency (joined on firm name, city, FT employees or Employees band)
- agency through AMIN Worldwide agency spotlight; Indie Agency News 'Meet an Indie Agency' and CEO interviews gives ownership, leader and own words (joined on firm name)
- agency + leader through WebSearch '<firm> <leader> AI 2025', then firm newsroom or trade page gives dated change voiced by the leader (joined on firm name + leader name)
- change through second outside page (trade or wire mirror) gives confirmation, headcount, control, earliest move (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner, not a US Southern agency; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining billionaire; no agency roster contains him.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; outside the route's geography and sector.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya US food manufacturer owner (Chobani), not a service agency in the South.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software CEO; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard US apparel owner (Patagonia, California), not a Southern agency.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate owner; outside the route.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company CEO; not an agency.
Route 199: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms based in the West and Mountain states (Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised
Sources: Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and service type through WebSearch change-first queries (employee-owned or founder-owned West consulting, engineering-consulting and research firms plus AI, new arm or launch) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom (dated release with leader quote) gives dated change and leader (joined on firm domain)
- leader through trade interview (Zweig Letter, Seattle Business, MRWeb DRNO) gives role, control and own words (joined on leader name plus firm)
- firm through firm year-in-review or history page gives headcount, ownership, earliest move (joined on firm domain)
New names that passed every check
- Darin Anderson, Salas O'Brien (Irvine, California, founded 1975; employee-owned engineering, architecture, commissioning and technology consulting firm, 4,850+ team members, 90% employee-owners) ceo, United States
As chairman and CEO of an employee-owned engineering consultancy he is funding staff-built AI tools for design markups, commissioning, proposals and contract review, changing how the firm's core engineering work is produced.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Chairman and CEO of Salas O’Brien, an employee-owned firm with no corporate headquarters that provides building and facility solutions to clients across the United States.” source
- What they did 2025 “Expanded our capabilities through 11 mergers with like-minded partners Launched Project AI to empower team innovation with artificial intelligence” source
- What they said 2025 “AI helps us learn faster, design smarter, and deliver solutions that truly raise the bar for our company and clients, while keeping the innovation, care, and excellence that define our work.” source
- What they did 2025 “As development begins, we are dedicating resources to turn these concepts into reality by engaging team members who submitted ideas, along with others in related areas of the company, in testing and refinement.” source
- What they said 2020 “almost all of my time is spent “on” the business improving systems, processes, recruiting, developing leaders, and pursuing growth.” source
- James Barlow, BZI (Building Zone Industries, BZI Steel and InnovaTech; Kanarraville, Utah; privately held steel erection and fabrication contractor founded 2006 by five farmhands, 800+ employees) ceo, United States
As CEO of a privately held steel erection contractor he moved crew work from height to the ground through a proprietary panelization method and an owned equipment arm (InnovaTech), changing how the firm's core field work is done.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “James Barlow has transformed BZI into a national leader in steel erection and fabrication since becoming CEO in 2016.” source
- What they did 2025 “In contrast, BZI's unique methods allow panelized joist and decking to be lifted as a single module after being constructed on the ground.” source
- What they said 2024 “rethinking steel is a commitment to always analyzing what we’re doing and determining if there’s an innovative solution that can make it even better. That’s really at the heart of the way we think and operate.” source
- What they said 2024 “That process, which saved time and labor, launched the company’s InnovaTech division in order to further develop processes and equipment that make steel go up faster with fewer man hours needed and in a safer work environment.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker based in Ventura, not a consulting, research or professional services firm, so it is not on this roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not a professional services firm; the roster never reaches it.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland; Novartis is a public drug company, outside the US service-firm roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not a privately owned service firm, so the roster excludes it.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company far above 5,000 staff; excluded by the roster screen.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; Semco is outside the US West and Mountain roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; Reliance is a public conglomerate, outside the route.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada; Shopify is a public software company, not an owner-led service firm.
Route 200: Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held property management and real estate services firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised
Sources: NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region + segment through Multifamily Dive operations and people Q&As, MFE briefs, RealEstateNews independents tag, NYREJ spotlights gives firm (joined on firm name in a story that quotes its leader)
- firm through same trade story or firm launch brief gives dated change (new owned arm, operating model, AI in the core work) (joined on firm name + year)
- change through trade Q&A or launch release gives leader who controls the firm and their words (joined on leader name)
- leader through a second, different trade page gives confirmation of the change (joined on firm name + leader name)
- firm through launch brief or Q&A with headcount and ownership line gives size, ownership and control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Shah Alam, Pratum Companies (Gaithersburg, MD; privately held real estate services firm formed by Alam's Full Circle Real Estate Partners; third-party property management for 150+ communities, 15,000+ units in eight states; 500+ employees) owner, United States
Rebuilt a 50-year-old third-party apartment manager into an integrated services firm with new owned lines (third-party compliance and leasing consulting, commercial cleaning) and moves rote back-office work off site managers so they serve residents.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Alam later acquired Baltimore-based Edgewood Management Corporation under his Full Circle Real Estate Partners company in August 2023 and formed FCRE Compliance and Leasing in August 2023 to pave the way for launching Gaithersburg, Maryland-based real estate services company Pratum Companies.” source
- What they did 2024 “Our distinct business lines, which include third-party compliance and leasing consulting, will set a new industry standard by providing real estate firms and multifamily owners with unique access to our proven regulatory adherence and resident retention strategies. It’s a new approach and one that I hope spurs much-nee” source
- What they said 2024 “The thing that we're trying to do differently is how do we keep that data entry, low-hanging-fruit work away from assistant managers so they can really focus on the customer service and service side of the community?” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss pharmaceutical company, outside the US Northeast and Mid-Atlantic real estate services roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is in Brazil and not a real estate services firm; the regional trade press never surfaces him.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not on any property management or brokerage roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public software; outside the route's segment and size band.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker in California, not a Northeast real estate services firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software company; outside segment and country.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer; upstate New York HQ but not a real estate services firm, so the route never reaches it.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; outside segment and country.
Route 201: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms based in the South and Southeast (employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This is the third time the same route has run (S-141, S-159, now S-201) and the seventh owner-led wealth region cut to return 0. Firms not tried before were checked this time and each fails a filter before the change question. First Command Financial Services (Fort Worth) is run by a CEO promoted in 2020 under a board chair, so the CEO does not control it. Tolleson Wealth Management (Dallas) set up Tolleson Trust Company in 2026, but that is an existing trust department chartered as a bank subsidiary, a structural move rather than a change to how the work is done, and the only own-words line is about opening an office. RFG Advisory (Vestavia Hills, AL, 200+ staff, AI-powered platform build in 2025) has been majority-owned by Long Ridge Equity Partners since 2023. The Hawkeye wealth archive for the region returns consolidator deals and breakaway teams. 6 fetch attempts (4 saved, 2 at 403) and 6 searches.
Sources: employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through WebSearch for large private Southern wealth firms not covered by S-141 or S-159, plus a Hawkeye wealth archive search gives firm (joined on firm name + HQ city)
- firm through investmentnews.com company page or firm press release gives ownership and control verdict (joined on firm name)
- fit firm through firm newsroom, regional and trade press gives dated change voiced by the controlling leader (joined on firm name + leader name)
- leader through second independent page gives confirmation + headcount (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker in California; outside sector and region.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; not a US Southern wealth firm.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California; outside sector, region and ownership filter.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside sector and country.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian manufacturer and services group; outside country and sector.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; outside sector and country.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company in Washington state; outside sector, region and ownership filter.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public software company in Canada; outside sector, region and ownership filter.
Route 202: Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms based in the Midwest and Plains (Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Third pass at Midwest and Plains owner-led freight (after S-142 and S-160). Rankings and regional rosters stay dead, so this attempt swapped in carrier award rosters that S-142 and S-160 never used: CCJ Innovators (via WebSearch snippets, since ccjdigital.com is 403 direct and via --jina), HDT Top Green Fleets 2025 and the CarriersEdge 2026 Best Fleets to Drive For list, which names about 14 Midwest family carriers. One name passes: Dominic Zastarskis, CEO of GP Transco (Joliet IL), who turned the in-house TMS into a product sold to other fleets (2023) and built in-house AI planning tools (2025), quoted on both. Control is flagged: he became CEO through a 2015 merger with the founder, and the ownership split is not public. Garner Trucking (Sherri Garner Brumbaugh) is parked because its under-21 apprenticeship change is voiced by the COO. Attempt 2 added a change-first pass (family-owned plus new division or in-house tech plus Midwest states): Bryan Keller, family owner-CEO of Keller Logistics Group (Defiance OH, 750+ staff), launched a dry bulk Ag division in October 2025 and hired a CTO to rebuild WMS and TMS in 2026, quoted on both. Grand Island Express (VP-voiced), Anderson Trucking (vendor release), Roehl (pay rises), J&R Schugel (now inside IPS) and Tallgrass Freight (2019-2021 change, staff count unknown) were checked and dropped.
Sources: Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award roster through CarriersEdge Best Fleets to Drive For, HDT Top Green Fleets, CCJ Innovators gives carrier (joined on firm name and HQ city)
- carrier through WebSearch on firm name plus in-house, AI, program; firm site gives dated change (joined on firm name)
- dated change through FreightWaves, Newswire release, TT, TheTrucker gives controlling leader and own words (joined on leader name and title)
- leader through firm site, second trade page gives control, headcount, second confirmation (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Dominic Zastarskis, GP Transco (Joliet, Illinois; truckload carrier, 550+ trucks) ceo, United States
Rebuilt a truckload carrier around its own software, turning its in-house TMS into a product for other fleets and adding in-house AI planning tools for dispatchers.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “and now, other carriers can finally harness this technology,” said Dominic Zastarskis, CEO of Joliet, Illinois-based GP Transco and OpenRoad TMS.” source
- What they did 2023 “OpenRoad TMS was developed in-house and manages operations for the company’s fleet of more than 550 trucks and 800 trailers.” source
- What they said 2023 “With nearly 20 years of experience in running a trucking company, OpenRoad TMS embodies everything we’ve learned about managing operations, safety, maintenance, accounting and more,” source
- What they did 2025 “By utilizing AI to support-rather than replace-our skilled operations staff, we're building a smarter, more agile fleet.” source
- Bryan Keller, Keller Logistics Group (Defiance, Ohio; family-owned asset-based 3PL, 750+ employees) owner, United States
Second-generation family owner who is turning a regional trucking firm into a technology-enabled national 3PL, adding a dry bulk Ag division in 2025 and a CTO to rebuild its WMS and TMS in 2026.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Keller Logistics Group is locally family owned and operated by Thomas E. Keller’s nephews, CEO Bryan Keller, and his brother Aaron Keller, Chief Sales Officer.” source
- What they did 2025 “Keller Trucking, part of Keller Logistics Group, launches its Ag Division focused on hopper transportation.” source
- What they said 2025 “The Ag Division represents another natural extension of our logistics expertise—and another opportunity to penetrate a growing market that aligns with who we are and where we operate.” source
- What they said 2026 “Warehousing, trucking, brokerage and industrial real estate are fundamentally technology-enabled businesses today.” source
- What they did 2026 “Hudson-Nowak will lead technology strategy and execution across all four of the company’s operating affiliates (Keller Trucking, Keller Warehousing & Co-Packing, Keller Freight Solutions, and Keller Industrial Properties), with responsibility for the modernization of the WMS, TMS, and digital fulfillment capabilities t” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil industrial owner; not a US Midwest freight or logistics firm, outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company; outside the carrier award rosters.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer; not a freight or logistics firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel company; not a freight or logistics firm.
Route 203: Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) based in the West and Mountain states (Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Third pass at West and Mountain family-owned HVAC, cleaning and home services after S-143 and S-161, which both reported 0 names roster-first and cleared only by widening to trade contractors. This attempt tried four new source kinds: Orange County Business Journal Family-Owned Business Awards (landing page has no nominee text; wp-json search for janitorial, family-owned HVAC and plumbing returns only PE deals and expansions), Association of Washington Business award winners (one in-segment family firm, Sprague Pest Solutions; MacCoy Home Solutions is a small Lynnwood contractor), Family Business Magazine CEOs to Watch 2024-2026 (only Sprague is a West service firm), and CleanLink BSCAI leader profiles (Canadian). Mechanism searches (four-day week, eliminated commissions, janitorial robots, autonomous mowers, pest control AI) returned only vendors, job ads and out-of-region firms. The one lead that passes size and control, Ross Treleven of Sprague (330 staff, fourth-generation family, chairman, CEO and president), has no dated costly change in his own words: the operations center and the commercial-only decision are told by the editor and marketing director, undated, and his own quote says the job is to carry the firm forward, not rebuild it. Zero new names that pass; the segment and region pair is exhausted.
Sources: Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- state or national family-business award through AWB award winners; Family Business Magazine CEOs to Watch; OCBJ Family-Owned Business Awards gives family-owned West service firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom (spraguepest.com news posts) gives controlling leader and dated change (joined on leader name)
- leader through Family Business Magazine profile, trade press gives own-words quote, headcount (joined on leader name plus firm)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia, mining and philanthropy; not a West US family service firm, so outside every roster this route reads.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India, conglomerate; outside the US regional rosters.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada, public software company; not a service firm and not in any US family-business award roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; outside the US regional rosters.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard United States but Patagonia is apparel retail and manufacturing, not HVAC, cleaning or home services; not in the AWB, OCBJ or Family Business Magazine West serv
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software; fails the private and service screens.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not a service firm; not in the rosters read.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland, public pharma; outside the route.
Route 204: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Roster-first (CRN SP500, MSP 501) is spent for this region after S-144 and S-162, and fintechfutures and businesswire releases are 403. Names came change-first: a firm's own dated newsroom release voiced by its owner, confirmed by the firm About timeline or office-technology trade press (enxmag.com) that prints ownership and succession.
Sources: CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- change query through WebSearch for Northeast and Mid-Atlantic IT services and MSP launches (new AI division, AI investment commitment, acquisitions) 2024-2026 gives firm plus dated release (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom or PR Newswire release gives leader quote on the change (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm About timeline, enxmag.com dealer tag page and feature gives second page confirming the change, ownership and succession (joined on firm name)
- leader through enxmag.com succession feature, firm release boilerplate gives role and control (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Eugene Goland, DataArt (New York, NY; software engineering and data and AI services; founded 1997; 6,000+ staff) owner, United States
The founder of a privately held New York engineering firm committed $100 million over three years to move its delivery onto AI, then launched Artisyn as the firm's AI-enabled operating model and delivery platform.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Eugene Goland, CEO and Founder of DataArt, said: We are making a deliberate financial commitment to the technologies shaping the future of our clients and our company.” source
- What they did 2025 “DataArt, a global software engineering firm specializing in data, analytics, and AI, today announced a $100 million commitment to strengthen its data and AI capabilities” source
- What they did 2026 “2026 Launched Artisyn, our AI-enabled operating model and delivery platform, to help enterprise teams design, build, and deploy AI solutions at scale” source
- What they did 2025 “Internally, the company is scaling AI adoption across all functions. By the end of 2025, 100% of employees will have access to corporate AI tools, and up to 60% of engineering roles will actively use AI.” source
- Jason Weiss, Atlantic, Tomorrow's Office (New York, NY; family-owned managed IT and technology services provider) owner, United States
The second-generation CEO of a family-owned New York copier dealer is turning it into a data and AI services firm, buying BrainSell and Interloop in 2025 and folding them into a new Activated Intelligence division in 2026.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jason Weiss has been named CEO, Adam Weiss has been appointed president, and Larry Weiss, the company's longtime president and CEO, will transition to the role of chairman.” source
- What they did 2026 “Activated Intelligence builds on the data, analytics, and business applications expertise Atlantic added through its acquisitions of BrainSell and Interloop, bringing those capabilities together under one integrated division.” source
- What they said 2026 “When I became CEO, I set a clear priority: modernize Atlantic so we could take full advantage of today's technology and help our clients do the same,” source
- What they did 2025 “This acquisition represents a significant step forward in our mission to provide comprehensive, technology-driven business solutions,” source
- What they said 2025 “Our job is to help customers grow, and that starts by growing ourselves,” source
- Larry Katzman, Applied Information Sciences, AIS (Reston, VA; employee-owned IT consulting and Microsoft cloud and AI services firm; founded 1982) ceo, United States
The CEO of an employee-owned Reston IT consulting firm put 25,000+ hours into a generative AI proposal product, spun it out as WordX in 2024, then invested $2.7 million in a standing solution center that changes how AIS staffs and delivers client work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “pWin.ai was driven by clear market demand for AI-powered proposal support and the motivation to create a formidable platform we could build atop,” says Larry Katzman, CEO of AIS.” source
- What they did 2024 “announces the launch of Word Exploration Technologies (WordX), a spin-off company focused on pioneering generative AI solutions.” source
- What they did 2024 “Applied Information Sciences (AIS) has announced a $2.7 million investment in its Microsoft Solution Center (MSC), scaling its commitment to delivering secure, Microsoft-based solutions that accelerate customer innovation and business outcomes.” source
- What they said 2024 “We went from idea to paying customers in under a year. This accomplishment speaks volumes about the 25,000+ hours invested in the product” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software vendor, not a privately owned Northeast or Mid-Atlantic IT services firm, so the route never reaches him.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is outdoor apparel, outside the IT services roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is food manufacturing, outside the IT services roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software vendor, not a services firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian industrial and services, outside the US region.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company.
Route 205: Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of partner-owned CPA and advisory firms based in the South and Southeast (INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This route duplicates S-163 (Southern partner-owned CPA firms), which took three attempts to reach 3 names (Forbes, Meade, Mackel), and LESSONS (S-191) says not to promote another region-titled CPA route. A new roster S-163 never used, the Accounting Today 2026 Best Midsized and Large Firms to Work For list, gives about 11 in-band Southern independents with HQ, staff and chief executive (BMSS, Hannis T. Bourgeois, Maxwell Locke & Ritter, Seidel Schroeder, Smith Leonard, Martin Starnes, Rudler, Venturity, Matthews Carter & Boyce, Castro & Co., Kearney & Co.), none of them already in candidates.json. But leader and change searches turned up only succession, merger and award news. The best lead, Don Murphy of BMSS (Hoover, Ala., about 410 staff, founder-CEO), has on record only a merger with a generic quote (Avizo, July 2026) and an undated training programme, and a merger is not a redesign. No firm gave a dated costly change voiced by its controlling leader, so there are 0 new names.
Sources: INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list through Accounting Today 2026 Best Midsized and Large Firms to Work For gives firm + chief executive (joined on firm name, HQ state filter)
- firm through WebSearch over trade press and firm news gives dated change voiced by leader (joined on firm name + leader surname)
- leader through trade press mirrors (AT, CPA Practice Advisor), alliance spotlights gives control, headcount (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani (India, Reliance) does not lead a partner-owned CPA or advisory firm in the US South or Southeast, so the roster (AT 2026 Best Firms to Work For,
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella (public Microsoft) does not lead a partner-owned CPA or advisory firm in the US South or Southeast, so the roster (AT 2026 Best Firms to Work For,
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler (Brazil, Semco) does not lead a partner-owned CPA or advisory firm in the US South or Southeast, so the roster (AT 2026 Best Firms to Work For, S
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest (Australia, Fortescue) does not lead a partner-owned CPA or advisory firm in the US South or Southeast, so the roster (AT 2026 Best Firms to Work
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie (public Box) does not lead a partner-owned CPA or advisory firm in the US South or Southeast, so the roster (AT 2026 Best Firms to Work For, Souther
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan (Switzerland, Novartis) does not lead a partner-owned CPA or advisory firm in the US South or Southeast, so the roster (AT 2026 Best Firms to Wor
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya (Chobani, a food maker) does not lead a partner-owned CPA or advisory firm in the US South or Southeast, so the roster (AT 2026 Best Firms to Work
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke (Canada, public Shopify) does not lead a partner-owned CPA or advisory firm in the US South or Southeast, so the roster (AT 2026 Best Firms to Work F
Route 206: Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers based in the Midwest and Plains (state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The named outlets (LawSites, ABA Journal, Law.com regional) gave no new Midwest law leader on their own. Three names came from firm newsrooms read directly (Benesch, Clark Hill) or through chamber and wire reprints when blocked (Spencer Fane), with ABA Journal and Law.com deks giving the leader's dated own words. Two of three firms sit above the 600-lawyer roster band but well inside the 5,000-employee target.
Sources: state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through regional legal press topic pages and web search by firm name plus mechanism noun gives law firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through chamber of commerce and wire reprints of firm releases (kcchamber.com, pulse2.com, lawfuel.com) gives change and leader (joined on firm name plus chair title)
- leader through Law.com headline and dek (open above the NewsVault wall) gives own words, dated (joined on leader name)
- leader through firm newsroom releases (beneschlaw.com/news/<slug>/, clarkhill.com/news-events/news/<slug>/) gives control, headcount and a second dated change (joined on firm name plus Managing Partner or CEO title)
New names that passed every check
- Patrick J. Whalen, Spencer Fane LLP (Kansas City, Missouri; partner-owned law firm, more than 700 attorneys in 31 offices in 2026) executive, United States
Replaced the traditional practice-group hierarchy of a Kansas City law firm with attorney-led Talent Teams and 80+ client-facing Market Teams (2024).Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “aligning with our firm culturally while also adding distinctive value to our clients,” Spencer Fane Chair Patrick J. Whalen said.” source
- What they did 2025 “as part of the firm’s new organizational redesign, the firm’s attorneys have created 80+ client facing market teams to solve a variety of emerging challenges facing the business community.” source
- What they said 2024 “We don't believe it is feasible for a practice group leader or co-leaders to effectively execute on everything in the current job description of a practice group leader," firm chair Pat Whalen said.” source
- What they did 2026 “Spencer Fane said the combination aligns with its recent organizational redesign focused on building market teams with specialized experience” source
- Gregg Eisenberg, Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP (Cleveland, Ohio; partner-owned law firm, nearly 450 attorneys in January 2025) executive, United States
Managing partner of a Cleveland law firm who is shifting spending from real estate to technology and set up a new Innovation Department to change how the firm's legal services are designed and delivered (2026).Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Gregg Eisenberg has been unanimously reelected by the firm’s partnership as Managing Partner for an unprecedented fourth term” source
- What they did 2026 “Jason Dirkx has joined the firm as Chief Innovation Officer (CINO), a newly created role that will lead the launch of Benesch’s Innovation Department and help drive the evolution of the firm’s service delivery model for clients” source
- What they said 2026 “Gregg Eisenberg, a managing partner at Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff, told Law.com. “You need to continue to invest in your business and technology to keep up and provide efficiencies to your clients” source
- What they said 2026 “noting that Benesch expects technology spending to soon surpass real estate costs as the firm’s second-largest expense” source
- John Hensien, Clark Hill PLC (Detroit, Michigan; partner-owned law firm, more than 800 attorneys and professionals in 2026) executive, United States
Chief executive of a Detroit law firm who put generative AI into both the practice and the business of the firm after two years of pilots and created a new growth role to rework revenue channels and operations (2026).Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “to work hand-in-glove with the firm’s Chief Executive Officer, John Hensien, to identify potential revenue channels, create operational efficiencies” source
- What they did 2026 “The agreement builds upon more than two years of planning, evaluation, pilot programs, governance development, and attorney training as Clark Hill has systematically integrated generative AI into both the practice and business of the firm.” source
- What they said 2026 “Our responsibility to our clients and to our colleagues is not simply to purchase technology. It is to thoughtfully build an ecosystem that allows Clark Hill attorneys and professionals to use these tools safely, ethically, and effectively to deliver greater value to our clients.” source
- What they did 2026 “The development of the firm’s Chief Growth Officer role is a natural progression to sustain our financial stability and continue to grow efficiently” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani leads Reliance Industries in India; not a Midwest or Plains law firm, so the roster never reaches him.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya leads Chobani, a food manufacturer in New York, not a law firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie leads Box, a public software company in California; not a law firm.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard founded Patagonia, an outdoor apparel maker in California; not a law firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke leads Shopify, a public Canadian software company; not a US law firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella leads Microsoft, a public software company; not a law firm.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest leads Fortescue in Australia; not a US law firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler led Semco in Brazil; not a US law firm.
Route 207: Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups based in the West and Mountain states (Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. A fifth cut of independent behavioral health, therapy and physician groups, and the second of the West and Mountain states after S-165 (3 names, which harvested the AMGA track, IKS and PELTO seams). It gave 0 passing names from 11 searches and 7 fetches. Every West and Mountain lead failed one gate: Primary Health (Boise) took a Blue Cross of Idaho minority stake and its change predates the window; Integrated Medical Services (Arizona) moved its business onto public Privia Health under a long-term management agreement in 2025; Nextera Healthcare (Colorado) combined with ImagineMD in 2024 and its founder is quoted as chief medical officer, not controlling CEO; SLEA Therapies (Encino, 290 staff, ESOP since 2018) has no leader-voiced dated change; Therapeutic Associates is therapist-owned but posts no dated change by a named leader; behavioral health in the region is PE or latticework-style consolidator backed (Beacon, Latticework Capital) or led by hired CEOs (Family Care Center). The one employee-owned ABA conversion found (North Arrow ABA) is in Michigan and an ESOP succession, which is an ownership deal, not a redesign.
Sources: Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region plus segment through WebSearch change-first queries (direct contracting, MSO, AI, ESOP) gives candidate group (joined on group name)
- group through group newsroom or trade/regional press (BHB, BizWest, imsaz.com, primaryhealth.com) gives ownership and control status (joined on group name)
- group passing control through group newsroom 2023-2026 gives dated change voiced by controlling leader (joined on leader name plus group)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian software CEO; not a West or Mountain independent health practice, so outside this roster
- Missed Aaron Levie Software CEO; no health practice, outside the roster
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel owner; outside the health practice roster
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; outside the roster (public, not a practice group)
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining owner; outside the roster
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; outside the roster
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer owner; outside the roster
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software CEO; outside the roster
Route 208: Owner-led service firms: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Roster-first trade press was swapped for regional business-journal award programs (Hartford and Worcester Business Journal honoree pages), which print owner, headcount and family generation as fields; this gave 3 verified Connecticut home care owners. Senior living, hospice and the Mid-Atlantic gave none because NJBIZ, CPBJ and bizjournals block fetches.
Sources: Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- state or regional award program through New England Business Media honoree pages (Hartford Business Journal, Worcester Business Journal): Family Business, Business Excellence, 40 Under Forty, Power 100 gives aging-services firm and its family leader (joined on firm name)
- firm through Home Health Care News, HomeCare magazine, Westfair Business Journal gives dated change in how care is delivered, in the leader's or firm's words (joined on firm name plus leader name)
- firm through second trade or regional page (podcast notes, release, timeline) gives second dated confirmation, headcount and control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Christopher Weldon, Endurance Home Care (Stamford, Connecticut; family-owned private-pay CNA home care founded 2024 by Christopher and Thomas Weldon with Andrew Schwartz; 800 CNAs in Connecticut and Westchester, expanding to New York and New Jersey) owner, United States
Building a private-pay home care agency around AI audio monitoring, smart-watch data and care coordination so caregivers spend their time on clients, not paperwork.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Top Executives: Christopher Weldon & Thomas Weldon, Founders Employees: 800 Annual Revenue: $10 million Family members currently employed at the company: Christopher Weldon and Thomas Weldon Generation currently running the company: 1st” source
- What they did 2024 “Some of those things that we think differentiate [Endurance Home Care] include integrative care coordination, the use of technology, like smart watches and audio monitoring to track client health and activity.” source
- What they said 2026 “Our company is built on cutting-edge AI to remove the administrative work so that we can spend 100% of our time servicing our clients.” source
- What they did 2024 “Endurance provides a unique blend of Integrated Care Coordination, advanced data collection, and White Glove Wellness services.” source
- Jonah Francis, Pansy Homecare Service (Hartford County and New Haven County, Connecticut; family-owned dementia-specialist home care agency founded 2013 by Pansy P. Francis; also A Better Way) owner, United States
Rebuilding a family home care agency to do dementia care only, with a caregiver hiring and training process built around simulated dementia and situational training.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Age: 35 Company: Pansy Homecare Service LLC Title: Owner No. of years with current company: 7” source
- What they did 2023 “Pansy Homecare, however, has made delivering non-medical support for seniors living with memory damage the main focus of its business in recent years.” source
- What they said 2023 “If you’re not thinking about it, living, and breathing it on a regular basis, it’s not possible to be able to deliver good quality care,” Francis said.” source
- What they said 2023 “Our biggest accomplishment as an organization is developing a business process, with situational-based training, to help caregivers and clients increase their likelihood of providing successful support and reducing turnover by 50% of the industry average.” source
- What they said 2026 “We sit down with Jonah Francis, CEO and co-owner of Pansy Home Care, to trace how a Jamaican immigrant mother’s decades as a CNA became the foundation” source
- Sharon D'Aquila, Assisted Living Services Inc. (Cheshire, Connecticut; family-owned home care with more than 700 employees and caregivers; sister company Assisted Living Technologies Inc.) owner, United States
Joining hands-on home care with an owned home-safety and monitoring technology company, on the view that caregiving does not stop when the caregiver leaves.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “1996 – Ron and Sharon D’Aquila incorporate company, strategically and slowly building key management and caregiving support team from above the garage office at their Meriden home.” source
- What they did 2010 “2010 – The family launches Assisted Living Technologies; a sister company built on the belief that home care and home safety technology should not be separate and that caregiving doesn’t stop when the caregiver leaves.” source
- What they did 2020 “Through a subsidiary, Assisted Living Technologies Inc., it also provides subscription-based technology services to help people age safely in their homes.” source
- What they said 2023 “Assisted Living Services Inc. (ALS) has provided quality care to residents across Connecticut with more than 700 employees and caregivers.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California, not a Northeast aging-services operator; outside the roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a service firm; not on any aging-services roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; the route is US Northeast and Mid-Atlantic aging services only.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia; mining and philanthropy, outside the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland; public pharma, outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada; public software firm, outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software firm in Washington state; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; outside the roster.
Route 209: Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the South and Southeast (Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This route repeats S-167 (same region, same sector, invalidated earlier on 2026-10-07). This attempt tried only the sources S-167 did not use: the Big I Best Practices Agencies roster (independentagent.com, about 120 southern agencies across 2024 and 2025), Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, the Big I Agency AI Labs programme page, and AI vendor customer stories as a lead list. It ran 12 searches and 6 fetches. Three leads came out, and none can be counted. Palmer & Cay (Savannah) became the flagship of TPG's Third Wave platform in January 2026, so it fails the private-equity test. Hartwig Moss (New Orleans) added the GAIL AI receptionist in January 2025, but its CEO calls it an after-hours complement, "not a replacement", so it is not a redesign. CJ Hutsenpiller (Mount Juliet) runs a small family agency, well under 50 staff. The strongest lead was Chad Young (Standard Insurance Agency, Colleyville, Texas, third-generation family-owned, 15 service centers, about 60 call staff). He ended decades of live-answer routing with an AI receptionist, but his own words appear only in an undated AT&T vendor PDF that the verifier cannot read, and no second page exists. 0 new names.
Sources: Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through Big I Best Practices Agencies 2024 and 2025 (state headings) plus IJ Top 100 2026 rows already screened by S-167 gives firm (joined on firm name and state heading)
- firm through WebSearch on firm name plus AI, new model or launched, 2023-2026 gives dated change and named leader (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm site or regional press for PE partner, headcount and control gives eligible owner-led firm (joined on firm name)
- leader through second, different page in the leader's words gives confirmed change (joined on leader name plus firm)
- leader through firm site or dated 2025-2026 source gives headcount, ownership, control and earliest redesign year (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; not a US insurance agency or broker, so the southern roster never reaches him.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Leads an outdoor apparel firm, not an insurance agency or broker in the South or Southeast.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and energy billionaire; outside a US southern insurance agency roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public e-commerce CEO; not an insurance agency or broker.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Founder of a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho; not an insurance agency or broker.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chairman; outside a US southern insurance agency roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software CEO in California; not an insurance agency or broker.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software CEO in Washington State; not an insurance agency or broker.
Route 210: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms based in the Midwest and Plains (ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Two attempts and a third pass at Midwest and Plains owner-led AEC (after S-108 and S-168) gave 1 name, Brian Moran of F.E. Moran. Attempt 1 read 8 ENR Midwest award profiles. Attempt 2 tried four more kinds of source: the ENR Midwest Top Specialty Contractors PDF (only a blank survey form), PHC News and Contractor magazine Contractor of the Year profiles (Peterman is already a candidate, E.M. Duggan is in Massachusetts), J.F. Ahern trade profiles (family-owned, 1,800 staff, but its prefab change is voiced by a regional GM, not the CEO), and EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Midwest, Heartland and Michigan finalist lists. Every AEC firm on the EY lists failed: WSB is backed by GHK Capital, Atwell by Quad-C and Advent, Catalyst Construction has 25 to 100 staff, and the rest are not AEC. Midwest owner-led AEC is harvested.
Sources: ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through ENR Midwest Musings award posts (enr.com/blogs/10-midwest-musings/post/<id>-<slug>) found by enr.com-limited WebSearch gives award-winning firm (joined on firm name)
- award-winning firm through ENR Midwest print profile enr.com/articles/<id>-<slug> gives leader and voiced change (joined on firm name, quoted leader title)
- leader through firm site (about, history, leadership pages) gives control, headcount, second page on the change (joined on firm domain)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and energy group; not a Midwest AEC award winner.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker in California; not AEC, not in the region.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate; out of country and sector.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company; not a regional contractor or design firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer; not AEC.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma; out of country and sector.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software giant; not in a regional AEC award.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian group; out of country and sector.
Route 211: Owner-led service firms: privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms based in the West and Mountain states (Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Roster-first fails in the West and Mountain states: the Oregon Business staffing power book lists local headcounts with no owner voice, ColoradoBiz Colorado 500 and SIA pages are 403. All three names came firm-first: WebSearch for founder-led West staffing firms, then the firm's own leadership, history and newsroom pages (Akraya, Jobot) or sector trade podcasts that quote the founder (FreightWaves Taking the Hire Road for F|Staff). AI-release searches return vendors and startups.
Sources: Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through Oregon Business power book; WebSearch for named West firms (SIA and business-journal snippets) gives staffing firm (joined on firm name)
- staffing firm through firm site: leadership team page gives founder-CEO (joined on firm domain)
- founder-CEO through firm newsroom / blog history post gives dated change and own-words quote (joined on firm domain + leader name)
- dated change through firm home page or second firm page gives confirming page (joined on firm domain)
New names that passed every check
- Amar Panchal, Akraya, Inc. (Sunnyvale, California; IT staffing firm co-founded in 2001 with Sonu Ratra; 650+ professionals; now managed services in Data and AI, product engineering, UX research and data center acceleration; no outside investor found) owner, United States
A founder-led Bay Area staffing firm that moved its own work from supplying contractors to running managed AI, data and engineering services, after building a dedicated re-entry hiring program for women in 2015.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Amar, along with Sonu Ratra, founded Akraya in 2001. He possesses over 15 years of management, international business development & technology experience.” source
- What they did 2026 “Twenty-five years later, Akraya employs more than 650 professionals, serves Fortune 500 enterprises globally, and has grown from workforce solutions into managed services spanning Data and AI, Product Engineering, UX Research, and Data Center Acceleration.” source
- What they did 2026 “Traditional delivery cycles can't keep pace with AI-driven markets. Our AADF framework integrates agentic AI and LLM toolchains across every stage of development, compressing the distance from ideation to production.” source
- What they did 2025 “Tami joined Akraya in 2025 to lead WBW, leveraging her experience as founder of Path Forward.” source
- What they said 2026 “Our evolution reflects what our clients need us to become. As their challenges grew more complex, we evolved with them.” source
- Justin Clarke, F|Staff (Goodyear, Arizona; driver staffing firm founded 2001 as Contracted Driver Services by Clarke, his twin brother and their mother; privately owned; 20+ US markets) owner, United States
A family-owned Arizona driver staffing firm whose founder-CEO dropped the branch model and turned the firm into an app-based on-demand marketplace where carriers push job orders straight to drivers.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Clarke founded Contracted Driver Services — a more traditional staffing company — with the goal of matching up qualified drivers and high-quality carriers.” source
- What they did 2024 “Over the past decade, the F|Staff on-demand model has converted from a traditional staffing company to a direct sourcing marketplace where employer partners, mostly motor carriers, use proprietary technology to find the workers they’re looking for directly.” source
- What they did 2023 “The evolution of technology has enabled Clarke to morph CDS into a more tech-forward operation, F|Staff.” source
- What they said 2024 ““We wanted to abandon the traditional concepts of staffing,” he said. “We started developing technologies that would make things better – help workers find the job they want faster and help employers find the right hire more seamlessly.”” source
- What they said 2022 “We don't need branches. We don't need new offices. We can expand in another city without building new infrastructure - and simply leverage virtual sales and recruitment to support growth.” source
- Heidi Golledge, Jobot (Newport Beach, California; recruiting and consulting firm founded 2018; roughly 500 employees per Fortune in Aug 2024; employee-owned since 2024 with the founder as CEO) owner, United States
A founder-CEO who built a recruiting firm around its own AI software, Jax, and keeps moving more of the core recruiting work (screening, ranking applicants, instant interviews) onto it, now inside an employee-owned firm.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “These 500 people believed that fortune favors the bold and bold they were! Many of whom left billion-dollar companies to join a start-up that believes kindness and respect matter,” says Heidi Golledge, Founder and CEO of Jobot.” source
- What they did 2025 “At the center of this release is Fast Track, a powerful candidate-sorting tool that automatically identifies and surfaces the top 10% of applicants for every open role.” source
- What they did 2022 “Jax 3.0, Jobot’s proprietary recruiting platform, combines AI and experienced recruiters giving candidates the power to have an Instant Interview via chat in real-time as they apply is a game-changer.” source
- What they said 2025 “With smarter AI, recruiters can now identify and connect with good candidates faster and more personally. It means fewer qualified people get overlooked and more candidates are given the attention and the opportunity they deserve.” source
- What they said 2024 ““In recruiting, you have toxic leadership that belittles people,” Golledge says. “We have zero tolerance for that.”” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel maker, not a staffing, recruiting or workforce services firm; outside the route's roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy; not US, not staffing.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside region, sector and ownership filter.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker in New York and Idaho, not a staffing firm; no staffing roster lists it.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above 5,000 staff; excluded by the route by design.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; excluded by region, sector and ownership.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian manufacturing and services; not US West staffing.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; excluded by sector and ownership.
Route 212: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. S-212 re-promotes S-170 (Northeast and Mid-Atlantic founder-owned agencies) with the same roster sources, and the region is harvested: Ruder Finn, Horizon, MWW, FINN, 5W, Gregory, Known, Butler/Till, Crossmedia, Coyne, /prompt and January Digital are already in candidates. This attempt changed the source kind (indieagency.news WP API and op-eds, firm newsrooms) and logged 25 fetches. The fit firms left either voice their change through a GM, VP or partner, not the controlling leader (Matter: Precision GEO unit and small-business AI packages voiced by GMs and a VP, May and Aug 2026; Brunner: AdSkate buy voiced by a partner, July 2026), show no redesign (Prosek, Allen & Gerritsen 2023 office financing), or fail control: Andrew Graff dropped hourly billing at Allen & Gerritsen about 2018 in his own words (indieagency.news, July 2026), but he is a hired CEO since 2005 whom founder Paul Allen handed the reins, and no page shows his equity. 0 Marty-profile names, so the route is invalidated; Graff is parked as a lead pending an ownership source.
Sources: Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and segment through indieagency.news WP REST search plus WebSearch on mechanism nouns (billable hour, outcome-based, AI operating model) gives agency (joined on agency name)
- agency through firm newsroom and wire mirror (matternow.com/news, prosek.com/news, a-g.com/news, webull.com/news) gives dated change and its speaker (joined on agency name plus date)
- speaker through everything-pr.com profile, adweek.com, a-g.com press page gives leader with control, headcount, ownership (joined on person name and title)
- leader through second outlet (mediavillage.com, bostonglobe.com, indieagency.news history piece) gives second intent citation and signal year (joined on person name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Miss: Swiss pharma CEO (Novartis), not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic marketing, PR or creative agency; the roster cannot reach him.
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss: Microsoft is a public software company in Washington state, outside the agency roster and region.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Miss: Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a marketing, PR or creative agency.
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss: Box is a public software company in California, outside the agency roster and region.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Miss: Australian mining and philanthropy (Fortescue), outside the US agency roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Miss: Indian conglomerate (Reliance), outside the US agency roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Miss: Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker in California, not an agency in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Miss: Shopify is a public Canadian software company, outside the US agency roster.
Route 213: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms based in the South and Southeast (Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Three attempts at Southern founder-owned consulting and research firms gave two verified founders: Jerry W. Thomas (Decision Analyst, Texas, from research-firm newsrooms plus MRWeb DRNO) and Rachele Cooper (Aptive Resources, Virginia, from a federal consultancy's owned innovation arm). Attempt 3 also screened M/A/R/C (no dated change), MetroStar (Veritas Capital), Softrams (acquired by Tria 2024) and SC&H Group (ESOP, but only deals and office moves 2023-2026).
Sources: Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through WebSearch on research trade press (mrweb.com DRNO) and firm names from Southern research and consulting rosters gives Southern founder-owned research or consulting firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom (decisionanalyst.com/press/<yyyy>/<slug>/) gives dated change to the work and the leader's quoted words (joined on firm name plus release date)
- change through MRWeb DRNO printable item (mrweb.com/drno/printable/pn<id>.htm) gives second, different page confirming the change (joined on product or subsidiary name)
- leader through firm executive team and history pages gives founder role, chair, employee ownership, earliest owned-arm date (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Jerry W. Thomas, Decision Analyst (Arlington, TX; employee-owned marketing research and analytics firm, founded 1978) owner, United States
Founder, CEO and board chair of an employee-owned Texas research firm who built an owned language-analytics subsidiary and in 2025 had it launch an AI-powered coding and analytics platform that changes how open-ended data is coded.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jerry W. Thomas is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Decision Analyst, one of the largest employee-owned research and analytics companies in North America.” source
- What they did 2025 “Nuance, a subsidiary of Decision Analyst and a leader in language-based analytics, proudly announces the launch of Colibri, an advanced, next-generation verbatim coding and language analytics SaaS (Software as a Service) platform” source
- What they did 2025 “Colibri features AI-enhanced coding tools for faster, more consistent classification of open-ended data; a project dashboard for management of multiple studies in one place” source
- What they said 2025 “Colibri (our new AI-powered coding and analytics platform) works fast to analyze textual data across many different languages.” source
- What they did 2013 “In 2013, Decision Analyst launched its subsidiary Nuance to provide multilingual verbatim coding services and digital media coding to market research firms and corporate entities.” source
- Rachele Cooper, Aptive Resources (Alexandria, VA; founder-led federal management consulting firm, founded 2012, 400 to 550+ staff) owner, United States
Navy veteran who founded and runs a Virginia federal consulting firm and in 2024 stood up an owned innovation arm, Blue Spark Labs, that builds generative AI and machine-learning tools into how the firm's own staff work.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Chief Executive Officer and Founder Rachele Cooper, MA Rachele Cooper founded Aptive with a goal of leveraging technology and communications to improve organizational performance” source
- What they did 2024 “Blue Spark Labs created a generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot employees can use to ask about leave policies, onboarding processes and other HR issues” source
- What they did 2024 “It goes beyond what standard project databases typically include, such as using AI to identify missing audiences in work portfolios and assess the equity of projects.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not a Southern consulting, research or professional services firm; outside the roster by design.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California; the route only reads founder-owned Southern service firms.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company in Washington; outside the route's roster and ownership screen.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; outside the route by geography and ownership.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian manufacturer and services group; the route is US South and Southeast only.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel firm in California; not a Southern professional services firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the route by geography and ownership.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the route by geography and ownership.
Route 214: Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held property management and real estate services firms based in the Midwest and Plains (NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This route repeats S-172 (same title, same region), which ran three attempts and already took the three names this roster yields (Steve Bruere, Scott Steffes, Steve Baird, all now in output/candidates.json, as is Mike Kaeding of Norhart). With those skipped, 14 fetches and 12 searches across land brokerage and auction rosters (Land Report Midwest 2026, Great Plains 2025, Great Lakes 2025), property managers, title agencies, commercial firms and family brokerages found no new leader who passes all four tests. Schrader Real Estate and Auction came closest but its president's own moves are office openings, the 2000 online multi-tract auction is credited to Rex Schrader, and headcount and control are not on any fetched page. Hiffman (hired CEO 2024), Farmers National (president new in post August 2025), Lund (owner not stated), Shorewest (2002 independence statement, no redesign), F.C. Tucker and HER (now Howard Hanna) and the Land Report Plains and Great Lakes firms (small agencies or Mossy Oak and United Country franchises) all fail. The pool is mined out.
Sources: NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through Land Report America's Best Brokerages (Midwest, Great Plains, Great Lakes) and WebSearch over regional business journals gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom (schraderauction.com/stories/<slug>) and regional press (biztimes.com) gives dated change plus leader quote (joined on firm name)
- leader through firm about and history pages, Land Report firm profile gives role, headcount, control (joined on person name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Miss: Canadian public software company, outside the Midwest and Plains real estate services roster
- Missed Ricardo Semler Miss: Brazilian industrial group, outside the US and outside the roster
- Missed Andrew Forrest Miss: Australian miner and philanthropist, outside the US and outside the roster
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Miss: Swiss public pharmaceutical company, outside the roster
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss: US public software company, not a privately held real estate services firm
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Miss: Indian public conglomerate, outside the US and outside the roster
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Miss: US food manufacturer, not a real estate services firm
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss: US public software company, not a privately held real estate services firm
Route 215: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms based in the West and Mountain states (employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. S-215 re-promotes S-173 (West and Mountain employee-owned and founder-owned wealth firms, invalidated 2026-10-07 with 0 names) and is the eighth wealth region cut after S-113, S-127, S-141, S-155, S-159, S-173, S-187 and S-201. A disjoint firm list was tested change-first (in-house tax, own trust company, flat fee, in-house AI). The new fit-sized firms all fail the control test before the change question. Freestone Capital (Seattle, employee owned, $6B) hired an outside CEO, Larry Miles, to professionalise it, and his plans are brand and services, not a dated change to the work. Laird Norton Wetherby is a portfolio company of the eight-generation family holding Laird Norton Company, so its leader does not control it. Miller/Russell (Phoenix) became employee and client owned in 2012 under a hired CEO, and no 2023-2026 change surfaced. Change-first searches for West RIAs returned national stories (Rockefeller, Compound Planning in New York) or vendor content. 6 searches and 4 fetches gave 0 names, and the region's fit firms were already used up by S-173.
Sources: employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through WebSearch for employee-owned RIAs in West and Mountain cities; S-173 roster excluded gives firm (joined on firm name + HQ city)
- firm through trade press (wealthmanagement.com, fa-mag.com, investmentnews.com company pages), owner pages gives ownership and control (joined on firm name)
- firm through change-first WebSearch (in-house tax, trust company, flat fee, in-house AI) with West filters gives dated change (joined on firm name)
- dated change through firm newsroom or second trade story gives leader own words (joined on leader name)
- leader through firm site or dated 2025-2026 source gives headcount, ownership, control, signal year (joined on leader name + firm)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not a West or Mountain wealth firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; outside the roster and not US.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; outside the roster and not US.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian manufacturer; outside the roster and not US.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker, not a West or Mountain wealth firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software company; outside the roster and not US.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian public conglomerate; outside the roster and not US.
Route 216: Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route as written repeats S-174 (Transport Topics rankings for Northeast and Mid-Atlantic freight), which was invalidated. Switching the spine to carrier award rosters (CarriersEdge Best Fleets 2026, HDT Top Green Fleets 2025) and change-specific trade stories (AI dispatch vendor releases, EV fleet commitments), with TT company pages only for leadership, gave 3 owner-led names from about 20 regional firms over three attempts; the third (Hammel, PITT OHIO) came from an AI dispatch vendor's press list. Most firms still fail on voice (presidents, COOs, directors quoted) or control (ESOP handoff).
Sources: Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award roster through CarriersEdge Best Fleets to Drive For 2026 and HDT Top Green Fleets 2025 (truckinginfo.com) gives Northeast or Mid-Atlantic fleet with HQ city (joined on firm name + HQ state)
- firm through Transport Topics for-hire company page /for-hire/companies/<slug>/2026 gives named leadership, HQ, services (joined on TT slug)
- firm through WebSearch '<firm> AI OR dispatch OR new division' then trade press release reprints (DC Velocity press room, ajot.com) gives dated change to the work (joined on firm name)
- change through vendor case study or second trade outlet carrying the leader's own words gives leader quote on why (joined on firm name + leader surname)
- leader through TT company page plus firm boilerplate ('family-owned') gives control and ownership (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Kyle Johnson, Leonard's Express (Farmington, NY) owner, United States
A family-run refrigerated carrier and brokerage CEO who moved load acceptance and dispatch from planners' gut feel onto AI decision software in 2024 to fix operating habits the pandemic boom had hidden.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “84. Leonard's Express Data through Dec 31, 2025 Location Farmington, N.Y. Leadership Ken Johnson, Chairman; Kyle Johnson, CEO; Kevin Johnson, President; Mike McGovern, COO” source
- What they did 2024 “In 2024, Leonard’s Express took measures to improve supply chain efficiency by adopting Optimal Dynamics, an AI-based load acceptance and dispatch optimization software, to make better routing decisions” source
- What they did 2024 “Leonard’s Express understood the significant advantages of taking a scientific approach to harmonizing asset and brokerage operations for optimal performance and profitability.” source
- What they said 2025 “This shift exposed a critical truth: “The revenue that we were generating during the pandemic was hiding a lot of operational sins,” said Kyle Johnson, CEO at Leonard’s Express.” source
- What they said 2025 ““That was the biggest thing, making sure that we had the buy-in,” said Kyle Johnson. “From not only upper management but also the decision-makers on the floor.”” source
- Jeff Hermann, Hermann Services (Monmouth Junction, NJ) owner, United States
A fourth-generation owner-CEO of a family 3PL who is moving the firm's trucking onto New Jersey's largest electric fleet, after a 2024 pilot, as a bet that sustainability is how logistics clients will choose providers.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Nearly 100 years later, the firm employs nearly 500 people and manages more than 1.8 million square feet of warehouse space across nine facilities in the Northeast and Texas.” source
- What they did 2025 “approaching its 100th year of operation, is augmenting its electric commercial vehicle fleet following the signing ceremony earlier this month for 15 new Peterbilt electric trucks.” source
- What they did 2025 “The electric fleet expansion builds on Hermann Services' successful 2024 pilot program, funded through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority's NJZIP program.” source
- What they said 2025 “"As we approach our centennial, Hermann Services is proving that legacy companies can lead transformation," said Jeff Hermann, CEO of Hermann Services.” source
- What they said 2025 “For the fourth-generation chairman and CEO of Hermann Services, Inc., the family-owned transportation, warehousing, and logistics company, the milestone meant more than bricks and mortar.” source
- Charles Hammel III, PITT OHIO (Pittsburgh, PA) owner, United States
A co-founder and co-owner of a family LTL carrier who replaced the core dispatch, driver workflow and linehaul systems with an AI platform in 2023 and then automated email order intake with AI, patented and licensed to others.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “To make this happen, and to fulfill PITT OHIO's Purpose, President Charles Hammel, III employs over 3,400 employees” source
- What they did 2023 “Pitt Ohio is deploying an AI-enabled platform for dispatching, driver workflow, line haul, and telematics, from software provider Maven , to increase efficiency across its less-than-truckload fleet of over 1,700 trucks and 25 service centers.” source
- What they said 2023 “Pitt Ohio President Chuck Hammel III said, “Our standards are extremely high, and Maven provides best-in-class technology for LTL, allowing us to run a safer, more profitable fleet.” source
- What they did 2026 “PITT OHIO was named a 2026 CIO 100 Award recipient for its No Touch Email (N@TE AI) initiative, an enterprise solution designed to eliminate manual processing of email based freight pickup requests.” source
- What they did 1998 “Ken Hammel left the company by 1998 leaving Chuck and Bob as co-owners.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker in California, not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic freight or logistics firm; the award rosters never list it.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; the route is US Northeast and Mid-Atlantic freight only.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner, outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public software, outside the roster and the size band.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker (a shipper, not a carrier or 3PL), so it never appears on carrier award rosters.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate, outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software in California, outside the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss public pharma, outside the roster.
Route 217: Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) based in the South and Southeast (Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Third pass at South and Southeast family-owned HVAC, cleaning, pest and home services (after S-175, which already harvested Hiller, Richardson and Stalvey). Sixteen searches and nine logged fetches across academy launches, robot cleaning, autonomous mowing, four-day week, no-commission pay, owned software arms, ENR Southeast specialty contractors and anti-PE stories gave 0 people who pass size, control and a dated 2023 to 2026 change in the leader's own words. Every lead failed one test: Jay's Heating (Jamie Vaughan, 2026 Altitude Academy, owner-voiced) runs 19 vehicles, well under 50 staff; ABC Home and Commercial (Bobby Jenkins, 950 staff, family-owned) has only a decades-long service expansion and a 2025 acquisition, with no dated redesign; Clean Scapes (Ivan Giraldo, autonomous mowers) took Blue Sage Capital money in July 2025; Miller Electric was sold to EMCOR in 2025; Lee Company's new CEO is a next-generation family member under family ownership; Arrow Exterminators coverage sits on pctonline.com and mypmp.net, both 403. The ENR Texas and Southeast specialty roundup on digital.bnpmedia.com is a script shell with no text. The segment and region are exhausted for this probe.
Sources: Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- change type (academy, robots, owned arm, pay model) through trade press (pmmag.com, phcppros.com, contractingbusiness.com, hvacinsider.com) and WebSearch gives Southern service firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through trade interview or sponsored local profile (hvacrbusiness.com 20 Questions, communityimpact.com sponsored) gives controlling leader, headcount, ownership (joined on leader name plus firm)
- leader through second trade or regional page gives own-words quote on the change (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy; not a US Southern service firm, so outside every trade-press search this route runs.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company CEO in Washington State; the route reads only privately owned Southern service firms.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; outside the US South and outside HVAC, cleaning and home services trade press.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharmaceutical CEO; no presence in Southern home or facility services press.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public e-commerce CEO; outside the route's geography and segment.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard US outdoor apparel owner based in California; a product company, not a Southern service firm, so the route cannot surface him.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chair; outside geography, ownership band and segment.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya US food manufacturer owner (New York and Idaho); a manufacturer, not a Southern service firm.
Route 218: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms based in the Midwest and Plains (CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Second pass at Midwest and Plains IT services after S-176. The MSP 501 and CRN rows are spent, so the roster was switched to the ENX 2025 Elite Dealers list (Midwest state-code regex, 60+ family copier dealers that now run managed IT arms) with enxmag.com tag pages as the per-firm screen. It yields owners and dated new arms, but most stories are acquisitions, successions or sales-tool AI quotes from VPs, so two names passed in attempt 1. The ENX monthly State of the Industry panels are the best second page: they quote owner-CEOs at length on how they rolled AI or managed IT into their own operations.
Sources: CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade ranking through ENX 2025 Elite Dealers list gives Midwest dealer firm (joined on dealer name + city + state)
- dealer firm through enxmag.com/twii/tag/<dealer-slug>/ gives dated firm stories (arms, acquisitions, leadership) (joined on ENX tag slug)
- dated story through firm newsroom release gives leader quote and ownership (joined on firm name + leader name)
- leader through ENX anniversary or profile feature gives control, headcount, own words (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Patrick Flesch, Gordon Flesch Company (GFC), Madison, Wisconsin; 640+ staff, family-owned since 1956 owner, United States
Third-generation owner-CEO who turned a family copier dealer into a managed IT provider by buying a Madison MSP and building the Elevity managed IT division around it.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Today, GFC operates a network of 29 offices across six states, employing more than 640 associates. The company remains proudly family-owned, now led by the second and third generations of the Flesch family.” source
- What they did 2020 “has agreed to acquire Information Technology Professionals (ITP), a managed service provider based in Madison with locations in the Appleton and Milwaukee area.” source
- What they said 2026 “As office technology evolved from standalone equipment to fully connected workplace solutions, we evolved with it. Our expansion into managed services and integrated technology was driven by listening to our customers and staying committed to helping them work smarter, no matter how the tools changed.” source
- Erik Braden, Braden Business Systems, Fishers, Indiana; family-founded 1989 office technology dealer turned MSP (MSP 501 #116) owner, United States
Owner-CEO who moved a copier dealer into managed IT and now runs AI through every service line under a three-question investment test, starting with technicians' documentation and sales proposals.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Braden Business Systems announced that CEO and Managing Partner Erik Braden has been named the 2025 MSP Executive of the Year by Channel Futures.” source
- What they did 2026 “For our service technicians, that meant AI assisting with documentation and ticket summaries. For our sales team, it meant faster proposal development and better client research. Real time savings on real work.” source
- What they said 2026 “That sounds basic, but it is the discipline that keeps AI from becoming a side hobby” source
- What they did 2025 “Together, these recognitions highlight Braden’s evolution from a regional office technology provider into a nationally ranked MSP (Managed IT Service Provider) known for excellence in IT services, cybersecurity, and managed print solutions.” source
- Mark Miller, Eakes Office Solutions, Grand Island, Nebraska; 285 staff, employee-owned (not an ESOP) since a 2015 succession plan ceo, United States
President and CEO of an employee-owned Nebraska office dealer who split out a technology solutions division and in 2026 bought a contractor's IT division to deliver managed IT himself.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Dan and Ron were majority owners when Miller came on board, but since unveiling a financial succession plan in 2015, the ownership group has swelled to include 35 employees (himself among them) as the brothers sold their stock to team members.” source
- What they did 2026 “Eakes Office Solutions has acquired the Information Technology Division of Kidwell as part of a strategic business transition designed to support the long-term goals of both organizations.” source
- What they said 2022 “We decided to create our technological solutions division specifically to take advantage of the fact that we had become pretty good with these products. So we separated that division, identified leadership, gave the reps some incentives and goals, and they've hit those goals.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public California software company, not a Midwest dealer or IT services firm on the Elite Dealers list.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above 5,000 staff; not on the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining; out of scope for a US IT services roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; not on any US dealer or MSP roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is food manufacturing, not IT services.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss public pharma.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software platform.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is apparel in California, not IT services in the Midwest.
Route 219: Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of partner-owned CPA and advisory firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Third cut at Northeast and Mid-Atlantic partner-owned CPA firms after S-103 and S-117 (both stalled). The two rosters those routes never used for this region (Accounting Today MP Elite pages and the AT 2026 Best Midsized and Large Firms to Work For list) give about 25 in-band regional independents, but leader-name searches return only partner promotions, a rebrand and successions. The one new name came from a tech-enabled cloud accounting firm on the Best Firms list (Bookkeeper360), not a traditional partnership.
Sources: INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through AT 2026 Best Midsized and Large Firms to Work For (rows print Headquarters, Staff, Chief executive) and AT MP Elite pages gives firm plus chief executive (joined on firm name and HQ state)
- firm plus chief executive through WebSearch on CPA Practice Advisor, CPA Trendlines, IPA, regional business journals gives dated change release (joined on firm name plus launch / AI / new service)
- dated change release through second trade outlet carrying the same release or an interview gives leader own words (joined on leader name)
- leader through firm site About and funding release; trade profile with headcount gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Nick Pasquarosa, Bookkeeper360 (Woodbury, NY), founder-led cloud accounting, tax, payroll and CFO advisory firm, 75+ professionals, angel and strategic seed money only owner, United States
Founder rebuilding small-business accounting so an AI virtual CFO handles everyday financial questions and the firm's accountants handle the complex ones.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Pasquarosa founded Bookkeeper360 in 2012, long before cloud accounting was the norm. What began as a door-to-door side hustle helping local businesses reconcile their checking accounts evolved into a nationwide cloud accounting firm serving nearly 1,000 small business clients with a team of more than 75 professionals a” source
- What they did 2025 “Online bookkeeping service Bookkeeper360 announced Dec. 11 the launch of its iOS and Android mobile and web application featuring Business Optimization Learning Technology (BOLT), an artificial intelligence-powered virtual CFO.” source
- What they said 2025 “Business owners are drowning in financial data but starving for insights,” says Nick Pasquarosa, Founder and CEO of Bookkeeper360. “We built this app to bridge that gap.” source
- What they said 2026 “It really started with an interest in helping small businesses stop running their business off their bank account balance and [instead] giving them timely, accurate books so they could make real-time decisions.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not a CPA or advisory firm; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy; outside region and sector.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate; outside region, sector and ownership band.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software company; not a CPA firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer in New York, but not a professional service firm; no CPA roster lists him.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company; outside universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial group; outside region and sector.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public mega-cap; outside size band and sector.
Route 220: Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers based in the South and Southeast (state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region plus mechanism noun through WebSearch on firm name plus chair or managing partner plus data, innovation, AI gives firm newsroom release (joined on firm name)
- firm newsroom release through firm newsroom (fbtgibbons.com) gives leader quote on the change (joined on leader name in Contributors block)
- leader through second firm release or regional business press (roi-nj.com) gives role, headcount, ownership (LLP partnership) (joined on leader name plus firm)
New names that passed every check
- Robert Sartin, FBT Gibbons LLP (formerly Frost Brown Todd; Louisville and Cincinnati founded, chairman based in Nashville; partner-owned LLP, about 800 attorneys in 25 offices after the Gibbons combination of January 2026) executive, United States
A Nashville-based law firm chairman with an economics background who rebuilt how his firm prices, staffs and decides around a new in-house data and innovation department, and says AI will reshape pricing and talent.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “This transformational combination creates a mid-market legal powerhouse, with approximately 800 attorneys across 25 offices, serving clients from Fortune 500 companies to high-growth and mid-market businesses.” source
- What they did 2021 “In 2021, the firm launched a new centralized, persona-based intranet and experience database as part of its push toward more data-driven service” source
- What they did 2023 “In just 14 months, FBT's new team consolidated firm data into a cloud data lake, implemented powerful visual reporting tools, and populated an experience database.” source
- What they said 2025 “I was trained to look at numbers and trends to make decisions," he said. "[W]hen I entered legal leadership, it was natural to ask: why aren't we doing the same here?” source
- What they said 2025 “We made it fun. We created dashboards that felt like scoreboards. Suddenly, people were competing to improve their metrics” source
- John Polson, Fisher & Phillips LLP (Atlanta-founded labor and employment firm, partner-owned LLP, over 675 attorneys in the US and Mexico per its March 2025 release) executive, United States
The elected chairman and managing partner of a partner-owned labor and employment firm who put generative AI into the firm's core legal work firmwide in 2023 and then created a Director of AI role to build the firm's own tools.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “John Polson is the Chairman and Managing Partner of Fisher Phillips and leads the firm’s Management Committee which serves as the firm’s board of directors.” source
- What they did 2023 “Fisher Phillips was one of the first major law firms to deploy the technology firm-wide.” source
- What they did 2025 “Fisher Phillips, an international labor and employment law firm representing employers, announces that Pritesh Patel has joined the firm as Director of Artificial Intelligence.” source
- What they said 2025 “By bringing on Pritesh to lead our AI initiatives, we are not only investing in tomorrow’s technology but also in the future of our legal practices,” said John Polson , Chairman and Managing Partner of Fisher Phillips.” source
- Scott Meyers, Akerman LLP (Miami-founded 1920, partner-owned LLP, more than 700 lawyers and business professionals per its 2026 releases) executive, United States
The chairman and CEO of a partner-owned Miami law firm who is building an in-house AI engineering, research and governance structure so the firm can buy or build its own AI for legal work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Akerman Chairman and CEO Scott Meyers will join a distinguished gathering of business visionaries, influential thought leaders, political decision-makers, and trailblazing innovators at the inaugural CNBC AI Summit in Nashville, Tennessee” source
- What they did 2026 “Akerman announced today that Charles Zerner has joined the firm as Director of AI Development, a newly created role responsible for building custom AI applications when commercial products cannot meet the firm's needs.” source
- What they said 2026 “We are not simply adopting AI tools -- we are enhancing our internal expertise to manage our hybrid strategy: when to buy, when to build, when to combine the two.” source
- What they did 2026 “Michael will help shape how Akerman governs and deploys AI inside the firm, and bring that same operator’s discipline to clients building governance for the systems they are running today.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India conglomerate; not a Southern US law firm, outside the roster this route walks.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker in California; the route only walks Southern and Southeastern law firm newsrooms.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO; outside the US law firm roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company CEO; not a law firm leader.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining billionaire; outside the US law firm roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer owner; not a service firm and not in Southern legal press.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; outside the US law firm roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public tech company CEO; not a law firm leader.
Route 221: Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups based in the Midwest and Plains (Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Fifth cut of Midwest and Plains independent behavioral health, therapy and physician groups (after S-119 and S-179 x3) and none of the leads passed. Six WebSearch query variants and five fetch.mjs fetches (four 200, one 403) gave no leader who met all four tests: owner control, a size of 50 to 5,000, no PE, and a dated costly change in their own words. Pure Psychiatry (MI, OH, 17 locations) went to Latticework-backed Beacon Behavioral Partners in July 2026. Chicago Center for Relationship Counseling's worker co-op conversion is an ownership deal, not a redesign. Physicians' Clinic of Iowa's 2025 news is only a COO succession. Twin Cities Orthopedics' new physician CEO (January 2026) mentions an undated AI phone system and a board-set overhead-reduction mandate, not a dated costly change. Saunders Therapy Centers (MN PT ESOP, 2021) is ownership only, and its APTA profile is 403. The roster pool is harvested.
Sources: Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region plus sector query through WebSearch over BHB, Becker's, TCB, group newsrooms gives independent practice group (joined on group name)
- group through group newsroom or regional business press gives leader and change (joined on group name plus CEO title)
- leader through second outlet gives confirmation of change (joined on leader name)
- group through about page or dated 2025-2026 source gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on group name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella public company (Microsoft), not a Midwest health practice; out of the route's universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard outdoor apparel, not a health practice; out of the route's universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie public software company, not a health practice; out of the route's universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining, outside US and sector; out of the route's universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma, outside US and sector; out of the route's universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate, outside US and sector; out of the route's universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public commerce software, outside US and sector; out of the route's universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya food manufacturer (Chobani), not a service practice; out of the route's universe.
Route 222: Owner-led service firms: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the West and Mountain states (Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Roster-first did not work (HHCN watch lists name PE platforms, franchisors and hired CEOs). It yielded 3 names when run as single-firm HHCN, SHN and Hospice News profiles of West operators, then the firm own leadership and about pages for control. All three are owners; only one has a 2025-2026 change in AI or hiring.
Sources: Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through WebSearch limited to homehealthcarenews.com, seniorhousingnews.com, hospicenews.com gives operator story (joined on firm name plus <City>, <State>-based)
- operator story through same trade outlet, second story or state association newsletter (hcaoa.org) gives dated change voiced by leader (joined on firm name)
- firm through operator site /leadership, /about, sitemap_en.xml gives controlling leader and ownership line (joined on firm domain)
- leader through regional honoree list (Phoenix Titan 100, EIN Presswire) or 2025-2026 trade story gives dated 2025-2026 role and headcount (joined on person name plus firm)
New names that passed every check
- Bob Roth, Cypress HomeCare Solutions (Scottsdale, Arizona) owner, United States
Rebuilding a founder-owned Arizona home care agency after leaving the Honor network, with machine-run job postings and AI digital interviews replacing the first two phases of hiring.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “HCAOA member Bob Roth, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Cypress HomeCare Solutions, founded in 1994” source
- What they did 2024 ““I walked away from a lot of business, to the tune of almost $4 million, and had to start all over again,” Bob Roth, managing partner at Cypress, told Home Health Care News.” source
- What they said 2025 “If you’re static, you fall down to the bottom, so you have to continuously refresh that. We don’t have humans doing that any longer. We let the machines do that.” source
- What they said 2024 “Roth highlighted the importance of collaboration and innovation in reimagining care delivery, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.” source
- Daniel Stringer, Total Care Connections (Tempe, Arizona; also Colorado) owner, United States
Built an Arizona home care agency around technology-enforced accountability (GPS clock-in from founding, monthly background checks) and changed caregiver pay with full benefits and daily pay.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Daniel Stringer Founder & Chief Executive Officer Daniel started Total Care Connections to build the kind of home care agency he'd want his own family to use — one where families get straight answers and know exactly what to expect.” source
- What they did 2021 “For one, the company offers full benefits to its caregivers. It also recently instituted daily pay, which was especially helpful to workers amid the pandemic.” source
- What they did 2009 “From the beginning, we built our organization around structured accountability. We implemented monthly employee background checks, established clear communication standards, and created systems designed to protect both families and caregivers.” source
- What they said 2009 ““I recognized there was a lot of opportunity back then to offer greater transparency and greater quality of care through using technology that a lot of providers hadn’t used up until that point,” Stringer said. “An example of that was GPS-enabled clocking in and out — that was something hardly anyone was using.”” source
- Mark Cimino, CiminoCare (Citrus Heights, California) owner, United States
Running a family-owned middle-market assisted living operator on lower margins to keep rural communities open, and adding an owned consulting arm that stabilizes other operators.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Mark Cimino Chief Executive Officer / Director / Owner Mark has worn many hats in preparation for his combined roles as CiminoCare CEO, Director, and Owner.” source
- What they did 2026 “The family owned operator, CiminoCare, has spent the last four years acquiring and stabilizing communities in Lassen County, Glen County, Butte County and Yolo County, all of which are north of Sacramento, California, bringing its total up to 12 communities. It has also started a consulting service to help other operat” source
- What they said 2026 “Its focus continues to be on meeting the needs of the underserved middle-market segment by creating efficient operating models and partnering with owners, health care systems, and third-party payers to expand access and affordability.” source
- What they said 2026 ““We’re spending more time on the asset, which probably means that the margin is less,” Cimino said. “It works because we’re just making sure that we can make our loan payments to the bank or to the private investor, have positive cash flow and do a good job.”” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not in this universe by construction: the route only reads West and Mountain privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators.
- Missed Satya Nadella Not in this universe by construction: the route only reads West and Mountain privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not in this universe by construction: the route only reads West and Mountain privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not in this universe by construction: the route only reads West and Mountain privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not in this universe by construction: the route only reads West and Mountain privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not in this universe by construction: the route only reads West and Mountain privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not in this universe by construction: the route only reads West and Mountain privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators.
- Missed Aaron Levie Not in this universe by construction: the route only reads West and Mountain privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators.
Route 223: Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Third run of the same regional slice after S-121 (3 names, all now in candidates) and S-181 (invalidated). This attempt used only sources the earlier runs skipped: Independent Agent magazine, the IJ July 2026 account-manager AI feature, the IJ AI viewpoint, Big I state association pages, Agency Checklists' current index, and per-firm searches for private brokers neither run reached (Graham Company, Conner Strong & Buckelew, Smith Brothers). In 10 fetches and 9 searches every AI or role-change story was voiced by staff, vendors, recruiters or association executives, not a controlling owner. The regional news is acquisitions (World Insurance buying Still Creek, Duffy buying Szczepanik). Graham Company, the best ownership fit (100% ESOP since 2017, turned down PE offers), has since joined Marsh McLennan Agency, so it fails ownership. The fit owner-led agencies in the region (Mackoul, United, Paradiso, Deland Gibson, Foresight) are already in output/candidates.json. Zero new names.
Sources: Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through Independent Agent magazine, IJ magazine features, Big I state associations, Agency Checklists gives agency (joined on agency name plus state)
- agency through agency newsroom and trade or regional press gives dated change plus speaker (joined on agency name)
- speaker through agency leadership page or dated 2025-2026 source gives control, ownership and headcount (joined on person plus agency)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state associations
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state associations
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state associations
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state associations
- Missed Andrew Forrest Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state associations
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state associations
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state associations
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state associations
Route 224: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms based in the South and Southeast (ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region + ownership filter through Zweig 2026 Hot Firm list, BD+C Giants engineering roundup, WebSearch for family-owned or employee-owned Southern AEC firms plus a change noun (in-house AI, new company, prefab) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom release and PR Newswire copy gives dated change + leader quote (joined on firm name)
- leader through firm legacy, about or leadership page gives ownership, control, headcount (joined on firm domain)
New names that passed every check
- Justin McAfee, Rogers-O'Brien Construction (Dallas; third-generation family-owned Texas general contractor, 650 to 750+ employees, five Texas regions) owner, United States
Third-generation owner-CEO of a Texas general contractor who had the firm build its own AI assistant in-house rather than buy one, changing how 650+ builders find project knowledge.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Preston McAfee transitions to the Rogers-O’Brien Chairman and Justin McAfee steps into the role of President and CEO, continuing the family legacy as the third generation of leadership for the firm” source
- What they did 2025 “Launched on September 2, 2025, the platform has already processed 5,600+ queries, saving our employees up to 50 minutes on each difficult task” source
- What they said 2025 “Rather than adopting an off-the-shelf solution and hoping it would fit, we chose to design and build technology tailored specifically to our business,” said President and CEO Justin McAfee” source
- Thomas P. Murphy Jr., Coastal Construction Group (Miami; family-owned Florida general contractor, founder-controlled, CEO role passed to his sons in 2026 with him as Chairman of the Executive Board) owner, United States
Founder of a Miami family-owned general contractor who seeded and adopted an AI takeoff tool (Togal.AI) built out of his own firm's estimating work, cutting about 14,000 preconstruction hours in a year.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Thomas P. Murphy, Jr. served as Founder and Chief Executive Officer of his family business for 58 years, including 38 years leading Coastal Construction, before transitioning the CEO role to his sons in 2026. He continues to help guide the firm’s next phase of growth as Chairman of the Executive Board” source
- What they did 2019 “But seeing the potential for technology to revolutionize the construction industry, we helped launch Togal.AI in 2019” source
- What they said 2023 “This is the biggest increase in efficiency for our preconstruction department in 20 years. Increased efficiency is needed now more than ever as the industry faces pressing challenges from labor shortages to higher interest rates to rising material costs” source
- Dale R. Hedrick, Hedrick Brothers Construction (West Palm Beach; privately owned general contractor he founded in 1979, 200+ employees; also CEO of the owned arm Hedrick Brothers Environmental) owner, United States
Founder-CEO of a Florida general contractor who started an owned environmental arm making modular Reef Arches shoreline structures, turning a builder into a maker of its own shoreline protection product.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Fourth-generation general contractor Dale R. Hedrick is the CEO of Hedrick Brothers Construction, a privately-owned firm he founded in 1979.” source
- What they did 2025 “The Hedrick Brothers Construction team was recognized for its innovative Reef Arches system, a modular shoreline protection solution that combines engineering strength with environmental restoration.” source
- What they did 2024 “Reef Arches through Hedrick Brothers Environmental , based in West Palm Beach, is dedicated to safeguarding and revitalizing water resources, using innovative techniques to enhance water quality and create sustainable living shorelines.” source
- What they said 2024 “This understanding is crucial for fostering a collaborative environment where every voice is valued, and a consensus is sought to identify and implement the most effective solutions.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not an engineering, architecture or construction services firm in the US South, so it never enters this AEC roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the US South and not an AEC services firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial and services group; outside the US South AEC roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public US software company, not a privately owned Southern AEC services firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the roster on geography, ownership and sector.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company with over 200,000 staff; fails size, ownership and sector filters.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharmaceutical company; outside the roster on every filter.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian mining company; outside the roster on geography, ownership and sector.
Route 225: Owner-led service firms: privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms based in the Midwest and Plains (Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Mechanism-first search plus WordPress newsroom API and a founder podcast transcript found 3 verified new names (Ryan Festerling, QPS, ESOP; Aaron Grossman, TalentLaunch, founder-led Ohio network; Tim Massey, Penmac, ESOP, Missouri). Roster sources (SIA, ClearlyRated) are 403 or dead; Advanced Group, Palmer, Medix, Elwood and Express leads failed on control or on a dated redesign in the leader's name.
Sources: Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region + mechanism query through WebSearch (extended) over firm sites and SIA list snippets gives privately or employee-owned Midwest staffing firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom (WordPress wp-json search) gives dated change release voiced by the CEO (joined on firm domain)
- release through second firm page (product page) or trade press gives confirming page (joined on product or program name)
- leader through regional business journal (BizTimes, Milwaukee Business Journal reprint) gives role, ownership, headcount (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Ryan Festerling, QPS Employment Group (Brookfield, Wisconsin; 100 percent employee-owned staffing and recruiting firm via a 2021 ESOP; about 400 internal staff in 57 offices across nine states; founder Scott Mayer is executive chair) ceo, United States
Rebuilt an employee-owned Midwest staffing firm into specialized business lines with their own presidents and added an AI virtual recruiter, ALLIE, that takes over outreach, screening coordination and follow-up.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “These changes reflect our commitment to building specialized, high-performing business lines that are positioned to win in today’s staffing market,” said Ryan Festerling, CEO of QPS Employment Group.” source
- What they did 2026 “The employee-owned company continues to advance its specialization strategy and strengthen its position across Light Industrial, Skilled Trades and its professional division, Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions (Accelerate).” source
- What they said 2026 “By creating greater focus and ownership within each segment, we’re accelerating decision-making, strengthening execution and creating the structure needed for long-term growth.” source
- What they did 2026 “Allie is an AI recruiter designed to make hiring smoother and more efficient. She handles time-consuming recruiting tasks like outreach, screening coordination, and follow-ups so recruiters can focus on hiring decisions” source
- What they said 2023 “I am incredibly proud of the transition to an employee-owned company in 2020, and confident that we have put in place the right next generation leadership.” source
- Aaron Grossman, TalentLaunch (Valley View and Independence, Ohio; founder-led, privately held network of independently operated staffing and recruitment firms sharing technology and back-office services; on SIA's 2026 Largest US Staffing Firms list, over $100 million staffing revenue) owner, United States
Rebuilt a single Cleveland staffing agency into a network that acquires local agencies, runs them on shared technology and back office, and bought a healthcare staffing software firm to move recruiting toward a self-service, AI-native model.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “We are excited to have Doug as President of the TalentLaunch network," said Aaron Grossman, Founder and CEO of TalentLaunch.” source
- What they did 2022 “With the addition of the Praos technology, TalentLaunch looks to enhance its offering to clients and candidates within its network of operating companies. The company will combine the personalized service of a traditional staffing agency with the on-demand and self-service capabilities of an online hiring platform, sta” source
- What they said 2026 “And and then when you do the research, there's 20,000 agencies, 99% do less than 50 million, 97% do less than 25 million. So a lot of these, it's a very fragmented space with a lot of competition. And these smaller companies,” source
- What they said 2026 “And, I've also believed in why I wrote that thesis is that it's also the biggest bottleneck, because there's a lot of friction to having that recruiter be able to” source
- Tim Massey, Penmac Staffing (Springfield, Missouri; 100 percent employee owned through an ESOP since 2010; 32 offices in 8 states; education division Penmac Education Staffing) ceo, United States
Runs an employee-owned Missouri staffing firm that added a new district management layer over its branch network and grew a substitute-teacher staffing division alongside its industrial and clerical core.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In 2010, the Penny family transferred ownership of Penmac to its employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Penny stepped down as CEO in 2012” source
- What they did 2023 “Troy Yonker and Michelle Cologna have each been promoted to District Vice-President. These newly created positions will serve under Stringer, and each will each be responsible for directly overseeing the operations of a portion of the company’s thirty-two branch locations.” source
- What they said 2023 “They are necessary pieces in building the foundation for our expected growth, and their insight and leadership will assist us in building a more efficient and engaged operations team.” source
- What they did 2025 “The education division was launched in 2014, incorporating the historical success of the existing staffing organization with the expertise of veteran educators to create a distinctive service that ensures a quality substitute is in every classroom, every day.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke: Shopify is a public Canadian software company, not a Midwest staffing firm; the roster never reaches him.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler: Semco is a Brazilian firm outside staffing and outside the Midwest; not on any staffing roster or regional journal.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya: Chobani is a New York and Idaho food maker, not a staffing or workforce services firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan: Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; out of sector, ownership and region.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani: Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; out of sector, ownership and region.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest: Fortescue is a public Australian miner; out of sector, ownership and region.
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie: Box is a public California software company, not a staffing firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella: Microsoft is public and not a staffing firm; the route excludes it by design.
Route 226: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies based in the West and Mountain states (Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. West and Mountain founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies are too thin a pool for an owner-led route, repeating S-124. Three rosters were pulled: indieagency.news WordPress API by city (Denver, Boulder, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Salt Lake, Boise; about 170 posts, almost all under 50 staff), Adweek Fastest Growing Agencies 2026 (only two West rows at 50+ staff: New Engen, PE-backed per S-124, and MAS, which is New York and Madrid), and S-124's O'Dwyer's West ranking. The 50+ staff firms that remain fail control or the change test: Rain the Growth Agency (300 staff) is run by a hired CEO under the co-founder chair; POP Seattle sits in the Advance family; R&R Partners passed the CEO role from owner Billy Vassiliadis to a president; Wieden+Kennedy is famous and its 2025 change is a leadership reshuffle; Cactus (Denver, 51-100 staff, founder-CEO Joe Conrad) restructured leadership roles in 2025, which is a promotion round, not a change to how the work is done; Riester (Phoenix, founder-CEO Tim Riester) shows no dated delivery change. Zero names stood.
Sources: Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- West or Mountain city through indieagency.news WP REST search, Adweek Fastest Growing 2026, O'Dwyer's West ranking gives agency (joined on agency name)
- agency through 4A's agency profile or firm About page gives size band, ownership, founder-CEO (joined on agency name)
- agency through trade press and agency newsroom 2023-2026 (WebSearch '<firm> <founder> AI') gives dated change in the leader's words (joined on firm plus leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not a West or Mountain US marketing, PR or creative agency leader (Shopify, Canada); the route's roster cannot surface him.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chairman; outside a US regional agency roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public technology company CEO; fails the private agency profile and is not in any West agency roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer founder; not an agency, not in indieagency.news, Adweek or O'Dwyer's West rows.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; outside the route.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software CEO; outside the route.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; outside a US agency roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining billionaire; outside the route.
Route 227: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Third cut of Northeast and Mid-Atlantic owner-led consulting, research and professional services (after S-125 and S-185, which harvested law, PR, research and CPA names now in output/candidates.json). The roster that still fetches (O'Dwyer 2025 independents and New York rankings) gives about 20 in-band Northeast independents not yet in candidates.json, but the dated changes they announced in 2025 and 2026 (PAN AI Optimization service line, Nov 2025; PAN web service line, Dec 2025; Matter AI Brand Discovery and GEO service, Sept 2025) are voiced by staff (a chief of integrated marketing, a head of AI innovation, a VP, a general manager), never by the founder who controls the firm. The one engineering lead with a firmwide AI rollout in a leader's own words (VHB, 2,300 staff, May 2026) is voiced by the president, not the CEO, so control is not shown. Topic searches for Northeast employee-owned engineering, consulting and CPA firms returned vendors, start-ups, succession news and PE-owned firms. Consulting magazine stays blocked. Zero names pass after 14 searches and 13 fetches.
Sources: Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through O'Dwyer's 2025 PR firm rankings (independents; New York and New Jersey) gives independent firm with HQ city and FT staff (joined on firm name)
- firm through O'Dwyer's PR firm database page gives named leader, headcount, founding year (joined on O'Dwyer database id)
- firm through firm newsroom or wire mirror (financialcontent.com bizwire reprints) gives dated change and who voiced it (joined on firm name plus leader surname)
- leader through trade feature (O'Dwyer, ACEC Engineering Inc) gives second page and the leader's own words (joined on leader full name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Not in this universe by construction: the route only reaches privately owned Northeast and Mid-Atlantic US service firms of about 50 to 5,000 staff. No lookup w
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not in this universe by construction: the route only reaches privately owned Northeast and Mid-Atlantic US service firms of about 50 to 5,000 staff. No lookup w
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not in this universe by construction: the route only reaches privately owned Northeast and Mid-Atlantic US service firms of about 50 to 5,000 staff. No lookup w
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not in this universe by construction: the route only reaches privately owned Northeast and Mid-Atlantic US service firms of about 50 to 5,000 staff. No lookup w
- Missed Aaron Levie Not in this universe by construction: the route only reaches privately owned Northeast and Mid-Atlantic US service firms of about 50 to 5,000 staff. No lookup w
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not in this universe by construction: the route only reaches privately owned Northeast and Mid-Atlantic US service firms of about 50 to 5,000 staff. No lookup w
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not in this universe by construction: the route only reaches privately owned Northeast and Mid-Atlantic US service firms of about 50 to 5,000 staff. No lookup w
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not in this universe by construction: the route only reaches privately owned Northeast and Mid-Atlantic US service firms of about 50 to 5,000 staff. No lookup w
Route 228: Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held property management and real estate services firms based in the South and Southeast (NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Fourth pass at South and Southeast owner-led real estate services (after S-112, S-126 x3 and S-186 x2). Seven web searches and six receipts gave no new person who passes size, private control, leader voice and a dated 2023-2026 change. Every lead failed a known test: Lynd (San Antonio) expands third-party management in a release voiced by a rehired president, not the family owner; Blueprint Title (Nashville) is venture-backed with about 22 to 77 staff; Foundry Commercial (Orlando) is partner-owned with no dated work change; Stream Realty's Florida AI research platform is voiced by a regional partner; MFE 2026 honorees are Avenue5 (too large) and a Los Angeles investor; the RealEstateNews independents tag lists only Southern owners already in output/candidates.json. The usable seams (brokerages, land, title) were taken by S-126 and S-186.
Sources: NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through WebSearch change-first queries; MFE 2026 executive honorees; RealEstateNews independents tag gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through Multifamily Dive, coverager.com, firm newsroom gives dated change with speaker (joined on firm name)
- speaker through same story plus ownership line gives leader who controls the firm (joined on person name)
- leader through second, different page gives confirming citation and signal year (joined on person name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not in this universe by construction: the route covers privately held Southern US property management and real estate services firms only.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not in this universe by construction: the route covers privately held Southern US property management and real estate services firms only.
- Missed Satya Nadella Not in this universe by construction: the route covers privately held Southern US property management and real estate services firms only.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not in this universe by construction: the route covers privately held Southern US property management and real estate services firms only.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not in this universe by construction: the route covers privately held Southern US property management and real estate services firms only.
- Missed Aaron Levie Not in this universe by construction: the route covers privately held Southern US property management and real estate services firms only.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not in this universe by construction: the route covers privately held Southern US property management and real estate services firms only.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not in this universe by construction: the route covers privately held Southern US property management and real estate services firms only.
Route 229: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms based in the Midwest and Plains (employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This is the third promotion of the Midwest and Plains employee-owned and founder-owned wealth route (S-127, S-187, now S-229) and the ninth wealth region cut. A firm list disjoint from S-127 and S-187 still gave 0 owner-led names. Creative Planning (Overland Park) is majority-owned by Peter Mallouk, but Bloomberg lists him as a billionaire (net worth $11.8B), and the target excludes billionaires. Carson Group (Omaha, 370+ staff) has had a hired CEO, Burt White, since Ron Carson stepped away in 2024, with a Bain Capital stake. William Blair (Chicago, 100 percent employee-owned) passes control but has no dated, leader-voiced change to the work in 2023-2026. Savant (Rockford) has PE money. Johnson Investment Counsel, Moneta, Plancorp, Mesirow, Cambridge, Berger, Buckingham and Stevens Capital were already ruled out by S-127 and S-187. The region's fit firms are exhausted.
Sources: employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through WebSearch over Midwest employee-owned and founder-owned RIAs, excluding firms tried in S-127 and S-187 gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through investmentnews.com/companies profile and wealthmanagement.com deal stories gives ownership, control, CEO (joined on firm name)
- controlling leader through Bloomberg Billionaires Index profile gives billionaire screen (joined on person name)
- firm through firm newsroom and trade press 2023-2026 gives dated change voiced by the leader (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy figure; not a US Midwest wealth firm, so outside this roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public-company CEO (Shopify); not in a Midwest RIA roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya US food manufacturer owner (Chobani); not a wealth management firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO (Novartis); outside the roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate owner (Reliance); outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie US public software CEO (Box); not a wealth firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella US public tech CEO (Microsoft); outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner (Semco); outside the roster.
Route 230: Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms based in the West and Mountain states (Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Attempt 2. Trucking rosters (HDT, CarriersEdge) gave one name in attempt 1 (Rudy Diaz, Hight Logistics). Turning the route to the warehousing 3PL side and to material-handling dealer customer releases gave a second: Jeremy Van Puffelen, PRISM Logistics, from a Raymond West AGV release in October 2025. Two counted names against a gate of three; leads that failed: ITS Logistics (sold to PE-owned Echo), Weber (Stellex), States Logistics (ESOP, change voiced by a GM), Oak Harbor (no redesign), Dependable (LTL sale, not a redesign), T3RA (about 25 staff).
Sources: Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award year through HDT Truck Fleet Innovators and CarriersEdge Best Fleets to Drive For honoree pages gives fleet executive with firm and HQ city (joined on firm name plus HQ state (WA, OR, CA, ID, MT, WY, UT, CO, AZ, NV, NM))
- firm through honoree write-up (role line, own words) gives leader title and control (joined on person name plus title (founder, owner, CEO))
- leader through vehicle maker or vendor customer release (volvotrucks.us press releases) gives dated costly change (joined on firm name)
- firm through trade press (Overdrive, CCJ, FreightWaves) or firm site gives headcount and ownership (joined on firm name)
- warehouse 3PL through material-handling dealer or robotics vendor customer release (Raymond West case studies, ABNewswire/openpr reprints, Business Wire) gives president's own words plus dated automation act (joined on firm name; then firm About page for family ownership and titles)
New names that passed every check
- Rudy Diaz, Hight Logistics (founder-owned port drayage, intermodal and 3PL firm, Long Beach CA; about 70 trucks in 2025). Size flag: headcount near the bottom of the band, with owner-operators making up much of the earlier fleet. owner, United States
Moved a drayage firm built on owner-operators onto a company-run battery-electric fleet through a separate division he created.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Rudy Diaz, Founder/CEO/President, Hight Logistics, Long Beach, California In 2011, Rudy Diaz launched Hight Logistics from his house” source
- What they did 2024 “Hight Logistics prioritizes environmental sustainability and has created the new Hight Electric division, focused exclusively on acquiring battery-electric vehicles and developing charging infrastructure.” source
- What they said 2025 “He formed a separate division of the company to launch an all-electric fleet, currently at 20 trucks. “We wanted to comply [with the California zero-emission vehicle] mandates and be ahead of the curve versus behind the curve,” he told HDT.” source
- What they said 2024 ““We are fully committed to the investment in zero emissions trucks and our investment in the Volvo VNR Electric trucks is a public declaration that we are helping to lead the shift to sustainable” source
- Jeremy Van Puffelen, PRISM Logistics (PRISM Team Services; family-owned and operated warehousing 3PL, Northern California, founded 1993; about 2.3 million sq ft across Lathrop, Stockton and other sites). Size flag: no dated headcount found; a data-vendor snippet says 21 to 50, which looks low for 2.3 million sq ft. owner, United States
Moved a traditional family warehouse operation onto AGVs and semi-automatic pallet shuttles to cut forklift travel and manual labor, run by the founder's son as president.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “We’re a family-run business ( now with the founder, Jere Van Puffelen, as Chairman and his son, Jeremy Van Puffelen, as President )” source
- What they did 2025 “PRISM's transformation included the deployment of several advanced solutions: * Standard and Pushback Racking for enhanced storage space efficiency * Stand-up Forklifts to improve maneuverability * Muratec Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) for automated pallet transport” source
- What they said 2025 “Our partnership with Raymond West has been instrumental in helping us evolve from a traditional warehouse operation to a future-ready logistics provider.” source
- What they said 2025 “He recommends spending time on the ground to understand real operational costs and challenges before making strategic decisions.” source
- What they said 2025 “We’ll continue the basic blocking and tackling that got us here, while pushing the envelope on automation, technology, and efficiency.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Not in this universe by construction (West and Mountain privately held freight and logistics firms).
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not in this universe by construction (West and Mountain privately held freight and logistics firms).
- Missed Aaron Levie Not in this universe by construction (West and Mountain privately held freight and logistics firms).
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not in this universe by construction (non-US; route is US West and Mountain only).
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not in this universe by construction (non-US; route is US West and Mountain only).
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not in this universe by construction (non-US; route is US West and Mountain only).
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not in this universe by construction (West and Mountain privately held freight and logistics firms).
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not in this universe by construction (non-US; route is US West and Mountain only).
Route 231: Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Fourth pass at family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (after S-115, S-129 and S-189; S-189 already asked that this pair not be promoted again). Only new kinds of source were tried: the ACHR News story on Nexstar Network dropping its PE-backed members (suggested by S-217 as a roster of independents, but it names no member firms), a Contracting Business 2025 feature on AI in HVAC firms, a PR Newswire release from a family-owned Brooklyn plumber, the NJBIZ In the Lead 2025 family-owned business pages (403 direct and via --jina) and an NJBIA member news item. Eight logged fetch attempts and seven searches gave 0 counted names. Every lead failed one test: Service Professionals (northern NJ, 115 staff, AI phone answering from fall 2025) and Leonard Splaine (Northern Virginia, family-owned) have the change voiced by a COO or a hired GM; Petri Plumbing (Brooklyn, family-owned) issued an awareness release with no change to the work; Eastern Janitorial (Parsippany, family-operated) shows only a 2025 COO hire; Harvard Maintenance coverage quotes its CIO. The pool is harvested.
Sources: Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and segment through trade press feature or roster (ACHR News, Contracting Business, NJBIZ In the Lead) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through same feature, firm newsroom or release gives dated change and who voiced it (joined on firm name plus speaker title)
- speaker through firm site or regional release gives leader who controls the firm, headcount, ownership (joined on firm name)
- leader through output/candidates.json gives new name or drop (joined on normalized name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Not in this universe by construction.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not in this universe by construction.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not in this universe by construction.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not in this universe by construction.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not in this universe by construction.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not in this universe by construction.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not in this universe by construction.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not in this universe by construction.
Route 232: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms based in the South and Southeast (CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Fourth pass at Southern founder-owned IT services, managed services and tech consulting (after S-116, S-130 and S-190), so the core is already harvested and the remaining firms fail. The CRN SP500 and MSP 501 rosters were used up earlier; the ENX 2025 Elite Dealers list gives about 40 Southern dealer-MSPs, but their tag pages show only awards, successions and dealer-for-dealer acquisitions. The Southern voices in ENX's July 2026 AI panels are a president who keeps AI in an assistant role (Stone's, Richmond) and VPs (Stargel, Spectrum). DOCUmation (San Antonio, about 200 staff) is run by co-CEO brothers and grows by acquisition, with no costly change to the work in their own words. Change-first searches by city and by employee ownership returned firms already in candidates.json, PE-held firms (CapTech under Markel), product companies, or firms whose ownership and HQ could not be pinned down (Phase 2, Oklahoma City). Result: 0 new names from 8 searches and 18 logged fetches.
Sources: CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade ranking through ENX 2025 Elite Dealers list (Southern state-code regex) gives Southern dealer-MSP firm (joined on dealer name + city + state)
- dealer firm through enxmag.com/twii/tag/<dealer-slug>/ gives dated firm stories (joined on ENX tag slug)
- dated story through Cannata Report or firm newsroom gives leader quote, headcount, ownership (joined on firm name + leader name)
- city or ownership keyword through WebSearch change-first queries gives founder-led IT services firm (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining billionaire; not a Southern US IT services firm, outside every source in this route.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the roster and the region.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; outside the roster and the region.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian manufacturer; outside the region and sector.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the roster and the region.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel firm, not an IT services firm in the South.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and Washington-based; not in the dealer or MSP rosters for the South.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public California software company; outside the roster and the region.
Route 233: Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of partner-owned CPA and advisory firms based in the Midwest and Plains (INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This is the third run of the Midwest and Plains partner-owned CPA pair (S-145 took Cook, Minkler and Rammes; S-191 was invalidated with zero). The one source kind earlier runs had not read as a leader roster, IPA's 2026 Best of the Best page (CEO or MP and net revenue per row), lists 13 Midwest independents not yet in candidates (Abdo, Blue & Co., Boulay, Doeren Mayhew, GBQ, Global Tax Network, Lutz, Meaden & Moore, Miller Cooper, Pease Bell, Porte Brown, Wegner, William Vaughan). Leader-name searches returned only succession, merger and award news, and Doeren Mayhew has an Audax private equity partnership. Best of the Best award releases (Brady Martz, Honkamp) quote leaders in general terms, the MNCPA Footnote AI topic page carries features by consultants, and Rehmann's CEO quote in its 2024 annual report release is tool adoption, not a costly change. Zero new names after 5 logged fetches and 17 searches.
Sources: INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through IPA 2026 Best of the Best (Firm / Headquarters, CEO / MP, Net Revenue per row) gives firm and leader (joined on firm name plus HQ city)
- leader through WebSearch of leader name plus firm plus change terms; firm newsroom; state CPA society magazine (MNCPA Footnote) gives dated change voiced by the leader (joined on leader name plus firm name)
- change through second trade page (IPA, CPA Practice Advisor, Accounting Today) gives confirmation (joined on firm name plus date)
- firm through firm About page or dated 2025-2026 trade source gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; not on a US Midwest CPA roster
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company CEO; not a CPA or advisory firm
- Missed Satya Nadella Public technology company CEO; not on a CPA roster
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate; outside a US Midwest CPA roster
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; not on a CPA roster
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining; outside a US CPA roster
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer owner; not a CPA or advisory firm
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel company owner; not a CPA or advisory firm
Route 234: Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers based in the West and Mountain states (state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. S-234 is the fourth pass at West and Mountain law firms of 50 to 600 lawyers (after S-139, S-146 and S-192, the last two invalidated). This attempt tried only angles the earlier passes had not: plaintiff and personal injury firms in Nevada, Arizona, Utah and California through vendor webinars (EvenUp), Hanson Bridgett managing partner Kristina Lawson's own words on the June 2026 Claude rollout, Law Week Colorado coverage after 2024, firm subsidiaries and AI platforms in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Idaho, and Legora or Harvey firmwide deals in Mountain cities. 6 WebSearches and 6 logged fetches (3 failed: hansonbridgett.com 403 again, fbm.com 403, evenuplaw.com 404). No new firm leader with control, an in-band headcount and a dated change in their own words came out. Anthem Injury Lawyers is a vendor webinar with no own-words quote and is below the size band; the Sweet James AI work is voiced by an operations attorney, not the owner; Law Week Colorado's law-firm AI tag holds only the 2023 and 2024 roundtables S-139 already used; Arizona results are VC or Big Four ABS entities (Eudia, KPMG), not owner-led firms; and the Hanson Bridgett firm statement on AI is unattributed.
Sources: state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through regional legal press (Law Week Colorado tags), vendor webinar and customer pages (EvenUp, Legora, Harvey), mechanism-noun web search gives law firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through firm newsroom or regional press gives dated change (joined on firm name + mechanism noun)
- dated change through release or interview quote gives firm leader (joined on managing partner, chair or founder name)
- firm leader through firm about page or dated 2025-2026 article gives headcount, ownership and control (joined on leader name)
- firm leader through earliest dated redesign move gives signal year (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest (Fortescue, Australia) does not lead a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so a roster built from regional legal press and firm newsr
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani (Reliance, India) does not lead a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so a roster built from regional legal press and firm newsrooms c
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler (Semco, Brazil) does not lead a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so a roster built from regional legal press and firm newsrooms ca
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie (Box, a public software company) does not lead a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so a roster built from regional legal press and fir
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia, a product company) does not lead a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so a roster built from regional legal press and fi
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke (Shopify, Canada) does not lead a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so a roster built from regional legal press and firm newsrooms cann
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan (Novartis, Switzerland) does not lead a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so a roster built from regional legal press and firm news
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella (Microsoft, a public software company) does not lead a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so a roster built from regional legal press
Route 235: Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Third cut of Northeast and Mid-Atlantic independent behavioral health, therapy and physician groups (after S-147 and S-193, which took Trumble, Carlan, Kryder and the Grosso MSO cluster). Five WebSearch variants and nine fetch.mjs attempts (four 200, five 403) gave no new leader who passed control, size, no-PE and a dated owner-voiced change. Consensus Health (NJ) has a hired CEO since 2024. Fairfax Family Practice Centers left Inova in 2025 but its page and the SPRY therapy release are 403 even via jina. ABA Centers of America is a 2020 Fort Lauderdale founding design, not a redesign of a Northeast firm. Regional Cancer Care Associates joined McKesson US Oncology Network in 2023, so control fails. The pool is harvested.
Sources: Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region plus sector query through BHB WordPress API search and WebSearch gives independent practice group (joined on group name)
- group through group newsroom or trade press gives leader and change (joined on group name plus CEO title)
- leader through second outlet gives confirmation of change (joined on leader name)
- group through about page or dated 2025-2026 source gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on group name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella public company (Microsoft), not a Northeast health practice; out of the route universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie public software firm (Box); out of the route universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil, manufacturing; out of the route universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India, conglomerate; out of the route universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya food maker (Chobani); out of the route universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard apparel (Patagonia); out of the route universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma (Novartis); out of the route universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada, public software (Shopify); out of the route universe.
Route 236: Owner-led service firms: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the South and Southeast (Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Three attempts over South and Southeast privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators (about 45 WebSearches, 30 receipts) gave 1 counted owner-led name: David Ammons of Retirement Living Associates (Raleigh), whose full equity CCRC broke ground in 2025. Every other lead failed control, region, size or change. Attempt 3 checked Charter Senior Living (founder-owned but Naperville IL), Mainstay (Lakeland FL, change voiced by the CIO under a hired CEO), Harbor Retirement Associates (hired CEO), The Arbor Company (president, no owner line, no dated change), White Oak Management (Cecil family, sold all 15 SNFs to NHC in 2024), The Perfect Companion (Phoenix, under 100 clients) and CP Senior Living (no public owner). The Southern pool was mined by S-46, S-60, S-82, S-93, S-106, S-148 and S-194 first, so this region and sector pair cannot reach 3 new names. Invalidated as a standalone route; keep Ammons.
Sources: Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through WebSearch limited to seniorhousingnews.com, skillednursingnews.com, homehealthcarenews.com, hospicenews.com with '<State>-based' plus founder or owner plus a change word gives operator story (joined on firm name plus <State>-based dateline)
- operator story through same story (who voices the change, ownership line) gives controlling leader (joined on leader name and title (Owner and Principal, Founder and CEO))
- firm and change through regional magazine or the operator's own community page gives second dated page on the same change (joined on project or program name)
- firm through trade story, firm site or state registry gives headcount and ownership (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not in this universe by construction: the route only reads privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the US South and Southeast.
- Missed Satya Nadella Not in this universe by construction: the route only reads privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the US South and Southeast.
- Missed Aaron Levie Not in this universe by construction: the route only reads privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the US South and Southeast.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not in this universe by construction: the route only reads privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the US South and Southeast.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not in this universe by construction: the route only reads privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the US South and Southeast.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not in this universe by construction: the route only reads privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the US South and Southeast.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not in this universe by construction: the route only reads privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the US South and Southeast.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not in this universe by construction: the route only reads privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the US South and Southeast.
Route 237: Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the Midwest and Plains (Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Sixth run of the Midwest and Plains privately held insurance slice, after S-107 and S-149 (six names taken) and S-195 (invalidated). This attempt used only sources S-195 did not: the Business Insurance agents and brokers ranking and privately owned list (the directory page is a frame; the ranking and officer data are sold as a PDF or Excel, so it is paywalled), Independent Agent magazine and Big I state association news (searches return partner booklets and Best Practices rosters, no dated owner-voiced redesigns), and agency-system vendor stories in Insurance Journal sponsored blogs. The one Midwest vendor story (MyInsuranceGuy, Sycamore, Illinois, EZLynx, July 2025) is owner-voiced but the agency is a two-owner family shop far under 50 staff and the piece is vendor-written. The best AI-first owner voice found (Falcon West, Mike Tanghe) is in San Diego, outside the region. Zero new names pass the profile; the region is harvested.
Sources: Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through Business Insurance agents and brokers ranking (privately owned list), Big I state association news gives agency (joined on agency name plus headquarters state)
- agency through agency newsroom, Independent Agent magazine, IJ vendor-sponsored blogs, regional press gives dated change plus speaker (joined on agency name)
- speaker through agency About and leadership pages gives control and headcount (joined on person name plus agency)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Miss. The route's universe is privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the Midwest and Plains. Yvon Chouinard does not lead an insurance agency or
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss. The route's universe is privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the Midwest and Plains. Satya Nadella does not lead an insurance agency or
- Missed Andrew Forrest Miss. The route's universe is privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the Midwest and Plains. Andrew Forrest does not lead an insurance agency or
- Missed Ricardo Semler Miss. The route's universe is privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the Midwest and Plains. Ricardo Semler does not lead an insurance agency or
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Miss. The route's universe is privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the Midwest and Plains. Mukesh Ambani does not lead an insurance agency or
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Miss. The route's universe is privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the Midwest and Plains. Vas Narasimhan does not lead an insurance agency or
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss. The route's universe is privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the Midwest and Plains. Aaron Levie does not lead an insurance agency or br
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Miss. The route's universe is privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the Midwest and Plains. Hamdi Ulukaya does not lead an insurance agency or
Route 238: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms based in the West and Mountain states (ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Third pass at West and Mountain owner-led AEC (after S-150 and S-196, which took the visible names: Hensel Phelps, BZI, Salas O'Brien, Harder, MKA, ESI, RK Industries). Fourteen searches and 12 receipts gave 0 new fit people. Every lead failed one test: Saunders Construction (100% employee-owned, Denver) launched Saunders Concrete Structures on 2023-06-29, but an SVP voiced it and Justin Cooper only became CEO on 2026-07-01; Western Partitions (family-owned, 1,500 staff) shows prefab panels with no dated move; Encore Electric and MTech Mechanical pages have no owner-voiced change; unreceipted search leads also failed (BKF and Sundt CEO handovers, ZGF.ai launched before the current managing partner). The roster step (ENR regional award keyword pages) is open but already harvested.
Sources: ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through ENR regional award keyword pages (Contractor, Specialty Contractor, Design Firm of the Year), Walls & Ceilings Contractor of the Year, change-first WebSearch gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom or award profile gives dated change (joined on firm name + mechanism noun (subsidiary, prefab, AI))
- dated change through release or profile quote gives firm leader (joined on quoted person name and title)
- firm leader through firm leadership news page gives control and tenure (joined on leader name + 'CEO' + appointment date)
- firm through earliest dated release gives signal year (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not in this universe by construction (route is West and Mountain US owner-led AEC firms).
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not in this universe by construction.
- Missed Satya Nadella Not in this universe by construction.
- Missed Aaron Levie Not in this universe by construction.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not in this universe by construction.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not in this universe by construction.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not in this universe by construction.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not in this universe by construction.
Route 239: Owner-led service firms: privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms based in the South and Southeast (Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region + segment through Built In city staffing rosters (Atlanta, Miami, Raleigh, Austin) and WebSearch over SIA list snippets and wire releases gives Southern staffing or workforce services firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through wire release (newswire.com, globenewswire.com) and vendor or trade press gives ownership and control of the leader (joined on firm name + CEO name)
- firm through firm newsroom (WordPress wp-json posts search) and vendor case releases gives dated change to how the work is done, voiced by the leader (joined on firm name + product or platform name)
- change through second page at a different URL (vendor release, wire reprint, trade site) gives confirmation of the change (joined on product name (Movista, Talentcare Crew))
- firm through firm leadership page and release boilerplate gives headcount, ownership, control (2025-2026) (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Patrick Henderson, SASR Workforce Solutions LLC (Raleigh and Cary, North Carolina; retail, grocery and warehouse workforce and project services; 100% owned by its CEO since a 2021 founder buyout) owner, United States
Bought out the founder and moved a retail reset staffing firm from on-demand temp labor with homegrown tools to a centralized, project-managed field workforce running on a mobile execution platform.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “provide a term loan to assist SASR in the redemption of the membership interests of the founder, thus resulting in Henderson’s ultimate 100% ownership” source
- What they did 2022 “Movista’s technology platform supplies transparent assignment details to over 1300 SASR reps who travel to newly built retail locations and set up store displays.” source
- What they said 2021 “Patrick has broadened SASR's strategy to set a foundation for growth over the next 10 years, beginning with an updated company name, SASR Workforce Solutions.” source
- Eric Smith, Talentcare (Austin, Texas; frontline hiring and retention services firm founded 2013 by Smith; headcount and ownership not confirmed on a receipt) owner, United States
Founder rebuilt his outsourced frontline hiring service around an AI system that covers screening, interviewing, onboarding and the first 90 days for clients.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “together we have driven results like increased revenue by expanding billable staff capacity or reduced costs like overtime and turnover by improving staff retention,” Talentcare founder and CEO Eric Smith said” source
- What they did 2026 “Now with Talentcare Crew, we’re adding AI to the process so hiring managers can find the right people more easily, get them started faster, and keep them longer.” source
- What they did 2026 “Talentcare Crew covers the full candidate journey, from the application through the first 90 days on the job.” source
- What they said 2013 “In 2013, Eric had the idea for a new company in the talent and recruiting space. His first order of business was to hire a recruiter to help him get the company started” source
- Randy Hatcher, MAU, Inc. / MAU Workforce Solutions (Augusta, Georgia; family-owned industrial staffing, RPO and outsourcing firm founded 1973 by his father; second-generation CEO since 1999) owner, United States
Family owner-CEO moved an industrial temp staffing firm toward a blended workforce-ecosystem model, launching MAU Ascent in 2024 to recruit and run outsourced teams for automated advanced manufacturing operations.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Randy Hatcher is the CEO of MAU Workforce Solutions, providing strategic leadership for one of the largest independently owned staffing and outsourcing firms in North America.” source
- What they did 2024 “MAU Inc., an industrial workforce solutions provider, today announced the launch of its MAU Ascent suite of services to identify, recruit, and activate the uniquely skilled talent needed to optimize advanced manufacturing technologies and complex, automated operations.” source
- What they said 2024 “In this era of rapidly evolving technology and rising competition, Randy advises leaders to focus on their companies’ most core and critical activities.” source
- What they said 2024 “If the advanced manufacturing workforce was still in its ‘infancy’ when I wrote the book, its current life stage is adolescence.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Miss: India; Reliance is a public conglomerate, not a Southern US staffing firm. The route starts from a roster of Southern privately held staffing firms, so th
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Miss: Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not a staffing or workforce services firm. The route starts from a roster of Southern privately held
- Missed Tobi Lutke Miss: Shopify is a public Canadian software company. The route starts from a roster of Southern privately held staffing firms, so this person cannot appear.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Miss: Semco is Brazilian; outside the US roster. The route starts from a roster of Southern privately held staffing firms, so this person cannot appear.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Miss: Fortescue is a public Australian miner. The route starts from a roster of Southern privately held staffing firms, so this person cannot appear.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Miss: Patagonia is an apparel maker in California, not staffing. The route starts from a roster of Southern privately held staffing firms, so this person cannot
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss: Microsoft is public and is a software company. The route starts from a roster of Southern privately held staffing firms, so this person cannot appear.
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss: Box is a public software company in California. The route starts from a roster of Southern privately held staffing firms, so this person cannot appear.
Route 240: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies based in the Midwest and Plains (Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This re-promotes S-138 (Midwest and Plains founder-owned agencies, three attempts, three names now in candidates.json: BarkleyOKRP, Signal Theory, Meyocks), and with those skipped the pool is mined out. A roster S-138 used only once, the AMIN Worldwide Americas network page (aminworldwide.com/network/americas, 200 with --text), lists eight further Midwest members, and every one fails a gate: Fusion92 (Chicago, 275 staff) took investment partners, True Media (Columbia, MO, 175+) joined Meet The People, Hoffman York got a new CEO in 2025, Simantel's owners are principals with no dated change, Paradowski and Bailey Lauerman are run by hired presidents or CEOs (Bailey Lauerman 51-100 staff, CEO Greg Andersen joined in 2016), and CVR and Six Speed are small. Outside AMIN: Laughlin Constable (Ad Age Small Agency gold 2024, 120+ staff) has a hired CEO, Anthony Romano, under founder and executive chairman Steve Laughlin; Padilla was sold to Avenir Global in 2018; KemperLesnik went to Res Publica in 2024. Empower Media (Cincinnati and Chicago, about 400 staff with Ocean Media) has an owner-CEO, Ashlee Clarke, majority shareholder since February 2023, but her dated moves are senior hires, a measurement summit and a 2025 merger, not a costly change to how the work gets done. Mechanism searches (AI-first, pricing model, restructure) return non-Midwest shops.
Sources: Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through AMIN Worldwide Americas network page, Ad Age Small Agency Awards coverage (Reel Chicago), WebSearch for Midwest independents not tried in S-138 gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through 4A's agency profile (Ownership, Size, CEO) and trade press (MediaPost, Adweek wire, The Desk) gives leader and control (joined on firm name)
- leader through agency newsroom and trade press 2023-2026, WebSearch '<leader> <firm> AI' gives dated change in own words (joined on leader name)
- change through second, different outlet gives confirmation (joined on firm name plus year)
- firm through 4A's profile or dated 2025-2026 source gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella US public-company CEO (Microsoft); not a Midwest founder-owned agency, so outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia founder; an outdoor apparel maker, not a Midwest marketing or PR agency.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner (Semco); outside the US Midwest agency roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO (Novartis); public company, not an agency.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani founder; a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not a Midwest agency.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining figure; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public-company CEO (Shopify); not in a Midwest agency roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box CEO; public software company, not an agency.
Route 241: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms based in the West and Mountain states (Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. West and Mountain founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms gave 0 Marty-profile names from 17 searches and 12 fetches. The Consulting magazine roster is blocked (consultingmag.com 403, winners rendered as images, per S-111, S-125 and S-139), and every firm the open web surfaced failed one test before the change question: outside control (Point B with Endeavour, Crucial Learning under Leeds Equity Partners since 2019, Cicero Group now part of MGT), too small (Human Design and Universal Mind, 11 to 50 staff), or a real firmwide AI change voiced by staff rather than the leader (SWCA's AI Augmentation Initiative, June 2026, announced through a Director of Practice Innovation promotion with no CEO words). This route also duplicates S-139, which only reached 3 names through partner-owned law firms, and S-146 found West law firms harvested.
Sources: Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region + segment through WebSearch on firm newsrooms, utahbusiness.com press releases, trade press (Consulting magazine roster is 403) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom (/?p=<id>, /press/<slug>) gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm domain)
- change through release text gives leader quoted on the change (joined on leader name in release)
- leader through firm leadership page, managementconsulted.com profile, owner press release gives ownership, control and headcount (joined on firm name)
- leader through second release or trade article gives earliest redesign move, signal year (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company, outside a West and Mountain owner-led service-firm roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; not in a US West service-firm roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer headquartered in New York, not a consulting, research or professional services firm.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the US service-firm universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; fails the private and service-business tests.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above 5,000 staff; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is in California but is an apparel maker and retailer, not a consulting, research or professional services firm, so the roster never reaches it.
Route 242: Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held property management and real estate services firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Third cut of Northeast and Mid-Atlantic owner-led real estate services after S-140 and S-200. Property-manager rosters stay empty: managers are PE-backed (AKAM under Audax 2026, Drucker + Falk with Alpine's Oakline 2025), owner-operators (Morgan, Denholtz, Larken) or led by hired presidents (Barkan since 2020). Attempt 1's name came from a family-owned independent brokerage covered by RISMedia, whose ace.rismedia.com ?p= pages fetch 200 with full text and datePublished. Attempt 2 added a second name from a platform-switch query (Bean Group onto eXp, 2023, realestatenews.com and housingwire.com plus the firm's dated timeline). Attempt 3 repeated the platform-switch query across PA, NJ and CT and found Michael Levy's Grand Lux Realty (Westchester, 200+ agents) moving onto eXp and consolidating its offices in 2024, confirmed by HousingWire and the GlobeNewswire release.
Sources: NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and segment through RISMedia Newsmakers and Power Broker pages, Swanepoel Power 200 snippets gives independent brokerage or manager with broker/owner (joined on firm name)
- firm through RISMedia ace.rismedia.com stories (?p=<id>, datePublished in page JSON) gives dated change to the work voiced by the owner (joined on firm name plus owner surname)
- change through second RISMedia page or firm newsroom gives confirmation and control (broker/owner title) (joined on owner name)
New names that passed every check
- Anthony Lamacchia, Lamacchia Realty / Lamacchia Companies (Waltham, MA; founder-owned independent brokerage with property management and training arms) owner, United States
Rebuilt how his brokerage recruits and develops agents, trading agent count for full-time, trained, in-office agents.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Lamacchia, CEO of Massachusetts-based Lamacchia Companies and broker/owner of Lamacchia Realty, argued to Ketchmark during the January 26 debate.” source
- What they did 2022 “Now in effect is a new Commitment to Success agreement that is a requirement for all new and newer licensed agents who join.” source
- What they said 2022 “Those that get in now need to be ready to work harder. As long as they are willing to do that, we are willing to continue to do all we can to guide them to their success” source
- What they did 2024 “Based on these factors, earlier this year, we decided to not bring on any brand-new agents. Doing so has allowed us to spend more of our time, energy and resources on those who are committed.” source
- Michael Bean, Bean Group (Portsmouth, NH; founder-owned residential brokerage, 24 offices across NH, ME, MA and VT in 2023, now a team business on the eXp Realty platform) owner, United States
Took a 20-year independent brokerage off its own office-and-infrastructure model and onto a cloud brokerage platform, so the firm now runs as a team business with revenue share and equity for agents.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founded by Michael Bean in 2003, it boasts a roster of top real estate professionals across Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont” source
- What they did 2023 “An independent brokerage that closes nearly $1.5 billion in volume annually has just moved to eXp, the company announced today.” source
- What they said 2023 “We can maintain our boutique culture, brand and heritage while adding the unparalleled scale and resources of eXp Realty.” source
- What they said 2022 “With the rise of cloud brokerage models, Bean Group undergoes a strategic evaluation focused on long-term agent opportunity.” source
- Michael Levy, Grand Lux Realty (Westchester County, NY; founder-led independent brokerage, 200+ agents across Westchester, the lower Hudson Valley and Fairfield County, CT, on the eXp Realty platform since 2024) owner, United States
Moved his 18-year independent brokerage onto a cloud brokerage platform and collapsed its multiple offices into one central office to change how the firm operates.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founded in 2006 by Michael Levy, Grand Lux Realty is based in Westchester County, New York , and has more than 200 agents.” source
- What they did 2024 “In moving to eXp, Grand Lux Realty will consolidate its multiple offices in Westchester County to a single central office in White Plains, New York, by December 2024.” source
- What they said 2024 “We see this as a transformative partnership,” added Levy. “With eXp’s support, we’re not only aiming to exceed the $100 million sales mark but to redefine what’s possible for our agents and clients alike.” source
- What they said 2024 “It has great technology, an incredible and unique strategy, and the ability for me to take my team’s business to the next level.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not in this universe by construction: the route's roster is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic property management and real estate services firms.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not in this universe by construction: the route's roster is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic property management and real estate services firms.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not in this universe by construction: the route's roster is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic property management and real estate services firms.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not in this universe by construction: the route's roster is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic property management and real estate services firms.
- Missed Satya Nadella Not in this universe by construction: the route's roster is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic property management and real estate services firms.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not in this universe by construction: the route's roster is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic property management and real estate services firms.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not in this universe by construction: the route's roster is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic property management and real estate services firms.
- Missed Aaron Levie Not in this universe by construction: the route's roster is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic property management and real estate services firms.
Route 243: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms based in the South and Southeast (employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This is the fifth South or Southeast cut of employee-owned and founder-owned wealth firms (after S-113, S-141, S-159 and the national S-85/S-86). The regional rosters fetched this run (FINTRX Southeast spotlight, Financial Planning Top Fee-Only RIAs with a Tennessee office) list the same in-band firms, and each fails before the change question: Homrich Berg/HB Wealth (171 to 215 staff) has PE minority stakes and a hired CEO, Waverly (83 staff) has outside equity, SignatureFD (99 staff) is partner-owned with only promotion news, and the largest Tennessee-office firms are headquartered out of region. Change-first searches (flat-fee, AI-first, in-house platform, in-house tax or trust arm, 100% employee-owned plus a new arm) in TX, FL, GA, TN returned out-of-region firms, vendors, wirehouses or sub-50 boutiques (Aviance Capital Partners, Naples, body paywalled). The one large privately held firm in region, Fisher Investments (Plano TX), took Advent and ADIA minority capital in 2024 and is run by hired CEO Damian Ornani with far more than 5,000 staff. 0 names pass size, ownership, control and a dated leader-voiced change.
Sources: employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through FINTRX Southeast spotlight, Financial Planning Top Fee-Only by state (hbwealth.com mirror), regional business press gives firm (joined on firm name + HQ city)
- firm through roster fact box (Total Employees, Employees column), trade press gives size and ownership verdict (joined on firm name)
- fit firm through firm newsroom, investmentnews.com, wealthmanagement.com gives dated change voiced by the controlling leader (joined on firm name + leader name)
- leader through second independent page gives confirmation of change and headcount (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company in Washington state; outside the route's sector (wealth management), region and ownership filter.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; the route is US South and Southeast wealth firms only.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California; outside sector, region and ownership filter.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; outside country, sector and ownership filter.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker in California; not a wealth firm and not in the South or Southeast.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York; not a service firm and not in the route's region.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharmaceutical company; outside country, sector and ownership filter.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian mining company; outside country, sector and ownership filter.
Route 244: Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms based in the Midwest and Plains (Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. S-244 is the sixth pass at Midwest and Plains owner-led freight, 3PL and logistics (after S-142 x3, S-160 and S-202 x3, which stalled at 2 names and asked the controller not to promote the slice again). Per LESSONS, this attempt tested only seams those routes had not read for the Midwest: the AI-dispatch vendor customer press lists that gave S-216 its third Northeast name, and owner-voiced cold searches. optimaldynamics.com/resources/ lists Grand Island Express (VP-voiced, dropped in S-202), KBX Logistics (a Koch subsidiary), D.M. Bowman (Maryland) and Bison Transport (Canada). mavenmachines.com/about/press/ lists Central Freight Lines (Texas, 2018) and PITT OHIO (already found). Cold searches for founder-voiced Midwest brokerage and 3PL change returned startup job posts, PE-owned Buske and warehouse directory listings. The one fresh lead, Load Delivered (Chicago), is a 2017 growth story and its co-founder Robert Nathan now runs another company. Logos Logistics' brochure saved as an unparsed PDF. No new name passes.
Sources: Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- vendor customer list or cold search through Optimal Dynamics resources, Maven press list, WebSearch gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm site, TT company page, regional press gives HQ region, headcount, ownership, controlling leader (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom, vendor case study, trade press 2023-2026 gives dated change voiced by the controlling leader (joined on leader name)
- change through second, different page gives confirmation and signal year (joined on firm name plus change)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India, public conglomerate; outside a Midwest freight and 3PL roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil, industrial firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia, public mining firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland, public pharma; outside the roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not a freight or logistics service firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada, public commerce software; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker in California; not a freight or logistics service firm.
Route 245: Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) based in the West and Mountain states (Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This is the fourth pass at West and Mountain family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services firms (after S-143, S-161 and S-203). Prior passes harvested the few working leads (Eaton, Chas Roberts, Canyon State Electric, DeSantis, Harder). This attempt tried leads none of them used: the unused Oregon State Excellence in Family Business service honorees (Courtesy Janitorial, Gormley, Thompson's Sanitary, Neil Kelly), Intermountain security and fire firms, West moving companies, Washington janitorial robots and Utah and Arizona HVAC pay models. Every lead failed size, control or change. Mountain Alarm (Ogden, 350 staff, family) sold to PE-backed Pye-Barker in 2021; Green Clean Commercial sold to SoftBank Robotics America in 2026; Neil Kelly's president since 2022 is a hired CFO; Thompson's and Gormley are small family haulers and plumbers with no redesign beyond a recycling depot; the moving firms are small or new. 10 searches and 4 fetches gave no owner-voiced, dated change at a qualifying firm. The segment and region pair is exhausted.
Sources: Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and segment through family-business award rosters and trade press gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through trade and regional press 2023-2026 gives change and leader (joined on firm name)
- leader through firm site or dated 2025-2026 source gives size, ownership, control (joined on person name plus firm)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil-based owner (Semco); outside the West and Mountain US roster this route starts from, and not a facility, HVAC, cleaning or home services firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software company CEO (Shopify); not in a family-owned West service-firm roster or HVAC and cleaning trade press.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company CEO (Box); not a privately owned service firm, so the roster never reaches him.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining billionaire (Fortescue); outside US and outside the service-firm segment.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public company CEO (Microsoft), far above 5,000 staff; the route excludes him by design.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker and retailer based in California, not a facility, HVAC, cleaning or home services firm, so the trade-press roster does not list it
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer (Chobani) based in New York and Idaho; manufacturing, not a service firm, and absent from HVAC and cleaning trade press.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chairman (Reliance); outside US and the segment.
Route 246: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Fourth pass at Northeast and Mid-Atlantic IT services. Roster-first (CRN SP500, MSP 501) is spent after S-144, S-162 and S-204, so this attempt went change-first through regional business journals (Hartford Business Journal, NH Business Review, CBIA) and PR Newswire and GlobeNewswire mirrors (cioinfluence.com, aijourn.com). Three names counted; control and headcount came from HBJ honoree pages, MarketScreener, CB Insights and a firm fact sheet.
Sources: CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- change query through WebSearch for Northeast and Mid-Atlantic IT services, MSP and digital agency moves 2025-2026 (AI-native acquisition, AI-first repositioning, AI in delivery) with regional business journal domains gives firm plus dated story (joined on firm name)
- firm through GlobeNewswire or PR Newswire release mirror (cioinfluence.com, aijourn.com) or regional journal interview (nhbr.com) gives leader quote on the change (joined on firm name)
- firm through second, different page: CBIA member news, CB Insights acquisition record, second release gives confirmation of the change (joined on firm name)
- leader through HBJ article and honoree pages, MarketScreener insider profile, firm fact sheet (yespress.io) gives founder role, control, headcount, ownership (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Foster Charles, Charles IT (Middletown, Connecticut; managed IT and cybersecurity services; about 105 staff in 2023) owner, United States
Bought an AI-native MSP and kept it as a separate subsidiary to bring automation-first delivery into a traditional managed services firm.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “and we look forward to continuing to provide clients with fast response, improved return on investment on their IT, and confidence in their systems,” said Charles IT founder and CEO Foster Charles in a statement.” source
- What they did 2026 “Descent will remain an independent subsidiary as Charles IT invests in AI-driven automation and the next generation of managed IT services Charles IT announced the acquisition of Descent, an AI-native managed services provider” source
- What they said 2026 “Steven and his team aren’t simply adding AI tools to a traditional MSP model. They’ve been thinking about how automation can change the model itself; how work gets done, where engineers spend their time and ultimately how clients experience IT support.” source
- What they did 2026 “Charles IT founder and CEO Foster Charles said that Descent, led by founder Steven Saehrig, has been reimagining how automation can reshape the way IT work gets done.” source
- Nick Soggu, SilverTech (Manchester and Bedford, New Hampshire; digital experience, engineering and managed services; about 150 staff after July 2025) owner, United States
Bought Cleveland-based Paragon in July 2025 to roughly double headcount around AI-powered delivery, and is moving testing work from teams of people to AI tools.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Nick Soggu is the founder of SilverTech, Inc., founded in 1996, and holds the title of Chief Executive Officer.” source
- What they did 2025 “SilverTech's headcount, as a result of the purchase, grew from around 85 to about 150, making it "uniquely positioned to lead innovation and drive transformative growth in the tech sector," according to the statement that announced the purchase July 24.” source
- What they said 2025 “"We can put a website through its paces using AI tools and technologies to do user testing much more efficiently and effectively than we can with five or six humans involved in that process," said Soggu. "Now, that's not to say those humans aren't needed anymore," he added. "Their roles are just evolving and changing a” source
- What they did 2025 “It was founded in 1993 and is based in Cleveland, Ohio. In July 2025, Paragon was acquired by SilverTech.” source
- D. Raja, CEI (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; technology services and AI engineering; founded 1992 as Computer Enterprises, Inc.; about 1,800 staff; privately held) owner, United States
Is repositioning a 30-year IT staffing and services firm as an AI-first engineering company, with a new domain, new leadership and an outside CEO hired to run the change.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said D. Raja, Co-Founder and Chairman of CEI. “His deep understanding of AI-led enterprises, along with his ability to build high performing global organizations, makes him the right leader to guide CEI through its next phase of growth.” source
- What they did 2026 “These announcements are not isolated changes—they are signals of where CEI is going,” said D. Raja, CEO and co-founder of CEI. “CEI.ai represents our commitment to AI-first thinking, while Prathap and Ken bring the leadership needed to align strategy, solutions, and go‑to-market execution around real enterprise impact.” source
- What they did 2026 “underscores CEI’s strategic ambition to accelerate its transformation from a traditional services organization into a next generation AI engineering and enterprise transformation company, focused on helping clients turn AI potential into real world impact.” source
- What they said 2026 “CEI is a privately held Pittsburgh technology-services company that designs, builds and operates enterprise software, cloud, data and AI systems. Founded in 1992 as Computer Enterprises, Inc., it has repositioned around production-grade AI engineering” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss by design: the route only reads Northeast and Mid-Atlantic founder-owned IT services, MSP and tech consulting firms of 50 to 5,000 staff. Microsoft is a pu
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Miss by design: the route only reads Northeast and Mid-Atlantic founder-owned IT services, MSP and tech consulting firms of 50 to 5,000 staff. Chobani is a food
- Missed Ricardo Semler Miss by design: the route only reads Northeast and Mid-Atlantic founder-owned IT services, MSP and tech consulting firms of 50 to 5,000 staff. Semco is in Brazi
- Missed Tobi Lutke Miss by design: the route only reads Northeast and Mid-Atlantic founder-owned IT services, MSP and tech consulting firms of 50 to 5,000 staff. Shopify is a publ
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Miss by design: the route only reads Northeast and Mid-Atlantic founder-owned IT services, MSP and tech consulting firms of 50 to 5,000 staff. Novartis is a pub
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss by design: the route only reads Northeast and Mid-Atlantic founder-owned IT services, MSP and tech consulting firms of 50 to 5,000 staff. Box is a public s
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Miss by design: the route only reads Northeast and Mid-Atlantic founder-owned IT services, MSP and tech consulting firms of 50 to 5,000 staff. Reliance is an In
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Miss by design: the route only reads Northeast and Mid-Atlantic founder-owned IT services, MSP and tech consulting firms of 50 to 5,000 staff. Patagonia is an a
Route 247: Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of partner-owned CPA and advisory firms based in the South and Southeast (INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Third pass at Southern partner-owned CPA firms (after S-163 x3 and S-205). The region-first leader-name search failed again for most firms, but two changes made it yield 2 new names: reading the IPA 2026 Best of the Best page as a national leader roster (firm, HQ, CEO, net revenue per row) and reading the Accounting Today Top 100 2026 roundup and CPA Practice Advisor firm-management news for leader-voiced service and role changes, then matching back to IPA rows. Attempt 2 added a third (Keiter, Gary Wallace) by naming IPA Best of the Best Southern rows one per search with a mechanism noun and taking the trade copy (IPA) plus a chamber reprint when the firm site blocks scripts.
Sources: INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through IPA 2026 Best of the Best (insidepublicaccounting.com/ipa-best-of-the-best/) gives Southern firm plus CEO or MP plus net revenue (joined on firm name)
- firm through Accounting Today Top 100 2026 roundup and CPA Practice Advisor firm-management news gives dated service, arm or role change with leader quote (joined on firm name plus leader surname)
- change through firm newsroom (kaufmanrossin.com/news, btcpa.net/news) or a second trade outlet gives second page confirming the change (joined on firm name)
- leader through trade profile or firm release boilerplate gives headcount, partner ownership, CEO role (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Marc Feigelson, Kaufman Rossin (Miami, Florida; partner-owned CPA and advisory firm, more than 700 employees) ceo, United States
Runs Florida's largest independent CPA firm and is using its partner-owned status to build a dedicated private equity practice beside a wholly owned investment banking arm, positioned against PE-owned rivals.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Marc Feigelson, CPA, is the Chief Executive Officer at Kaufman Rossin, one of the Top 50 CPA and advisory firms in the U.S.” source
- What they did 2026 “Top 50 accounting firm Kaufman Rossin has expanded services to private equity funds, fund managers, and their portfolio companies through its new Kaufman Rossin PE practice.” source
- What they said 2026 “Kaufman Rossin is still independent, objective, and partner-owned, and we plan to stay that way. That means our people are here for the long term, with no competing interest positioned above them.” source
- Jeff Call, Bennett Thrasher (Atlanta, Georgia; independent CPA and advisory firm, about 500 employees) ceo, United States
Leads an independent Atlanta CPA firm that is adding owned practices (fund administration, executive search, restructuring) and using AI to move young professionals out of compliance work into advisory roles earlier.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Throughout this growth, Jeff has remained steadfast in Bennett Thrasher’s commitment to independence and its people-first culture, ensuring that both clients and professionals continue to thrive.” source
- What they did 2024 “The firm launched a BT Finance and Executive Search group this year and it's in the process of establishing a private fund accounting administration practice.” source
- What they said 2026 “We are leaning into technology, automation and AI to help our professionals shift away from lower-level compliance work and move into more consultative, advisory roles earlier in their careers,” source
- What they did 2025 “Strategically, the firm has expanded its service offerings to include BT Finance Executive Search, Fund Administration, and Business Restructuring and Bankruptcy Consulting, strengthening its position as a comprehensive advisory firm.” source
- Gary Wallace, Keiter (Glen Allen, Virginia; independent CPA and advisory firm, more than 200 employees) ceo, United States
Managing partner of an independent Central Virginia CPA firm who added a fractional CFO and controller practice so the firm leads clients' finance functions instead of only closing their books.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “It is one of the largest independent CPA firms in Central Virginia, with more than 200 employees.” source
- What they did 2025 “has launched a new client accounting and finance services line, aimed at helping businesses gain financial clarity, improve decision-making and scale with confidence.” source
- What they said 2025 “Many of our clients have shared that they’re looking for more than just transactional support when it comes to closing the books. They’re seeking experienced advisors who can lead, streamline, and scale their finance operations,” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company, not a Southern partner-owned CPA firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; not on any CPA roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and not a CPA firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian manufacturer; not a US CPA firm.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a professional services firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a retailer and maker; not on any CPA roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; outside the roster.
Route 248: Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers based in the Midwest and Plains (state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Fifth pass at Midwest and Plains law firms of 50 to 600 lawyers (after S-88, S-153, S-164 and S-206). The in-band firms with a leader-voiced change are already in candidates.json (Benesch, Tucker Ellis, Vorys, Thompson Hine, Husch Blackwell, Polsinelli, Spencer Fane, Stinson, Koley Jessen, von Briesen, Clark Hill). Sixteen searches and ten logged fetches across Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, the Dakotas and Oklahoma found no new firm leader voicing a dated change: AI moves are voiced by an innovation officer or a practice member (Honigman, BrownWinick), AI hiring is a client practice (McDonald Hopkins AI Associate), and the rest is succession or geographic growth (Bricker Graydon, Miller Johnson, Kutak Rock, Law.com Midwest topic index). LawSites and ABA Journal searches return national surveys, not firms. The route yields nothing new and should be closed.
Sources: state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through Law.com Midwest topic page, LawSites and ABA Journal search, web search by state plus firm names gives law firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through firm newsroom release gives change and the voice quoted (joined on firm name plus title of the person quoted)
- change through second page (vendor case study, trade press) gives confirmation and the leader's own words (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company, not a Midwest or Plains law firm; outside the route's roster by design.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian listed miner; no Midwest law firm roster can surface him.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel company, not a law firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial firm; non-US and not a law firm.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California; not a law firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software company; not a law firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a New York food maker, not a service firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian listed conglomerate; outside the roster.
Route 249: Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups based in the West and Mountain states (Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Third cut of West and Mountain independent behavioral health, therapy and physician groups (after S-165, which took the region's 3 passing names, and S-207, invalidated with 0). Four Behavioral Health Business wp-json searches by state (Utah, Arizona-based, Colorado-based, Washington-based; 2024-2026, about 110 story titles) plus 3 web searches and 3 article fetches gave 0 passing names. The two in-band leads failed: Ideal Option (Kennewick WA, about 650 staff, 86 clinics) has had Varsity Healthcare Partners as investor since October 2018, so it fails the no-PE gate, and its only change in window is a xylazine test panel and about 10% value-based revenue. Mindful Therapy Group (Mountlake Terrace WA, co-founder CEO Derek Crain, about 2,300 clinicians) has no documented ownership statement (CB Insights lists other investors) and its 2024-2026 moves are market expansion and adding Medicaid, which is growth, not a dated redesign of how the work is done. The remaining titles are PE or VC platforms (LifeStance, Embark, FullBloom, evolvedMD, Tava, Soar, Behavioral Innovations), nonprofits (Aurora Mental Health) or hired CEOs (Guidelight, Mindful Health Solutions). The segment is harvested.
Sources: Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- state name through Behavioral Health Business wp-json post search gives story title naming a provider (joined on provider name in title)
- provider through BHB article body (--text) gives leader, headcount, investor line (joined on provider name)
- provider through provider about page or web search for investors gives ownership and control (joined on provider name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and energy billionaire; not a West US health practice.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software CEO; outside the universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; outside the universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software CEO; outside the universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; outside the universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software CEO; outside the universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Outdoor apparel owner (California); not a health practice, so BHB never covers him.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate owner; outside the universe.
Route 250: Owner-led service firms: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised
Sources: Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region + segment through WebSearch limited to seniorhousingnews.com, homehealthcarenews.com, hospicenews.com gives operator story (joined on "<State>-based" in story text)
- operator through SHN / HHCN firm stories and Changemakers Q&A gives founder or CEO and dated change (joined on operator name)
- leader through second SHN or Seniors Housing Business story gives confirming page (joined on operator + leader surname)
- firm through SHN Changemakers intro or firm profile gives role, size and control (joined on operator name)
New names that passed every check
- Joe Jedlowski, Distinctive Healthcare / Distinctive Living (Freehold, New Jersey; founder-led senior living management and development company founded 2021, 46 communities in 2025) owner, United States
Founder rebuilding a senior living manager around an in-house analytics team that re-priced and re-tiered care levels, plus owned health services and a middle-market product.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Meet Joe Jedlowski, founder, chairman and CEO of New Jersey-based Distinctive Healthcare, a senior living development, management and services company that operates 46 senior housing communities across several states through its Distinctive Living brand.” source
- What they did 2025 “Based on the analysis the team has been able to provide, the company made the decision to shift and expand the levels of care residents can receive based on the needs they have.” source
- What they did 2022 “Developing an on-site home health component will allow Distinctive Living to help residents stay in their communities longer rather than transferring out to more costly, higher levels of care, Jedlowski said.” source
- What they said 2025 “In markets that are bringing on average $7,200 a month for senior living, we hope to introduce a product closer to $5,000 while also bringing higher levels of care into our communities.” source
- Laurie Gerber, EPOCH Senior Living (Waltham, Massachusetts; privately held senior living operator founded 1997, 18 communities in 2026, Bridges by EPOCH, Waterstone and Rivermere brands) owner, United States
Took control of her late husband's senior living company in 2023 and retooled its operations around company-wide dementia and hospitality training for all staff and a brain health program across the continuum.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Epoch Senior Living Chairperson Laurie Gerber took over as the company’s top leader in 2023 following the death of her husband and former Epoch Founder and CEO, Larry Gerber.” source
- What they did 2024 “The company announced at the end of October the expansion of dementia training for all employees within its 11 Bridges and 5 Waterstone Senior Living memory care communities.” source
- What they did 2026 “The shift was in direct response to recently added independent living segments in their new communities that opened in 2022, Gerber said, and has resulted in companywide hospitality training for staff.” source
- What they said 2026 ““We’ve undergone a culture change in the last three years,” Gerber told Senior Housing News. “I realized that we were missing a piece on hospitality and it took us some time to get there.”” source
- What they said 2024 “Laurie Gerber, Chairperson of Epoch Senior Living, said that the dementia training is part of a larger company-wide program to improve culture, employee satisfaction, and customer service at the company’s 16 communities throughout the Northeast.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan: Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company, not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic home care, senior living or hospice operator; the route's trade press
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke: Shopify is a public Canadian software firm; outside the aging-services roster this route starts from.
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella: Microsoft is public software, not an aging-services operator; HHCN, SHN and Hospice News do not cover him as an operator.
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie: Box is public software; not in any Northeast home care, senior living or hospice roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler: Semco is Brazilian manufacturing and services; outside the US Northeast aging-services scope.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani: Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; out of scope by country, size and sector.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard: Patagonia is outdoor apparel, not an aging-services operator; the route's sources never name him.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest: Fortescue is Australian public mining; out of scope by country and sector.
Route 251: Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the South and Southeast (Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Third run of the South and Southeast privately held insurance slice, after S-167 and S-209, both invalidated. This attempt used only seams those runs left open: AI vendor customer case studies (outmarket.ai) as a lead list, the employee-owned Higginbotham newsroom and its CEO interview, and Insurance Journal 2025 and 2026 AI features. The outmarket.ai Southern customers are voiced by a director of carrier relations (Commercial Insurance Associates, Brentwood TN) or a CFO (Houchens Insurance Group, KY), or are small two-office agencies (G.R. Little, NC). Higginbotham (Fort Worth, about 3,100 staff, majority employee owned with a Stone Point minority stake) has a CEO in control, but his own words cover acquisitions, organic growth and undated no-charge day two services, not a dated redesign of how the work is done. Its site returns 403 directly, through jina and on wp-json. IJ AI features quote vendors and consultants, never Southern agency owners. Zero new names pass the profile.
Sources: Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through AI vendor customer case studies (outmarket.ai), Business Insurance and IJ broker coverage gives agency (joined on agency name plus headquarters state)
- agency through agency newsroom, Business Insurance View from the top, IJ features gives dated change plus speaker (joined on agency name)
- speaker through agency About pages, dated 2024-2026 profiles gives control and headcount (joined on person name plus agency)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining billionaire; not a US insurance agency leader, outside the roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not an insurance agency or broker.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian manufacturing and services; not a Southern US insurance broker.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public software; outside the roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software company; outside the roster.
Route 252: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms based in the Midwest and Plains (ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Fifth pass at Midwest and Plains owner-led AEC (after S-108 x2, S-168, S-210 x2), run on the same kinds of roster the earlier passes showed dead (ENR, Zweig, NCEO, firm newsrooms). Five web searches and twelve fetches gave one borderline name, Kate Harris of Stanley Consultants (Muscatine IA, 100% employee-owned, 1,000+ staff), whose only dated move is the May 2022 purchase of Resilient Analytics as a climate-science arm, a growth acquisition before the 2023 to 2026 window rather than a redesign of how the work is done. Henderson Engineers (Lenexa KS, 100% ESOP) showed only its ESOP conversion and a CEO handover in search snippets (unverified, no receipt saved), no dated work change. Hilscher-Clarke (Canton OH, management-owned) started HC Manufacturing, a prefabrication division, in 2025, but no leader is quoted on it anywhere fetched. The pair is harvested; stop promoting it.
Sources: ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and segment through WebSearch (extended) for employee-owned or family-owned Midwest engineering firms and contractors with an in-house AI tool or a new prefabrication arm gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through output/candidates.json grep, then firm newsroom index (e.g. stanleyconsultants.com/news, hrefs /news-releases/news/<slug>) gives dated releases quoting the leader (joined on firm name, release slug)
- release through firm release text plus history or about page gives leader, role, ownership, headcount, change and year (joined on leader name and title)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not in this universe by construction: the route reads Midwest and Plains employee-owned or family-owned AEC firm newsrooms only.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not in this universe by construction: the route reads Midwest and Plains employee-owned or family-owned AEC firm newsrooms only.
- Missed Satya Nadella Not in this universe by construction: the route reads Midwest and Plains employee-owned or family-owned AEC firm newsrooms only.
- Missed Aaron Levie Not in this universe by construction: the route reads Midwest and Plains employee-owned or family-owned AEC firm newsrooms only.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not in this universe by construction: the route reads Midwest and Plains employee-owned or family-owned AEC firm newsrooms only.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not in this universe by construction: the route reads Midwest and Plains employee-owned or family-owned AEC firm newsrooms only.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not in this universe by construction: the route reads Midwest and Plains employee-owned or family-owned AEC firm newsrooms only.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not in this universe by construction: the route reads Midwest and Plains employee-owned or family-owned AEC firm newsrooms only.
Route 253: Owner-led service firms: privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms based in the West and Mountain states (Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through ClearlyRated Best of Staffing state pages (co, ut, az, wa, or, nv, id) plus WebSearch for named West private staffing firms (SIA Staffing 100 snippets) gives staffing firm (joined on firm name)
- staffing firm through firm site about or leadership page, partner directory (Beeline MSP partners) gives founder-CEO and ownership (joined on firm domain)
- founder-CEO through wire release (PR Newswire via aijourn.com, EIN Presswire) or vendor interview gives dated change and own-words quote (joined on firm name + leader name)
- dated change through a second page (firm site copy, vendor interview, university magazine) gives confirming page (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Myla Ramos, SearchPros Solutions (SearchPros Staffing; Sacramento, California; co-founded 2005 by Ramos with two partners; certified 8(a), woman- and minority-owned; staffing, MSP and workforce management; 1,800 contract workers in 40 states per SF State Magazine; internal headcount not published) owner, United States
A co-founder-CEO who turned a three-person Sacramento admin temp agency into a vendor-neutral managed service program operator that runs whole contingent workforces for clients, formally launched as an enterprise MSP in June 2025.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “SearchPros Cofounder and CEO Myla Ramos has been named an Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2025 Bay Area Award winner.” source
- What they did 2025 “The recognition adds to the celebration as SearchPros marks its 20 th anniversary with the formal launch of its enterprise managed service program (MSP), a new website , and the milestone of placing more than 20,000 people in jobs across the country.” source
- What they said 2016 “We’ve grown from a mom-and-pop admin staffing company to a full-blown global MSP -- because that’s what our clients needed.” source
- What they did 2026 “SearchPros is a certified 8(a), woman and minority owned company with Top Secret Facility Clearance specializing in providing the government with the best support solutions to meet their Mission’s needs.” source
- What they did 2016 “With Ramos at the helm as CEO and president, SearchPros represents 1,800 contract workers in 40 states and nine countries.” source
- Matt Sauri, Wimmer Solutions Corporation (Bellevue, Washington; founded about 2002 by Sauri, who is CEO; technology consulting, staff augmentation, recruiting as a service and BPO; 500+ experts; offices in the US, Philippines, India and Mexico; no outside investor found) owner, United States
A founder-CEO who is moving a Seattle-area IT staffing and consulting firm from supplying people toward building Copilot and agentic AI agents for clients, through a new AI practice launched in January 2025.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Matt Sauri CEO & Founder Jeff Bamman Chief Operating Officer Dave Robson Chief Financial Officer” source
- What they did 2025 “Wimmer Solutions, a Microsoft Solutions Partner for Data and AI, launches a new practice focused on empowering clients to use Microsoft Copilot, generative artificial intelligence (AI), and agentic AI technologies to solve critical business problems.” source
- What they said 2025 “Our partnership with Microsoft for the past twenty years is evolving to help clients integrate AI at scale, driving reinvention across their operations.” source
- What they did 2025 “Wimmer Solutions has already created customized copilot agents to streamline workflows in various industries including marketing, finance, manufacturing, supply chain, retail, and healthcare.” source
- Barron Guss, ALTRES (Honolulu, Hawaii; family-owned since 1969, third generation; staffing, simplicityHR PEO, ALTRES Medical, home care and the proprietary HR Symphony HRIS; 200+ in-house staff) owner, United States
A second-generation family CEO who turned a Honolulu day-labor agency into an HR outsourcing and PEO firm running on its own HR software, changing what the firm sells from bodies to employment administration.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Barron Guss CEO and President Barron Guss is the second-generation of ALTRES, adopting the company and principle of “Making Business Simple,” from his father Bill Guss.” source
- What they did 1980 “But we looked to the future and soon developed our own software to handle weekly payroll and invoicing, becoming one of the first tech companies in Hawai'i.” source
- What they did 1980 “Barron pioneered the HR outsourcing industry locally and nationally and is widely known as one of the foremost experts.” source
- What they said 2019 ““What you’re seeing is an evolution, not necessarily a revolution,” says Guss of ALTRES’ journey through its five decades. “We see a need and we grow to fill it.”” source
- What they did 2026 “Today, as a third-generation, family-owned company with more than 200 employees across Oʻahu, Maui, and Hawaiʻi Island, ALTRES is Hawaiʻi’s leading HR and staffing firm and one of the state’s largest technology companies.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian commerce software company, not a West or Mountain US staffing, recruiting or workforce services firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss drug maker; outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; outside the US region and sector.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker in New York and Idaho, not a staffing firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel maker, not a staffing firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above 5,000 staff; outside the roster.
Route 254: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. S-254 is the third Northeast and Mid-Atlantic founder-owned agency route (after S-170 and S-212, which said not to promote another). The region's obvious owner-led agencies are already in candidates (Ruder Finn, Horizon, MWW, FINN, 5W, Gregory, Known, Butler/Till, Crossmedia, /prompt, Mindgrub). This attempt tried new firms and new angles (a founder-name search on O'Dwyer's author pages, the Advertising Week Agency Alchemy podcast, regional press) in 7 searches and 8 logged fetches. Every lead failed one test. Inkhouse (Boston, 140+ staff) fails control: BerlinRosen took a majority stake in May 2023 (odwyerpr.com), and a hired CEO followed in November 2024. VIA (Portland, Maine, ESOP) has a hired CEO, Leeann Leahy, whose pod restructure is undated and not in her own words in any fetched page. Brownstein Group (Philadelphia, 51-100 staff, family-owned) renamed its ad arm Born and Raised in November 2025: Marc Brownstein's own words describe identity, not a change to how the work is done, and the indieagency.news recap that claims a leaner studio model misdates it to January 2024, so it is unreliable. Mower is an ESOP with a hired CEO since 2023 and only research releases. 0 names.
Sources: Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and segment through WebSearch on Northeast cities plus agency model, ESOP and AI terms; Advertising Week Agency Alchemy podcast pages gives agency (joined on agency name)
- agency through regional press and wire mirrors (mychesco.com, indieagency.news), firm newsroom (mower.com/news) gives dated change and its speaker (joined on agency name plus date)
- speaker through O'Dwyer's stories and author pages gives ownership, control and headcount (joined on person name and firm name)
- leader through second outlet gives second intent citation and signal year (joined on person name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial and services group owner, not a US agency; a Northeast agency roster cannot reach this person by design.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company in Washington state; a Northeast agency roster cannot reach this person by design.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company in California; a Northeast agency roster cannot reach this person by design.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker in California; a Northeast agency roster cannot reach this person by design.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia; a Northeast agency roster cannot reach this person by design.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; a Northeast agency roster cannot reach this person by design.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada; a Northeast agency roster cannot reach this person by design.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer, not a marketing agency; a Northeast agency roster cannot reach this person by design.
Route 255: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms based in the South and Southeast (Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Consulting magazine and Inc. 5000 are not usable spines (consultingmag.com 403, inc.com 403 per earlier lessons; dallasinnovates.com and virginiabusiness.com 403 direct and via --jina this run). The working spine is the consulting.us news archive (consulting.us/news/archive/<year> and /news/archive/page/N, 200 with --text), which tags every story with the firm's HQ city, headcount and ownership history. Filtering it to Southern HQs and to change stories gave 2 Marty-profile names from about 300 story titles and 40 receipts. Most Southern consulting stories fail on control (PE-backed: VMG Health, Coker, Trinity Consultants, Springline) or are roll-ups of the same work (DCI Consulting).
Sources: Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through consulting.us news archive (by year and by page) gives story about a consulting firm with HQ city (joined on story slug; HQ city in the first sentence)
- Southern-HQ story through consulting.us story body gives firm, leader, headcount, ownership history, dated change (joined on firm name)
- firm through second consulting.us story on the same firm, or PR Newswire mirror (aijourn.com) or sister site (consultancy.com.au) gives second dated page confirming the change or the leader's control (joined on firm name plus change noun (blueclip, MTX Ventures))
- leader through dated 2025-2026 story naming headcount and owner gives capacity: control and size (joined on leader name plus firm)
New names that passed every check
- Joseph Esteves, Maine Pointe (Charlotte, North Carolina; supply chain and operations consultancy; 130+ employees; management-owned after a July 2026 buyout from SGS) owner, United States
Rebuilding a mid-size supply chain consultancy around AI after buying it back from its multinational owner, starting with its own redesigned workflows.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Maine Pointe will once again be an independent firm, owned by a management team led by Joseph Esteves, CEO.” source
- What they did 2026 “The consulting firm says that, in the functions where it redesigned core workflows, there have been productivity increases of 30% to 50%.” source
- What they said 2026 “As an independent company, we can now move faster, invest more aggressively in AI and digital innovation, expand our world-class talent base, and stay completely focused on one thing: helping our clients drive rapid, measurable results.” source
- What they did 2026 “Maine Pointe in a press release said that it is rebuilding itself around AI, embedding it into operations and every client engagement.” source
- Das Nobel, MTX Group (Frisco, Texas; founder-led technology consulting firm for government and enterprise clients; upwards of 1,200 staff per consultancy.com.au, Dec 2025) owner, United States
Adding a wholly owned venture arm to a founder-led consulting firm so that AI-native startups are co-sold and integrated into its client projects.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Headquartered in Texas, MTX was established by CEO Das Nobel alongside a team of fellow co-founders, with a global headcount now upwards of 1,200 advisors and technicians.” source
- What they did 2025 “MTX Group, a Frisco, TX-based IT consulting firm, has launched MTX Ventures, a strategic investment arm focusing on early and mid-stage firms in enterprise AI and cybersecurity.” source
- What they said 2025 “With MTX Ventures, we’re expanding that mission by backing founders whose innovations can improve how organizations operate and how communities thrive.” source
- Brad Buhr, MAXISIQ (formerly IOMAXIS; Austin and Round Rock, Texas; founder-led government and defense technology consulting firm; 70+ employees on LinkedIn per consulting.us, 110 per Built In) owner, United States
Turning a founder-led defense technology consultancy into an AI practice firm, after selling off its penetration testing division in 2023 to refocus.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The sale aligns with MAXISIQ’s rapid growth initiatives focused on leading-edge technologies and services within the federal government and Intelligence Community sectors. “Millennium is an incredible company with world class leadership and talent,” acknowledged Brad Buhr, the founder of MAXISIQ.” source
- What they did 2026 “MaxisIQ, an Austin-based management and technology consulting firm focusing on government and defense contracting, has launched a dedicated artificial intelligence consulting services group.” source
- What they said 2026 “Today marks a defining moment for MAXISIQ. We are not simply adopting AI as a business line — we are institutionalizing AI as a mission multiplier.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; the route is limited to US South and Southeast consulting and research firms.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public company (Microsoft), Washington state, far above 5,000 staff; outside the roster by design.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India, public conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel maker, not a Southern consulting or research firm.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public California software company; consulting.us does not cover it.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada, public software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland, public pharma company; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia, public mining company; outside the roster.
Route 256: Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held property management and real estate services firms based in the Midwest and Plains (NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Fifth pass at Midwest and Plains owner-led real estate services (after S-172 x3 and S-214, which already took Bruere, Steffes, Baird and Norhart's Kaeding). Twelve searches and eight fetch attempts gave no fit person. Every lead failed one test: the window (Sturges left CBRE in 2018, Kessinger Hunter left Cushman about 2015, McKinley's Avanath venture is 2017), the leader's voice (Block Real Estate Services and Gene B. Glick news is hires and promotions; the Sept 2026 Chicagoland Property Management Summit lists presidents and SVPs without quotes), or the source (multihousingnews.com and ingrams.com 403). Change searches return vendors (EliseAI, AI front desk pages) and non-Midwest operators (RADCO, AMC, Morgan). The named rosters (NMHC, NARPM) were already shown unusable by S-99 and S-140.
Sources: NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through rejournals.com property-management tag and Midwest trade search gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom and regional press 2023-2026 gives dated change voiced by controlling leader (joined on firm name plus leader name)
- leader through second page and firm site gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella public tech company, not a Midwest privately held real estate services firm; not in any route roster
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software company; outside region, sector and ownership filter
- Missed Yvon Chouinard outdoor apparel maker in California; not a real estate services firm
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya food manufacturer (Chobani), not a real estate services firm
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma company; outside region, sector and ownership
- Missed Aaron Levie California public software company; not real estate services
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian firm; route is US Midwest and Plains only
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining; outside region and sector
Route 257: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms based in the West and Mountain states (employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. S-257 is the third copy of the West and Mountain employee-owned and founder-owned wealth route (after S-173 and S-215, both invalidated with 0 names) and roughly the twelfth wealth region cut. This attempt tested the one seam the earlier West passes had not tried, the S-155 lesson that founder-owned AI-first and flat-fee RIAs announce changes to the advice work itself, plus a disjoint firm list. Every lead failed a fit test before the change question. Pure Financial Advisors (San Diego, about $8B) has been part-owned by Lee Equity Partners, a private equity firm, since 2021. Bill Harris's AI-built Evergreen Wealth launched with offices in Dallas, Miami and Raleigh, not the West. Abacus Wealth Partners (Santa Monica, 100% employee owned) is run by a hired CEO after a co-CEO structure, and its news is about leadership changes. AlphaCore (La Jolla, founder-CEO Dick Pfister) shows only an acquisition spree, which is consolidation, not a redesign of the work. Range and Facet, the flat-fee seam that worked in S-155, are Eastern firms and already counted. Halbert Hargrove's 2025-2026 news is an AUM milestone, an office move and a referral partnership (the release mirror returned 429). Six searches and six logged fetches gave 0 new names.
Sources: employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through WebSearch over RIA trade press and regional business journals gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through deal and ownership releases (law firm, PE sponsor, trade press) gives ownership and control (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom and trade press 2023-2026 gives dated change to the work (joined on firm name)
- change through trade press or custodian newsroom gives leader quote (joined on leader name)
- leader through firm site or investmentnews.com/companies page gives headcount and control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker, not a West or Mountain wealth firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a wealth firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; outside the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; outside the roster and not US.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; outside the US wealth roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; outside the roster.
Route 258: Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Fourth pass at Northeast and Mid-Atlantic owner-led freight and 3PL (after S-114, S-174, S-216 x3, whose names are in candidates.json). Attempt 1 gave Mike Saoud (FreezPak, NJ). Attempt 2 moved from carriers and brokers to family-owned warehousing 3PLs and gave two more: Tim Barrett (Barrett Distribution, Franklin MA, owner, UNIT AI network rollout 2026 and open-book management since 2006) and Marc Lebovitz (Romark Logistics, Westfield NJ, president and owner, robotics-ready Hazleton rebuild 2021 and NJII AI and robotics roadmap). Loadsmart failed region (Chicago HQ) and Euro-American failed size (23 staff).
Sources: Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- open lead list through LESSONS.md S-216 leads plus AI-dispatch vendor case studies and cold-chain automation searches (WebSearch) gives Northeast or Mid-Atlantic family logistics firm (joined on firm name + HQ state)
- firm through FreightWaves and ROI-NJ dated articles gives dated automation change with the leader quoted (joined on firm name + leader surname)
- change through second outlet (ACG New Jersey speaker bio, ROI-NJ) gives confirmation of the change at a different URL (joined on leader name)
- leader through firm About page and executive team page gives control, family ownership, size (joined on leader name + title)
- firm history through earliest dated move in FreightWaves article gives signal year (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Mike Saoud, FreezPak Logistics owner, United States
Co-founder and co-CEO who rebuilt a family cold-storage 3PL around robotic automated storage and retrieval, from the first automated distribution center in 2020 to a fleet of over 100 robots.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Mike Saoud Co-Founder/CEO As the Co-CEO of FreezPak Logistics, Mike Saoud, a Kean University graduate in business, co-founded the company with his brother Dave in 2001.” source
- What they did 2021 ““FreezPak is going to new heights with the power of automation,” said Mike Saoud, co-CEO, in a statement. FreezPak’s Woodbridge site will sit on 26 acres and feature 42 robots that can automatically store and retrieve goods.” source
- What they said 2022 ““This highly automated facility features 30 robots that will move pallets in and out of the freezer. This achieves our objective to continue to offer superior same-day and next-day service,” Michael Saoud, co-CEO, said.” source
- What they did 2024 “Incorporating robotics into FreezPak's operations, Mike spearheaded the deployment of 131 robots in various markets around the United States.” source
- Tim Barrett, Barrett Distribution Centers owner, United States
Owner and CEO of a third-generation family 3PL who has run the firm on open-book management and profit sharing for 20 years and is now moving its warehouse network onto a networked physical AI platform.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “To help celebrate this 20-year anniversary, Barrett owner Tim Barrett recently participated in a video discussion reflecting on the company's GGOB journey and the impact it has had on Barrett over the years.” source
- What they did 2026 “"The continued growth of eCommerce requires a structural realignment across supply chains," said Tim Barrett, CEO of Barrett.” source
- What they did 2026 “Through open-book management principles, weekly huddles, forecasting, scoreboards, and Mini Games, employees across Barrett locations have had the opportunity to better understand the business and actively contribute to its success.” source
- What they did 2024 “Investment in automation will continue in the new Dallas facility, as it will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including drones and Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), to ensure efficient inventory management and order fulfillment.” source
- Marc Lebovitz, Romark Logistics owner, United States
President and owner of a 1954 family 3PL who rebuilt a 712,000 sq ft site for robotics and contracted a university institute for a multi-year AI and robotics roadmap to transform the business.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Marc Lebovitz, president and owner. “Romark embraces innovation and is consistently researching opportunities for advanced technology throughout the world. By partnering with NJII/NJIT, we gain additional expertise and further expand our R&D capabilities, which will enable us to continue to transform our business ” source
- What they did 2023 “This included the development of a multi-year technology roadmap, implementation of modern warehouse technology, development of discrete projects spinning AI, robotics, video analytics, optimization and more.” source
- What they did 2021 “The renovation included a conversion to a more flexible very narrow aisle (VNA) rack layout, building out the necessary infrastructure to infuse robotics and automation in the near future.” source
- What they said 2022 “Founded in 1954 and family owned, Romark has established itself as a premier 3PL provider with strategic focus on innovation and technology, including robotics and automation.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not in this universe by construction: the route starts from Northeast and Mid-Atlantic freight, 3PL and logistics firms of 50 to 5,000 staff, and this person le
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not in this universe by construction: the route starts from Northeast and Mid-Atlantic freight, 3PL and logistics firms of 50 to 5,000 staff, and this person le
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not in this universe by construction: the route starts from Northeast and Mid-Atlantic freight, 3PL and logistics firms of 50 to 5,000 staff, and this person le
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not in this universe by construction: the route starts from Northeast and Mid-Atlantic freight, 3PL and logistics firms of 50 to 5,000 staff, and this person le
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not in this universe by construction: the route starts from Northeast and Mid-Atlantic freight, 3PL and logistics firms of 50 to 5,000 staff, and this person le
- Missed Aaron Levie Not in this universe by construction: the route starts from Northeast and Mid-Atlantic freight, 3PL and logistics firms of 50 to 5,000 staff, and this person le
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not in this universe by construction: the route starts from Northeast and Mid-Atlantic freight, 3PL and logistics firms of 50 to 5,000 staff, and this person le
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not in this universe by construction: the route starts from Northeast and Mid-Atlantic freight, 3PL and logistics firms of 50 to 5,000 staff, and this person le
Route 259: Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) based in the Midwest and Plains (Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Revised: the route yields only when run change-first (owned training academy, owned new service arm) and joined to an ACHR News feature or a Twin Cities Business family-business award block that settles size and control. Roster-first HVAC and cleaning searches gave manager-voiced tool adoption, PE roll-ups or firms with no fetchable size. Two of three names on attempt 1.
Sources: Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- change type (owned training academy, new service arm) through trade press feature (ACHR News) or regional family-business award profile (Twin Cities Business) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm site About or history page, newsroom gives owner who controls it (joined on firm name plus owner title)
- owner through second page (firm newsroom or academy page) gives confirmed change and signal year (joined on person name plus change)
New names that passed every check
- Jon Ryan, Genz-Ryan Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Electrical (Burnsville, Minnesota; family-owned home services firm, 110 staff in 2023) owner, United States
Stopped trying to hire technicians from a shrinking trade pool and built a free 12-week in-house academy (2023) to grow the firm's own workforce.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In 2017, Jon Ryan assumed sole ownership of Genz-Ryan, marking a significant milestone in the company’s history.” source
- What they did 2023 “In an effort to overcome the workforce shortage that’s plagued much of the HVAC industry, the residential service and replacement company, which currently employs 110 workers, opened the Jack Ryan Academy in 2023.” source
- What they said 2023 ““We recognized that the only way to fill our need was to grow these technicians ourselves.”” source
- What they did 2023 “The Jack Ryan Academy is a 12-week trade school program for aspiring HVAC technicians that thoroughly prepares students for a career in the home services industry.” source
- Stacy O'Reilly, Plunkett's Pest Control (Fridley, Minnesota; third-generation family-owned pest and wildlife services firm, 825 staff) owner, United States
Turned a regional bug and rodent exterminator into a two-line business by building an owned wildlife-removal arm (Varment Guard, 2017) and refusing private equity to keep it family-run.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In 2003, in her late 30s, she became owner and CEO, representing the third generation of O’Reilly family leadership.” source
- What they did 2017 “Stacy expanded the family business to wildlife services—including removing squirrels, bats, and raccoons—in 2017, when Plunkett’s purchased Columbus, Ohio-based Varment Guard Wildlife Services.” source
- What they did 2022 “Plunkett’s Pest Control, Inc. has acquired Animal Control Specialists LLC, New Franklin, Ohio. With this acquisition, Plunkett’s expands their wildlife capabilities in the State of Ohio and beyond.” source
- What they said 2026 ““We don’t have summer interns or anything. We have professional, full-time career employees with real pay and real benefits so we can be as professional and responsive in the moment at someone’s need.”” source
- Chris Hoffmann, Hoffmann Brothers (St. Louis, Missouri; family-owned HVAC, plumbing, electrical and appliance service firm, 400+ staff in 2024) owner, United States
Rebuilt a family HVAC shop's work model from waiting for inbound calls to outbound-booking its maintenance-agreement base days ahead, and built an in-house university to train new technicians.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “CEO: Chris Hoffmann Chris Hoffmann, the CEO of Hoffmann Brothers, has a diverse and distinguished background.” source
- What they did 2018 “Under the new system, every trade has a minimum call goal to schedule before everyone goes home. They work three days in advance.” source
- What they said 2018 “We realized if we have 5,000 maintenance agreements … why aren’t we outbounding to our customers and scheduling around peaks and valleys?” source
- What they did “Hoffmann Brothers University focuses on training new technicians, providing continuing education for current employees, and leadership development for current and future leaders at Hoffmann Brothers.” source
- What they said 2024 “As our business looks to grow organically and by acquisitions, our leadership team was eager to find a President who could step into this mission-critical leadership role and steward us through this next stage of growth.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharmaceutical company, not a US family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning or home services firm in the Midwest and Plains, so the route'
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public US software company, not a privately owned service firm in this segment and region; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial firm, outside the US Midwest and Plains and outside the facility and home services roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and green-energy billionaire; not a Midwest owner-led service firm, so the route never reaches him.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel company, not a facility, HVAC, cleaning or home services firm in the Midwest and Plains; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company, far above 5,000 staff and not owner-controlled; outside the roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a New York food manufacturer, not a service business in the Midwest and Plains; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the US Midwest service-firm roster.
Route 260: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms based in the West and Mountain states (CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Roster-first (MSP 501, ENX, CRN) was spent for the West after two passes; change-first through founder-owned West IT services firms with India delivery arms, reading firm newsrooms plus Tracxn or CB Insights funding lines before the change, gave 3 counted names: Sree Balaji (iLink Digital), AP Grover (GSPANN) and Sarvesh Mahesh (Tavant).
Sources: CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- regional roster through MSP 501 2026 list pages and ENX 2025 Elite Dealers list, filtered by West state codes gives firm plus named executive (joined on firm name and state code)
- firm through enxmag.com tag page, firm newsroom, CB Insights company page (Latest News rail, investors) gives ownership screen and dated change (joined on firm name)
- change through wire release mirror (finanzwire, einpresswire) or trade article gives leader quote on the change (joined on leader name)
- leader through firm About or leadership page gives control, headcount, start year (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Sree Balaji, iLink Digital (iLink Systems; Bothell, WA, Seattle area; founded 2002; privately held global AI and digital transformation services firm with 3,000+ professionals) owner, United States
The co-founder of a privately held Seattle-area IT services firm bought a majority stake in a HyperAutomation consultancy and turned it into a new global business unit for AI-powered delivery.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"We are incredibly proud to have achieved this milestone of being named to the INC. 5000 list for the seventh time," said Sree Balaji, CEO and Founder of iLink Digital.” source
- What they did 2025 “today announced the acquisition of a majority stake in FourNxt, a HyperAutomation specialist headquartered in Dubai with strong delivery operations in India. This acquisition marks a significant expansion of iLink's AI and automation capabilities and establishes a new global business unit focused on delivering AI-power” source
- What they said 2025 “Their leadership brings vision and agility, and I'm confident they will shape a world-class global business unit that delivers transformative value to our customers.” source
- What they said 2026 “Our vision is to be at the forefront of enterprise transformation through AI and data-driven services.” source
- AP Grover, GSPANN Technologies (Milpitas, CA; founded 2004 by AP Grover and Nav Grover; unfunded and founder-owned; about 2,300 employees) owner, United States
The co-founder and President of a founder-owned Milpitas IT services firm bought a GenAI content platform to fold AI into the firm's content and commerce delivery, then set up a build-operate GCC model it calls a transformation engine.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “GSPANN is an unfunded company based in Milpitas (United States), founded in 2004 by AP Grover and Nav Grover .” source
- What they did 2024 “GSPANN Technologies, a leading US-based IT consulting and services company with a significant presence across US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Europe, and India, has announced its acquisition of Zorang ContentHubGPT, a Generative AI content and commerce platform.” source
- What they said 2024 “GSPANN is already helping many of its clients leverage AI/ML to drive efficiency and growth. The acquisition of Zorang ContentHubGPT enables us to broaden our solutions to unlock these new capabilities offered by GenAI.” source
- What they said 2025 “A GCC should not just run operations, it should shape the future,” source
- Sarvesh Mahesh, Tavant (Tavant Technologies; Santa Clara, CA; founded 2000; private, about $3M raised in total, no controlling sponsor listed; data, AI and digital engineering services, about 3,100 employees per CB Insights) owner, United States
The founder, chair and CEO of a private Santa Clara IT services firm rebuilt its delivery around agentic engineering, with coding agents fed by domain specs, and staffed it with a workforce trained for that.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Tavant's current Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Chairperson is Sarvesh Mahesh . Name Sarvesh Mahesh Amazon , Junglee , Sybase , Fritz , and Tata Consultancy Services Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Chairperson Current” source
- What they did 2026 “The Tavant Platform™ , is backed by Tavant’s leading data, AI/ML, agentic AI, and digital engineering services, as well as a workforce fluent in agentic engineering.” source
- What they said 2026 “For years, the cost and effort of custom builds pushed enterprises toward buying off-the-shelf products and using costly platforms. General coding agents have started to change that.” source
- What they said 2026 “Mahesh said general-purpose coding agents need domain-specific specifications, skills and architectural patterns to deliver productivity gains inside large organizations, which the platform is intended to provide.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not an IT services firm; no row in the MSP 501, ENX Elite Dealers or any West IT services roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil-based industrial firm owner; outside the US West IT services universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining owner; outside the universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not a privately owned IT services firm; not on the rosters.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer; outside the universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and not a service firm of 50 to 5,000 staff; not on the rosters.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma; outside the universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate; outside the universe.
Route 261: Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of partner-owned CPA and advisory firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This is the third run of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic partner-owned CPA slice (S-117 and S-219 both stalled; S-103 covered the Mid-Atlantic) and the region is mined out. Eight in-band independents from this region are already in candidates (Whittlesey, Wiss, YHB, Withum, Grassi, AAFCPAs, GRF, Bookkeeper360). The two new rosters tried here, the AT Top 100 2026 roundup and the IPA 2026 Best of the Best page, gave seven new Northeast leaders, and each failed: Gray, Gray & Gray joined Frazier & Deeter (Aug 2026), Sax took a Cobepa private equity investment (Jul 2025), EisnerAmper is PE-backed, YPTC's CEO reports to its founder and voices no change, RKL's CEO quote is client selection, and Lumsden, Cg Tax, TKR and WilkinGuttenplan have no dated change voiced by the leader on record. Zero new names after 6 logged fetches and 13 searches.
Sources: INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through AT Top 100 2026 roundup (leader quotes with HQ state); IPA 2026 Best of the Best (Firm / Headquarters, CEO / MP, Net Revenue) gives firm and leader (joined on firm name plus HQ state)
- firm through CPA Practice Advisor, IPA and Accounting Today M&A and investment news gives ownership screen (joined on firm name)
- leader through WebSearch of leader plus firm plus change terms; firm newsroom gives dated change voiced by the leader (joined on leader name plus firm)
- change through second trade page gives confirmation (joined on firm name plus date)
- firm through firm About page or dated 2025-2026 trade source gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chair, not a US partner-owned CPA or advisory firm; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and energy owner, not a CPA or advisory firm; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a consumer products company, not a partner-owned CPA or advisory firm in the Northeast.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California; not on any CPA roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; not on any CPA roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a CPA or advisory firm; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; outside US CPA rosters.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; not on any CPA roster.
Route 262: Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers based in the South and Southeast (state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Fourth pass at South and Southeast law firms (after S-104, S-118, S-220), two attempts. Attempt 1: 21 searches and 20 fetches gave one leader-voiced change (Arnall Golden Gregory, Sean Fogarty, four new chief officer roles for an AI strategy, April 2026). Attempt 2 widened to Southern partnerships above 600 lawyers but under 5,000 employees and gave one more (Haynes Boone, Taylor Wilson, firmwide AI-as-core-skill program by his directive, July 2026). Kilpatrick Labs, Nelson Mullins, Troutman Pepper Locke and McGuireWoods AI moves are voiced by an innovation partner or officer, not the leader; Chamberlain Hrdlicka's CoCounsel move fell under a departed managing shareholder. Attempt 3 searched vendor and trade case studies (Legora, Harvey, Artificial Lawyer) and another 20 Southern firms, plus pricing and owned-arm signals. It found no third leader-voiced change: Bracewell's firmwide Legora release quotes practice partners, Chamberlain Hrdlicka's CINO quote is paywalled, and Carlton Fields' AI ban is voiced by its general counsel.
Sources: state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region plus mechanism noun through web search over firm newsrooms and regional business press gives law firm release (joined on firm name)
- law firm release through firm newsroom gives leader quote on the change (joined on managing partner or chair name)
- leader through second firm page or regional press gives second dated page on the change (joined on firm name plus date)
- firm through firm newsroom boilerplate or election release gives headcount, ownership and role (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Sean Fogarty, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP (AGG; Atlanta, with a Washington DC office; Am Law 200 partnership of more than 200 attorneys) executive, United States
The managing partner of an independent Atlanta law firm rebuilt its leadership structure around AI and knowledge systems, creating four new chief officer roles in April 2026 to change how legal work gets done.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Arnall Golden Gregory LLP (AGG) is pleased to announce the election of Sean P. Fogarty as its new managing partner beginning January 1, 2024.” source
- What they did 2026 “As we invest in artificial intelligence and the systems that enhance how legal work gets done, our focus remains on empowering our teams, supporting innovation, and creating the foundation for our next phase of growth.” source
- What they did 2026 “The moves reflect the firm’s focus on artificial intelligence, next-generation knowledge systems, and a disciplined approach to lateral recruiting, integration, and long-term talent retention.” source
- What they said 2023 “What I like about the firm size we have is we can be nimble. We don’t have an organization that is like moving the Titanic.” source
- Taylor Wilson, Haynes Boone (Haynes and Boone, LLP; Dallas-founded Am Law 100 partnership, more than 750 lawyers) executive, United States
The chair of a Dallas-founded partnership made working with generative AI a core lawyering skill, building it into training from summer associates to partners and directing the firm to reorganize its knowledge base for AI.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"AI is becoming a foundational part of how lawyers work, learn and serve clients," said Haynes Boone Chair and Firmwide Managing Partner Taylor Wilson” source
- What they did 2026 “Beginning with summer associates and extending to associates, counsel and partners, the firm is integrating hands-on AI training as part of its standard attorney development program while supporting thoughtful adoption of AI tools.” source
- What they did 2026 “A directive from managing partner Taylor Wilson tasked Capecci and Dave Boden, the firm’s COO, with building a ‘living, breathing’ program rather than a one-time push.” source
- What they said 2026 “"Tools will change," Wilson said. "What will endure is the quality of our judgment, our knowledge base and our ability to apply technology effectively in servicing our clients.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company in Washington state; not a Southern privately owned law firm, so the roster never reaches him.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the US Southern law firm roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; outside the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California; not a law firm in the South or Southeast.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the roster and outside the US.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker in California; not a law firm, so the route never surfaces him.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho; not a law firm.
Route 263: Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups based in the Midwest and Plains (Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Sixth cut of Midwest and Plains independent behavioral health, therapy and physician groups (after S-119, S-179 x3 and S-221). New seams were tried: the BHB WordPress API searched by Midwest state term (Minnesota-, Ohio-, Missouri-, Wisconsin-, Indiana-based, 2024 on, about 200 dated titles), agilon health partner releases and a physician-owned plus AI or new model search. Every lead failed before the change test: Lighthouse Autism Center is PE-backed with an outside CEO and chair since October 2025, North Arrow ABA (Traverse City, a couple of hundred staff) is an ESOP transition, which is an ownership deal, Twin Cities Orthopedics has a CEO new in post in 2026 whose AI phone system is undated, Rogers Behavioral Health and LifeSpring are nonprofits, Mankato and Springfield Clinics changed CEO in 2026, and The Iowa Clinic, McFarland Clinic and Central Ohio Primary Care are already found by S-119. No new person passes size, ownership, control and a dated leader-voiced change. The region and sector pair is harvested.
Sources: Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- state term through BHB WordPress API gives dated story titles (joined on state-based phrase)
- story through bhbusiness.com article gives provider and leader (joined on provider name)
- provider through WebSearch, regional business press gives ownership, control, dated change (joined on provider name plus CEO)
- leader through second outlet gives confirmation (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker, not a Midwest or Plains behavioral health, therapy or physician practice group; the route roster never reaches it.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company outside the route sector and region; not in any Midwest practice-group roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian listed miner; outside the US, the sector and the region.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company in California; outside the sector and region.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public commerce platform; outside the US, the sector and the region.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial firm; outside the US, the sector and the region.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian listed conglomerate; outside the US, the sector and the region.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not a service business or a Midwest practice group.
Route 264: Owner-led service firms: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the West and Mountain states (Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Fourth pass at West and Mountain owner-led aging services (after S-120, S-180 and S-222, which took 9 names between them). 12 change-first and roster searches across HHCN, Hospice News, SHN, SNN, PR Newswire, Utah Business and Washington family-business awards, plus 11 fetches, gave 0 people who pass all four tests. Every lead failed one: startups or new hospices built that way from day one (Stoneridge, BeLoved), a change voiced only by a COO (First Choice Home Health & Hospice, Orem), out of region (NuCare, Wisconsin), a vendor rather than an operator (Centered Care), growth with no change to how the work is done (24 Hour Caregivers, Rocky Mountain Care Enterprises' new campus, Village Concepts' resident programs), or already in candidates (Aegis, Kisco, Marquis, Milestone, Cypress, Total Care, Devoted Guardians). This region and sector pair has run out of new names.
Sources: Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade story or regional release through HHCN, Hospice News, SHN, SNN, Utah Business, PR Newswire gives operator (joined on "<city or state>-based" firm name)
- operator through same story or operator release gives controlling leader (joined on founder / owner / CEO title line)
- controlling leader through second trade or regional page gives dated change in how the work is done (joined on firm name plus change keyword)
- firm through regional press, award page or operator site gives headcount and ownership (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Not in this universe by construction: the route reads only privately held West and Mountain home care, senior living and hospice operators, and this person lead
- Missed Satya Nadella Not in this universe by construction: the route reads only privately held West and Mountain home care, senior living and hospice operators, and this person lead
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not in this universe by construction: the route reads only privately held West and Mountain home care, senior living and hospice operators, and this person lead
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not in this universe by construction: the route reads only privately held West and Mountain home care, senior living and hospice operators, and this person lead
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not in this universe by construction: the route reads only privately held West and Mountain home care, senior living and hospice operators, and this person lead
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not in this universe by construction: the route reads only privately held West and Mountain home care, senior living and hospice operators, and this person lead
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not in this universe by construction: the route reads only privately held West and Mountain home care, senior living and hospice operators, and this person lead
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not in this universe by construction: the route reads only privately held West and Mountain home care, senior living and hospice operators, and this person lead
Route 265: Owner-led service firms: privately held insurance agencies and brokers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held insurance agencies and brokers based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This is the fourth run of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic privately held insurance slice (after S-121, S-181 and S-223), and the ninth regional insurance invalidation. S-121 already took the fit owner-led agencies here (Mackoul, United Insurance, Paradiso, Deland Gibson, Foresight). S-181 and S-223 showed the remaining ranked private firms are PE platforms, banks, sold (Graham Company to Marsh McLennan Agency), hired-CEO or trust-held, or voice change through operations staff. This run tried the one seam S-223 left untested, AI vendor case studies (Sonant home and enterprise pages), plus Insurance Journal state location pages for PA and NJ and three cold searches through regional business journals (ROI-NJ, NJBIZ, Hartford Business Journal, CPBJ) and owner-voiced AI or new-division queries. Vendor case studies name tiny agencies (O'Connor, Alpha Direct, ALLCHOICE) or PE-backed groups (PIB Group via Eversafe), state pages are acquisitions by PE platforms (World Insurance), and regional journals cover insurtechs and title agencies, not owner-led brokers. 0 names passed size, ownership, control and an owner-voiced dated redesign.
Sources: Insurance Journal and Business Insurance privately held broker rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state agent association news, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through IJ Top 100 (?p=881636), IJ state location pages, AI vendor case studies, regional business journals gives agency (joined on agency name plus state)
- agency through agency newsroom and trade or regional press 2023-2026 gives dated change plus speaker (joined on agency name)
- speaker through agency leadership page or dated 2025-2026 source gives control, ownership and headcount (joined on person plus agency)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (IJ and BI rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state as
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (IJ and BI rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state as
- Missed Tobi Lutke Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (IJ and BI rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state as
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (IJ and BI rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state as
- Missed Andrew Forrest Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (IJ and BI rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state as
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (IJ and BI rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state as
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (IJ and BI rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state as
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Miss. The route's universe is privately held Northeast and Mid-Atlantic insurance agencies and brokers (IJ and BI rankings, Independent Agent magazine, state as
Route 266: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned or family-owned engineering, architecture and construction services firms based in the South and Southeast (ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Fifth pass at South and Southeast owner-led AEC (after S-122, S-182 x3 and S-224) gave 0 new names in 12 searches and 9 fetches. The route's own rosters do not reach an owner's voice: the ENR Texas & Southeast 2026 design-firm narrative quotes only hired executives on markets (Kimley-Horn SVPs, Pape-Dawson, already on file), the Zweig 2026 Hot Firm list (99 rows) was worked by S-224 with 0 yield, and the NCEO site search renders by script (no results in the saved page). Every firm-level lead failed one test: Haskell's Dysruptek venture arm (2018) is voiced by its director, not the CEO, and the CEO changed since; Freese and Nichols' AI page names no leader; Smith Seckman Reid's CEO Q&A is behind the Nashville Post paywall; Gray Construction's ESOP is an ownership deal (not a redesign) and its CEO changed. The fit firms with an owner-voiced change in this region are already in candidates.json.
Sources: ENR Top 500 Design Firms and regional ENR editions, Zweig Group Hot Firm lists, NCEO employee-owned firm stories, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region + ownership filter through ENR Texas & Southeast Top Design Firms narrative, Zweig Hot Firm list, NCEO site search, WebSearch by mechanism gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom or regional business press gives dated change + leader quote (joined on firm name)
- leader through firm about, leadership or ownership page gives ownership, control, headcount (joined on firm domain)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy; not a US Southern AEC firm, so outside every roster this route reads.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software company; not an AEC service firm and not in the South.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; outside US region and AEC rosters.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; not privately owned, not AEC.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company in Washington; fails ownership, size and segment screens.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate; outside region and segment.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Founder-owned US food manufacturer (New York and Idaho); a product maker, not an AEC service firm, and not in the South.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public California software company; fails ownership and segment screens.
Route 267: Owner-led service firms: privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held staffing, recruiting and workforce services firms based in the Midwest and Plains (Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Fifth cut of Midwest and Plains owner-led staffing (after S-123, S-183 x2, S-225). A new kind of roster (ClearlyRated 2026 Best of Staffing state pages for IL, OH, MN, WI, IA) is open but lists mostly national brands and franchises; the few private Midwest firms on it failed on control (Palmer Group: hired CEO at an employee-owned firm, no dated change found; Swoon: founder stepped back, hired president), on change (Medix: only a 2021 acquisition; The Reserves Network: acquisitions only) or are already in candidates.json (Horizontal Talent). Mechanism searches (AI recruiter, employee-owned plus AI, vendor customer stories, SIA Staffing 100 snippets) returned vendors and out-of-region firms. One marginal name, John Arnold of Celarity, came from a regional family business award profile; his firm's change is a 2020 remote expansion plus an advisory line, which is thin. The region and segment pair is harvested.
Sources: Staffing Industry Analysts lists, ClearlyRated Best of Staffing, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- state through ClearlyRated Best of Staffing state pages; regional family business awards (Twin Cities Business) gives staffing firm (joined on firm name)
- staffing firm through firm site, About and team pages, wp-json post search gives owner or CEO (joined on firm domain)
- owner through regional business journal profile gives dated change and own words (joined on person name plus firm)
- firm through award profile fact box (ownership, employees) gives control and size (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Out of universe: Australian mining owner; route covers only Midwest and Plains US staffing firms. ClearlyRated Midwest rosters and Midwest staffing searches can
- Missed Ricardo Semler Out of universe: Brazilian industrial firm (Semco); not a US staffing firm. ClearlyRated Midwest rosters and Midwest staffing searches cannot surface this perso
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Out of universe: Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho; not a staffing firm. ClearlyRated Midwest rosters and Midwest staffing searches cannot su
- Missed Tobi Lutke Out of universe: Shopify is a Canadian public software firm. ClearlyRated Midwest rosters and Midwest staffing searches cannot surface this person.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Out of universe: Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate. ClearlyRated Midwest rosters and Midwest staffing searches cannot surface this person.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Out of universe: Novartis is a Swiss public pharma firm. ClearlyRated Midwest rosters and Midwest staffing searches cannot surface this person.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Out of universe: Patagonia is a California apparel firm, not staffing. ClearlyRated Midwest rosters and Midwest staffing searches cannot surface this person.
- Missed Satya Nadella Out of universe: Microsoft is public software, not a Midwest staffing firm. ClearlyRated Midwest rosters and Midwest staffing searches cannot surface this perso
Route 268: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies based in the West and Mountain states (Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Fourth pass at West and Mountain founder-owned marketing, PR and creative agencies (after S-124 and S-226, both 0, and S-184, whose 3 names Ayzenberg, Huberman and Mehrguth are already in output/candidates.json alongside Hoffman, Sparrer and Trowbridge). New sources still gave no one who passes all four tests. A San Diego Business Journal tech roundup (sdbj.com, 200 with --text) names only Power Digital, whose AI platform Nova (2021) is real but whose owner is Court Square Capital (PE) and whose founder moved to chairman under a hired CEO. Per-firm searches on Disruptive Advertising (Utah, founder-CEO, no dated change), Coalition Technologies (LA, 250 staff, GEO voiced by the co-founder president, control and date unconfirmed) and Zambezi (LA, CEO voice on independence only) found no dated, owner-voiced change. NP Digital (Neil Patel) was fetched four times (ceoinsider.io, innovationstrategy.com, mixergy.com, demand-genius.com, all 200): his AI remarks are general advice and client work, not a dated change to how NP Digital works, he is listed as co-founder and says he would fail at running a big organisation, and he is a famous marketer. Mechanism-first searches return vendors, AI start-up guides and Australian NP Digital news. The pair is harvested; the hopper should stop promoting it.
Sources: Ad Age independent agency coverage, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's rankings, regional ad clubs, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through regional business journal and trade roundups (SDBJ), O'Dwyer's West ranking, indieagency.news gives firm (joined on agency name plus HQ city)
- firm through WebSearch per firm, interview and podcast pages gives leader quote on a change (joined on founder name plus agency name)
- leader through deal pages (privsource.com, martechseries.com), firm about pages gives ownership and control (joined on agency name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO (Novartis); not a West or Mountain US agency founder, so the agency roster cannot surface him.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining billionaire (Fortescue); outside a US regional agency roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft CEO, public company; not an owner-led agency.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chairman (Reliance); outside a US regional agency roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia founder, Ventura CA, but Patagonia is an apparel maker, not a marketing, PR or creative agency.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box CEO, public software company; not an agency.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner (Semco); outside a US agency roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani founder, food manufacturer in New York and Idaho; not an agency.
Route 269: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned consulting, research and professional services firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Fourth cut of Northeast and Mid-Atlantic owner-led consulting, research and professional services (after S-125, S-185 and S-227). 18 searches and 10 fetch attempts gave no new person who passes all four tests. Leads failed on who voiced the change, not on ownership: Stradley Ronon's firmwide Vincent by Clio rollout and Stradley Labs certification is voiced by its Director of Knowledge and Innovation (and clio.com and stradley.com are 403 direct and via jina); Barclay Damon's AI rules are voiced by a partner who chairs an AI committee; Phillips Lytle's AI team is a client practice. Others failed on control or size: BerryDunn's CEO is resigning and an interim CEO plus a hired chief transformation officer carry the change; YHB's AI investment is firm-credited with no dated leader-voiced move and virginiabusiness.com is 403; Global Tax Management (100% ESOP) shows only a 2025 rebrand; OvationMR (New York) bought Qualibee in January 2024 but its headcount is unconfirmed and likely under 50. The MRWeb DRNO seam S-185 suggested returned mostly non-Northeast or non-US items.
Sources: Consulting magazine Best Firms, Inc. 5000 service companies, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and segment through regional journals, trade dailies (MRWeb DRNO), vendor customer releases (Clio, Thomson Reuters) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom or trade press 2023-2026 gives dated change to how work is done (joined on firm name plus AI, platform, launch, acquisition)
- change through same release or feature gives the leader who controls the firm, own words (joined on title: chair, managing partner, CEO, founder)
- leader through second page (journal, trade press) gives confirmation of change (joined on leader full name)
- firm through firm site or dated 2025-2026 source gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above 5,000 staff; outside the route's roster by design.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not a consulting, research or professional services firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; Reliance is public. Out of geography and segment.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada; Shopify is a public software firm. Out of geography and segment.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel maker, not a Northeast service firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland; Novartis is public. Out of geography and segment.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia; Fortescue is public mining. Out of geography and segment.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public California software firm, not a Northeast owner-led service firm.
Route 270: Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held property management and real estate services firms based in the South and Southeast (NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Fifth pass at South and Southeast owner-led real estate services (after S-112, S-126 x3, S-186 x2 and S-228, which said to retire the pair). The one untried free roster, the RISMedia WordPress API searched by Southern state plus broker/owner (four state queries, about 160 dated 2023-2026 posts), lists franchise affiliations, mergers and broker Q&As. The in-region owner profiles are firms of 37 to 74 agents with one to three offices (Denovo Realty, Wilson Associates, United Real Estate Middle TN, Weichert Advantage Plus, REMAX Island Realty), below the 50-employee band since agents are contractors, and the one in-band firm (Michael Saunders & Company, 650 agents) offers only a tool adoption (Rechat), not a costly redesign. Six change-first web searches for Southern family-owned or employee-owned managers returned AI leasing vendors, a PE-exited SFR operator (GOAL, sold to Bridge 2022) and directory rows. No lead passed size, control, voice and a dated change.
Sources: NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through RISMedia WordPress API search by state plus broker/owner gives dated post (joined on post id)
- post through RISMedia post body (include=<ids>&_fields=content) gives firm, leader, offices, agent count (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom or second press page gives dated change in the leader's words (joined on person name)
- leader through firm site or 2025-2026 dated source gives headcount, ownership and control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not in this universe by construction: the route covers privately held South and Southeast US property management and real estate services firms of 50 to 5,000 s
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not in this universe by construction: the route covers privately held South and Southeast US property management and real estate services firms of 50 to 5,000 s
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not in this universe by construction: the route covers privately held South and Southeast US property management and real estate services firms of 50 to 5,000 s
- Missed Aaron Levie Not in this universe by construction: the route covers privately held South and Southeast US property management and real estate services firms of 50 to 5,000 s
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not in this universe by construction: the route covers privately held South and Southeast US property management and real estate services firms of 50 to 5,000 s
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not in this universe by construction: the route covers privately held South and Southeast US property management and real estate services firms of 50 to 5,000 s
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not in this universe by construction: the route covers privately held South and Southeast US property management and real estate services firms of 50 to 5,000 s
- Missed Satya Nadella Not in this universe by construction: the route covers privately held South and Southeast US property management and real estate services firms of 50 to 5,000 s
Route 271: Owner-led service firms: employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of employee-owned and founder-owned wealth management firms based in the Midwest and Plains (employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This is the fourth copy of the Midwest and Plains employee-owned and founder-owned wealth route (S-127, S-187, S-229 all returned 0). A disjoint firm list gave 0 again. Benjamin F. Edwards (St. Louis, 737 staff, private, founder Tad Edwards is chairman, CEO and president) fits size, ownership and control, but its 2025 release is branch growth and a 2021 trainee program, and the firm says it outsources technology instead of building its own, so there is no dated 2023-2026 change to how the work is done. Truepoint Wealth Counsel (Cincinnati, 100% employee owned) has had a successor CEO since April 2024 with no change on record. Baird (Milwaukee, employee owned) is far above the size band and run by an elected CEO. The trade search for owned arms, restructured teams or no-outside-capital stories returned only consolidator mergers (Sequoia and LJPR) and team moves between firms. No names after 5 searches and 4 fetches.
Sources: employee-owned RIA rosters, InvestmentNews and Barron's RIA rankings, RIABiz, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through WebSearch for privately owned and employee-owned wealth firms by Midwest city, firms not tried in S-127, S-187 or S-229 gives firm (joined on firm name + HQ city)
- firm through firm release on newsfilecorp.com, firm annual report, altss.com firm profile gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom and RIA trade press (wealthmanagement.com, investmentnews.com, financial-planning.com) gives dated change to the work (joined on firm name)
- dated change through same story gives controlling leader in own words (joined on firm name + title)
- leader through second page gives confirmation and signal year (joined on person name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO; not a Midwest wealth firm, outside the route's roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Outdoor apparel owner in California; not a wealth firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian software CEO; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company CEO; outside the roster and fails private ownership.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining billionaire; outside the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; outside the US and not a wealth firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer owner in New York and Idaho; not a service firm, not on a wealth roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate owner; outside the roster.
Route 272: Owner-led service firms: privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held freight brokerage, 3PL and logistics services firms based in the West and Mountain states (Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Fourth pass at West and Mountain owner-led freight, 3PL and logistics (after S-128 x3, S-188 and S-230). I tested the only two seams S-230 left open. HDT Top Green Fleets 2026 has five West rows: 4 Gen and TCI are already candidates, Knight-Swift is public, Nevoya is a venture-backed startup with about 30 trucks, and YMX Logistics (Henderson NV) has a hired CEO who did not found the firm (founded 1982). The 2025-2026 OEM customer releases (Volvo, Daimler) lead only back to 4 Gen Logistics. Cold sweeps of West forwarders and customs brokers and of Mountain brokerages gave AI-native startups and a 2020 Puerto Rico case study. That makes 0 new names from 5 logged fetch attempts and 8 searches. The slice is harvested.
Sources: Transport Topics rankings, FreightWaves, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award year through HDT Top Green Fleets honoree article (truckinginfo.com) gives fleet with HQ city (joined on firm name plus HQ state (WA, OR, CA, ID, MT, WY, UT, CO, AZ, NV, NM))
- firm through firm release or trade press (logisticsmgmt.com press releases, truckinginfo.com) gives leader title, control and the dated change in their words (joined on firm name)
- leader through vehicle maker customer release (Volvo, Daimler) or a second trade story gives second page confirming the change (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm About page or dated 2025-2026 trade source gives headcount and ownership (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not in this universe by construction: India, conglomerate, not a West US freight firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not in this universe by construction: Brazil, industrial firm.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not in this universe by construction: apparel maker, not freight or logistics services.
- Missed Satya Nadella Not in this universe by construction: public software firm.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not in this universe by construction: Australia, public miner.
- Missed Aaron Levie Not in this universe by construction: public software firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not in this universe by construction: Switzerland, public pharma.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not in this universe by construction: Canada, public software firm.
Route 273: Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Fifth pass at family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (after S-115, S-129, S-189 and S-231; S-189 and S-231 both asked that this pair not be promoted again). Only angles those passes did not use were tried: owned training academies (the change that worked for the Midwest in S-157), salaried or four-day technician pay, tree care, moving, pest control, fire and security service firms, New England business journals, and BSC people news. Four logged fetches and 17 searches gave 0 counted names. Every lead failed one test. CroppMetcalfe (Fairfax VA, academy) now trades under Service Experts, and its academy is voiced by an education manager. Michael & Son (Basim Mansour, about 1,000 staff) has no dated 2023 to 2026 change, only review pages. Harvard Maintenance has more than 10,000 staff. Gentle Giant's Small Moves line (July 2022) is a staff blog post with no founder quote. Approved Fire Protection (Diane Pein) has about 75 staff, and its 2024 and 2025 acquisitions carry no words of hers. BHB Pest's NJ and PA spin-off is on 403 pest sites. Jay's Heating and the Pennsylvania ACCA winners are under 50 staff or already rejected. The pool is harvested.
Sources: Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- change type plus region through trade press (P&M, ACHR News, CleanLink) and regional business journals gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom or blog gives dated change and who voiced it (joined on firm name plus speaker title)
- speaker through firm about page or dated profile gives leader who controls the firm, headcount, ownership (joined on firm name)
- leader through output/candidates.json gives new name or drop (joined on normalized name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic family-owned service firm of 50 to 5,000 staff.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software company; outside the universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard California apparel maker; not a service firm and not in the region.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian public miner; outside the universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software giant; outside the universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma; outside the universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company in California; outside the universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Owner-led and New York based, but a food manufacturer over 5,000 staff, not a facility or home services firm; trade press for this route does not cover him.
Route 274: Owner-led service firms: founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting firms based in the South and Southeast (CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Fifth pass at Southern founder-owned IT services, managed services and technology consulting (after S-116, S-130, S-190 and S-232, which said not to promote it again). Six WebSearch queries and three logged fetches, including a new employee-owned roster (certifiedeo.com/companies), surfaced no new fitting leader. NLP Logix (Jacksonville) is AI-native, and its former COO became president in October 2025. Atlantic.net (Orlando) is a privately owned hosting platform whose 2025 GPU line is a product, not a change to client work. Intrust IT is headquartered in Cincinnati. ivision is CIVC-backed. Access Sciences (Houston, ESOP) showed no dated, leader-voiced change. The pool is harvested.
Sources: CRN Solution Provider 500 (private firms), Channel Futures MSP 501, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through CRN SP500 / MSP 501 / Certified EO directory gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom and trade press gives change event (joined on firm name)
- change event through release quote gives controlling leader (joined on leader name and title)
- leader through firm site or dated 2025-2026 source gives size, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software firm in California, outside region and profile
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Public Swiss pharma
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Public Indian conglomerate
- Missed Yvon Chouinard California apparel, not IT services
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian manufacturer
- Missed Satya Nadella Public, Washington-based
- Missed Tobi Lutke Public Canadian software firm
Route 275: Owner-led service firms: partner-owned CPA and advisory firms in the Midwest and Plains
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of partner-owned CPA and advisory firms based in the Midwest and Plains (INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This is the fourth run of the Midwest and Plains partner-owned CPA pair (S-145 took Cook, Minkler and Rammes; S-191 and S-233 were invalidated with zero), and LESSONS.md already said to retire it. The one seam earlier Midwest runs had not read, the Accounting Today Top 100 2026 roundup that made the South yield in S-247, holds three Midwest quotes: Wipfli (New Mountain Capital money), Doeren Mayhew (Audax partnership, M&A plan) and Lutz, whose managing shareholder Ryan Cook took office May 2025 and describes a cloud migration of the practice management platform, which is internal IT, not a costly change to the client work. A change-first trade search gave a LattaHarris and Financial Integrators referral partnership (both stay independent, about $12.8M revenue), not a redesign. Plante Moran, the largest in-band Midwest independent not in candidates, has a managing partner in post since July 2024 with no dated change in his own words. Zero new names after 4 logged fetches and 6 searches.
Sources: INSIDE Public Accounting Top 400 and Best of the Best, Accounting Today regional leaders, state CPA society news, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through Accounting Today Top 100 2026 roundup (leader quotes tagged with HQ state); IPA Best of the Best roster (S-233) gives firm and leader (joined on firm name plus HQ state)
- leader through WebSearch of leader plus firm plus change terms; IPA and CPA Practice Advisor news gives dated change voiced by the leader (joined on leader name plus firm)
- change through second trade page gives confirmation (joined on firm name plus date)
- firm through firm site or dated 2025-2026 trade page gives headcount, ownership, control, tenure (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining billionaire; not on a US Midwest CPA or advisory roster
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer owner in New York and Idaho; not a CPA or advisory firm
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Outdoor apparel owner; not a CPA or advisory firm
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company CEO; not a CPA or advisory firm
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; outside the US Midwest CPA roster
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; not a CPA or advisory firm
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public commerce CEO; not a CPA or advisory firm
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company CEO; not a CPA or advisory firm
Route 276: Owner-led service firms: law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers in the West and Mountain states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of law firms with 50 to 600 lawyers based in the West and Mountain states (state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. S-276 is the fifth pass at West and Mountain law firms of 50 to 600 lawyers (after S-139, S-146, S-192 and S-234, the last three invalidated). This attempt tried only angles the earlier passes had not: mid-size Los Angeles and Bay Area independents by name (Allen Matkins, Ervin Cohen & Jessup, Greenberg Glusker, Coblentz, Wendel, Cooper White), Pacific Northwest and Mountain independents by name (Sherman & Howard, Foster Garvey, Tonkon Torp, Gallagher & Kennedy, Jennings Strouss, Cairncross, Ray Quinney), Hawaii, New Mexico, Montana and Idaho firms, first chief AI or innovation officer roles in Seattle, Portland, Denver and Phoenix, and owned subsidiaries or subscription pricing in California. 7 WebSearches and 4 logged fetches. The Hawaii Public Radio story (Jan 2026) names no firm and describes caution, not redesign. Foster Garvey's 2026 news is leadership succession, and its new CEO Scott Flichtbeil is a non-lawyer operations executive who cannot own or control a Washington law firm. Tonkon Torp's 2025 news is a managing partner election. Allen Matkins has AI job openings but no leader-voiced change. Every first-CAIO or CINO release found was outside the region (Arnold & Porter, Cleary, Mintz, Seyfarth, Gray Reed); DWT's AI programs director is already covered. No new leader with control, an in-band headcount and a dated change in their own words came out.
Sources: state and regional legal press, Law.com regional headlines where fetchable, LawSites, ABA Journal, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through firm-name sweeps and regional press (Hawaii Public Radio, Oregon Business) gives law firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through firm newsroom gives dated change (joined on firm name + mechanism noun)
- dated change through release quote gives firm leader (joined on managing partner, chair or founder name)
- firm leader through firm site or dated 2025-2026 article gives headcount, ownership and control (joined on leader name)
- firm leader through earliest dated redesign move gives signal year (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler does not lead a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so the route's sources (regional legal press, firm newsrooms) cannot surface them
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella does not lead a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so the route's sources (regional legal press, firm newsrooms) cannot surface them.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan does not lead a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so the route's sources (regional legal press, firm newsrooms) cannot surface them
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest does not lead a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so the route's sources (regional legal press, firm newsrooms) cannot surface them
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani does not lead a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so the route's sources (regional legal press, firm newsrooms) cannot surface them.
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie does not lead a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so the route's sources (regional legal press, firm newsrooms) cannot surface them.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke does not lead a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so the route's sources (regional legal press, firm newsrooms) cannot surface them.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya does not lead a West or Mountain law firm of 50 to 600 lawyers, so the route's sources (regional legal press, firm newsrooms) cannot surface them.
Route 277: Owner-led service firms: independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of independent behavioral health, therapy and physician practice groups based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Fourth Northeast and Mid-Atlantic cut of behavioral health, therapy and physician groups (after S-147, S-193 and S-235). Five WebSearches and 10 fetch attempts on seams the earlier runs had not used gave 0 owner-led names. Independent radiology was the new seam: University Radiology Group (NJ, physician-owned, 180 radiologists, Transpara breast AI across 24 to 36 centers) shows a real change in how reading is done, but its own leadership page (universityradiology.com/about) now lists a Chairman of the Board, a new President and a CPA as Chief Executive Officer, so no one person controls the firm and the case-study voice (Dr. Roger Yang) is no longer President. The BHB WordPress API searched for 'founder owned' since 2024 returned only PE, VC, franchise or out-of-region items, and the PAMED Independent Practice Summit agenda names sponsors, not group leaders. Becker's ASC and AuntMinnie return 403. The earlier passes already took the region's fit names (Trumble, Carlan, Kryder, Grosso and others). The sector-region pair is harvested; the hopper should retire it.
Sources: Behavioral Health Business, Becker's, Medical Economics, state health association news, practice newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through vendor case studies and trade press (ScreenPoint, BHB API, PAMED) gives independent practice (joined on practice name)
- independent practice through practice website leadership page gives leader with control (joined on practice domain)
- leader through second trade or regional page gives dated change in own words (joined on leader name plus practice)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma (Novartis); not a Northeast or Mid-Atlantic health practice, so outside the route universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a behavioral health or physician practice; outside the route universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella public software company (Microsoft); outside the route universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public commerce software firm (Shopify); outside the route universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not a health practice; outside the route universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie public software company (Box); outside the route universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate (Reliance); outside the route universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and energy (Fortescue); outside the route universe.
Route 278: Owner-led service firms: privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators in the South and Southeast
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held home care, senior living and hospice operators based in the South and Southeast (Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms), keep firms with roughly 50 to 5,000 people that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Fourth South and Southeast aging-services pass (after S-148, S-194 and S-236, which together found 5 names) gave 0 new owner-led names from 16 fetches and about 22 searches. Every lead failed before or at the change question: PE-backed platforms (Team Select: Court Square 2023; Compassus), franchisors (Caring Senior Service is already in candidates; BrightStar, Home Halo, Griswold, Comfort Keepers), hired CEOs under a controlling family or partners (12 Oaks: Blaylock family chairman; Harbor Retirement Associates; Retirement Unlimited, founded by the Fralin and Waldron families), growth with no change to how the work is done (Claiborne, Aspenwood, Sagora's 2024-2025 third-party management growth), nonprofits (Southern Care Collaborative members), and out of region (Solenvia in Connecticut, Stellar in Utah, Silverado in California). The SHN Changemakers archive (7 pages, about 70 leaders) holds only Southern founders who are already in candidates. The sources are open and fetch 200 with --text; what is exhausted is the supply of new fit people in this region and sector.
Sources: Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, McKnight's, Hospice News, state association awards, operator newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and sector through SHN Changemakers archive, Argentum 150 coverage, HHCN Inc. 5000 and forecast roundups, Hospice News founder Q&As gives Southern operator and named leader (joined on firm name plus HQ dateline)
- operator through WebSearch on firm name plus founder or owner gives ownership and control (founder, family, PE sponsor, hired CEO) (joined on firm name)
- controlling leader through trade story or operator newsroom 2023-2026 gives dated change to how the work is done, in the leader's words (joined on leader name plus program name)
- change through second page (operator release, vendor release, regional press) gives confirmation and signal year (joined on program name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Outside the universe: Australian mining and energy, not a Southern US aging-services operator.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Outside the universe: food manufacturer, not a service firm in aging care.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Outside the universe: apparel maker in California.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Outside the universe: Indian conglomerate.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Outside the universe: Swiss public pharma company.
- Missed Satya Nadella Outside the universe: public software company.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Outside the universe: Brazilian industrial firm.
- Missed Aaron Levie Outside the universe: public software company.
Route 279: Independent service firms: Employee-owned firms: NCEO and ESOP Association stories
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from NCEO (nceo.org) employee ownership stories and Employee Ownership Foundation case studies, ESOP Association award winners and member spotlights; keep professional and field service firms.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The NCEO and ESOP Association starting lists name firms but never a leader voicing a dated change to how the work is done. In 25 fetches and about 20 searches: the NCEO blog index (nceo.org/employee-ownership-blog) is policy, research and webinar news, and its one AI post is anonymised CEO-network highlights; ESOP Association chapter award pages and the 2026 chapter winners article list about 40 Company of the Year firms (Design Workshop, BL Companies, Lochmueller, Ramaker, Bowers + Kubota, Avion, CFD Research, McCownGordon and others) with no leader quote; its articles are association news. Firm-by-firm searches on 18 winners found only culture, ESOP, award and succession news, AI voiced by an SVP of technology (McCownGordon), a brand refresh (Design Workshop, whose site, coloradobiz.com and worldlandscapearchitect.com all return 403 to fetch.mjs), an acquisition with no leader quote found (Lochmueller, Multatech, 2024) or a 2024 sale of assets (Axia). 0 new names; this repeats S-91's finding on the same two sources.
Sources: nceo.org, esopassociation.org, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- employee-ownership association through ESOP Association chapter Company of the Year pages and 2026 winners article; NCEO blog gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through WebSearch for the firm name plus AI, new service, acquisition or launch; firm newsroom gives dated change and its voice (joined on firm name)
- change through firm leadership page or trade press gives leader who controls the firm (joined on firm name + CEO title)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and not employee-owned; NCEO and ESOP Association rosters never list it.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and not an ESOP Association member; outside the US employee-ownership rosters.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public company; not on any NCEO or ESOP Association list.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia moved to a purpose trust and nonprofit, not an ESOP; the route's rosters do not carry it.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; outside the route.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani's 2016 employee share grant is not an ESOP and Chobani is not on the chapter award rosters read here.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; outside the route.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public company; outside the route.
Route 280: Independent service firms: Employee-owned firms: regional ESOP news
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from regional business journal and trade stories about employee-owned (ESOP or EOT) engineering, accounting, insurance, staffing and care firms from 2023 to 2026, excluding stories that are only about the sale to employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempt 2 found 3 qualifying names by working the NCEO Employee Ownership 100 roster one firm at a time, not regional ESOP news. Regional and trade stories about employee-owned service firms are almost all about the sale to employees, and AI moves at in-band ESOP engineering firms are voiced by staff. Firm newsrooms of in-band EO100 service firms (Westat, Chemonics, Swinerton) carry CEO-quoted, dated structural changes: a merged data sector, new owned arms after the USAID collapse, and a regrouped subsidiary family. Yield is low: about 1 in 8 firms checked.
Sources: regional business journals, ENR, Accounting Today, Insurance Journal, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- roster through NCEO Employee Ownership 100 (annual table: rank, company, city, state, ESOP start, business, employees) gives employee-owned firm (joined on company name)
- employee-owned firm through regional business journal, trade press (ENR, Insurance Journal, Home Health Care News) or firm newsroom gives dated change to the work (joined on firm name + change verb)
- dated change through firm newsroom or release gives leader quote (joined on CEO name on leadership page)
- leader through firm leadership/about page gives control, headcount, ESOP status (joined on firm domain)
New names that passed every check
- Scott Royal, Westat, Inc. (Rockville MD, 100% ESOP since 1977, 2,969 employees per NCEO EO100) ceo, United States
As CEO of an employee-owned research firm he reorganized how its statisticians, data scientists and survey teams work, merging them into one Data Solutions Sector in 2024 and then realigning practices under new cross-firm roles in 2026.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Meet Our Executive Leads Scott Royal President & Chief Executive Officer Scott Cody Senior Vice President & Chief Solutions Officer” source
- What they did 2024 “This new structure and updates in roles will ensure that Westat remains nimble and grows in response to seismic changes in technology, the data landscape, and society in general.” source
- What they did 2026 “By strengthening collaboration across teams, we are expanding our ability to tackle complex challenges.” source
- Jamey Butcher, Chemonics International (Washington DC, 100% ESOP since 2011, 2,467 employees per NCEO EO100) ceo, United States
After USAID terminated most of its contracts in 2025, the chair and CEO of the employee-owned development consultancy began rebuilding it as a family of regional companies serving other governments and funders, buying owned arms in Europe and Australia.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jamey Butcher is Chair and CEO of Chemonics. Since becoming CEO in 2020, Jamey has focused Chemonics on improving and scaling outcomes to transform the way customers in complex settings experience value and results.” source
- What they did 2025 “Acquiring DMI Associates is an exciting moment for Chemonics as we expand our footprint in Europe, enabling us to achieve even greater sustainable development impact” source
- What they did 2026 “Bringing these teams together with Chemonics Australia strengthens what we can offer partners across Australia and the Indo-Pacific” source
- David Callis, Swinerton Incorporated (Concord CA, 100% ESOP; Swinerton Builders 2,707 employees per NCEO EO100) ceo, United States
As CEO of an employee-owned builder he regrouped its subsidiaries (mass timber, energy EPC, development, consulting) under one operating head in 2024 to diversify the product line and take control of the supply chain and every part of project delivery.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The Swinerton Incorporated Board of Directors has elected current Swinerton President David Callis as the next CEO of both Swinerton and its subsidiaries, including Swinerton Builders.” source
- What they did 2024 “Tim will support the entire Swinerton Family of Companies in our efforts to diversify our product line and exercise greater control over every aspect of project delivery” source
- What they did 2023 “Swinerton has successfully developed and expanded its Public-Private Partnership capabilities, with a portfolio now exceeding $1 billion in projects” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian; no ESOP or employee-owned service firm story covers him.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software, not an employee-owned service firm; route cannot surface him.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is public and Indian; outside the route's US employee-owned universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani gave employees shares in 2016 but is a food maker, not a service firm, and not an ESOP; regional ESOP service stories do not cover it.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia moved to a purpose trust (2022), not an ESOP or EOT, and is a product company; the route's service-firm filter excludes it.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is public and Australian; outside the route.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is public and Swiss; outside the route.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public; outside the route.
Route 281: Independent service firms: Inc. 5000 service firms: professional services and consulting
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Inc. 5000 2024 and 2025 lists, Business Products and Services, Consulting and Engineering categories, privately held firms with 50 or more employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. inc.com/inc5000 and the Inc. list API are 403/418, so the roster comes from firm-issued Inc. 5000 honoree releases found by search. The list's private label admits PE-backed firms, so ownership is checked before change. 2 of 3 required names in attempt 1; refine.
Sources: inc.com/inc5000 company profiles, firm newsrooms, regional press
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- Inc. 5000 list (2024, 2025, 2026) through firm-issued 'named to the Inc. 5000' releases on PR Newswire, Business Wire, EIN Presswire and firm newsrooms (inc.com is 403) gives firm + quoted leader (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom, consulting.us gives dated change to how the work is done (new owned arm, delivery model, AI unit) (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm About/history page, consulting.us firm news gives ownership and control (privately held, founder-led, no PE sponsor) (joined on firm name + leader name)
- change through second firm release or trade page gives second page confirming the change (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Andy Smith, Impact Advisors (Naperville, IL; healthcare management consulting firm founded 2007; privately held; on the Inc. 5000 for the seventh time in 2025) owner, United States
The co-founder and managing partner of a privately held healthcare consulting firm bought a Mexico City firm and turned it into an owned nearshore delivery arm for managed services, data and AI work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Impact Advisors was founded in 2007 by Andrew and Peter Smith and a handful of experienced colleagues who had worked together previously as consultants and in executive roles at some of the nation's foremost health delivery organizations.” source
- What they did 2025 “The acquisition establishes Impact Advisors Mexico, expanding the firm’s ability to deliver high-quality nearshore managed services across its practice areas.” source
- What they said 2025 ““We share a deep commitment to service excellence and delivering measurable value to our clients. Impact Advisors Mexico enhances our ability to scale efficiently while maintaining the high standards our clients expect.”” source
- What they said 2026 ““This milestone reflects the strength of our people-first culture and the growing demand for flexible, high-performing nearshore solutions,” said Andy Smith, managing partner and co-founder of Impact Advisors.” source
- Brian Dainis, Curotec (Philadelphia and Newtown Square, PA; software and AI consulting firm founded 2010; 120+ people; privately held; Inc. 5000 2023-2026) owner, United States
The founder of a privately held Philadelphia software consultancy rebuilt delivery around a Latin American nearshore engineering bench and stood up an AI consulting practice.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Three years later, in 2010, Brian founded Curotec. Fast forward to today, and Curotec is an industry leading software and technology consulting company with a global footprint of talent and customers. With a team of 120+ people, Curotec caters to companies from growth stage tech to the Fortune 500,” source
- What they did 2024 “This latest honor follows Curotec’s record-setting expansion in 2023, fueled by: A surge in demand for nearshore software development with elite LATAM talent A rapidly growing AI consulting practice , supporting enterprise clients in automation, analytics, and GenAI strategy” source
- What they said 2025 ““We saw where the market was going in 2021 and built a delivery team precisely around that vision. We’re seeing a number of major HealthTech, FinTech, and AI-native SaaS companies leaning on us heavily right now to fulfill their software engineering demands.” source
- What they said 2025 ““Our nearshore model has resonated deeply in this market climate, allowing us to grow our engineering teams rapidly across LATAM.”” source
- Pete Smith, Impact Advisors (Naperville, IL; privately held healthcare consulting firm co-founded 2007 with Andy Smith; co-founder and managing partner; on the Inc. 5000 for the eighth time in 2026) owner, United States
The co-founder and co-managing partner of a privately held healthcare consultancy is moving delivery to new models, including an owned nearshore arm in Mexico, so the firm can work smarter and deliver differently. Same firm as Andy Smith; the two brothers share control.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Impact Advisors was founded in 2007 by Andrew and Peter Smith and a handful of experienced colleagues who had worked together previously as consultants and in executive roles at some of the nation's foremost health delivery organizations.” source
- What they did 2025 “The acquisition establishes Impact Advisors Mexico, expanding the firm’s ability to deliver high-quality nearshore managed services across its practice areas.” source
- What they said 2026 “As healthcare continues to change, we are investing in new capabilities, technologies and delivery models, including our expansion in Mexico, so we can work smarter, deliver differently and bring the full strength of Impact Advisors to every client engagement.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; Inc. 5000 lists only US-based private companies, so it is outside the universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate; not eligible for the Inc. 5000 (US, privately held, independent).
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; not eligible for the Inc. 5000 and not a consulting or business-services firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public; Inc. 5000 only lists privately held firms, and Microsoft's appearance was decades before the 2024-2025 lists.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a private US food maker, not a business-services, consulting or engineering firm; outside the route's categories.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the Inc. 5000 universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker held by a trust and nonprofit, not a consulting or business-services firm, and is not on the 2024-2025 lists.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharmaceutical company; outside the Inc. 5000 universe.
Route 282: Independent service firms: Inc. 5000 service firms: health, care and human services
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Inc. 5000 2024 and 2025 lists, Health Services and Human Resources categories, privately held operators with 50 or more employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The Inc. 5000 list itself is not fetchable (inc.com 403 direct and via --jina, api.inc.com 418), so the route was revised to use the trade-press roundups that republish the Health Services slice of the list (Behavioral Health Business and Home Health Care News, 2024 to 2026) plus Inc.'s own Your Next Move podcast transcripts on podscripts.co. Most listed firms fail size (under 50 staff), control (PE or VC backed) or have no dated change, so yield is about 2 clean names per 25 firms read.
Sources: inc.com/inc5000 company profiles, Home Health Care News, Behavioral Health Business, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- Inc. 5000 Health Services slice through BHB and HHCN annual Inc. 5000 roundups (August each year) gives firm name, city, rank, revenue range (joined on firm name)
- firm name through bhbusiness.com / homehealthcarenews.com firm stories, Inc. Your Next Move transcripts (podscripts.co) gives dated change to how the work is done, voiced by founder (joined on firm name plus founder name)
- founder name through second trade story or firm release (einpresswire, levinassociates.com, yespress.io) gives confirmation of change, control and headcount (joined on founder name)
New names that passed every check
- Christopher Barnett, ABA Centers of America (Fort Lauderdale, FL; autism therapy, self-financed, 2024 Inc. 5000 No. 5, 2025 No. 25) owner, United States
Rebuilding autism care delivery around an owned software and AI arm, outcomes-based titration of care and fast diagnostics, financed without private equity.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “So far, ABA Centers of America has not engaged with a private equity firm or similar backer to grow, CEO and founder Chris Barnett told Behavioral Health Business.” source
- What they did 2023 “Barnett also owns a technology company called ABATECH that builds software — including an electronic health record (EHR) and clinician-level data collection systems — that is “incubating” alongside ABA Centers of America.” source
- What they did 2024 “Barnett also owns a separate technology company called CurativeAI that builds AI-powered software — including an electronic health record (EHR) and clinician-level data collection systems — that is “incubating” within ABA Centers of America.” source
- What they said 2023 ““It’s our goal to get our clients out of care where possible, when possible,” Barnett said. “It’s our goal to put ourselves out of business with that client.”” source
- What they said 2024 ““When we enter a state, we learn how not to enter the next one,” Barnett reflected. “Those lessons have helped us go from profitability in a year to being cash flow positive within the first few months of entering a new market.”” source
- Ray Wolf, Televero Behavioral Health (Austin, TX; virtual psychiatry and therapy, about 227 staff, 2025 Inc. 5000 No. 54) ceo, United States
Rebuilding a clinician practice around AI that takes notes, triage and billing off clinicians, with every back-office function brought in-house.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Ray Wolf, founder and CEO of Televero Behavioral Health, joins Inc. senior staff writer Jennifer Conrad.” source
- What they did 2025 ““Our technology removes administrative burden, accelerates intake and triage, and improves access—but the heart of what we do is deeply human.”” source
- What they did 2026 “look to bring it in-house and we'll develop our own platform and improve upon that. And we've been doing that across the entire spectrum. So we've insourced everything from billing, credentialing. There's nothing that we're outsourcing at this time.” source
- What they said 2026 “So we use AI, ambient listening AI, to help with that.” source
- Ayeshia Quainoo-Tefera, Ultimate Care (Springfield, VA; home health and personal care, 103 staff per the interview and over 140 per AlayaCare 2025, self-funded, 2024 Inc. 5000 No. 207, 2025 No. 2,345) owner, United States
A nurse-founder rebuilding a home care agency around written SOPs, AI built into staff processes with a staff member retrained as CTO, and profits reinvested in caregiver benefits, with a planned employee-ownership exit.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Inc. staff reporter Ben Sherry sits down with Ayeshia Quainoo-Tefera, the founder and CEO of the Springfield, Virginia-based Ultimate Care, a home health agency.” source
- What they did 2025 “And right now we are building, I think, synestia, we are using it to build into our processes to streamline and automate a lot of reminders for the staff.” source
- What they did 2025 “In an industry where caregiver turnover is high and benefits are rare, Ayeshia has made the intentional choice to reinvest profits back into her people.” source
- What they said 2025 “So I have a CTO currently. So I brought one of my staff had finished cybersecurity and stuff. I said, okay, well, so you are in that space of IT, can we give you another title and train you more to do this stuff?” source
- What they said 2025 “So using AI to do market analysis, right? I'll come to tell me the market analysis or competitive analysis within this region or where we serve.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public software, not on the Inc. 5000 health services or HR slices.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a health or human services firm; not in the roundups.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is apparel and too large; not in the roundups.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; the Inc. 5000 is US private firms only.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; out of scope for the list.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software; not a health services firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is Canadian and public; not eligible for the Inc. 5000.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; the Inc. 5000 lists US firms only.
Route 283: Independent service firms: Inc. 5000 service firms: marketing, logistics and IT services
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Inc. 5000 2024 and 2025 lists, Advertising and Marketing, Logistics and Transportation, IT Services categories, privately held firms with 50 or more employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The spine is pullable: api.inc.com/rest/i5list/2024 returns the full 2024 Inc. 5000 as JSON (5,001 rows, 1,086 in Advertising and Marketing, IT Services and Logistics and Transportation) with company, city, state, founded, website and a one-line business model, but no employee count, owner or leader name, and the 2025 list returned 418 twice while www.inc.com is 403. Running the route over about 22 searches and 21 fetches produced 0 people who fit the Independent service firms profile. The firms that surfaced fail in the same few ways: the change is a client product or a vendor tool adoption voiced by a VP or staffer (WebFX OmniSEO audit, Axle with Qued), the founder no longer runs the firm or a sponsor holds it (2X: Recognize and Insight Partners money, Knownwell CEO took over in June 2026; Yes& hired CEO 2025; Axle hired CEO), the firm is under 50 staff or offshore-led (Netsurit, The James Agency), or the only voiced words are Inc. 5000 thank-you quotes with no dated costly change (Netsurit, ITS, Jarrett, Hennessey Digital). Inc. 5000 inclusion selects for revenue growth, not redesign, and these three sectors were already harvested by S-29, S-34, S-66, S-97, S-100, S-110, S-114 and S-116.
Sources: inc.com/inc5000 company profiles, Ad Age, FreightWaves, CRN, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- Inc. 5000 year through api.inc.com/rest/i5list/<year> JSON gives firm in Advertising & Marketing, IT Services or Logistics & Transportation (joined on company name plus website field)
- firm through WebSearch for '<firm> <founder> AI' plus firm newsroom gives change to how the work is done and who voices it (joined on firm name)
- leader through second outlet (trade press, podcast page, wire mirror) gives leader's own words and confirmation of the change (joined on leader name plus firm)
- firm through firm About page or dated 2025-2026 release gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
- change through earliest dated release gives signal year (joined on program or product name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian firm (Semco); the Inc. 5000 is US-only, so not in the spine.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy; not on the US Inc. 5000 and not a service firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian listed conglomerate; outside the US private-company spine.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public company (Shopify); not on the 2024 list and not in the three categories.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public; the Inc. 5000 lists only private firms, and no Box row is in the 2024 JSON.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a past honoree only; public, not in the 2024 list.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a past honoree and food, not advertising, IT services or logistics; not in the 2024 list.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a past honoree and apparel retail; not in the 2024 list or the three categories.
Route 284: Independent service firms: Family business awards
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from family business award winners 2023 to 2026: university family business center awards, regional Family Business Awards run by business journals, Family Business Magazine coverage; keep service firms.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Regional and university family business award rosters for 2023 to 2026 (TCB Minnesota Family Business Awards 2025 and 2026, Hartford Business Journal 2025, UofL, Business NC, Seattle Business) give 0 new owner-led service firms with a dated, leader-voiced change to how the work is done. Each in-band service honoree failed one test: Plunkett's (825 staff) is already a candidate via S-259; New Horizon Academy (3,081 staff, CEO Chad Dunkley) shows growth and values but no dated redesign; Celarity (157) has only a 2020 Covid pivot; Cox Insurance has 35 staff; Saisystems (201+) took Serent Capital money in March 2026. The profiles score governance, succession and values, not redesign, which repeats S-92 and S-189.
Sources: familybusinessmagazine.com, university family business centers, regional business journals
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award program through TCB Minnesota Family Business Awards, HBJ Connecticut Family Business Awards, university family business centers gives honoree firm (joined on firm name)
- honoree firm through honoree profile closing block (employees, ownership type, principal owners) gives size, ownership, controlling leader (joined on firm name)
- controlling leader through WebSearch for firm name plus change terms (AI, new model, launches, pay) gives dated change to the work (joined on firm name plus leader name)
- candidate through output/candidates.json gives new or already found (joined on leader name, firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and not family-owned; never on a family business award roster
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; Reliance is public; outside the US award programs this route reads
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia; Fortescue is public and not a service firm
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland; Novartis is public with a hired CEO
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a product company owned by a trust and nonprofit; not on any 2023-2026 service-firm family business roster fetched
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public and founder-led, not family-owned
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; Semco is outside US regional and university award programs
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a service firm, and is not on the rosters fetched
Route 285: Independent service firms: Kitces podcast and Financial Advisor Success guests
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from guests on Michael Kitces Financial Advisor Success podcast and similar wealth-firm founder interviews 2023 to 2026 who founded or control independent wealth or tax firms of 50 or more people.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: kitces.com podcast transcripts, RIABiz, Citywire RIA, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- podcast archive through Financial Advisor Success on Libsyn (fasuccess.libsyn.com) gives guest and firm (joined on episode slug (ep-<n>-...-with-<guest>) and meta description naming title and firm)
- firm through wire release mirrors (markets.financialcontent.com, pulse2.com), local business press, university news gives dated change voiced by the leader (joined on firm name)
- change through second, independent page (pulse2, cbia.com, hartfordbusiness.com) gives confirmation (joined on firm name plus leader name)
- firm through release boilerplate or news story gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
- leader through earliest dated release gives signal year (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- David Bahnsen, The Bahnsen Group owner, United States
Founder of an 88 to 97 person independent wealth firm who stood up a standalone institutional OCIO unit and rebuilt the firm's management layer under him.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Joseph Klein has been promoted to President, where he will work directly with Managing Partner and Founder David Bahnsen to set and implement the company's strategy.” source
- What they did 2025 “This initiative is about organizing resources and focusing on how we can be a fully-equipped partner to serve this segment of the institutional marketplace,” source
- What they did 2025 “And Klein will oversee the firm's Management Committee, which consists of eight department directors.” source
- What they said 2025 “There is no way I can explain how unique our ethos is when it comes to competing, growing, and serving our clients.” source
- Kevin Leahy, Connecticut Wealth Management owner, United States
Co-founder and CEO of a 70 person Connecticut RIA who rebuilt the advisor pipeline around hiring and training graduates, now pushed back into a funded university cohort.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Kevin Leahy, president and CEO of Farmington-based CTWM, said that Conry's” source
- What they did 2025 “Through a $75,000 contribution, the investment advisory will support an experiential learning program designed to help develop the state's next generation of financial advisors.” source
- What they said 2025 “For some time, we've wanted to help create the next group of great wealth managers and thought, 'Why not start training them in college?'” source
- What they said 2025 “This partnership is about building a pathway that hasn't existed before,” source
- Brad Arends, intellicents owner, United States
Co-founder and CEO of an 80 person, employee-owned Minnesota RIA who is rebuilding a 401(k) consultancy into a worksite financial-planning firm that gives every plan participant a yearly plan, staffed with CFPs and sold as a pooled plan.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Arends started the firm with his brother, Brad Arends, who is CEO of both companies and a frequent commentator on retirement and financial planning.” source
- What they did 2023 “Advisory firm intellicents recently announced it has selected The Standard to roll out its intelli(k) pooled employer plan, or PEP .” source
- What they did 2024 “In January, it expanded its wealth management team by adding True Wealth & Co., a Kansas City-area wealth management firm with $158 million in assets under management.” source
- What they said 2024 “We are positioning it as a new employee benefit offered to all employees, and a replacement of their current worksite financial wellness plan which usually is provided by their 401(k) recordkeeper and has generally been a failure for most.” source
- What they said 2025 “That's why we rebranded our 40-year-old company and built a national brand dedicated to improving the financial aptitude of the American workforce.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest never appears in the Financial Advisor Success episode list 2023-2026 (raw/fas-libsyn-p2..p32, fas-libsyn-2023..2026); the show interviews adviso
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler never appears in the Financial Advisor Success episode list 2023-2026 (raw/fas-libsyn-p2..p32, fas-libsyn-2023..2026); the show interviews adviso
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard never appears in the Financial Advisor Success episode list 2023-2026 (raw/fas-libsyn-p2..p32, fas-libsyn-2023..2026); the show interviews adviso
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke never appears in the Financial Advisor Success episode list 2023-2026 (raw/fas-libsyn-p2..p32, fas-libsyn-2023..2026); the show interviews advisory-f
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani never appears in the Financial Advisor Success episode list 2023-2026 (raw/fas-libsyn-p2..p32, fas-libsyn-2023..2026); the show interviews advisor
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya never appears in the Financial Advisor Success episode list 2023-2026 (raw/fas-libsyn-p2..p32, fas-libsyn-2023..2026); the show interviews advisor
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie never appears in the Financial Advisor Success episode list 2023-2026 (raw/fas-libsyn-p2..p32, fas-libsyn-2023..2026); the show interviews advisory-
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan never appears in the Financial Advisor Success episode list 2023-2026 (raw/fas-libsyn-p2..p32, fas-libsyn-2023..2026); the show interviews adviso
Route 286: Independent service firms: Accounting firm leader podcasts and interviews
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from CPA Trendlines, Accounting Today "Accounting Tomorrow", The Boomer Consulting and Rightworks podcasts, INSIDE Public Accounting interviews 2023 to 2026 with managing partners of firms of 50 or more people.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Accounting podcasts and interview series do not work as a discovery spine for owner-led service firms. Seven full-history episode feeds were pulled from the iTunes lookup API: Accounting Voices, INSIDE Public Accounting, the Accounting Today Podcast, CPA Trendlines, Boomer Briefing, Rightworks Modern Firm and The Independent CPA Firm Podcast. Together they hold about 1,100 episodes, about 380 of them from 2023 to 2026. Guests are mostly consultants, vendors, state society CEOs, Big Four or PE-backed platform leaders, and CIOs or innovation directors. The in-band independent leaders who do appear (Brian Lang of SSC CPAs, Jason Miller of Dean Dorton, Randy Nail of HoganTaylor, Eric Majchrzak of BeachFleischman, John Geraci of LGA, George Forsythe of WellsColeman, Chris Jones of Linkenheimer, Jody Grunden of Summit) each fail one test. Some fail control: Geraci's LGA sold to PE-backed Citrin Cooperman in 2026 despite a 'fiercely independent' episode in Oct 2025, Summit merged into Anders in 2022 and Jones is a director, not the leader. Some are in succession: Nail hands over on 2027-01-01 and Miller only took over at the end of 2025. Others have no dated costly change on record in their own words; SSC's change is an ESOP from 1999 plus a merger. Episode show notes carry no quotes, and transcripts exist only on JofA pages. Use these feeds only to find own-words quotes for firms a roster has already found, as LESSONS S-102 said.
Sources: podcast transcript pages, accountingtoday.com, cpatrendlines.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- show name through iTunes Search API gives podcast collectionId (joined on collectionId)
- collectionId through iTunes lookup entity=podcastEpisode gives episode with guest name, title and firm in description (joined on guest name + firm)
- guest + firm through firm newsroom, accountingtoday.com, cpapracticeadvisor.com gives dated change, role, ownership (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining billionaire; not an accounting firm leader and absent from all seven accounting podcast feeds.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public tech company CEO; out of the route's universe (accounting firm managing partners) and absent from every feed.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software CEO; absent from every accounting podcast feed.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer owner; not a service firm and absent from every feed.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public company CEO; out of geography and universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; out of geography and universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel company founder; not an accounting firm, absent from every feed.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chair; out of geography and universe.
Route 287: Independent service firms: Law firm managing partner interviews
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from interviews with managing partners and chairs of independent US law firms of 50 to 600 lawyers about changing how legal work is done (Law.com where fetchable, Legaltech News, LawSites, Above the Law, ABA Journal, legal innovation podcasts) 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: lawsites.com, abajournal.com, abovethelaw.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- managing partner interview (Bloomberg Law, Above the Law, Law.com, Chambers Associate) found by WebSearch through WebSearch on '<firm> managing partner interview AI' and firm 'Media Mentions' reposts gives firm plus leader (joined on firm name)
- leader through Thomson Reuters Institute contributor pages and articles (open, 200) gives dated change plus own words (joined on leader name)
- change through second contributor page or firm newsroom gives confirming page (joined on firm name plus new role or tool)
- firm through Chambers Associate true picture or firm About block gives headcount and partnership ownership (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Lorie Almon, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (Chicago-founded, partner-owned law firm; crossed 1,000 attorneys in 2025-2026 per Chambers Associate) executive, United States
As chair and managing partner she created two new C-suite innovation roles and proprietary AI tools at Seyfarth and argues firm leaders must redesign how lawyers are trained and how legal work is structured around AI.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Lorie Almon serves as chair and managing partner of Seyfarth Shaw LLP.” source
- What they did 2025 “Since assuming the role in 2024, she has guided the firm through transformative growth, cultural revitalization, and industry-leading innovation — including the launch of proprietary AI tools and the creation of two new C-Suite innovation roles” source
- What they did 2025 “Zeynep Ersin serves as Seyfarth Shaw’s first Chief Innovation & Strategic Design Officer, a role focused on scaling client-centric innovation and AI adoption across the firm.” source
- What they said 2026 “Instead, leaders must become systems design architects, structuring legal work, training, and feedback in ways that preserve the conditions most likely to produce exceptional, client-centered lawyers.” source
- What they said 2026 “We’re laser focused on legal service delivery innovation and also helping our clients through their own innovation journeys, given the explosion of generative AI in the last couple of years.” source
- Gary Wingens, Lowenstein Sandler LLP (New York and New Jersey; partner-owned national law firm, over 350 lawyers in February 2025) executive, United States
As chair and managing partner since 2008 he set a plan to double headcount while using generative AI to multiply lawyer productivity, and in 2024 built a new operating C-suite (COO, CAO, chief information and technology officer) to carry it out.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““We know who we are. We know who we want to be,” Gary Wingens , the firm’s chairman and managing partner, said in an interview.” source
- What they did 2024 “Wingens says that these hires demonstrate “the investment that we are making in super talented professional staff who can really help lead the vision for our strategic plan.” COO Caplan adds that the firm is also “investing in AI tools to enhance the productivity of our lawyers and staff and provide greater value to ou” source
- What they said 2024 “New Jersey’s Lowenstein Sandler wants to double its headcount to as many as 700 lawyers in three to five years and sees the eventual incorporation of generative AI as quadrupling productivity.” source
- What they said 2025 ““Most firms are very good at adopting strategic plans, but not all actually do much more than talk about it. We’ve really seen an enormous amount of change at the firm, and 2024 was a very good year.”” source
- Danny David, Baker Botts L.L.P. (Houston-founded, partner-owned law firm; 640 attorneys per Bloomberg Law, 2026) executive, United States
As managing partner he is betting Baker Botts on expertise-priced work over associate volume, with an in-house vanguard building proprietary AI tools while the firm keeps hiring associates.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Our profitability comes from specialized expertise where clients are paying for judgment on hard problems, not for hours on routine tasks,” said Danny David, Baker Botts’ managing partner, in an interview.” source
- What they did 2026 “Baker Botts licenses large language models from major providers that David declined to name, while a “vanguard” of employees develops proprietary tools in-house.” source
- What they did 2025 “His firm views AI as a competitive advantage and, over time, a source of real leverage for practices.” source
- What they said 2026 “When AI reduces the hours a matter requires, a profit model built on associate volume is more exposed.” source
- What they said 2026 ““AI is the single best development for the careers of the next generation that has ever visited the Earth,” he said.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest leads Fortescue (mining, Australia); law-firm managing partner interviews in LawSites, ABA Journal, Bloomberg Law and firm newsrooms never cover
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie runs Box, a public software company, not a law firm; he appears in legal tech press only as a vendor voice, not as a firm leader interviewed about r
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya leads Chobani (food manufacturing); no law-firm leader interview source covers him.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia, apparel) is outside the law-firm interview universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan leads Novartis (Switzerland, public pharma); not a law firm, not US.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke leads Shopify (Canada, public); his AI memo is covered in general tech press, not in law-firm managing partner interviews.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani (Reliance, India) is outside the US law-firm universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella leads Microsoft (public); legal press quotes Microsoft only as a vendor (Copilot), never as a law-firm leader.
Route 288: Independent service firms: Agency owner podcasts
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from guests on Build a Better Agency (Agency Management Institute), the 2Bobs podcast and similar agency-owner shows 2023 to 2026 who own independent marketing, PR or creative agencies of 50 or more people.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. As written the route fails: 2Bobs has no guests and Build a Better Agency books consultants, authors and vendors. Two working spines replace them. Jason Swenk's Smart Agency Masterclass RSS, screened on headcount lines of 50+ in guest bios, gave Hope Horner (Lemonlight) and Kevin Miller (GR0). Agency Business (Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley, iTunes id 1784307947, Dec 2024 on), whose guests are CEOs of mid-size independent agencies, gave Dan Khabie (CourtAvenue). The rest were sold (Cardinal, JumpCrew), hired CEOs (Rain, E2M), offshore (Mavlers), or had no dated change voiced by the owner.
Sources: podcast transcript pages, agencymanagementinstitute.com, Ad Age, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- podcast through Apple Podcasts search API (feedUrl) then libsyn RSS gives episode with guest bio (joined on show name)
- episode through RSS description (headcount line, 'founder and CEO of <firm>') gives owner of 50+ staff agency (joined on guest name + firm)
- firm through trade press (ppc.land, adweek) and firm newsroom gives dated change to the work (joined on firm name)
- leader through firm blog byline or transcript gives own-words quote (joined on leader name)
- firm through firm site, funding databases gives ownership and control check (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Hope Horner, Lemonlight owner, United States
Co-founder CEO moving a commercial video production firm to generative AI production with human oversight, after deliberately shrinking from about 200 to about 75 staff.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Hope Horner, co-founder and CEO of Lemonlight, framed the launch as a natural progression rather than experimental technology.” source
- What they did 2025 “Launch of Generative AI Commercials service delivering finished, commercial-quality video content combining generative AI technology with human creative oversight” source
- What they said 2026 “At Lemonlight, we have produced hundreds of AI videos for real brands with real performance expectations attached to them.” source
- What they said 2026 “Almost nobody is talking about AI video from the perspective of a production company that has actually shipped work at scale, for paying clients.” source
- Kevin Miller, GR0 owner, United States
Bootstrapped co-founder CEO who reorganized a Los Angeles SEO and performance agency around AI search in early 2025, launching Generative Engine Optimization and rebuilding team workflows on AI tools.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “one standout is digital marketing agency GR0. We spoke with co-founder and CEO Kevin Miller about his own bootstrapping journey” source
- What they did 2025 “In early 2025, GR0 made its most consequential strategic move.” source
- What they said 2026 “We realized that large language models were about to become the dominant interface between consumers and the internet” source
- What they did 2026 “GR0 migrated its entire team from ChatGPT to Anthropic's Claude to enhance strategic workflows and decision-making. Team members now build automated keyword research pipelines, full BI dashboards in under an hour” source
- What they said 2026 “We're not talking about AI in theory. We're living it every week, and the results we're seeing for clients prove that the agencies who move fast and stay curious” source
- Dan Khabie, CourtAvenue owner, United States
Co-founder CEO of a San Diego independent digital agency who rebuilt its core production around AI, starting with an AI-focused CTO in 2023 and then buying a controlling stake in a Ukrainian AI agent developer in January 2025.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “CourtAvenue FOUNDED: 2020 FOUNDING PARTNERS: Dan Khabie and Kenny Tomlin HEADQUARTERS: San Diego BUSINESS: Marketing EMPLOYEES: 207” source
- What they did 2025 “In January, CourtAvenue reported it had acquired a controlling stake in BotsCrew, a Ukrainian firm renowned for developing custom AI-powered chatbots for businesses.” source
- What they said 2025 “our industry in the digital marketing tech arena is kind of Ground Zero for AI and the advancement of AI in terms of its ability to do the things that we do today” source
- What they did 2026 “CourtAvenue is acquiring data and marketing technology consultancy GTX Solutions, as the independent agency looks to deepen its enterprise data capabilities amid rising client demand for AI solutions.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not an agency owner; surname absent from all three feeds (BBA 576 items, 2Bobs 252, Smart Agency 671). The route's spine cannot reach this person.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not an agency owner; surname absent from all three feeds (BBA 576 items, 2Bobs 252, Smart Agency 671). The route's spine cannot reach this person.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not an agency owner; surname absent from all three feeds (BBA 576 items, 2Bobs 252, Smart Agency 671). The route's spine cannot reach this person.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not an agency owner; surname absent from all three feeds (BBA 576 items, 2Bobs 252, Smart Agency 671). The route's spine cannot reach this person.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not an agency owner; surname absent from all three feeds (BBA 576 items, 2Bobs 252, Smart Agency 671). The route's spine cannot reach this person.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not an agency owner; surname absent from all three feeds (BBA 576 items, 2Bobs 252, Smart Agency 671). The route's spine cannot reach this person.
- Missed Aaron Levie Not an agency owner; surname absent from all three feeds (BBA 576 items, 2Bobs 252, Smart Agency 671). The route's spine cannot reach this person.
- Missed Satya Nadella Not an agency owner; surname absent from all three feeds (BBA 576 items, 2Bobs 252, Smart Agency 671). The route's spine cannot reach this person.
Route 289: Independent service firms: Home care and behavioral health operator podcasts
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Home Health Care News, Senior Housing News, Behavioral Health Business and Hospice News podcasts and executive interviews 2023 to 2026 with founders or owners of private operators.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Revised: the four trade-outlet podcast feeds are pullable but their episode pages carry no transcripts, so the route only works when each guest is joined to the outlet's written highlights article and the WordPress search API for founder-CEO interviews. That gave 3 owner-led names (CARD, Solenvia, Best of Care) from about 30 fetches; most guests are vendors, PE platforms, nonprofits or growth stories.
Sources: podcast pages and articles on those sites, operator newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade outlet through Apple podcast search + castos RSS feeds (Disrupt, Transform, Elevate); BHB WordPress API for Perspectives podcast posts gives episode guest (joined on guest name and firm in episode title)
- episode guest through output/candidates.json gives new guest (joined on surname and firm name grep)
- new guest through same outlet's written podcast highlights (bhbusiness.com, seniorhousingnews.com, homehealthcarenews.com) gives dated change in the leader's words (joined on article URL)
- change through second article on the same outlet or a trade site (breakingnewsaba.com, acuity.news) gives confirmation, headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Doreen Granpeesheh, Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD), owned through Pantogran LLC owner, United States
She bought back the autism therapy company she founded out of bankruptcy and rebuilt it as a flat, lean, debt-free operator that insources functions, pays technicians for hours of care and makes AI its top operating objective.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Based in Plano, Texas, it reported approximately $151 million in annual revenue in 2025, down from the $160 million it had at the time of bankruptcy but representing stabilization rather than further decline. The company employs roughly 1,263 people. Granpeesheh serves as CEO.” source
- What they did 2024 “She also set about thinning out and flattening the company's corporate structure. She let go of all but one of the company's top executives.” source
- What they said 2023 “Sangam and I taking over allowed us to make the hierarchy more flat. A lot of the costs were associated with the top level of the company. We were able to make that a lot less. We're starting out with a much more lean company.” source
- Bryan Dylewski, Solenvia Caregivers (formerly The HomeAides), Middletown CT owner, United States
He rebuilt non-medical home care around an owned caregiver transportation fleet with W-2 drivers and dispatch, and in 2026 turned that operating model into a franchise system.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Solenvia raised its scheduled fill rates to 99% and puts caregivers in the home of clients two to three hours after a referral because of a caregiver transportation program, Bryan Dylewski, Solenvia founder and CEO, told Home Health Care News.” source
- What they did 2026 “Initially, Solenvia hired drivers as 1099 contractors to transport caregivers. As Solenvia scaled over the years, the caregiver transportation model had to evolve with the company's growth, Dylewski said. Solenvia purchased company cars to create a 15-vehicle internal fleet.” source
- What they said 2026 “I learned the real issue of caregiver reliability started with transportation. A lot of caregivers that are in the marketplace are limited to one vehicle or don't even have a vehicle or have a vehicle that is not reliable.” source
- What they did 2026 “It rebranded as Solenvia in January 2026 and began franchising that year.” source
- Kevin Smith, Best of Care, Quincy MA owner, United States
The second-generation owner moved private-pay home care into on-site preferred-provider offices inside independent living communities, selling short visits with no minimums on the back of the firm's Medicaid short-shift workforce.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Smith shared insights from his 18-year career with the company and highlighted its growth from a small, family-owned business established in 1981 to a significant operation with over 600 employees and 1,500 clients.” source
- What they did 2025 “Home care provider Best of Care is building out its preferred provider partnership roster, recently sealing its fifth relationship with an independent living community.” source
- What they said 2025 “Our employees were accustomed to working short shifts for Medicaid before we expanded our private pay business. That mindset and approach influenced how we schedule and provide private pay services.” source
- What they said 2025 “That drove and informed many of the decisions I have made and have been making since I took on ownership and total leadership of the company from a directional standpoint.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya does not appear in the Disrupt (HHCN), Transform (SHN) or Elevate (Hospice News) RSS feeds 2023-2026 or in the 62 BHB podcast posts; these outlets
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke does not appear in the Disrupt (HHCN), Transform (SHN) or Elevate (Hospice News) RSS feeds 2023-2026 or in the 62 BHB podcast posts; these outlets co
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani does not appear in the Disrupt (HHCN), Transform (SHN) or Elevate (Hospice News) RSS feeds 2023-2026 or in the 62 BHB podcast posts; these outlets
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie does not appear in the Disrupt (HHCN), Transform (SHN) or Elevate (Hospice News) RSS feeds 2023-2026 or in the 62 BHB podcast posts; these outlets c
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan does not appear in the Disrupt (HHCN), Transform (SHN) or Elevate (Hospice News) RSS feeds 2023-2026 or in the 62 BHB podcast posts; these outlet
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler does not appear in the Disrupt (HHCN), Transform (SHN) or Elevate (Hospice News) RSS feeds 2023-2026 or in the 62 BHB podcast posts; these outlet
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest does not appear in the Disrupt (HHCN), Transform (SHN) or Elevate (Hospice News) RSS feeds 2023-2026 or in the 62 BHB podcast posts; these outlet
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard does not appear in the Disrupt (HHCN), Transform (SHN) or Elevate (Hospice News) RSS feeds 2023-2026 or in the 62 BHB podcast posts; these outlet
Route 290: Independent service firms: Staffing and workforce firm founder interviews
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from The Staffing Show, Staffing Industry Analysts interviews and ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner profiles 2023 to 2026, founder or owner-led staffing firms of 50 or more internal staff.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The sources are open (the Staffing Show Castos RSS feed lists 163 episodes back to 2018 and staffinghub.com episode pages have full transcripts, 200 with --text; the wurknow Humans of Staffing index is 200), but after 29 logged fetches and 11 searches the route yields 0 new people who fit the profile. Episode guests from 2023 to 2026 are mostly vendors (Ringover, Leoforce, Staffing Engine), franchisors and franchise staff (Express, NEXTAFF, AtWork), consultants, or leaders of sub-50-staff boutiques (Wayward Medical, CareTeam Solutions, First Staffing Group, TLC Nursing). The large-firm guests fail control: Shift Fillers (number one on SIA's 2026 fastest-growing list) has been majority owned by Raise since August 2023 and its guest is a chief visionary officer; Jackson Healthcare's AI rollout and specialization strategy are voiced by President Shane Jackson while founder Richard Jackson remains chairman and CEO; HardHat's automation is voiced by a director of operations. The founder guests who do fit (Justin Clarke, Tana Greene, Tim Glennie, Brandon Metcalf, Dan Pollock) are already in output/candidates.json from S-96, S-137, S-169 and S-211. staffingindustry.com (SIA interviews, Staffing 100) stays 403 and ClearlyRated winner profiles are award releases without dated changes, so they serve only as search indexes.
Sources: staffingindustry.com, podcast transcript pages, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- podcast feed through The Staffing Show Castos RSS (thestaffingshow.castos.com/feed) gives episode with guest name, title and firm (joined on episode slug)
- episode through staffinghub.com episode page with transcript gives guest role, firm, and own words on a change (joined on guest name + firm)
- firm through WebSearch over SIA list snippets and firm newsroom gives ownership and control (PE, parent, founder) (joined on firm name)
- change through second page (firm newsroom, wire reprint) gives confirmation of the change (joined on firm + product or model name)
- firm through firm about or leadership page, 2025-2026 gives internal headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner, not a US staffing leader; surname absent from the 163-item Staffing Show feed and every episode and Humans of Staffing receipt.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and not a staffing firm; Nadella absent from all route receipts.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is public and Swiss; absent from all route receipts.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian; absent from all route receipts.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a product company, not a staffing firm; absent from all route receipts.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software; absent from all route receipts.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is public and Indian; absent from all route receipts.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a staffing firm; absent from all route receipts.
Route 291: Independent service firms: Best workplaces in professional services
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Fortune and Great Place to Work Best Workplaces in Consulting and Professional Services and Best Small and Medium Workplaces 2023 to 2026, privately held US service firms.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The spine is public and pullable: greatplacetowork.com/best-workplaces/consulting/<year> returns 200 with fetch.mjs --text for 2024, 2025 and 2026, about 75 rows per year (top large firms plus the 50 small and medium firms) with name, industry and city, linked to certified-company profiles. The guessed paths /consulting-and-professional-services/<year> and /small-and-medium/2025 return 404. But as a source of NEW independent service firm leaders it yields 0 counted people in 14 fetch attempts and about 20 searches. Of the roughly 120 distinct firms across three years, ten already map to people in output/candidates.json (FBT Gibbons, Barge, Ryan, Jobot, SSOE, Sendero, LBMC, Springline/MarksNelson, Mike Morse Law Firm, Withum), the large rows are Big Four, public or over 5,000 staff (Accenture, Deloitte, PwC, Robert Half, Insperity, Huron, Kforce, Kimley-Horn), several are sponsor-held (Harvest Group took MountainGate Capital money in March 2026, Schellman, CohnReznick, West Monroe, Sikich), and for the remaining private firms the voiced change is a vendor tool rollout told in a vendor case study (Plante Moran with Thomson Reuters CoCounsel), an AI service line voiced by partners rather than the leader (Withum's withum.ai) or an AI program led by a staff officer (Freese and Nichols). The one live lead, Paul Daversa (Daversa, AI-first rebuild, March 2026), is told only in Business Wire releases that return 403 direct and through Jina, and rests on a paid-entry award. Workplace rankings select for employee sentiment, not redesign.
Sources: greatplacetowork.com list profiles, firm newsrooms, regional press
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list year through Fortune / Great Place to Work Best Workplaces in Consulting & Professional Services gives firm (joined on firm name + city)
- firm through WebSearch over firm newsroom, trade press, prnewswire/businesswire gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name)
- change through firm newsroom or release gives leader who controls the firm and their own words (joined on firm name + CEO/founder title)
- leader through second page (trade press, award, case study) gives confirmation of change (joined on person name + firm)
- firm through GPTW certified-company profile or firm site gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; not a US consulting or professional services firm, not on any of the three list years.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; the list is US-only. Not in the receipts.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software firm; not on the list.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public software, not a professional services workplace list entry.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer; not in the consulting list.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma firm; not on the list.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; not on the list.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software; not on the list.
Route 292: Independent service firms: B Corp service firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the B Lab directory of certified B Corporations in the US, professional services, consulting, marketing, staffing and care categories, firms of 50 or more people.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The bcorporation.net directory named in the route is 403 to fetch.mjs in every form tried (filtered search, --jina, company profiles, sitemap). The working substitute is B Lab US and Canada's own category listicles on usca.bcorporation.net plus firm-issued 'certified B Corp' releases. Most listed marketing and consulting B Corps are tagged Small Business (under 50 staff). The in-band seam is B Corp CPA and advisory firms, which yielded two leads (AAFCPAs, BPM); a third (Sensiba) failed because its change was led by a predecessor who has stepped down. Two of three, refine.
Sources: bcorporation.net directory, firm newsrooms, trade press
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- category through B Lab US and Canada blog listicles (usca.bcorporation.net), firm 'Certified B Corp' releases found by WebSearch; bcorporation.net directory is 403 gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom (aafcpa.com, bpm.com) gives dated change (joined on firm domain)
- dated change through firm newsroom and trade press (Accounting Today) gives leader own words (joined on leader name)
- leader through firm about page, legacy.vault.com profile gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Carla McCall, AAFCPAs (Westborough and Boston MA; independently owned CPA and consulting firm, 350+ staff, Certified B Corp) executive, United States
Managing partner of an independent New England CPA firm who has moved audit, tax and outsourced accounting work onto AI and robotic process automation and built an RPA advisory line for clients.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Carla is the Managing Partner of AAFCPAs, a leading 350-person CPA and consulting firm based in New England, and Chair of the AICPA.” source
- What they did 2024 “In this capacity, Ryan collaborates with clients to identify and implement RPA solutions, streamlining processes and enhancing efficiency by eliminating repetitive tasks.” source
- What they said 2025 “Our approach to technology is grounded in real business value, whether that means increasing efficiency, simplifying complexity for our clients, or giving our team more time to focus on higher-value work,” explained Carla McCall” source
- What they did 2025 “Her leadership at AAFCPAs has guided the firm’s transformation, offering you a glimpse into the innovative solutions—from robotic process automation to outsourced CFO services—that you can leverage to stay ahead of industry changes.” source
- What they said 2024 “She remains focused on attracting young talent to the field and helping accountants leverage emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to stay ahead.” source
- Nick Steiner, BPM LLP (San Francisco; partner-owned, independent, about 1,200 staff, Certified B Corp) ceo, United States
New CEO of an independent top-35 CPA firm who is automating basic audit and tax staff work and launched an AI consulting line to compete with PE-backed rivals without taking PE money.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Nick Steiner is Chief Executive Officer of BPM, one of the top 35 largest accounting and advisory firms in the U.S.” source
- What they did 2026 “BPM recently began an AI consulting service line where it's helping clients with their AI adoption. "That's been very well received by our clients," said Steiner.” source
- What they said 2026 “The idea is really to try to automate a lot of the more basic work, free our team up to spend more time with clients, to focus on more complicated issues, to really focus more on the judgment areas” source
- What they did 2026 “Whether you’re ready for simple automation or sophisticated AI agents, contact BPM today to discuss how we can transform your outsourced accounting or professional services operations.” source
- Tom Sulewski, Clark Nuber PS (Bellevue WA; independent CPA and consulting firm, 300+ professionals, Certified B Corp since 2025) ceo, United States
President and CEO of an independent Seattle-area CPA firm that rebuilt its client accounting services practice around an automation-first model, moving roles to exception-based review and shifting capacity to advisory work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “President and CEO Tom Sulewski said, “The B Lab Standards strongly align with the principles on which Clark Nuber is built.” source
- What they did 2026 “The firm redesigned how CAS work moves through the organization around the new platform, restructuring roles toward exception-based review, redirecting capacity toward advisory work and building new standard operating procedures around automation.” source
- What they did 2026 “Clark Nuber received the award for reimagining its Client Accounting Services (CAS) practice around an automation-first operating model, which involved redesigning workflows and standardizing processes in order to shift team capacity toward higher-value advisory services.” source
- What they said 2026 “As the accounting profession continues to evolve, we remain focused on combining deep expertise with technology that allows our professionals to spend more time delivering the strategic guidance our clients value most.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a Certified B Corp, but it is a product company (apparel), outside the professional services, consulting, marketing, staffing and care categories t
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is in Brazil and not a US B Corp service firm; out of route scope. (Ricardo Semler)
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; not a B Corp service firm. (Andrew Forrest)
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and not a B Corp; route excludes it. (Satya Nadella)
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public, Canadian, not a B Corp service firm. (Tobi Lutke)
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is public and Indian; out of scope. (Mukesh Ambani)
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not in the service categories; no B Corp service listing surfaced. (Hamdi Ulukaya)
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software, not a B Corp service firm. (Aaron Levie)
Route 293: Independent service firms: AI vendor customer stories from mid-size service firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from customer stories on Microsoft (Copilot), Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Cloud, Harvey, Thomson Reuters CoCounsel, Karbon and Canopy sites that name a privately held US service firm of 50 to 5,000 people and quote its leader.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Thirteen vendor index and story fetches (Harvey, Thomson Reuters legal and tax, Karbon, Canopy, Microsoft, Claude, OpenAI) and 17 vendor-restricted searches gave no new US independent service firm leader who passes the profile. Vendor stories fail in four repeating ways. (1) The quoted voice is a staff officer, not the controlling leader: BPM's firmwide Copilot story quotes its COO, Burke's quotes its CTO, DarrowEverett's Harvey story quotes its chief administrative officer, and Harris, Hardy & Johnstone's CoCounsel case study quotes a principal. (2) Size: Karbon, Canopy and Thomson Reuters tax stories are mostly practices of 1 to 50 people (Forde Firm 12, Jansen 8, GSA 4 to 10, sole practitioners), while Microsoft and OpenAI pick firms of 10,000+ (BPM, Crowe, Kimley-Horn, KPMG, PwC). (3) Ownership: Armanino, Platform Accounting Group and Schellman are PE-backed. (4) The in-band, leader-voiced law firm stories (FMG, Zarwin Baum, Stinson, Foley Hoag, Davis Wright Tremaine, LPHS) are already in candidates.json from S-104, S-132 and S-178. The leader-voiced quotes that remain describe buying software (Karbon at HD Growth Partners), not a costly redesign of the work.
Sources: vendor customer-story pages, firm newsrooms, trade press
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- vendor through vendor customer-story index or vendor-restricted WebSearch gives customer firm (joined on firm name in story title)
- customer firm through story body (quoted person, title, ORGANIZATION SIZE field on Microsoft pages) gives quoted person (joined on name and title in quote attribution)
- quoted person through output/candidates.json and firm site gives leader who controls the firm (joined on person name plus firm)
- leader through firm newsroom or trade press gives second page confirming the change (joined on firm name plus change noun)
- firm through firm about page or dated 2025-2026 source gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; the route keeps only US privately held service firms of 50 to 5,000 people.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company, outside the route's universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a service firm, and appears in none of the vendor story sets read.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company, outside the universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a product company; no vendor AI story in scope.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software vendor, not a mid-size service firm customer.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is the vendor in this route, not a customer firm; public and far above the size band.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner, outside the universe.
Route 294: Independent service firms: Vistage and EO member CEO stories
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Vistage, Entrepreneurs Organization and YPO public member stories, CEO of the year awards and chapter spotlights 2023 to 2026, owner-led service firms.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Second test of peer-group member stories (after S-90, invalidated 2026-10-06) using seams S-90 did not try: Vistage Impact and Leadership Award press releases on firm newsrooms and wire reprints, the YPO 2025 year-in-review member stories, EO chapter spotlights and the Vistage A Life of Climb podcast feed via the iTunes lookup API. Ten receipts and seven searches gave 0 people who fit the independent service firm profile. Award releases are growth and tenure blurbs written by the firm (Lerch Bates: hired CEO of an ESOP firm with a majority-independent board and an undated 'digital transformation'; Office Beacon: 5,500 staff offshore; Revere Control: sold to SJE in 2024; Intradiem: software, co-CEO). YPO's AI member story is a Zurich-based founder. EO chapter spotlights did not surface in search. The podcast has 20 episodes, all growth stories. No receipt carries a dated costly change to how the work is done in the leader's own words. Retire this route.
Sources: vistage.com, eonetwork.org, regional press, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- peer group award or member story through Vistage award releases, YPO CEO Insights, Vistage podcast gives member CEO and firm (joined on firm name in release)
- firm through firm site or dated 2025-2026 source gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm domain)
- firm through firm newsroom or trade press gives dated change in how work is done, leader's own words (joined on firm name plus change type)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan does not appear in any of the 10 Vistage, YPO and EO receipts (grep of every saved file). These sources profile members who lead small and midsiz
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard does not appear in any of the 10 Vistage, YPO and EO receipts (grep of every saved file). These sources profile members who lead small and midsiz
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella does not appear in any of the 10 Vistage, YPO and EO receipts (grep of every saved file). These sources profile members who lead small and midsize
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler does not appear in any of the 10 Vistage, YPO and EO receipts (grep of every saved file). These sources profile members who lead small and midsiz
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke does not appear in any of the 10 Vistage, YPO and EO receipts (grep of every saved file). These sources profile members who lead small and midsize fi
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani does not appear in any of the 10 Vistage, YPO and EO receipts (grep of every saved file). These sources profile members who lead small and midsize
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest does not appear in any of the 10 Vistage, YPO and EO receipts (grep of every saved file). These sources profile members who lead small and midsiz
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie does not appear in any of the 10 Vistage, YPO and EO receipts (grep of every saved file). These sources profile members who lead small and midsize f
Route 295: Independent service firms: Business journal innovation and Fast 50 awards
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from regional business journal Fast 50, Innovation Awards and Best of Business winners 2023 to 2026 across US metros, privately held service firms.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Award lists as the starting step do not find independent service firms with a leader-voiced redesign. Across four attempts, about 300 honorees on 9 fetchable lists were screened: Utah Business Fast 50 2024 and 2025, Crain's Cleveland Fast 50 2025 PDF, BizTimes Future 50 2026, Smart Business Smart 50 (Pittsburgh 2024, NE Ohio 2024 and 2025, Columbus 2025 and 2026), plus firm honoree releases from bizjournals Fast 50 lists, which are 403. The in-band service honorees fail on control (eAssist: Henry Schein 70% since 2021; Tech9: Tesani portfolio; MarshBerry: Lincoln International 2025; Bold Orange: Beringer; Imaginuity: Calise Partners) or show only growth and acquisitions (Group Management Services, Osborn, Taazaa). The one counted name (Tindall) came from a regional journal's own reporting, not from an award list. The awards measure growth, not change.
Sources: bizjournals.com where fetchable, regional business press, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- metro award list through regional business journal Fast 50 / Innovation Awards via firm-issued honoree releases (bizjournals.com is 403) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through regional business journal article on the firm (hartfordbusiness.com, 200 with --text, full body in HTML despite Subscriber Only) gives dated change + leader (joined on firm name)
- leader through firm newsroom via WordPress REST API search on the leader surname gives leader quote + second page on the change (joined on leader surname)
- firm through firm about page / newsroom release gives control, headcount (joined on firm domain)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above 5,000 staff; never on a regional private-company Fast 50 or metro innovation award list.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a retailer and manufacturer outside the regional Fast 50 frame; no honoree release in this source.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil; route is US metro business journals only.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia; route is US metro business journals only.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada, and Shopify is public; out of scope for US private-company awards.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India; Reliance is public; out of scope.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland; Novartis is public; out of scope.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer above the band, not a service firm; no Fast 50 or innovation award honoree release found in this source.
Route 296: Independent service firms: Accounting firm innovation lists
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Accounting Today Firms to Watch, Best Firms to Work For, INSIDE Public Accounting Best of the Best and CPA Practice Advisor innovation awards 2023 to 2026, firms of 50 or more people.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The named starting lists do not surface leader-voiced redesigns at independent US accounting firms. Accounting Today's 'Firms to Watch' page is a 2010 article with no firm names in its text and no current edition. CPA Practice Advisor Innovation Awards (2025) honor vendor products (4impactdata, Artifact, AuditFile, Bloomberg Tax, Fieldguide), not firms or their leaders. The IPA 2026 Best of the Best (75 rows with CEO/MP and revenue) and the AT 2025 and 2026 Best Midsized and Large Firms to Work For lists (57 and 62 rows with chief executive and staff) are good leader rosters, but earlier regional routes (S-87, S-103, S-117, S-131, S-145, S-163, S-191, S-205, S-233, S-247, S-261, S-275) already mined them, and the few unmined in-band independents (HCVT, Gursey Schneider, Abbott Stringham & Lynch, Novogradac) show only partner promotions, offices and rankings. National change-first searches on accountingtoday.com, cpapracticeadvisor.com and insidepublicaccounting.com returned vendors, PE-backed firms (Schellman flipped to Goldman Sachs Alternatives in 2026, Citrin Cooperman, Ascend) or firms already in candidates.json (Weaver, Bennett Thrasher, Grassi). Zero new names after 11 fetches and 11 searches.
Sources: accountingtoday.com, cpapracticeadvisor.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award or ranking list through IPA Best of the Best 2026; AT Best Firms to Work For 2025 and 2026; AT Firms to Watch; CPA Practice Advisor Innovation Awards 2025 gives firm plus CEO or MP (joined on firm name)
- firm through WebSearch on accountingtoday.com, cpapracticeadvisor.com, insidepublicaccounting.com, firm newsroom gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name plus change noun)
- change through firm newsroom or trade story quoting the leader gives leader own-words quote (joined on leader name)
- firm through trade M&A and PE stories, firm About page gives ownership and control check (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate owner; not on any US accounting list.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer owner; accounting lists do not cover him.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; out of scope for US accounting firm lists.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; not on US accounting lists.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software CEO; accounting lists cover only CPA firms.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining billionaire; out of scope.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public tech CEO; Microsoft appears only as a vendor in trade press, never as a listed firm.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel owner; not on US accounting lists.
Route 297: Independent service firms: Engineering and AEC innovation awards
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Zweig Group Best Firms to Work For and Hot Firm, ACEC Engineering Excellence and ENR regional Top Design Firms innovation stories 2023 to 2026, employee or family owned firms.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Award and ranking rosters (Zweig Hot Firm and Best Firms releases, ENR regional Design Firm of the Year profiles, ACEC EEA winners) name firms but carry growth, culture or project stories, not leader-voiced changes to how the work is done. The one counted name came from a leader quote inside the ENR 2026 Top 500 Design Firms story, followed to the firm newsroom. Works only as quote-first reading of ENR list stories, then the firm's own releases.
Sources: zweiggroup.com, acec.org, enr.com regional editions, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- annual ranking or award story through ENR Top 500 Design Firms story (2026), ENR regional Design Firm of the Year profiles, Zweig Hot Firm / Best Firms releases, ACEC EEA winners gives firm + leader quote (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom releases (age-se.com/?p=<id>) gives dated change (owned arm, vertical integration, AI build) + leader quote (joined on firm name)
- leader through release boilerplate and leadership page gives headcount, founder status, ownership form (PLLC, ESOP) (joined on firm domain)
- change through earliest firm release on the same move gives signal year (joined on firm name + acquired unit)
New names that passed every check
- Sanjay Agrawal, AG&E Associates, PLLC (AG&E Structural Engenuity; Dallas; structural engineering firm he founded in 2004; 350 staff, 11 offices; PLLC, no outside sponsor found) owner, United States
Founder-CEO of a Dallas structural engineering firm who pulled steel detailing and precast design, normally separate trades, into his own firm through a run of acquisitions so design and detailing ship as one package and construction schedules shorten.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Sanjay Agrawal, PE, SE , Chief Executive Officer and Founder of AG&E. Traditionally handled by separate firms, services such as structural design, steel detailing, and precast design are offered in-house by AG&E” source
- What they did 2023 “The acquisition of SDLLC and Balata represents the culmination of one of our long-term goals of providing structural design of steel buildings that is seamlessly integrated with structural steel detailing and fabrication packages.” source
- What they did 2026 “Traditionally handled by separate firms, services such as structural design, steel detailing, and precast design are offered in-house by AG&E, potentially shortening construction schedules by months.” source
- What they said 2026 “This integration gives our clients the ability to shorten construction schedules, making us a preferred partner,” says Agrawal” source
- Stephen DeSimone, DeSimone Consulting Engineering (New York; structural and multidisciplinary engineering firm founded 1969 by his father; 700+ staff; family-run PLLC/D.P.C.) owner, United States
Second-generation chairman and CEO of a family-run structural engineering firm who has bought detailing, BIM and modeling teams so engineering and detailing happen together in the design phase instead of at separate firms.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Vince stepped down as CEO in 2002, making way for his son, Stephen V. DeSimone.” source
- What they did 2023 “Through the acquisition of Dowco’s detailing and BIM services business, DeSimone can now more quickly deliver projects by bringing engineering and detailing into the design phase early,” said Stephen DeSimone, chairman and CEO of DeSimone Consulting Engineering D.P.C.” source
- What they did 2026 “Further deepening DeSimone's modeling and detailing expertise with the addition of the ESS team strengthens our ability to deliver integrated solutions and multidisciplinary engineering services to clients around the world.” source
- What they said 2023 “Together, we are building a global digital design and detailing team, which allows us to offer structural solutions for clients inclusive of design, detailing, BIM and virtual construction services.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not an engineering or AEC service firm, so it never appears on Zweig, ACEC or ENR design rosters.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and not an AEC design firm; out of the US roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not on AEC award lists.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; outside US AEC rosters.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not an AEC service firm.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software firm; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above the 5,000 cap; not an AEC firm.
Route 298: Independent service firms: Insurance agency innovation awards
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Insurance Journal and Insurance Business America innovation and agency awards, IIABA Best Practices agencies and Reagan Consulting coverage 2023 to 2026, privately held agencies and brokers.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Insurance agency innovation awards and IJ/IBA agency coverage 2023-2026 yield no new person who fits the independent service firm profile. Award winners are either too small (Valor, BluePrint Risk, McClain, Beacon, Lennox: under 50 staff), already in candidates.json (RIGHTSURE's Jeff Arnold, Foresight's Michael Cruz), subsidiaries without a controlling leader (Rate Insurance under its mortgage parent), PE platforms (High Street) or networks and carriers (Affordable American, Auto-Owners). The 2025 IJ AI features quote COOs (Relation, PE-owned), vendors (Applied, SuperAgent, Linqura) and association staff, not owners. The one sizeable family-owned firm with a dated costly change (H.W. Kaufman Group / Burns & Wilcox, $100M+ digital transformation) is voiced by the co-president, who sits under the controlling chairman and CEO, and the AI story page is an empty link-out. IJ Best Agencies to Work For 2025 is an email-gated PDF. 14 fetch attempts, about 14 searches. This repeats S-89 and S-167: the insurance agency seam is harvested.
Sources: insurancejournal.com, ibamag.com, independentagent.com, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award program or trade feature through Agent for the Future 2025, PIA National Awards 2025, Applied Pinnacle Awards 2025 (via IBA), Insurance Journal magazine features gives agency (joined on agency name)
- agency through award citation or trade feature text gives change to how the work is done (joined on agency name)
- agency through firm site leadership page or trade interview gives controlling leader and own words (joined on agency name plus leader title)
- leader through output/candidates.json gives new or already found (joined on surname plus firm)
- agency through firm site or dated 2025-2026 page (topworkplaces.com) gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on agency name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Not in this universe by construction: the route's sources (US insurance agency award pages and Insurance Journal / Insurance Business America agency coverage) l
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not in this universe by construction: the route's sources (US insurance agency award pages and Insurance Journal / Insurance Business America agency coverage) l
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not in this universe by construction: the route's sources (US insurance agency award pages and Insurance Journal / Insurance Business America agency coverage) l
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not in this universe by construction: the route's sources (US insurance agency award pages and Insurance Journal / Insurance Business America agency coverage) l
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not in this universe by construction: the route's sources (US insurance agency award pages and Insurance Journal / Insurance Business America agency coverage) l
- Missed Satya Nadella Not in this universe by construction: the route's sources (US insurance agency award pages and Insurance Journal / Insurance Business America agency coverage) l
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not in this universe by construction: the route's sources (US insurance agency award pages and Insurance Journal / Insurance Business America agency coverage) l
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not in this universe by construction: the route's sources (US insurance agency award pages and Insurance Journal / Insurance Business America agency coverage) l
Route 299: Independent service firms: Credit unions and member-owned financial co-ops
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from credit unions and other member-owned financial cooperatives with 50 to 5,000 staff whose chief executive announced a change to how members are served (AI in lending or service, branches or roles redesigned) 2023 to 2026, from CUToday, Credit Union Journal and CU Times.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. CUToday story pages and its site search, and American Banker's Credit Union Journal index (tag/cuj-content), fetch cleanly and name chief executives on dated, costly service-model changes: owned digital brands, a universal role and pay model, a four-day week. CU Times, CUInsight and fintechfutures are 403 or intermittent. AI stories mostly quote vendors, COOs, CFOs or CIOs, and many AI-forward credit unions are under 50 staff, so the working signal is a new owned digital brand or a role and pay redesign voiced by the CEO, not AI tools.
Sources: cutoday.info, cutimes.com, credit union newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- credit union trade press index through CUToday site search and Fresh Today pages; American Banker CUJ index (tag/cuj-content) gives credit union + dated service-model change (joined on credit union name)
- credit union through story body (CUToday, American Banker) gives chief executive quoted on the change (joined on credit union name + CEO title)
- change through second outlet or the credit union's own newsroom (cubroadcast.com/news, metrocu.org/blog) gives confirmation and own-words quote (joined on credit union name + product or program name)
- credit union through CauseIQ (state charters file 990s), Built In, Wikipedia infobox gives headcount, member-owned status, CEO tenure (joined on credit union name or EIN)
- program through earliest story on the same program gives signal year (joined on program name)
New names that passed every check
- Stephen Owen, First Entertainment Credit Union (and its digital brand CineFi) ceo, United States
Rebuilding a 60-year-old member-owned credit union for entertainment workers around a fully digital brand designed for variable, project-based income.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Stephen Owen, President and CEO of First Entertainment Credit Union and CineFi” source
- What they did 2026 “First Entertainment Credit Union has launched a new fully digital credit union for entertainment professionals in the Atlanta area.” source
- What they said 2026 “A lot of digital banks are built around predictable paychecks and traditional career paths. The experience has been designed with creatives in mind to make banking feel simpler and less stressful, not more complicated.” source
- What they did 2026 “CineFi is now available as the first fully digital credit union serving television, motion picture, music, gaming, content creation, and influencer professionals in Atlanta” source
- Robert Cashman, Metro Credit Union (Chelsea, Massachusetts) ceo, United States
Redesigning branch and contact-center work at a member-owned credit union around multi-skilled universal roles with a $50,000 pay floor and a four-day week option.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “it is crucial that we provide additional earning opportunities to our employee base, said Robert Cashman, President, and Chief Executive Officer.” source
- What they did 2022 “As of July 1, 2022, Metro places all incoming non-management branch and contact center employees into newly defined roles.” source
- What they did 2023 “Under the four-day work week model, eligible employees can work four 10-hour days at a Metro office, allowing employees one day off per five-day work week.” source
- What they said 2022 “By offering resources and training employees need to master new skills, we not only uplevel our entire organization, but also impact the career trajectory of qualified individuals across the Credit Union.” source
- April Clobes, Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU; digital brands AlumniFi and Collegiate) ceo, United States
Splitting a member-owned university credit union into standalone digital brands built for each life stage (students, then graduates) rather than one generic account.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In March 2015, after 41 years with MSUFCU, Patrick McPharlin retired as president and CEO, and was succeeded by April Clobes.” source
- What they did 2023 “MSU Federal Credit has launched AlumniFi , a digital credit union designed to maintain relationships with graduates of Michigan State University.” source
- What they said 2023 “The transition from student to graduate is one of the biggest in an individual's life. The change in the way they need to manage their finances is real, and many may be doing it for the first time on their own” source
- What they did 2025 “AlumniFi, the digital banking platform of Michigan State University FCU, has expanded its partnership with the United Soccer League's Detroit City Football Club” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and energy billionaire; not a credit union leader, never appears in CUToday or CUJ.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chairman; outside the US credit union universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company CEO; credit union trade press does not cover him as a credit union leader.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public commerce company CEO; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public tech company CEO; may appear as a vendor in AI stories but never as a credit union chief executive.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; outside the universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Owner of an apparel company; not a credit union.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Owner of a food company; not a financial cooperative.
Route 300: Independent service firms: Mutual and reciprocal insurers
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from policyholder-owned mutual and reciprocal insurers with 50 to 5,000 staff (not stock companies) whose chief executive changed how claims, underwriting or service work is done 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The mutual and reciprocal insurer universe is real and pullable, but trade press quotes CIOs, transformation officers and other staff officers on AI far more than the CEO. CEO-voiced dated changes came from long-form CEO interviews on iireporter.com, carrier newsrooms and the medical professional liability mutuals, where a CEO launch of a new claims-defense model gave the third name; 3 names in about 26 fetches.
Sources: Insurance Journal, Carrier Management, Best's News, insurer newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- mutual or reciprocal carrier through Insurance Innovation Reporter CEO interviews (iireporter.com), Carrier Management, Insurance Business gives CEO quote on a dated change (joined on carrier name)
- CEO quote through carrier newsroom or company history page gives second page confirming the change (joined on carrier domain)
- carrier through carrier about pages, coverager.com appointment items gives CEO role, mutual ownership, start date (joined on carrier name plus CEO name)
- change through earliest dated item on the change (RFP, contract, hire) gives signal year (joined on carrier name plus project name)
New names that passed every check
- Bob Otis, Mutual of Enumclaw Insurance Company (Enumclaw, Washington; 128-year-old policyholder-owned regional property and casualty mutual) ceo, United States
A turnaround CEO of a regional mutual who restructured product and underwriting, hired an outsider CIO to leap rather than patch legacy systems, and put Claude in every employee's hands so AI does the conversion, data and analysis work that a small carrier could not afford before.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In April 2025, we welcomed Bob Otis as our new President and CEO.” source
- What they did 2026 “We have restructured our Product and Underwriting functions to focus on building deep and current capabilities that ensure we have the best processes and products while deepening our relationships with our members and our distribution partners” source
- What they did 2026 “Otis says Mutual of Enumclaw has given employees access to Claude, with the expectation that they learn how to use it.” source
- What they said 2026 ““I believed, and we talked as an organization, that the advantage of being so far behind is that you didn’t have to actually incrementally move,” Otis says.” source
- Grant D. Ward Sr., Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company (Canton, Massachusetts; national mutual life insurer owned by its policyholders, founded 1891) ceo, United States
A mutual life insurer's new CEO who is replacing a legacy model that made customers adapt to the carrier with BML Connect, a self-service quote-to-policy platform with straight-through processing, and asks employees to change how they work around it.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “has named Grant D. Ward Sr., JD, as its next CEO and President, effective January 1, 2026.” source
- What they did 2026 “Today, that spirit continues through our ongoing modernization efforts, including the rollout of BML Connect , our online policy administration platform designed to make it easier and simpler for Boston Mutual Life broker partners and customers to do business and manage policies.” source
- What they said 2026 ““We have forced the customers to adapt to the way we operate,” says Ward, President and CEO, Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company” source
- What they said 2026 ““We have to adjust our mindset, we have to adjust the way we work,” he says.” source
- Neil Morrell, MagMutual Insurance Company (Atlanta, Georgia; the largest US mutual medical professional liability carrier, owned by its PolicyOwners) ceo, United States
The CEO of a physician-owned malpractice mutual who rebuilt how the carrier defends claims, replacing attorney-only defense with a seven-discipline in-house defense organization (jury consultants, psychologists, data scientists, negotiation strategists) under a new Chief Defense Officer.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““Stephanie’s expertise and vision will be pivotal in advancing MagMutual’s mission to redefine the way we protect our policyholders,” said Neil Morrell, CEO of MagMutual.” source
- What they did 2025 “today announced the launch of MyDefense , a new model in malpractice defense that integrates legal, analytical and emotional support to deliver comprehensive protection for healthcare providers facing malpractice claims.” source
- What they said 2025 ““We built MyDefense to go beyond legal representation. Our PolicyOwners now have a team that delivers full-spectrum support from the moment a claim is filed.” – Neil Morrell, CEO of MagMutual.” source
- What they did 2026 “A newly launched revolutionary, seven-discipline malpractice defense model surrounds PolicyOwners with coordinated support, including attorneys, jury specialists and negotiation strategists, from the moment a claim is reported.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not a mutual or reciprocal insurer.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate, not a US mutual insurer.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public Canadian software.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and not an insurer.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss drug maker.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not an insurer.
Route 301: Independent service firms: Translation and language service firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Slator LSP Index and Nimdzi 100 US-based privately held language service providers with 50 or more staff that rebuilt their work around AI 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Works after a change: the Slator LSPI table is a paid spreadsheet and slator.com search is 403, so the spine is the free Nimdzi 2026 preliminary 100 table (US rows) plus firm newsrooms and slatorpod.com show notes. 3 founder-led private US LSPs with dated 2025-2026 owned-AI platform or model moves.
Sources: slator.com, nimdzi.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- language industry through Nimdzi 2026 preliminary 100 (public table with country) plus Slator Inc. 5000 roundup gives US LSP firm (joined on firm name)
- US LSP firm through Slator and Inc. roundup notes on PE ownership and acquisitions gives privately held, founder or employee controlled firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom (launch releases) and SlatorPod show notes gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name)
- change through second page: rebrand release, Nimdzi LIVE interview transcript gives leader own words (joined on leader name)
- leader through firm about or team page gives role, founding, ownership (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Mohamed Hussein, Piedmont Global (formerly Piedmont Global Language Solutions, PGLS; Arlington, Virginia; founder-led, certified minority-owned; 2025 revenue 55.0 million USD per the Nimdzi 2026 preliminary ranking) owner, United States
An interpreter-founder who is turning a language services vendor into what he calls a Strategic Globalization Organization, with an owned platform that runs human and AI interpreting in one delivery model.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In 2013, Mohamed Hussein, a first-generation Somali American and seasoned interpreter, founded Piedmont Global” source
- What they did 2026 “Connexus responsibly consolidates human and AI interpretation within a single delivery model: Over-the-Phone Interpretation (OPI), Video Remote Interpretation (VRI), Onsite Interpretation (OSI), and the real-time Speech-to-Speech AI Interpreter – all in one browser-based platform” source
- What they said 2025 “For too long, our industry has been seen as the last mile. Piedmont Global flips that script. We embed earlier in the value chain, aligning the people, capabilities, and strategies to unlock growth and impact. This isn’t about words or workflows anymore; it’s about transforming how organizations connect, decide, and de” source
- Sean Hopwood, Day Translations (founded 2007; bootstrapped, founder-owned language solutions integrator; staff in 30+ countries and 10K+ linguists per its 2026 team page) owner, United States
A founder who keeps his translation firm independent while moving its workflows onto AI and building its own large language model, with explicit rules for which work stays human.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Sean Hopwood Chief Executive Officer & Founder “My love for languages was the guiding light in the creation of Day Translations” source
- What they did 2026 “He explains why human expertise remains central as the LSI adopts AI across its workflows, develops its own large language model for enterprise and government procurement, and plans to commercialize these capabilities while continuing to invest in technology.” source
- What they said 2026 “For something more technical or repetitive, such as a video game with many screens and repeated text, we might use machine translation and MTPE. And if we have a very large project for a client with a more limited budget, we may use AI translation with post-editing because it gives the client a more affordable option.” source
- Frank Wei, MultiLingual Technologies Inc. (MLT; Santa Clara, California; founded 2012; 51-200 employees on its LinkedIn profile per a Sept 2026 profile, exact headcount unverified; founder-led, no outside owner found) owner, United States
A translator-founder who moved his firm's own translation production onto an owned AI drafting and second-model QA platform, with linguists reviewing inside the workflow.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founders Frank Wei (Founder and CEO) Team size 51-200 employees on the company LinkedIn profile; exact current headcount unverified.” source
- What they did 2026 “On May 29, 2026, MLT announced BabelBee, a document translation platform that uses AI for an initial draft and a different model for quality checking. Its launch description says questionable segments enter a workflow for linguist review.” source
- What they did 2026 “BabelBee.ai produces an AI draft with an automated second-model QA pass, and our linguists review and approve before delivery.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya US food maker (Chobani), not a language service provider; not on the Nimdzi or Slator LSP rosters this route walks.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial and education owner; not a US language service provider.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; outside the LSP roster and fails US and private tests.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy; not an LSP.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard US outdoor apparel; not a language service provider.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software CEO; not an LSP.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; not an LSP.
- Missed Satya Nadella US public software CEO; Microsoft is a translation buyer and tool maker, not a ranked LSP.
Route 302: Independent service firms: Security and facility services firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from SIA and Security Magazine rankings of privately held US guarding and integration firms, and BSCAI building service contractors, 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. The named rosters (Security Magazine annual guarding reports, SDM Top Systems Integrators, BSCAI member stories) are open, but they quote VPs of Allied Universal and GardaWorld, PE-backed integrators, or owners talking about trends with no dated move. The one working seam was the guarding-company list commentary that breaks out technology revenue by firm, which pointed to a founder-led guard firm (Titan Protection) whose redesign is dated and voiced by the founder.
Sources: securitymagazine.com, bscai.org, sdmmag.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- annual list through Security Magazine Annual Guarding Report (list commentary by Security ProAdvisors) gives guard firm (joined on firm name)
- guard firm through trade and newswire coverage of the firm's technology move (unmannedairspace.info, GlobeNewswire reprints) gives dated change plus leader quote (joined on firm name + leader name)
- leader through second trade feature or firm release (autonomyglobal.co) gives headcount, founder status, own words (joined on leader name)
- drone vendor case study through flytbase.com case studies -> abc12.com local business news gives guard firm founder-CEO (joined on firm name + city)
New names that passed every check
- Ryan Smith, Titan Protection and Consulting (Overland Park, Kansas; founder-led guard and remote monitoring firm, 600+ employees) owner, United States
Replacing the legacy hourly guard model with a blended model where remote pilots fly automated drone patrols from one operations center alongside on-site officers.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, with a 5-Diamond UL-certified monitoring center, Titan delivers security solutions nationwide through a team of over 600 employees. Founded by former law enforcement officer Ryan Smith, the company combines superior people and technology to protect clients through integrated serv” source
- What they did 2024 “Titan Protection and Consulting, a security company based in Kansas City, has been granted a nationwide beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).” source
- What they did 2026 “We’ve already seen our drone-in-a-box deployments reduce costs by up to 60 percent compared to traditional guarding models, and one-to-many operations fundamentally transform the economics and reach of drone security.” source
- What they said 2025 “When Ryan Smith entered the security field in 1996, the sector seemed starkly divided. He explained, “You were either an integrator, deploying tech, or one of the ‘guards, gates, and guns’ crowd.”” source
- Dave Forystek, Premier Security Solutions (Flint and Burton, Michigan; founder-led guard and remote monitoring firm, about 1,200 to 1,400 guards) owner, United States
Turning a retired-police guard company into a remote-first operation: a bought and built global command center, camera trailers and autonomous dock drones that watch sites in real time alongside officers.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “A security company that employs retired police officers keeps watch at Mid-Michigan and Metro Detroit schools is expanding across the state and nation. Premier Security Solutions started in Flint back in 2013 and now has more than 1,200 guards deployed across the nation.” source
- What they did 2023 “Premier Security Solutions purchased the former ELGA Credit Union administration offices along Center Road in Burton. The new location will give Premier a space to build a state-of-the-art command center to provide cutting-edge live remote monitoring of clients' assets around the world.” source
- What they did 2025 “Premier Security has established itself as an industry innovator, evolving from traditional guard services to technology-enhanced security operations.” source
- What they said 2023 “It's more than just reactionary and going back and looking at what happened. We're watching it in real time and stopping it from happening in many cases," said CEO Dave Forystek.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Pharma CEO in Switzerland; not a US security or facility services firm, so absent from guarding and BSC rosters.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker, not a security or building services contractor.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; out of geography and sector.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; out of geography and sector.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer; not a service contractor.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian software CEO; out of sector.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public tech company CEO; the route excludes public firms.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software CEO; out of sector and ownership profile.
Route 303: Independent service firms: Independent veterinary and dental groups
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from privately held, doctor-owned veterinary and dental practice groups that are NOT private-equity backed, with 50 or more staff, 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Becker's Dental (the obvious spine) is 403 to fetch.mjs directly, via --jina and via its mail. subdomain, so the route was revised to start from AI-vendor customer releases that name a doctor-owned group (Overjet and Planet DDS releases reprinted on healthcaredive.com and aithority.com) and from doctor-owned DSO newsrooms (pepperpointe.com WordPress API), with the ADA News reprint of Group Dentistry Now's Emerging Dental Groups list as a roster. The veterinary half yields almost nothing: large US vet groups are PE or Mars owned, and the vet-owned ones (CityVet, MedVet) have hired CEOs.
Sources: Today's Veterinary Business, Dental Economics, Becker's Dental, group newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- dental AI and practice-software vendor releases; Group Dentistry Now Emerging Dental Groups list (ADA News reprint) through healthcaredive.com press releases, aithority.com Business Wire reprints, adanews.ada.org gives doctor-owned group named with founder (joined on group name)
- group name through group newsroom (WordPress /wp-json/wp/v2/posts) or second vendor release gives dated change to how the work is done plus leader quote (joined on group name plus leader name)
- leader name through second release or trade reprint (dentistrytoday.com) gives confirmation of change, size, ownership and control (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- James Willis, Willis & Associates Family Dentistry (Virginia; 25 locations; doctor-owned, no private equity) owner, United States
Running Virginia's largest doctor-owned dental group as an AI-first practice, with AI reading every X-ray chairside since 2023 and voice AI charting across 25 offices in 2026.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founded in 2012 by Dr. James Willis, Willis & Associates Family Dentistry has grown from a single practice into Virginia's largest doctor-owned dental group, with 25 locations across the Commonwealth. Built without private equity backing” source
- What they did 2026 “Overjet, the global leader in dental AI, today announced that Willis & Associates Family Dentistry, Virginia's largest doctor-owned dental group, is rolling out Overjet Voice across 25 locations.” source
- What they did 2023 “As a group with 14 locations and growing, Founder and CEO Dr. James Willis recognized the need for an innovative solution to streamline their imaging processes and improve patient care. They implemented Apteryx XVWeb with AI and saw immediate results with patients and staff.” source
- What they said 2023 “The AI capability is a game changer. We use it to show cavities and bone loss as we walk our patients through it.” source
- What they said 2026 “We don't scale technology across 25 offices because it demos well. We scale it because our teams pull it into their workflow and won't let go.” source
- Greg White, PepperPointe Partnerships (Lexington, KY; doctor-owned and doctor-controlled DSO, 115+ offices, 1,000+ team members) owner, United States
Building a doctor-owned alternative to private-equity DSOs in which practices self-consolidate into group practices that the doctors and the DSO's doctor partners own.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “PepperPointe stands apart from other dental service organizations in the fact that all practices, and the DSO itself, are owned and led by the doctor partners.” source
- What they did 2025 “PepperPointe's support in Virginia began in December 2022 with a group of like-minded orthodontists and pediatric dentists who chose to self-consolidate and create a Group Practice to protect their patients, teams, and families from external disruptions.” source
- What they said 2025 “Expansion provides PepperPointe with the ability to help supported practices enhance access to care and create more doctor ownership opportunities. This expansion is a key part of our commitment to shaping the future of dentistry” source
- What they did 2026 “The newly established positions — Vice President of Operational Support, Vice President of Financial Operations, and Vice President of Strategic Finance — reflect the organization’s continued growth and its commitment to providing exceptional support to their supported dental practices.” source
- What they said 2026 “As we step into 2026, my wish for our industry is simple, but not easy: that we stop reacting to the future and start owning it.” source
- Brad Hughes, Vision Dental Partners (Leo and Fort Wayne, Indiana; doctor-owned and doctor-led group of 9 practices) owner, United States
Founder-dentist running a doctor-owned partnership group that put FDA-cleared diagnostic AI into every one of its 9 practices as its single standard for diagnosis and patient communication.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Dr. Brad Hughes, the founder and CEO of Vision Dental Partners, “Overjet gives our doctors sharper data and stronger clarity, and it’s allowed the humans behind the technology to make a real difference.”” source
- What they did 2026 “Overjet, the global leader in dental AI, today announced that Vision Dental Partners has implemented Overjet’s Dental AI across its 9 locations in Indiana.” source
- What they said 2026 ““AI doesn’t replace a great clinician, it amplifies one.” said Dr. Brad Hughes, the founder and CEO of Vision Dental Partners,” source
- What they said 2026 “Doctor-Owned, Doctor-Led We’ve acquired and grown 9 dental practices by keeping doctors in the driver’s seat. Our model is built for dentists who want to lead, not lose control” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public commerce software in Canada, outside a US dental or veterinary practice route.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; never appears in dental or vet group sources.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company, not a doctor-owned practice group.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is apparel, not dental or veterinary care.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is food manufacturing, outside the route.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software, outside the route.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian industrial; not US and not a practice group.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian mining, outside the route.
Route 304: Independent service firms: Independent physician groups
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from physician-owned independent medical groups (not hospital or PE owned) with 50 to 5,000 staff, from AMGA, MGMA and Becker's coverage 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route as written (AMGA, MGMA and Becker's coverage) cannot run: Becker's sites are 403 to fetch.mjs, the AMGA independent group track has been harvested by S-94 and S-165, and eight region-titled physician-group routes have already been invalidated or stalled. Revised to start from a payment-model partner's newsroom instead: agilon health (NYSE: AGL) announces each independent physician group that moves its Medicare patients to a full-risk, value-based model, and each release quotes the group's CEO and states size and independence. agilonhealth.com/news/press-release/page/<n>/ lists every partner release from 2020 to 2026 (200 with --text). Three new names passed: Stephen Behnke (Lexington Clinic, KY), Benjamin Williard (Family Practice Center, PA) and Brandon Enfinger (Pinehurst Medical Clinic, NC). None of the 8 test on known people people is a physician-group leader, so all 8 miss.
Sources: beckersasc.com, beckershospitalreview.com, amga.org, group newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- payment-model partner (agilon health) through agilonhealth.com press-release archive, pages 1 to 6 gives independent physician group entering full risk (joined on group name in release title)
- independent physician group through partner release on agilonhealth.com (group CEO quoted, size and independence in boilerplate) gives leader and dated change (joined on group name plus 'said <Name>, chief executive officer')
- leader and change through second page: the group's own newsroom copy, the StockTitan Business Wire mirror, or a regional business journal gives confirmation of the change and date (joined on release date and group name)
- leader through group executive team page or a 2026 follow-on partner release gives current role, ownership line, headcount (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Stephen Behnke, Lexington Clinic (Lexington, Kentucky; independent multispecialty group founded 1920, 200+ physicians, staff of about 1,000) ceo, United States
Moving Kentucky's oldest independent physician group from fee-for-service to full financial risk for its Medicare patients.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Stephen J. Behnke, MD, MBA Chief Executive Officer Tharun Karthikeyan, MD Lexington Clinic Board Chair” source
- What they did 2023 “the trusted partner empowering physicians to transform health care in our communities, that will transition its primary care delivery system to a full-risk, value-based care model to enhance outcomes and quality of care for Central Kentucky Medicare patients beginning in 2024.” source
- What they said 2023 ““Partnering with agilon health is a natural fit for Lexington Clinic, where our mission is to constantly innovate and improve healthcare access for Kentuckians,” said Stephen J. Behnke, MD, MBA, chief executive officer, Lexington Clinic.” source
- Benjamin Williard, Family Practice Center, PC (Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania; central Pennsylvania's largest independent primary care physician group, 42 locations in 12 counties) ceo, United States
Keeping a large rural primary care group independent by taking full risk for its Medicare patients instead of selling to a health system.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““A value-based approach is the future of health care, and there is no better leader in this space than agilon health,” said Benjamin Williard , chief executive officer, Family Practice Center, PC.” source
- What they did 2023 “Starting in 2024, the partnership will transition FPC to a full-risk, value-based care model for Central Pennsylvania Medicare patients that will yield better outcomes for both patients and physicians.” source
- What they said 2026 ““Expanding our work with agilon gives our physicians more of the tools, insights and day-to-day support they need in an increasingly complex healthcare environment,” said Benjamin Williard, chief executive officer, Family Practice Center, PC.” source
- Brandon Enfinger, Pinehurst Medical Clinic (Pinehurst, North Carolina; locally owned and physician-led since 1952, 130+ providers, about 750 employees, 17 locations) ceo, United States
Redesigning primary care roles by training new nurse practitioners and physician assistants in-house for geriatric, value-based care.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Pinehurst Medical Clinic consists of over 130 providers, approximately 750 employees, and 17 locations.” source
- What they did 2023 “The 12-month post-graduate APP fellowship in primary care allows newly-graduated Nurse Practitioners (NPs) and Physician Assistants (PAs) to spend a transitional year establishing themselves as successful, well-rounded primary care providers” source
- What they said 2023 ““APPs are invaluable contributors to our care model and the overall PMC mission to provide the highest quality of care to the patients and communities we serve.”” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public software company in Canada; the route only reads independent US physician-group partner releases.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not a physician group, never in a payment-model partner release.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; outside the physician-group universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a clinical service firm.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is apparel; outside the universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; it appears in vendor releases but never as a physician group.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian miner; outside the universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian conglomerate; outside the universe.
Route 305: Independent service firms: Architecture and interiors firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Architect 50, Interior Design Giants and BD+C Giants 400 employee or partner owned US firms that changed how design work is done 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The BD+C Giants 400 architecture roundups are mostly internal tool adoption, hires and offices voiced by 'the firm'. The one counted name came from following a cross-trade acquisition (CannonDesign buying The Clarient Group) to a BD+C single-firm feature and a Bisnow deal story where the CEO explains the new business model. Revised to read only for cross-trade acquisitions and single-firm business-model features. Attempt 3 added a third name by re-reading the 2024 roundup's acquisition lines for a non-design target: GMB, an employee-owned education design firm, bought a higher-education marketing agency (2023) on top of a CEO-led Team of Teams restructure.
Sources: architectmagazine.com, interiordesign.net, bdcnetwork.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- BD+C Giants 400 architecture roundup through bdcnetwork.com 'What's new at the nation's largest architecture firms' gives firm with a dated change (joined on firm name)
- firm through bdcnetwork.com firm feature / bisnow.com deal story gives controlling leader and own words (joined on firm name + CEO name)
- leader through firm newsroom (cannondesign.com/news) gives second page confirming the change in the leader's words (joined on CEO name)
- firm through bisnow.com deal story gives headcount and ownership (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Brad Lukanic, CannonDesign (architecture, engineering and consulting; about 1,600 staff before adding Ennead in 2026; employee-owned) ceo, United States
Remaking an employee-owned design firm from three-year building projects into 30-year client relationships by adding owned smart-building, consulting and technology arms.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “CannonDesign is an employee-owned company, and Ennead’s existing and future partners will be able to gain a stake in the larger practice.” source
- What they did 2025 “Last April, CannonDesign merged with The Clarient Group, a smart-buildings consultant. "This merger strengthens our vision that defines human-led experiences and operational workflows that inform smart solution design," said Lukanic in a prepared statement.” source
- What they said 2025 “The traditional relationship between a design firm and a client was three years, which spanned design and construction of a single project. We want to build 30-year-to-forever relationships with our clients” source
- What they did 2026 “In addition to having various expertise under one roof, CannonDesign has tapped a team of coders to accelerate workflows.” source
- What they said 2026 ““We are very aware of private equity and family offices and have learned a great deal about that as a model over time, and we respect it,” Lukanic said. “For us, it's different. We want to grow a 100-year business that is for our next generation of people, and by that, we can invest in ourselves.”” source
- Christian Giordano, Mancini (formerly Mancini Duffy; national architecture, interiors and planning firm with six US offices; privately held by three co-owners) owner, United States
Rebuilding a 110-year-old architecture firm around an in-house R&D lab and its own patent-pending VR design software, now extended to AI integration roles.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “is reimagining the building industry with a progressive approach as president and co-owner of Mancini, an NYC-based architecture and design firm.” source
- What they did 2026 “The roles formalize years of investment in virtual reality, augmented reality and, in recent years, artificial intelligence, reinforcing the firm’s long-standing commitment to advancing how architecture is imagined, tested and delivered” source
- What they did 2020 “In 2020, Christian completely revolutionized the design process as the inventor of the patent-pending The Toolbelt, a software suite that allows users to explore and manipulate 3D models collaboratively to explore and make decisions together.” source
- What they did 2025 “He launched a research & development incubator–dubbed the Design Lab – which brings together designers, technologists, and clients to leverage technologies like VR, 3D Printing, Drones, Generative Design, and AI to break barriers limiting design capabilities.” source
- What they said 2026 ““Artificial intelligence presents a transformative and positive opportunity for our industry,” said Christian Giordano, president and co-owner of Mancini.” source
- David Bolt, GMB (Holland, Michigan; planning, architecture, engineering and marketing firm for schools and universities, founded 1968; 100% employee-owned; about 200 staff per Crain's Grand Rapids, 2025) ceo, United States
Turning an employee-owned education architecture and engineering firm into a non-hierarchical 'team of teams' and a full-service education company by buying a higher-education marketing agency.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “We are excited to welcome Richard L. Johnson Associates' team and clients to GMB," said David Bolt, President and CEO of GMB.” source
- What they did 2023 “By welcoming Up&Up into the GMB brand, we are redefining what a full-service education company can look like" said David Bolt, President and CEO of GMB.” source
- What they said 2023 “GMB is building a new kind of firm that more holistically impacts students and supports the success of educational institutions across the country.” source
- What they did 2020 “Over the last three years, Team of Teams has changed the way GMB builds teams, connects disciplines, develops regional offices, grows empathy and trust within a multi-generational workforce, and structures the business itself.” source
- What they did 2025 “The Richard L. Johnson Associates team will become part of GMB's Team of Teams structure, which encourages autonomy and responsibility over the traditional hierarchical business model. GMB is also a 100% employee-owned company.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Miss: Tobi Lutke does not lead an architecture or interiors firm, so the route's sources (BD+C Giants roundups, Interior Design Giants, firm newsrooms of design
- Missed Ricardo Semler Miss: Ricardo Semler does not lead an architecture or interiors firm, so the route's sources (BD+C Giants roundups, Interior Design Giants, firm newsrooms of de
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Miss: Hamdi Ulukaya does not lead an architecture or interiors firm, so the route's sources (BD+C Giants roundups, Interior Design Giants, firm newsrooms of des
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss: Aaron Levie does not lead an architecture or interiors firm, so the route's sources (BD+C Giants roundups, Interior Design Giants, firm newsrooms of desig
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Miss: Yvon Chouinard does not lead an architecture or interiors firm, so the route's sources (BD+C Giants roundups, Interior Design Giants, firm newsrooms of de
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Miss: Vas Narasimhan does not lead an architecture or interiors firm, so the route's sources (BD+C Giants roundups, Interior Design Giants, firm newsrooms of de
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss: Satya Nadella does not lead an architecture or interiors firm, so the route's sources (BD+C Giants roundups, Interior Design Giants, firm newsrooms of des
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Miss: Mukesh Ambani does not lead an architecture or interiors firm, so the route's sources (BD+C Giants roundups, Interior Design Giants, firm newsrooms of des
Route 306: Independent service firms: Home services and remodeling contractors
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Qualified Remodeler Top 500, ACHR News Top Contractors and Plumbing and Mechanical lists, family or founder owned, not PE backed, 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Partly works, revised. The trade lists named in the route are reachable, but the ACHR News 'Top Contractors' URL is 404, and the Qualified Remodeler Top 500 ranking is a list of names and revenue with no leader quotes. The usable seam is the Top 500 Profile series on qualifiedremodeler.com (about 12 owner profiles, 2025 to 2026), which quotes the owner at length and gives headcount and ownership. ACHR News family-business stories (keyword 11554) find independent owners (Bonfe's, 275 staff; 128 Plumbing, 170; Standard Heating, 87) but quote them on culture and refusing private equity, not on a dated change to the work. Two new names pass all gates. Nick Zindel of Zintex Remodeling Group (family-owned, 410 US staff), who moved from custom orders to stocked regional inventory and filed a $3.6 million owned office and warehouse with Texas TDLR in July 2026. The other profiled leaders run firms under 50 staff (Quartersawn, John F. Murphy, HartmanBaldwin), or their changes have no date (HIVEX, Blackdog). None of the 8 test on known people people is a home-services contractor, so all 8 miss. Attempt 2 added Scott Merritt, founder and CEO of Fire & Ice Heating and Air Conditioning (Columbus, Ohio, 55 staff). He wrote an ACHR News guest column in August 2024 on putting an AI customer service agent on the firm's phones and hiring fewer CSRs, so his own words come with the dated change. Remodeler, roofer and window-firm searches (QR, roofingcontractor.com, HIP 200) gave no in-band owner with a dated change.
Sources: qualifiedremodeler.com, achrnews.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade list (QR Top 500, ACHR News family-business and independence stories) through qualifiedremodeler.com Top 500 Profile series; achrnews.com keyword 11554 Family HVACR Business gives named independent firm and its leader (joined on firm name plus leader name in the profile byline line)
- firm and leader through same profile (the leader's own words on the change) gives dated change to how the work gets done (joined on firm name)
- change through second page: state construction filing (TDLR TABS), firm newsroom or local press gives dated costly action (joined on firm legal name and leader as owner contact)
- firm through Top Workplaces company page or firm about page gives headcount, family or founder ownership (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Nick Zindel, Zintex Remodeling Group (Lewisville, Texas; family-owned one-day bath and window remodeler founded 2001, 410 US employees, about 40 offices) owner, United States
Rebuilt a bath remodeler around stocked regional inventory so crews install within a week or two, and turned former installers into trainers.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Zindel has also resisted opportunities to sell the business, even as private equity interest has grown. Instead, he's focused on building a lasting organization and sharing its success.” source
- What they did 2026 “Estimated Cost: $3,644,481 Type of Work: New Construction Type of Funds: This project is privately funded, on private land for private use. Scope of Work: New construction office and warehouse” source
- What they said 2026 “So, we had to change the model and buy inventory upfront. This enabled us to install within a week or two.” source
- What they said 2026 “The guys who used to hammer nails for us, I don't need them doing that anymore,” source
- What they said 2026 “It's hard, but it's a joy. And I think there's still a lot ahead of us.” source
- Scott Merritt, Fire & Ice Heating and Air Conditioning Inc. (Columbus, Ohio; founder-owned residential HVAC installer and servicer, 55 staff in 2022, about $10 million revenue in 2024) owner, United States
Put an AI customer service agent on a residential HVAC firm's phones, booking calls straight into ServiceTitan, so the firm stops rehiring CSRs to keep up with call volume.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Merritt, who would later become the founder and CEO of Fire & Ice Heating and Air Conditioning Inc.” source
- What they did 2024 “Nina was an AI we implemented to handle our phone calls after hours and during busy periods when all live CSRs were occupied.” source
- What they said 2024 “We will always keep human CSRs because a personal touch is essential in a human-centric business. However, we won't need to hire new CSRs as frequently, thanks to AI.” source
- What they said 2022 “What we do here is we build the foundation, and we don't build the next level on top of that until we know that foundation is super strong.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not on the QR Top 500 or in ACHR News contractor coverage.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and energy; outside a US home-services list.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is apparel; not a remodeling or HVAC contractor.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software firm; not in these trade lists.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public software; outside the route.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer; not a home-services contractor.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; outside the route.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian conglomerate; outside the route.
Route 307: Independent service firms: Forbes and FT company lists, private service firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Forbes America's Best Midsize Employers and Best Small Companies, and Financial Times The Americas Fastest Growing Companies, privately held US service firms, 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Forbes America's Best Midsize Employers is an open JSON roster (forbesapi org list endpoint, 200, with CEO name, title, headcount, city, industry per row), but it starts at 1,000 US employees, so in-band service firms are large partnerships, ESOPs or family firms with hired CEOs. Forbes Best Small Companies returns 0 rows (and is a public-company list) and the FT Americas list is 403. Three attempts worked about 45 private service rows from the 2024 to 2026 rosters and produced one counted name (Lawless, Husch Blackwell). Attempt 3 inverted step 2 (search for the CEO's own quote first) across 11 more rows and found none; two leads failed ownership on 2025-2026 private equity deals (Insurance Office of America with Madison Dearborn, World Travel Holdings with Citation Capital). Stalls at 1 of 3.
Sources: forbes.com list pages, ft.com list pages where fetchable, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- Forbes America's Best Midsize Employers 2024-2026 through forbesapi org list JSON gives firm + CEO name + headcount + industry (joined on organizationName, ceoName)
- firm through filter: industry in services, country United States, not public, not PE, CEO not under a founder-chair; drop names in output/candidates.json gives in-band private service firm (joined on organizationName)
- firm through WebSearch '<firm> <CEO> AI OR launches said <surname>' then the firm newsroom gives dated change voiced by the CEO (joined on firm name + CEO surname)
- change through second firm release on a different change step gives second page confirming the change (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Jamie Lawless, Husch Blackwell (Kansas City and St. Louis; partner-owned national law firm, 1,000+ lawyers, 2,189 employees on the Forbes 2026 Best Midsize Employers row) executive, United States
The elected chief executive of a partner-owned law firm set up a firmwide Transformation Office to redesign its operating model, pricing and AI use, and built a wholly owned non-legal consulting arm.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The Transformation Office is designed to help us do that," said Jamie Lawless , Chief Executive of Husch Blackwell.” source
- What they did 2026 “National law firm Husch Blackwell today announced the creation of the Transformation Office, a new firmwide division that brings innovation, data science, artificial intelligence and transformation functions under unified leadership to accelerate technology adoption and drive process change at scale.” source
- What they said 2026 “As our firm continues to grow, we must ensure our operating model scales with us so we can achieve those goals.” source
- What they did 2025 “HBC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Husch Blackwell that provides non-legal business consulting services. Launched last year with an initial focus on the higher education sector” source
- What they said 2026 “Technology plays an essential role in how we deliver legal services, particularly in a firm with attorneys across the nation," said Jamie Lawless” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is on the 2026 roster with Hamdi Ulukaya as CEO (3,000 employees), but it is a food manufacturer, so the route's service-business filter drops it before
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian and public; not on a US employer roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public and does not appear on the 2024-2026 Best Midsize Employers rosters.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is on the 2025 and 2026 rosters but with Ryan Gellert as CEO, not Chouinard, and it is a retailer/maker, not a service firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is Indian and public; outside the US roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is Canadian and public; not on the roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss and public; not on the roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; not on a US employer roster.
Route 308: Independent service firms: Accounting Today Top 100 Most Influential: firm leaders
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from managing partners and CEOs named in Accounting Today's Top 100 Most Influential People 2023 to 2026 who lead firms of 50 to 5,000 people.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Accounting Today's Top 100 Most Influential People (2023 full list, 2024 and 2025 list and survey pages, 11 receipts, about 150 distinct named people) is a list of association heads, regulators, standard setters, consultants to the profession, software vendors, Big Four and Top 10 chiefs and PE-backed platform CEOs. Only two named leaders run a US service firm of 50 to 5,000 people without a controlling sponsor: Jeff Call (Bennett Thrasher), already in output/candidates.json, and Reyes Florez (Platform Accounting Group), a founder-CEO whose firm grows by acquisition with outside minority capital. Every other firm leader is over 5,000 staff (RSM, BDO, CLA, Deloitte, KPMG, Forvis Mazars), PE-controlled (Aprio, Sikich, Springline, Sorren, Prosperity, Ascend, Grant Thornton) or a sub-50 practice (Rosenberg Associates, McLaren, which also sold to AAFCPAs in January 2026). The 2026 list is not published until Dec. 8, 2026. A third attempt cannot raise the yield because the universe itself holds no more fits.
Sources: accountingtoday.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- annual list through Accounting Today Top 100 Most Influential People (list and survey pages) gives named person with title and organisation (joined on '- Name, title, Organisation' line after each quote)
- organisation through WebSearch plus firm or trade page gives size, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
- firm through Accounting Today news, wire mirrors (pulse2.com, thedigitalbanker.com), vendor interview pages gives dated change and leader quote (joined on firm name plus leader surname)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not an accounting figure; absent from every Top 100 receipt.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not an accounting figure, not US; absent from every Top 100 receipt.
- Missed Aaron Levie Software CEO outside accounting; absent from every Top 100 receipt.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Commerce software CEO, Canada; absent from every Top 100 receipt.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; absent from every Top 100 receipt.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO; absent from every Top 100 receipt.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer owner; absent from every Top 100 receipt.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining owner; absent from every Top 100 receipt.
Route 309: Independent service firms: Legal innovation awards: midsize firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from ILTA Innovative Law Firm, Legalweek Leaders in Tech Law and American Legal Technology Awards winners 2023 to 2026 that are US firms of 50 to 600 lawyers.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The award rosters are open and pullable (event.law.com Legalweek winners and finalists pages for 2024, 2025 and 2026; iltanet.org award releases; lawnext.com ALTA finalist posts), but almost every law-firm entry is an Am Law 100 firm or an individual staff technologist, not a firm leader. Only the individual Innovator of the Year category and small specialist firms (immigration, litigation boutiques) surface leaders who control a firm in the 50 to 600 lawyer band. Revised: read only the individual-leader category and specialist-firm finalists, then go to the firm newsroom.
Sources: iltanet.org, law.com where fetchable, lawsites.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award program through Legalweek Leaders in Tech Law, ILTA Distinguished Peer Awards, American Legal Technology Awards winner and finalist pages gives law firm or named individual (joined on firm name)
- law firm through firm newsroom award release (wshblaw.com/news-<slug>, wolfsdorf.com/<slug>/) gives change to how the work is done plus the leader (joined on firm name)
- leader through firm attorney bio page (wshblaw.com/professionals-<name>, wolfsdorf.com/lawyers/<name>/) gives role, founding and control (joined on person name)
- firm through firm about or services page, or a 2026 release boilerplate gives headcount (joined on firm name)
- leader through older firm newsroom event or release gives earliest redesign move (signal year) (joined on person name)
New names that passed every check
- Daniel Berman, Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman LLP (WSHB; Los Angeles-founded litigation defense firm, co-founded 1997, over 550 attorneys in more than 40 offices, partner-owned, all organic growth) owner, United States
Co-founder and executive chairman who rebuilt how a national defense firm prices and runs litigation, moving to portfolio-based alternative fees on performance data and putting generative and agentic AI into litigation workflows.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Dan Berman co-founded Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman in 1997 with three partners and a conviction that the defense bar was ready for reinvention. As Executive Chairman, Dan has spent nearly three decades driving large-scale strategy and operational growth.” source
- What they did 2026 “He has led the firm's shift toward large-scale, portfolio-based alternative fee arrangements grounded in objective performance data drawn from thousands of matters.” source
- What they did 2026 “Berman has also driven the implementation of generative and agentic AI into litigation workflows, positioning the firm ahead of industry trends.” source
- What they said 2015 “Being able to align the objectives of our clients in case resolution while providing an incentive to both the client and law firm is a difficult but achievable task when everyone sits down at the table with an open mind.” source
- What they said 2026 “I am proud of the culture of innovation we have built together and excited about what the future holds.” source
- Bernard Wolfsdorf, Wolfsdorf Rosenthal LLP (WR Immigration; Santa Monica, California business immigration firm, nine offices and about 200 professionals, partner-owned, owns the WRapid platform) owner, United States
Named managing partner of a mid-size immigration firm that built and runs its own AI-driven case management and ERP platform, WRapid, changing how cases are processed and reported to employer clients.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Bernie Wolfsdorf is the past National President of the 17,000-member American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and Managing Partner. The firm is known worldwide for its innovation and technology, as well as its high-touch service and seamless execution.” source
- What they did 2023 “Powered by Salesforce and driven by AI, WRapid™ empowers human resources professionals with robust analytics, extraordinary reporting, budgeting, forecasting capabilities, and case processing efficiencies.” source
- What they said 2023 “Companies are getting it. The efficiencies, transparencies and automated functions provide huge cost savings while improving transparency. The real time reports are something HR and Global Relocation have never seen before.” source
- Benjamin Lieber, Potomac Law Group PLLC (Washington, DC national law firm, 175 lawyers in 25 states, founder-led, all-remote since 2011) owner, United States
Founder and managing partner who built a national law firm with no traditional offices, cutting the overhead and staffing layers of a large firm and offering flat, alternative and contingency fees.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Ben Lieber is the Managing Partner of the firm. Mr. Lieber has extensive experience in both business and law and the intersection of the two” source
- What they did 2011 “Potomac Law has been one step ahead by maintaining a distributed workforce since 2011.” source
- What they did 2026 “We use a modern business model that eliminates much of the costly overhead and over-staffing traditionally associated with large law firms.” source
- What they said 2014 “But ours is a firm that has lawyers working mostly through telecommuting. It's non-brick-and-mortar, just like virtual banks. That's the main distinguishing feature for me.” source
- What they said 2025 “The award reflects the firm's breadth and depth - 175 lawyers practicing in 25 states - as well as an innovative model that combines flexibility, collaboration, and operational excellence.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is not a law firm; legal tech award rosters list law firms, legal departments and vendors only.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a software company; it does not appear on the law-firm award rosters.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is not a US law firm; out of the route's universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is not a law firm; not on any roster fetched.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food company; not on any roster fetched.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and not a law firm; out of the route's universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss pharma company; its legal department could enter in-house categories, but none of the fetched rosters names it.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian miner; out of the route's universe.
Route 310: Independent service firms: Event, hospitality and food service contractors
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from privately held US event, catering, hospitality management and contract food service firms with 50 to 5,000 staff whose leader changed how the work is done 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Two attempts, 0 qualifying names. The open spines work but have no owner-voiced, dated 2023-2026 redesigns at private firms of 50 to 5,000 staff. Attempt 1: BizBash, Catersource, FoodService Director, FSR, Hotel Dive (small studios, vendor voices, Big Three contract feeders, COO-voiced Thompson division). Attempt 2: the Leading Caterers of America roster (informaconnect.com/leading-caterers/<region>/, about 50 owner-led caterers) gives firms whose recent moves are geographic expansion or exclusive venue contracts (Puff 'n Stuff Miami 2025), mostly 40 to 200 staff with no leader-voiced change to the work; LODGING's 50+ Hotel Management Companies to Know in 2025 (lodgingmagazine.com/50-hotel-management-companies-to-know-in-2025/<n>/, 55 profile pages) gives rooms, revenue and a contact but no leader, ownership or change; the founder-led managers checked (Sage Hospitality, Columbia Hospitality, Practice Hospitality / This Assembly, Stonebridge) either restructured before 2023 (Sage 2021-2022, This Assembly 2021) or have no dated move in the founder's words. Named contract feeders (Metz, Taher, SAGE Dining, Thompson Hospitality) surface only account wins, obituaries and profiles. The one AI-native operator in the sector, AI Hospitality Group (Sloan Dean), is already a candidate.
Sources: Food Management, Hotel Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- sector through trade-press rosters and features (BizBash lists, Catersource, FoodService Director contract coverage, Hotel Dive) gives privately held event, catering, contract food or hotel management firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through trade feature or firm newsroom gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name plus year)
- change through same feature or interview gives controlling leader and own-words quote (joined on leader name)
- leader through second outlet (regional business journal, magazine profile) gives confirmation of change (joined on leader name plus firm)
- leader through firm About page or dated 2025-2026 profile gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public software firm in Canada; not in event, catering, hospitality or contract food service.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the sector and outside the US.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma firm; outside the sector.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a service firm, and far above 5,000 staff; the route's event and food-service press does not surface him.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public software; outside the sector.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the sector and the US.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial firm; outside the sector and the US.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is apparel retail, not event, catering or food service.
Route 311: Independent service firms: Employee-owned firm podcasts and conferences
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from speakers and guests at NCEO and ESOP Association conferences and employee-ownership podcasts 2023 to 2026 who lead employee-owned service firms.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Employee-ownership podcasts and conferences do not surface leaders who redesigned how their firm does the work. Eight US EO podcast feeds (about 450 episodes, 2023 to 2026) were saved and read: guests are advisers, trustees, lenders, bankers and policy people, and the firm leaders who appear talk about the ESOP transaction, succession and culture, which the standing decisions say is not a redesign. The few in-band service-firm leaders not already in candidates (Bowers + Kubota, Harkins Builders, EA Engineering, Go2Partners, Tactical Rehabilitation, RLH Construction, Matrix HG, Cargas, CCI Systems) failed on change, control or tenure in follow-up searches. Conference speaker rosters are not pullable: the ESOP Association EO26 speaker list is script-loaded and announced as TBD, and the NCEO annual conference site now promotes 2027 with /speaker returning 404. Three guests with real changes (Bob Whalen, David Jaeger, Ralph Dumke) are already in candidates. This repeats S-91 and S-279.
Sources: nceo.org, esopassociation.org, podcast pages, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- search term through Apple Podcasts search API gives EO podcast feed (joined on feedUrl)
- podcast feed through RSS item title and description gives guest leader and firm (joined on guest name plus firm name in description)
- firm through firm newsroom and trade press via search gives dated change voiced by leader (joined on firm name)
- leader through firm leadership page or 2025-2026 article gives role, headcount, ownership (joined on person name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public; no employee-ownership podcast episode 2023 to 2026 or conference page in the receipts names him (grep of all 8 feed receipts: 0).
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian; 0 mentions in the 8 employee-ownership podcast feeds.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; his self-management story is famous in EO circles but 0 mentions in the 2023 to 2026 feeds saved here.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is public and Swiss; 0 mentions in any feed.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani shares equity with staff but is not an ESOP service firm; 0 mentions in any feed.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public; 0 mentions in any feed.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is public and Indian; 0 mentions in any feed.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is public and Australian; the only 'Forrest' string in the feeds is Forrestall CPAs (rss-journey-to-esop), not him.
Route 312: Independent service firms: Regional Best Places to Work, service firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from business journal Best Places to Work winners in ten large US metros 2024 and 2025, privately held service firms with 50 or more staff.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The route's spine, business journal Best Places to Work lists in ten large metros, is closed: bizjournals.com list pages return 403 direct and via --jina (Dallas, Atlanta), and WebSearch refuses bizjournals.com as a domain. The fetchable regional substitutes (Hartford Business Journal 2025 and 2026 honoree pages, San Diego Business Journal and Los Angeles Business Journal 2025 PDFs) give a good roster with headcount and top executive, but every write-up is benefits and culture copy written by a company representative. Following about 15 in-band private service honorees (Inspira Marketing, GO Agency, ADNET, Saisystems, Cooperative Systems, Optima Office, centrexIT, C3 Risk, Sayva, Strong Tower, Ronin and others) to a dated, leader-voiced change to how the work is done found none that passes: no change on record, a change voiced by a partner or president below the controller, a firm under 50 staff, or a sale to private equity (Saisystems, Serent Capital, March 2026). Firm-issued honoree releases repeat culture language. This matches S-295 and S-296: award lists are rosters, not change signals.
Sources: regional business journals and their award pages, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- metro through regional business journal Best Places to Work list (HBJ honoree pages, SDBJ and LABJ PDFs; bizjournals.com closed) gives honoree firm with headcount and top executive (joined on firm name)
- firm through WebSearch for firm name plus change words (AI, new service, restructure, pricing), firm newsroom gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name)
- change through firm release or trade article quoting the leader gives leader's own words (joined on firm name + leader name)
- change through second, different page gives confirmation (joined on firm name + change)
- firm through list row (U.S. employees, top executive) plus firm about page or deal news gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest leads Fortescue, an Australian mining company: not a US service firm and not on any regional Best Places to Work list read here; absent from ever
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani leads Reliance Industries in India: outside the US metro Best Places to Work universe; absent from every receipt.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler's Semco is Brazilian: outside the US metro Best Places to Work universe; absent from every receipt.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke leads Shopify, a public Canadian software company: outside this universe by country, ownership and industry; absent from every receipt.
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie leads Box, a public software company: public firms and product companies are out of scope, and Box is not on the HBJ, SDBJ or LABJ lists read; absen
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya leads Chobani, a food manufacturer, not a service firm; Chobani does not appear on the HBJ, SDBJ or LABJ lists read; absent from every receipt.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard's Patagonia is an apparel maker and retailer, not a service firm, and is not on the lists read; absent from every receipt.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan leads Novartis, a public Swiss pharma company: outside this universe; absent from every receipt.
Route 313: Independent service firms: Engineering and environmental consultancies
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Zweig Group Hot Firm and ENR Top 200 Environmental Firms that are employee or family owned with 50 to 5,000 staff and changed how project work is done 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Revised: the Zweig Hot Firm and ENR Top 200 Environmental rosters fetch but give no change stories (ENR's table is not in the page text; Hot Firm ranks revenue growth, and its fastest environmental names are PE roll-ups such as Spheros and Apex). Working path: employee-owned environmental firm newsrooms queried through the WordPress REST API (wp-json/wp/v2/posts?search=<CEO surname or 'chief executive'>) for CEO-quoted releases on a structural change, then the firm's own about and ownership pages for headcount and control. 1 counted name (Alyson Watson, Woodard & Curran) after about 25 fetches. Attempt 2: a second name (Chad Nixon, president and board chair of 100% employee-owned McFarland Johnson, firmwide AI initiative May 2026) came from WebSearch on firmwide AI moves at employee-owned engineering firms, read through aviation trade reprints of the firm release (stateaviationjournal.com, its wp-json copy) and the Feb 2025 leadership release on aviationpros.com for his role. 2 counted names. Attempt 3: Chad Nixon is already in output/candidates.json (S-91, S-95), so he is moved out of discoveries and listed as a re-discovery. About 12 more searches and 12 fetches (Hazen DataTech, ACEC Future Forward, Gresham Smith, Langan, Smith Seckman Reid) gave 0 new names: the change is voiced by a CTO, VP or the firm, or the firm is already a candidate, or a minority PE stake plus no leader voice. Final yield: 1 genuinely new name in about 100 fetches.
Sources: zweiggroup.com, enr.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- AEC and environmental market through Zweig Hot Firm 2026 list (zweiglist.com/hot-firm/) and ENR Top 200 Environmental (title only), plus known employee-owned environmental consultancies gives environmental consulting firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through web search for ownership (PE roll-up check) plus firm ownership page gives employee-owned or family-owned firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom via WordPress REST API search for the CEO surname or 'chief executive' gives CEO-quoted release on a dated structural change (joined on firm domain plus CEO surname)
- CEO through second page in the leader's voice or about the leader's view (podcast show notes, interview) gives own-words reason for the change (joined on person name plus firm)
- firm through firm about page and leader bio gives headcount, ownership and control (joined on firm domain)
New names that passed every check
- Alyson Watson, Woodard & Curran (Portland, Maine; privately held, employee-owned water and environmental engineering, operations and design-build firm founded 1979; 1,300+ employees) ceo, United States
Reorganized an employee-owned water and environmental consultancy around turnkey, outcome-based delivery, folding design, technology, build, operate and finance into one Integrated Solutions Division.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Alyson Watson Chief Executive Officer & Chair of the Board As Chief Executive Officer, Alyson is responsible for overall firm performance and strategic direction.” source
- What they did 2026 “Launching the Integrated Solutions Division marks one of the most significant organizational changes in our history” source
- What they said 2021 “Alyson Watson, CEO of Woodard & Curran, delivers a tour de force performance explaining why the water industry needs a fresh approach to delivering services and advocating for an outcome based contracting approach focused on trust and empathy.” source
- What they did 2025 “To strengthen our ownership program, we have introduced significant changes that open up the opportunity to buy shares to many more employees.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; route covers US employee-owned engineering and environmental consultancies only.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; not on Zweig or ENR environmental rosters and not a service firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer owner; outside the AEC and environmental universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software CEO; outside the universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public tech CEO, far above 5,000 staff; outside the universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; not US, not an AEC or environmental consultancy.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel company owner; outside the universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software CEO; outside the universe.
Route 314: Independent service firms: Credit unions and member-owned financial co-ops, second pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. SECOND PASS: the first pass already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). Start from credit unions and other member-owned financial cooperatives with 50 to 5,000 staff whose chief executive announced a change to how members are served (AI in lending or service, branches or roles redesigned) 2023 to 2026, from CUToday, Credit Union Journal and CU Times.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Second pass works only after widening the change type from AI-in-lending to new owned arms and role or layer redesigns voiced by the CEO, and widening sources beyond CUToday to American Banker's Credit Union Journal index, CUbroadcast and The Credit Union Connection. AI phrasing again returned vendor, consultant and CIO voices.
Sources: cutoday.info, cutimes.com, credit union newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade story through CUToday search / American Banker CUJ index gives credit union (joined on credit union name in headline)
- credit union through story body gives president and CEO quote (joined on 'president and CEO' attribution)
- CEO through second outlet (CUbroadcast, Credit Union Connection, American Banker) gives confirmation of the change (joined on credit union name plus initiative name)
- credit union through Wikipedia infobox or firm page gives headcount and member ownership (joined on credit union name)
New names that passed every check
- Brian Schools, Chartway Credit Union (Virginia Beach, Virginia; member-owned, 500+ staff) ceo, United States
Built an owned venture arm (Chartway Ventures CUSO, January 2023) to invest in fintechs that change how the credit union serves members and earns revenue.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Brian Schools, Chartway Credit Union’s president and CEO, said developing its own CUSO will drive innovation.” source
- What they did 2023 “Chartway Credit Union has formed a new credit union service organization called Chartway Ventures that will invest in fintechs that complement its operations.” source
- What they said 2023 “Developing our own CUSO will allow us to drive innovation, foster collaboration, generate revenue, and reduce costs, all of which help better serve our members.” source
- Tansley Stearns, orsa credit union (formerly Community Financial Credit Union, Plymouth, Michigan; member-owned) ceo, United States
Redesigning how the credit union runs: a new chief capacity officer layer over lending, deposit operations and compliance (May 2026) and an AI coaching CUSO with CU 2.0 (March 2026).Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “This is an evolution of how we show up, not a change in who we are,” said Tansley Stearns, president and CEO of orsa credit union.” source
- What they did 2026 “joined us in the Studio Lounge to announce their organizations' partnership resulting in launching new AI CUSO for credit unions.” source
- What they did 2026 “On May 11, 2026, Ben Metzger stepped into that role and into a credit union at an inflection point.” source
- What they said 2026 “Ben will help us become even more operationally sound, grow capacity for us to create impact, shape our operations for the next 75 years, and expand our capacity: how we think, how we learn, and how we execute with intention.” source
- Don Miller, Gesa Credit Union (Richland, Washington; member-owned, about 285,000 members) ceo, United States
Building a separate, ground-up digital credit union (Nymbus partnership 2023) and taking an equity stake in its core provider (2024) to serve members beyond Washington.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “maintained the course to grow us to where we are as an organization today," said Don Miller, President and CEO of Gesa Credit Union.” source
- What they did 2024 “the development of a new digital financial institution brand that will be launched in the coming months.” source
- What they said 2023 “We are excited to partner with Nymbus to create a new digital credit union built from the ground up to be digital, mobile, and member-focused,” said Don Miller, President & CEO of Gesa Credit Union.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; not a US credit union leader, absent from CUToday and CUJ
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian billionaire; outside the credit union universe
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel owner; not a financial cooperative
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public company CEO
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food company owner; not a financial cooperative
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; outside the universe
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software CEO; appears in this press only as a vendor if at all
Route 315: Independent service firms: Mutual and reciprocal insurers, second pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. SECOND PASS: the first pass already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). Start from policyholder-owned mutual and reciprocal insurers with 50 to 5,000 staff (not stock companies) whose chief executive changed how claims, underwriting or service work is done 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Second pass at US mutual and reciprocal insurers. Trade press returns appointments, dividends, ratings and vendor picks voiced by CIOs or COOs. Two new leaders pass from AI and core-system vendor releases where the CEO is quoted: Alan Ogilvie of Church Mutual (Kalepa, 2026) and Henry Gibbel of Lititz Mutual (Guidewire InsuranceNow 2022, ProNavigator 2026). Germania Mutual is Canadian; West Bend's AI-claims release quotes its CIO. Attempt 3 added Scott Jean of EMC Insurance (Iowa mutual, 2,000-plus staff): all-at-once core rebuild he announced in 2019 and led as CEO from 2020, plus a 2025 CEO-signed restructure into regions and specialist underwriting units.
Sources: Insurance Journal, Carrier Management, Best's News, insurer newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- in-band US mutual or reciprocal carrier through WebSearch over trade press and vendor releases (insurance-edge.net, kalepa.com, insurancejournal.com, coverager.com) gives CEO-voiced change to underwriting, claims or service work (joined on carrier name)
- change through second page: vendor newsroom or carrier newsroom gives confirmed change (joined on carrier name plus vendor name)
- carrier through carrier newsroom CEO appointment release (ownership footnote) and BizTimes Wisconsin 275 profile (headcount) gives CEO tenure, mutual holding ownership, headcount (joined on CEO name)
- change through carrier newsroom annual-results release gives earliest dated move under this CEO (signal year) (joined on carrier domain)
New names that passed every check
- Alan Ogilvie, Church Mutual Insurance Company, S.I. (Merrill, Wisconsin; owned by the policyholders through a mutual holding company formed 1/1/20; 1,150 employees; E&S arm CM Vantage) ceo, United States
Moving underwriting at Church Mutual's E&S carrier to an AI-first intake and triage model so underwriters spend their time on judgment, not gathering information.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Church Mutual Insurance Company, S.I. (a stock insurer) 1 has promoted Alan S. Ogilvie from president to president and chief executive officer, effective Jan. 1, 2024.” source
- What they did 2026 ““At the end of the day, underwriting is about making good decisions,” said Alan Ogilvie, President and CEO of Church Mutual. “As the amount of information available to our teams continues to grow, AI can help us sort through that information more efficiently and consistently.” source
- What they said 2026 “We see this as a way to support our underwriters, strengthen our operations, and keep our focus where it belongs: on evaluating risk and serving our brokers.” source
- What they said 2024 “Jim McIntyre (former CEO of Greenheck Group and former Church Mutual board member), who taught me you need to be willing to take intelligent levels of career risk in order to grow as a leader.” source
- Henry Gibbel, Lititz Mutual Insurance Company (Lititz, Pennsylvania; policyholder-owned property casualty mutual organized in 1888, flagship of a group of mutuals, about 70,000 policyholders in 8 states) ceo, United States
Rebuilding how underwriting and claims work gets done at a small Pennsylvania mutual, first by replacing the core system in 2022 to cut post-issuance underwriting correspondence, then by putting AI guidance inside underwriting and claims workflows in 2026.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “President and Chief Executive Officer Henry Gibbel said. The insurer cited security, governance and ease of adoption among its considerations in choosing the Guidewire product.” source
- What they did 2026 “Instead of searching through documents and systems, teams can quickly find the answers they need, reducing administrative work and delivering a better experience for our agents and policyholders.” source
- What they did 2022 “This will help our agents work with us more digitally, reducing the post-issuance underwriting correspondence that takes time and money while also pricing our product accordingly in that initial transaction with the policyholder.” source
- What they said 2026 “It is hoped the technology will reduce administrative work and help employees and agents find the information they need more quickly, while maintaining the necessary security and governance.” source
- Scott Jean, EMC Insurance Companies (Des Moines, Iowa; led by Employers Mutual Casualty Company, a mutual that bought out the public EMC Insurance Group shares in 2019; 2,000-plus employees, $2.05B net written premium in 2024) ceo, United States
Rebuilding how a policyholder-owned commercial insurer underwrites and serves agents: one all-at-once core system replacement from about 2020, then in 2025 a regional structure, specialist underwriting units and an automated small-business portal.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Employers Mutual Casualty Company (EMCC) acquired all remaining shares of EMC Insurance Group Inc. (EMCI), and EMCI stock was delisted for trading. 2020 Scott Jean became President and CEO, succeeding Bruce Kelley after his 35-year career at EMC.” source
- What they did 2026 “Rather than modernizing incrementally, EMC rebuilt its entire core simultaneously: policy, billing, claims, workflows, quote-and-buy portals, and enterprise data.” source
- What they said 2019 “We selected Guidewire and Guidewire Cloud to help EMC transform into a digital company that can easily adjust to industry disruption and evolving customer expectations,” source
- What they did 2022 “While an extremely difficult decision, EMC felt this move was necessary to position the company for the future and the achievement of its strategic plans and goals,” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Leads a public software company, not a US mutual or reciprocal insurer.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company, far over 5,000 staff, not an insurer.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker, not an insurer; the route never touches him.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian public miner, outside the US insurer universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software company, not an insurer.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer, not an insurer.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner, not a US insurer.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public drug maker, not an insurer.
Route 316: Independent service firms: Translation and language service firms, second pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. SECOND PASS: the first pass already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). Start from the Slator LSP Index and Nimdzi 100 US-based privately held language service providers with 50 or more staff that rebuilt their work around AI 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Second pass at US privately held language service providers. The free spine works (Nimdzi 2026 preliminary 100 and Next 250 public tables, Nimdzi LIVE show notes, firm newsrooms, CSA Research CEO roundup), but the yield below the first-pass names is thin: after three attempts and about 30 US firms screened, only 2 founder-owners count (Alconost, MasterWord). Attempt 3 screened the rest of the US rows (Dynamic Language, MotaWord, Prisma, The Language Group, Avantpage, Interactive Contact Center, Bilingual Global, Transatlantic, TechTrans, Translations in Motion) and re-checked LSA and Interpreters Unlimited: each failed on control (LSA's founder Laura Schriver still owns it above a hired CEO), on an undated or reseller AI service with no leader quote (Dynamic Language, IU), or on no findable change.
Sources: slator.com, nimdzi.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- language industry through Nimdzi 2026 preliminary 100 and Nimdzi Next 250 2026 (public tables with a Country column) gives US LSP firm (joined on firm name)
- US LSP firm through firm about page, cbinsights.com company page, trade coverage gives privately held firm whose leader controls it (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom and SlatorPod or Nimdzi LIVE show notes gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name)
- change through second page (release reprint, podcast, trade story) gives leader own words (joined on leader name)
- leader through firm about or team page gives role, control, headcount (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Alexander Murauski, Alconost Inc (Alexandria, Virginia; localization and translation services since 2004; 133 employees per Built In; 7.7M USD 2025 revenue per Nimdzi Next 250) owner, United States
The founder-CEO of a privately held localization firm built his own LLM evaluation and QA tooling (Alconost.MT/Evaluate 2025, QACAT 2026) and moved the firm's production review from manual workflows to LLM-assisted, human-supervised evaluation.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In this episode of Nimdzi Live, host Tucker Johnson and guest Alexander Morowski, founder of Alconost, discuss a real-world quality evaluation of Google's Gemma large language model (LLM).” source
- What they did 2025 “"We developed this tool to meet our own needs as language engineers," said Alexander Murauski, CEO of Alconost. "Scaling LLM evaluation across hundreds of segments with custom parameters was too complex for manual workflows. So, we built something smarter-and now we're sharing it with the community."” source
- What they did 2026 “Alconost employed 45 professional linguists who spent a total of 34 hours over 6 days evaluating the translations under the Multidimensional Quality Metrics (MQM) framework.” source
- Ludmila Golovine, MasterWord Services, Inc. (Houston, Texas; founded 1993; woman-owned; 90 US employees per Top Workplaces; 20.8M USD revenue per Nimdzi 2026 preliminary 100) owner, United States
The founder-CEO of a woman-owned interpreting firm rebuilt how its interpreters are trained, supported and quality-checked around trauma-informed practice (certified Level 1 in 2025, Level 2 in 2026) while setting a human-supervised stance on AI interpreting.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Ludmila “Mila” Golovine founded MasterWord in 1993 and still leads the global language-solutions company through its growth.” source
- What they did 2026 “To earn Level 2 certification, MasterWord completed a rigorous assessment led by the ECRH certification team, demonstrating achievement across multiple domains including staff engagement and training, organizational reflection, documented implementation, and ongoing professional development and wellness support for lan” source
- What they said 2026 “In our industry we’ve often said, "AI should amplify human expertise rather than replace it.” What’s changing now is that the evidence is becoming specific enough to guide real buyer decisions, especially as AI interpreting moves from demonstration to deployment.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software firm, not a US language service provider; the Nimdzi 100 and Next 250 rosters list language firms only.
- Missed Satya Nadella public software firm, a buyer of language services, not an LSP; the Nimdzi 100 and Next 250 rosters list language firms only.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard apparel maker, not an LSP; the Nimdzi 100 and Next 250 rosters list language firms only.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial firm, not an LSP; the Nimdzi 100 and Next 250 rosters list language firms only.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya food maker, not an LSP; the Nimdzi 100 and Next 250 rosters list language firms only.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate, not an LSP; the Nimdzi 100 and Next 250 rosters list language firms only.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining group, not an LSP; the Nimdzi 100 and Next 250 rosters list language firms only.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma, not an LSP; the Nimdzi 100 and Next 250 rosters list language firms only.
Route 317: Independent service firms: Independent veterinary and dental groups, second pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. SECOND PASS: the first pass already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). Start from privately held, doctor-owned veterinary and dental practice groups that are NOT private-equity backed, with 50 or more staff, 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Second pass at doctor-owned vet and dental groups. The AI-vendor release spine from S-303 now surfaces PE-backed groups or clinical officers. What worked was searching for employee ownership and cooperatives in veterinary medicine: Vets Pets (Steve Thomas, cooperative, NC), Allied Veterinary Emergency and Referral (Kara Nelsen, employee-owned, 263 staff, WI/MN) and 1st Pet Veterinary Centers (Randy Spencer, 100% ESOP, 300+ staff, AZ). Dental gave 0 new names this pass.
Sources: Today's Veterinary Business, Dental Economics, Becker's Dental, group newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade search (vet cooperative / doctor-owned dental group) through dvm360, myvetcandy, briefglance, overjet.com/blog gives group name (joined on group name)
- group name through dvm360 and myvetcandy reprints of the group's own releases gives CEO and quoted change (joined on group name plus CEO name)
- CEO through a second dated release on a different page (dvm360 2023 vs myvetcandy 2025) gives confirmed change and ownership boilerplate (joined on CEO name plus group name)
- group through dvm360 practice-count release (June 2022) gives size proxy (number of practices) (joined on group name)
- group through earliest dated release in window gives signal year (joined on release date)
New names that passed every check
- Steve Thomas, Vets Pets (cooperative network of about 30 veterinary hospitals, Wilson, North Carolina; parent of the Points East Veterinary Group) owner, United States
Co-founder and CEO of a vet-owned cooperative that co-owns new practices with veterinarians instead of selling to consolidators, and in 2023 to 2025 built a 24-hour specialty and emergency arm, the Points East Veterinary Group.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “This rebrand is more than a name change," said Steve Thomas, CEO of Vets Pets. "It represents our continued investment in veterinary medicine in North Carolina.” source
- What they did 2023 “Vets Pets, a North Carolina cooperative network of veterinary hospitals, has opened a newly constructed 17,000 sq ft facility for Points East Veterinary Specialty Hospital.” source
- What they said 2023 “We then started to plan for this new facility on a nearby site we purchased for this purpose 15 years ago in hopes we would one day recognize this dream and potential.” source
- What they did 2025 “It reflects our commitment to ensuring pets and the referring veterinary community have access to consistent, high-quality emergency and specialty care.” source
- What they said 2022 “The process included everything from site selection, construction, naming, equipment/technology selection, financing, hiring, scheduling, pricing, and more. It is a ton of fun” source
- Kara Nelsen, Allied Veterinary Emergency and Referral (employee-owned 24/7 emergency and specialty group, Eau Claire WI and Twin Cities and Rochester MN; 263 employees per Top Workplaces) owner, United States
Founder of an employee-owned emergency and specialty vet group built as the opposite of PE consolidation, which in 2025 bought land for a 24-hour Rochester hospital with CT and ICU to cover a region day practices could not serve overnight.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Our Founder, Dr. Kara Nelsen, chose the opposite route – to not only build a network of hospitals to provide exceptional care to pets, but to also offer exceptional career opportunities to our team members.” source
- What they did 2025 “After building local relationships with the Stewartville location, Nelsen is now moving forward with her vision to build a 6,800-square-foot clinic at 4612 Commercial Drive SW, off of 48th Street.” source
- What they said 2021 “I've never wanted to own or open a clinic on my own, but wanting to offer an employee-owned emergency veterinary clinic option became a goal after working with and seeing so many unhappy, sad, discouraged veterinarians and technicians around me,” source
- What they said 2025 “We fill a gap so your daytime vet can have time off. The vets here were saying they couldn't work 24 hours a day,” source
- What they did 2025 “Allied is an employee-owned group of veterinary practices. This is a rarity in our profession, and we feel this makes us incredibly special.” source
- Randy Spencer, 1st Pet Veterinary Centers (Chandler, Mesa and Phoenix AZ; 3 hospitals, more than 300 team members; 100% employee-owned ESOP since 2021) ceo, United States
Founder and President/CEO who refused corporate and PE buyers, sold 100% of a 300-person emergency, specialty and primary care group to its employees, and runs it open-book and veterinarian-led.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “That means the President/CEO, my position now, will always be a veterinarian. The majority of the board will always be veterinarians” source
- What they did 2025 “Our company is a privately owned ESOP (100% employee owned business!). We practice ‘open book management’ so that all employee owners understand our income, expenses, and the bottom line.” source
- What they said 2023 “I am not going to sell to a corporate entity. But what we are going to do and where we are going to head is toward employee ownership.” source
- What they did 2025 “we have grown from a single primary care practice to 3 hospitals and more than 300 team members.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; no veterinary or dental group, outside the route's US doctor-owned universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company CEO; not in vet or dental trade press.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer; not a vet or dental group.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software company; out of universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining billionaire; out of universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; out of universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel company; not a vet or dental group.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company CEO; out of universe.
Route 318: Independent service firms: Independent physician groups, second pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. SECOND PASS: the first pass already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). Start from physician-owned independent medical groups (not hospital or PE owned) with 50 to 5,000 staff, from AMGA, MGMA and Becker's coverage 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Attempt 2 of 3 gave 3 names from a new seam: an AI patient-access vendor's customer roster (assorthealth.com/customers, 14 stories) and dated press releases, which quote the CEO or managing partner of small independent groups on moving phones, outreach and referrals to AI agents. Evidence is vendor-sourced and case studies are undated, so signal years rest on the 2026 releases. The agilon, AMGA and Becker's seams stay exhausted.
Sources: beckersasc.com, beckershospitalreview.com, amga.org, group newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- payment-model partner or vendor through agilon press-release archive; vendor case studies gives physician group (joined on group name)
- physician group through partner release quote line or group newsroom gives leader and dated change (joined on group name plus leader name)
- leader through group newsroom (prezly, WordPress) or regional business press gives second page, role, size, ownership (joined on leader name)
- AI patient-access vendor through assorthealth.com/customers and /press gives independent practice and its CEO or managing partner (joined on practice name)
New names that passed every check
- Jen White, Concord Orthopaedics (Concord, New Hampshire; independent orthopedic practice founded 1974, 50+ providers, 250 employees, six locations) ceo, United States
Runs an independent orthopedic group that handed patient access and referral intake to AI agents, automating 84% of referrals end to end.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jen White Chief Executive Officer, Concord Orthopaedics About Concord Orthopaedics Concord Orthopaedics is an independent orthopedic practice serving communities across New Hampshire.” source
- What they did 2026 “Concord Orthopaedics Cuts Hold Times and Automates 84% of Referrals” source
- What they said 2026 “What Assort brought to us was the ability to address our single greatest operational roadblock, which was patient access to the practice.” source
- Titus Abraham, Annapolis Internal Medicine, LLC (Annapolis, Maryland; physician partnership, primary care across three clinics, about 11 physicians and 5 nurse practitioners) owner, United States
Managing partner of an independent primary care practice that moved inbound calls and proactive patient outreach to AI agents.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Dr. Titus Abraham Managing Partner, Annapolis Internal Medicine About Annapolis Internal Medicine Annapolis Internal Medicine is a leading primary care practice serving patients in the Annapolis, Maryland area.” source
- What they did 2026 “During an October flu shot campaign, proactive outreach through Assort accounted for 61% of all flu shot appointments scheduled across three clinics.” source
- What they said 2026 “Assort Health has completely redefined how we manage patient engagement. Calls are answered instantly, and our outbound campaigns have helped us book appointments at a rate we simply couldn’t achieve before.” source
- Parinita Amin, MDCS: Medical Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery (New York and New Jersey; founded 2002 by Dr. Snehal Amin and Dr. Noah Gratch, 9 locations, 138,000+ patient visits a year) ceo, United States
CEO of a founder-led dermatology practice who switched off failed AI front-door tools and rebuilt patient access on AI voice agents, doubling labor capacity.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Parinita Amin, affectionately known as Dr. Pari, is the CEO of MDCS: Medical Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery, a premier dermatology practice with locations in New York and New Jersey.” source
- What they did 2026 “MDCS ended up turning the tools off. Dr. Amin knew there had to be a better way, but she was understandably skeptical after these experiences.” source
- What they said 2026 “We needed a healthcare-specific solution that could handle real clinical complexity and evolve with our practice. Assort stood out because they understand specialty care, deliver precision, and give us a scalable, long-term path forward.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate (Reliance); not a US physician group, never in a payment-partner or group release.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not a physician group.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer; not a physician group.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel company; not a physician group.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial firm; outside the US physician-group universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; not a physician group.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian miner; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss public pharma; not a physician group.
Route 319: Independent service firms: Architecture and interiors firms, second pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. SECOND PASS: the first pass already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). Start from Architect 50, Interior Design Giants and BD+C Giants 400 employee or partner owned US firms that changed how design work is done 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Revised route (cross-trade acquisitions by owner-led design firms, ownership proved through podcast transcripts) produced 1 counted name over three attempts and about 55 searches. Attempt 3 tried podcast transcript indexes, venture or product arms and FF&E procurement, reality-capture, workplace-strategy and branding acquisitions; every hit was public, PE-backed, foreign, under 50 staff, same-trade or dated before 2023.
Sources: architectmagazine.com, interiordesign.net, bdcnetwork.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- design firm list (Giants 400, Interior Design Giants, AEC deal advisor news) through bdcnetwork.com roundups, morrisseygoodale.com/news, web search for design firm acquisitions of a non-design trade gives firm with a dated change (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom release (e.g. michaelgraves.com/press-release-<slug>/) gives leader quote on the change (joined on firm name plus 'CEO' in the release)
- leader through podcast transcript or interview (americanbuildingpodcast.com/episode-<n>-american-building-transcript) gives own-words why, ownership and headcount (joined on leader name plus firm)
- leader through second page (regional business press, trade copy) gives confirmation of change and control (joined on firm name plus concrete nouns of the change)
- cross-trade deal through firm release date gives signal year (joined on release dateline)
New names that passed every check
- Joe Furey, Michael Graves Architecture & Design (Princeton, NJ; architecture, interiors and technology consulting; about 165 staff in 10 offices per a Sept 2025 interview; Furey bought in with equity in 2018 and owns it with the remaining partners; no outside investor named) owner, United States
A non-architect owner-CEO is turning a famous-name design studio into a design and technology firm by buying a Revit practice-technology consultancy that now trains and integrates every acquired office and sells that service to other firms.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “acquiring the firm in 2018 he transformed the practice into a full service design and technology firm based in Princeton. Michael Graves now operates across the US and internationally, with roughly 165 staff across 10 offices.” source
- What they did 2023 “We have been working closely with Parallax for some time, and have remained impressed with the way their team is able to seamlessly integrate these important technologies into day-to-day practice,” says MG President and CEO Joe Furey.” source
- What they said 2025 “what I believe in in our industry is that the pivot from from auto pad to Revit is a hard transition, and I believe in the industry right now, as of today, that firms and people are not really using Revit to its maximum capability.” source
- What they said 2025 “Yeah, so I bought in with equity. We still had the original partners. Well, that were left were still equity partners. I didn't buy 100% of it.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss: Satya Nadella leads a public software company, not an architecture or interiors firm. The route's sources (Architect 50, Interior Design Giants, BD+C Gian
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Miss: Hamdi Ulukaya leads a food manufacturer, not a design services firm. The route's sources (Architect 50, Interior Design Giants, BD+C Giants 400 roundups,
- Missed Tobi Lutke Miss: Tobi Lutke leads a public Canadian software company. The route's sources (Architect 50, Interior Design Giants, BD+C Giants 400 roundups, design-firm news
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss: Aaron Levie leads a public software company. The route's sources (Architect 50, Interior Design Giants, BD+C Giants 400 roundups, design-firm newsrooms an
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Miss: Yvon Chouinard owns an apparel maker, not a design services firm. The route's sources (Architect 50, Interior Design Giants, BD+C Giants 400 roundups, des
- Missed Ricardo Semler Miss: Ricardo Semler is Brazilian and his firm is industrial, outside the US design trade press. The route's sources (Architect 50, Interior Design Giants, BD+C
- Missed Andrew Forrest Miss: Andrew Forrest is Australian and in mining and philanthropy. The route's sources (Architect 50, Interior Design Giants, BD+C Giants 400 roundups, design-f
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Miss: Vas Narasimhan leads a public Swiss pharmaceutical company. The route's sources (Architect 50, Interior Design Giants, BD+C Giants 400 roundups, design-fi
Route 320: Independent service firms: Legal innovation awards: midsize firms, second pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. SECOND PASS: the first pass already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). Start from ILTA Innovative Law Firm, Legalweek Leaders in Tech Law and American Legal Technology Awards winners 2023 to 2026 that are US firms of 50 to 600 lawyers.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Second pass at legal innovation award rosters for US law firms of 50 to 600 lawyers. The national rosters (Legalweek, ILTA, ALTA, LegalTech Breakthrough) were exhausted by S-309; ALTA 2026 adds no in-band US firm. The working change is to read the ALM regional legal awards (New York, Texas, New Jersey, Florida, D.C., California) on event.law.com, including the Law Firm of the Year: Midsize and state Law Firm of the Year finalist lists, not only the Innovation and Managing Partner categories, then check voice and control on trade and firm pages. Two attempts gave 3 qualifying leaders (Tarter, Patryk, Crane).
Sources: iltanet.org, law.com where fetchable, lawsites.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award program through ALM regional legal awards honoree pages on event.law.com (Innovation Awards: Individual and Firm; Legal Innovators; Managing Partner of the Year), plus ALTA 2026 and LegalTech Breakthrough 2024 gives named individual at a firm (joined on person name plus firm name as printed)
- firm through trade news and reprints of the firm release (completeaitraining.com/news/<slug>, Law360 Pulse lede on mlex.com/pulse/<section>/articles/<id>/<slug>, milanofinanza.it) gives dated change to how the work is done plus the leader's own words (joined on firm name)
- leader through trade press quoting the leader with title (abfjournal.com/?p=<id>, globalbankingandfinance.com) gives role and founding (joined on person name)
- firm through network directory and Law360 anniversary lede (lawyersworldwide.com/firms/<slug>/, mlex.com) gives headcount and founding year (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Alan Tarter, Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP (New York; partner-owned mid-size law firm he co-founded in 2001; 123 lawyers per its LAW network listing, more than 150 attorneys per Law360 in August 2026) owner, United States
The co-founder and managing partner of a mid-size New York law firm is building a firmwide Office of AI and Innovation that embeds AI and process redesign across practice groups and business departments.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““We are thrilled to welcome David and Zaid,” Alan Tarter, managing partner of Tarter Krinsky & Drogin, said.” source
- What they did 2026 “Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP has launched an Office of Artificial Intelligence and Innovation under the leadership of the former program manager of legal AI integration and compliance at NYU Langone Health.” source
- What they said 2026 “Technology alone doesn't transform organizations - people do. Throughout our firm's history, we have invested in building a culture that embraces change, challenges convention, and continually evolves to meet the needs of our clients. The Office of AI and Innovation is the next chapter in that evolution.” source
- What they did 2026 “As Director of AI and Innovation, Keary will design and oversee the firm's AI strategy, governance, and process improvement initiatives. He will work with practice group leaders and departments including Finance, HR, Marketing, Operations, and IT.” source
- Robb Patryk, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP (New York; independent partnership, AmLaw 200, over $270m revenue; 2026 New York Legal Awards Law Firm of the Year: Midsize Firms winner) executive, United States
The managing partner of an independent mid-size New York law firm put one AI platform under both the legal practices and the business side and is redesigning how junior lawyers are trained now that apprenticeship work is automated.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “its Executive Committee has unanimously elected partner Neil Oxford to serve as Chair and partner Robb Patryk to serve as Managing Partner, effective May 1, 2024.” source
- What they did 2026 “After carefully testing a range of tools, we partnered with August AI so that we have a single, secure platform that can support both our legal practices and the business side of the firm.” source
- What they said 2026 “This is a strategic investment in the future of the firm and in our partnerships with clients. Scale alone is no longer a differentiator.” source
- What they did 2026 “As AI increasingly handles tasks such as document review, Hughes Hubbard is focusing on more deliberate, hands-on mentoring between partners and junior associates.” source
- What they said 2026 “I am genuinely excited about the opportunity to rethink how we deliver legal services.” source
- R. Max Crane, Sills Cummis & Gross P.C. (Newark, New Jersey; independent professional corporation, offices in New Jersey, New York and Florida; 2025 New Jersey Legal Awards Law Firm of the Year finalist) executive, United States
The long-time managing partner, now chairman, of a mid-size New Jersey firm has built large language models into research, drafting and matter-data work and made AI literacy a core part of how the firm trains and hires lawyers.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Sills Cummis & Gross PC announced that after nearly 20 years as managing partner, R. Max Crane will transition into the role of chairman” source
- What they did 2026 “We have integrated large language models to accelerate research, refine drafting, and extract insights from complex matter data, all while maintaining attorney oversight and client confidentiality.” source
- What they said 2026 “I expect it will become increasingly important for attorneys to have a demonstrated understanding of how large language models work at a practical level, recognize their limitations, and develop strong prompting skills.” source
- What they said 2026 “In 2024, recognizing that both clients and attorneys were spending more time in South Florida, Crane launched the firm’s Florida office” source
- What they said 2025 “He discusses cultivating a practical, responsive firm culture; aligning clients’ legal strategies with their business goals; and embracing technology in ways that are connected to delivering a better product for clients” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not a law firm; legal award rosters do not list it.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate, not a US law firm.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel company, not a law firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and not a law firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO; in-house legal categories name legal staff, never the CEO.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining, not a law firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and not a law firm; in-house entries name legal staff.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is Canadian, public and not a law firm.
Route 321: Independent service firms: Rural electric and telecom cooperatives
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from member-owned rural electric and broadband cooperatives with 50 to 5,000 staff whose chief executive changed how field and member service work is done 2023 to 2026 (NRECA and NRTC news, Cooperative.com).
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: cooperative.com, electric.coop, co-op newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query through co-op broadband press (communitynetworks.org, cooperative.com, statewide association news) gives co-op fiber or new-arm story (joined on co-op name)
- co-op story through same story or local paper gives CEO quoted by title (joined on co-op name + CEO title)
- CEO through second outlet (local paper, Wikipedia, co-op newsroom, ILSR follow-up) gives confirmation of the move and cost (joined on co-op name)
- CEO through dated 2024-2026 page gives tenure check (still in post) (joined on CEO name + co-op)
- co-op through earliest launch story gives signal year (joined on co-op name)
New names that passed every check
- Tim Culpepper, Cullman Electric Cooperative (Cullman, Alabama; member-owned distribution co-op) and its Sprout Fiber Internet service ceo, United States
Turned a rural electric co-op into a fiber internet provider for its own members, starting with an $18 million first phase and building toward every member by 2026.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “At the cooperative’s 88th annual meeting Sept. 14, CEO Tim Culpepper revealed plans to additionally expand the service’s reach next year, with the goal of fully serving all CEC members by 2026.” source
- What they did 2020 “Construction on the first phase started this month and should be complete in 12 to 18 months. According to the cooperative, it’s an $18 million investment for the co-op.” source
- What they said 2020 ““High-speed internet today is like electricity was in the 1930s when fewer than 10 percent of farms in America had access to electricity,” Culpepper said.” source
- What they did 2024 “Culpepper said the member-owned utility plans to expand its Sprout service to more than 7,000 additional locations during 2025.” source
- Keith Carnahan, Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative (Centerville, Tennessee; member-owned) and its wholly owned broadband subsidiary MLConnect ceo, United States
Built a new owned broadband arm inside a rural electric co-op and then merged the electric and fiber businesses under one brand.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Keith Carnahan, CEO of Centerville, Tennessee-based Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative and MLConnect .” source
- What they did 2018 “In August 2018, [ 18 ] MLEC began construction of rural gigabit broadband internet infrastructure, becoming an Internet service provider operating under the brand name MLConnect.” source
- What they said 2024 “ML Connect was nearly three years into its broadband buildout when the pandemic hit. The value of the venture “shined brightly on us,” Carnahan said. “The impact on our community was amazing.”” source
- What they did 2024 “Meriwether Lewis President and CEO Keith Carnahan shared MLEC’s new brand with members” source
- Randy Price, Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative (Paulding, Ohio; member-owned, serving northwest Ohio and northeast Indiana) ceo, United States
Took an 89-year-old electric co-op into fiber-to-the-home as a new line of business, with its own capital matched to federal grants.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““Our goal will be to build and operate this new business just as we’ve operated the electric side: with our members and community first in mind,” said PPEC President and CEO Randy Price.” source
- What they did 2024 “On July 18, 2024, the Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative Board of Trustees unanimously voted to provide fiber internet as a new service offered by the co-op.” source
- What they said 2024 ““We will combine and leverage the electric plant’s benefits and infrastructure we’ve built over the last 89 years with the data transmitted through fiber to better serve you, our members, and future generations.”” source
- What they did 2026 “the co-op will receive $13.2 million in BEAD (Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment) federal grant funding from the Indiana Broadband Office , matched by $10.3 million in cooperative investment, to bring affordable fiber to thousands of unserved residents in Allen, Adams, DeKalb and Noble counties.” source
- What they did 2025 “The co-op says it has budgeted around $4 million in 2025 for system reliability upgrades (including 20 miles of old copper line rebuilds) and fiber installation efforts.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not an officer of a US rural electric or telecom cooperative; the route's sources (cooperative.com, electric.coop, co-op newsrooms and co-op broadband press) do
- Missed Aaron Levie Not an officer of a US rural electric or telecom cooperative; the route's sources (cooperative.com, electric.coop, co-op newsrooms and co-op broadband press) do
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not an officer of a US rural electric or telecom cooperative; the route's sources (cooperative.com, electric.coop, co-op newsrooms and co-op broadband press) do
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not an officer of a US rural electric or telecom cooperative; the route's sources (cooperative.com, electric.coop, co-op newsrooms and co-op broadband press) do
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not an officer of a US rural electric or telecom cooperative; the route's sources (cooperative.com, electric.coop, co-op newsrooms and co-op broadband press) do
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not an officer of a US rural electric or telecom cooperative; the route's sources (cooperative.com, electric.coop, co-op newsrooms and co-op broadband press) do
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not an officer of a US rural electric or telecom cooperative; the route's sources (cooperative.com, electric.coop, co-op newsrooms and co-op broadband press) do
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not an officer of a US rural electric or telecom cooperative; the route's sources (cooperative.com, electric.coop, co-op newsrooms and co-op broadband press) do
Route 322: Independent service firms: Farm credit and cooperative banks
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Farm Credit System associations and cooperative banks with 50 to 5,000 staff whose CEO changed how lending or member service work is done 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Farm Credit associations and Farm Credit banks fit the size and co-op ownership tests easily (Capital Farm Credit 600 employees, Farm Credit East about 500, AgFirst cooperatively owned by 16 associations), but most changes are voiced by board chairs, risk officers, CIOs or vendors. Across two attempts the route found three CEO-voiced, dated changes: Mike Reynolds (Farm Credit East regional service model plus automation and AI, 2025), Jeff Norte (Capital Farm Credit built its own AgriNext lending platform in 2024 to 2025 and licensed it to other lenders through Techwave in 2026) and Marion Harris (AgFirst cut the Chief Credit Officer role and created a Chief Lending Officer role, 2026).
Sources: farmcredit.com, ag lender trade press, association newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- WebSearch: Farm Credit association plus AI, automation, reorganization or delivery model, 2023 to 2026 through association newsrooms and CEO blogs (farmcrediteast.com Today's Harvest), vendor releases (FICO via financialcontent.com, ServiceNow customer pages), ag press (agweb.com, rrfn.com, aginfo.net) gives association plus described change (joined on association name)
- association through CEO-bylined blog post or release quote on the association site gives CEO own words on the change (joined on association name plus CEO name)
- CEO and change through a second association page (Senior Officers page naming the new AI remit hire, or results release) gives confirmed costly act (joined on association name)
- association through leadership page (CEO since date) and annual results release (loan volume, co-op ownership) gives control and ownership (joined on CEO name)
- change through earliest dated page in the window gives signal year (joined on page date)
New names that passed every check
- Mike Reynolds, Farm Credit East, ACA (customer-owned Farm Credit cooperative, Enfield, Connecticut) ceo, United States
Reorganizing a Northeast farm lender into a regional service model with dedicated credit-delivery teams and a larger automation and AI investment, while keeping it member-owned.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Michael J. Reynolds has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since 1/1/2020. Prior to becoming CEO, he served as chief business officer where he provided executive leadership for credit and financial services operations.” source
- What they said 2025 “We've developed a regional service approach, while also aligning dedicated teams to support our financial services and credit delivery. This allows us to provide specialized, consistent, faster service.” source
- What they did 2024 “Additional focus areas include AI and innovation, security, platform enhancements and new product development that will help the cooperative better serve employees and customers. He joined Farm Credit East in 2024 with more than 25 years of experience in technology leadership.” source
- What they said 2025 “We've significantly increased our technology investment as we continue to evolve through automation and artificial intelligence. These reinvestments allow us to stay competitive, meet regulatory expectations and better serve customer needs.” source
- What they said 2026 “Our strong financial results over the past several years reinforce Farm Credit East's ability to serve Northeast agriculture and rural communities, while continuing to evolve our cooperative to best serve customers into the future,” source
- Jeff Norte, Capital Farm Credit, ACA (member-owned Farm Credit cooperative, Bryan, Texas; 600 employees) ceo, United States
Rebuilt how a Texas farm lender takes and manages loans by developing its own AgriNext platform, then turned it into a product for other lenders.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Capital Farm Credit Board Chairman John Malazzo recently announced the selection of Jeff Norte as CEO-Elect. Last September, current CEO Ben Novosad announced his intention to retire in 2021 after 35 years of leading the Association.” source
- What they did 2025 “For the past year, CFC has worked to develop this software with the goal of improving customer experience, enhancing the loan approval process and making online financing quick and convenient.” source
- What they said 2025 “Its ag-specific design is tailored to the lending lifecycle, and it is intended to be a one-stop platform for customers to manage their lending relationship.” source
- What they did 2026 “AgriNext represents the next step in that journey. Partnering with Techwave allows us to extend this user-friendly and convenient platform to even more farmers, ranchers and recreational landowners, as well as help institutions deliver a modern, digitally connected experience for their customers.” source
- Marion Harris, AgFirst Farm Credit Bank (Columbia, South Carolina; cooperatively owned by its affiliated Farm Credit associations) ceo, United States
A new CEO from outside Farm Credit is restructuring a cooperative wholesale bank's leadership layers, folding credit under a new lending role, to make it the district's service provider.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The AgFirst Farm Credit Bank (AgFirst) Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Marion Harris, former President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ford Motor Credit Company (Ford Motor Credit), as its next President and CEO, effective July 14, 2025.” source
- What they did 2026 “Jamie Bumgarner, former Chief Administrative Officer, has been named to the newly created Chief Lending Officer role, taking on expanded responsibilities, including our Capital Markets and Correspondent Lending divisions. The Chief Credit Officer role will not be backfilled.” source
- What they said 2026 “This structural reorganization fully aligns our leadership team with our strategic vision, enabling us to better serve our partner associations and the farmers and ranchers we support” source
- What they said 2026 “His focus on transparency, controls and talent development will strengthen our finance organization and support our long term strategy.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public tech firm, not a Farm Credit association or cooperative bank; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; no Farm Credit or US cooperative bank link.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian private firm; not a US agricultural lender or cooperative bank.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma firm; outside the universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel company held by a trust and nonprofit; not a lender, so the route cannot surface it.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer and a Farm Credit borrower at most; the route reads lender CEOs, not borrowers.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software firm; outside the universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software firm; outside the universe.
Route 323: Independent service firms: Independent pharmacy and home medical groups
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from independently owned (not PE-backed) pharmacy chains, infusion and home medical equipment providers with 50 or more staff that changed how care is delivered 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Revised: hmenews.com and the NCPA site are not usable as a list of firms (hmenews.com returns 403 even through the fallback, and NCPA has no member-firm stories). The digital editions of Chain Drug Review and HME News (digitaledition.chaindrugreview.com, digital.hmenews.com) do fetch, and their issue contents pages list every chain and provider profile. Attempt 1 read 10 regional-chain profiles and 22 HME provider profiles and produced one name (Justin Heiser, employee-owned Thrifty White). Attempt 2 went to multi-line family and founder-owned providers that HME News profiles and added Clay Williams (Williams Bros., family-owned, central fill, 2025) and Casey Hite (Aeroflow Health, co-founder, AI intake and patient service, 2024). Most of the rest were PE-backed, too small, public, voiced by a deputy, or growth and acquisition stories with no change to how the work is done.
Sources: Drug Topics, HME News, NCPA news, company newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade issue through Chain Drug Review April regional-chains issue contents; HME News monthly digital issue contents gives chain or provider profile (joined on article slug)
- profile through output/candidates.json gives new firm (joined on firm and surname grep)
- new firm through same profile text gives dated change and leader's own words (joined on leader name and title in the profile)
- change through second profile of the same firm in a later or earlier issue (CDR runs one per chain every April) gives confirmation of the change (joined on firm name)
- firm through Wikipedia infobox, firm careers page, chamber member directory gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Justin Heiser, Thrifty White Pharmacy (Thrifty White Health), 100% employee-owned, 1,800+ employees ceo, United States
Rebuilding a 140-year-old employee-owned drugstore chain into a clinical care company, moving pharmacists and technicians from dispensing into chronic disease management and other clinical services under the Thrifty White Health name.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As newly appointed chief executive officer Justin Heiser put it, “Thrifty White Pharmacy has been around for over 140 years, and our transformation into Thrifty White Health will ensure we are around for another 140.”” source
- What they did 2024 “Over the last year, we have undergone a transformative rebranding to ensure our vision and mission fully reflect our commitment to advancing community health and delivering accessible, patient-focused care.” source
- What they did 2025 “Thrifty White is enabling pharmacists and technicians to expand their roles beyond traditional medication dispensing into providing more integrated clinical services within community pharmacy.” source
- What they said 2026 “Thrifty White Pharmacy is a 100% employee owned mid-sized pharmacy chain that is committed to small towns and cities in the rural Midwest.” source
- Clay Williams, Williams Bros. Health Care Pharmacy (family-owned, Washington, Indiana; 8 pharmacies, 12 HME locations, LTC, specialty, compounding and infusion pharmacies; 500+ employees) ceo, United States
A fifth-generation family pharmacist CEO moving prescription filling out of eight crowded retail pharmacies into a central fill operation so stores stop running late on prescriptions.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “the newly minted CEO of Williams Brothers Healthcare Pharmacy is ready to push forward into 2025 and beyond in new and innovative ways. The fifth-generation pharmacist succeeds his father Charles C. (C.C.) Williams II and his uncle Mark Williams.” source
- What they did 2025 “Central Fulfillment Tech (Full time - OTJ Training) Williams Bros Pharmacy This job is no longer accepting applications See open jobs at Williams Bros Pharmacy” source
- What they said 2025 “Pharmacies are just busting at the seams with prescription volume and one of the complaints that we hear most commonly from patients is the prescription not being ready whenever they come to get it, so that’s a big area that we’re going to be able to tackle,” source
- What they said 2026 “Williams Bros. Health Care Pharmacy is a family owned and operated business comprised of exceptional employees committed to providing outstanding customer service and exceeding expectations.” source
- Casey Hite, Aeroflow Health (co-founded with his brother, privately held, Asheville NC, 1,000+ employees) ceo, United States
Co-founder CEO rebuilding a home medical supplier's intake and patient-service work around AI agents, automated insurance validation and data pipelines in place of fax and phone queues.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Hite is the Co-Founder and CEO of Aeroflow Health, a national healthcare company serving millions of patients each year.” source
- What they did 2024 “The implementation of Five9 IVA has led to a 10-15% reduction in call volume by automating common inquiries such as order status and insurance guidelines.” source
- What they did 2026 “Under his direction, Aeroflow has replaced fax-based workflows with direct data pipelines into physician records, deployed AI agents to field patient inquiries, and freed staff from combing through charts that can run thousands of pages.” source
- What they said 2026 “At Aeroflow, we address this by investing in real-time eligibility and benefit verification, including customization at the employer-group level. We use structured data integrations and automated validation checks to confirm coverage requirements before documentation is submitted.” source
- What they said 2025 “This past year, we reached over 1,000 employees, and are one of the largest employers in Asheville, NC. We are immensely proud of our contribution to healthcare and the North Carolina economy, and look forward to continuing on our path as one of the fastest growing private companies in the country.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss drugmaker; not in the regional pharmacy or HME provider profiles this route reads.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software; outside the route's universe of independent pharmacy and home medical firms.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian; not covered by Chain Drug Review or HME News provider profiles.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian conglomerate; not in a US pharmacy or HME trade source.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian miner; outside the route.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public software; outside the route.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian manufacturing; outside the route.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a US food maker, not a pharmacy or home medical provider; not in these sources.
Route 324: Independent service firms: Independent title, escrow and appraisal firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from privately held title, escrow, settlement and appraisal firms with 50 or more staff that rebuilt their work around automation 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Across two attempts and more than 55 logged fetches, no owner or controlling CEO of a US title, escrow or appraisal firm with 50 to 5,000 staff was found voicing a dated 2023 to 2026 redesign of the work. The named trade press (HousingWire, ALTA news, The Title Report) quotes vendors, underwriter executives, WFG staff, COOs and chief appraisers. The best seam, Qualia and Resware customer case studies joined to ALTA NTP bios, was read 20 deep: owner-voiced stories come from agencies of 6 to 45 staff (AEGIS 40+, Allegiance Title 20 to 35, Fortis 15, Epic 16, MJH about 40), while the larger owners (Sarah Blackburn's eight Texas agencies, Global American Title, Universal Title, Ohio Real Title) voice only 2018-era platform switches. Appraisal firms that rebuilt around AI are VC startups (Automax, ValueMate) or PE-held (Clear Capital), and the independents speak through chief appraisers or chief innovation officers (Consolidated Analytics, Accurity). The one borderline name (Paul Hofmann) is kept for the record but sits below the 50-staff floor.
Sources: HousingWire, Title News (ALTA), Inman, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- title/escrow AI change story through Qualia customer case studies index (qualia.com/case-studies/) gives agency + quoted leader (joined on agency name)
- agency + quoted leader through ALTA NTP directory bio (alta.org ntp-profile/<First-Last>) gives leader role, ownership, control (joined on leader full name)
- leader through HousingWire title articles (housingwire.com/articles/<slug>/) gives second page with own words (joined on leader name + firm)
- firm through ALTA news (acquisition releases) and village.ai company page gives headcount, ownership history (joined on firm name)
- firm through vendor case study date and HW datePublished gives signal year (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Miss. Out of scope by design: Fortescue is a public Australian mining company, not a US title, escrow or appraisal firm; the route's sources (ALTA, The Title Re
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Miss. Out of scope by design: Patagonia is an apparel firm, not a title, escrow or appraisal firm; no route source names him.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Miss. Out of scope by design: Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; no title-industry source names him.
- Missed Aaron Levie Miss. Out of scope by design: Box is a public software company; no title, escrow or appraisal source names him.
- Missed Satya Nadella Miss. Out of scope by design: Microsoft is public software; title-industry sources do not cover him.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Miss. Out of scope by design: Shopify is a public Canadian software company; not in any title-industry source.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Miss. Out of scope by design: Chobani is a food maker, not a title, escrow or appraisal service firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Miss. Out of scope by design: Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; the route is US title, escrow and appraisal firms only.
Route 325: Independent service firms: Independent research and survey firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from privately held market research, survey and data collection firms with 50 or more staff (Insights Association, GreenBook GRIT lists, Quirks) that rebuilt their work around AI 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Trade-press rosters for US market research and survey firms (Greenbook CEO Series, Greenbook IIEX speaker pages, MRWeb Daily Research News, Quirks and Insights Association results via search) fetch fine but surface the wrong population for the Independent service firms profile. Greenbook CEO Series guests in 2026 are founders of AI-native or software platforms (AddMaple, NewtonX, OG Insights, Enlightn, Knowledge Hound, Cint) or staff of large groups (Accenture Song). Full-service US agencies that did change their work with AI either voice it through a VP or managing director (KS&R Amplify AI, Jan 2025, voiced by its VP of Decision Sciences; Escalent BeSci x AI, voiced by a managing director), have hired or newly promoted non-controlling CEOs (C+R Research, CEO since Jan 2024 at a women-owned firm; Burke, Directions, Fors Marsh), were sold (Edison Research to SSRS, Oct 2025; Gongos to InSites/Human8), are under 50 staff (Converseon, about 39) or are self-serve platforms rather than service firms (aytm). The one previously found fit, Decision Analyst, is already in output/candidates.json. Six fetches and 18 searches gave zero new verified names, after S-43, S-125, S-153 and S-213 had already harvested this pool.
Sources: greenbook.org, quirks.com, insightsassociation.org, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade roster through Greenbook CEO Series, MRWeb DRNO, Quirks and Insights Association via WebSearch gives research firm (joined on firm name)
- research firm through MRWeb DRNO printable item or firm newsroom gives dated change to the work (joined on firm name plus AI launch)
- dated change through same item gives who is quoted (joined on named spokesperson and title)
- leader through firm site or trade press gives ownership, control and headcount (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public pharma company; not in research-firm trade press as a supplier.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public software company, outside the research-supplier universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and not a research supplier; the route never reaches it.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial and services group, not a US research firm.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is apparel, outside the research and survey universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is food manufacturing, outside the universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate, outside the universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public enterprise software, not a research supplier.
Route 326: Independent service firms: Credit unions and member-owned financial co-ops, third pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. SECOND PASS: the first pass already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). LATER PASS: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). Start from credit unions and other member-owned financial cooperatives with 50 to 5,000 staff whose chief executive announced a change to how members are served (AI in lending or service, branches or roles redesigned) 2023 to 2026, from CUToday, Credit Union Journal and CU Times.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route works only after replacing CUToday topic search (relevance-ranked, undated, mostly vendor and pre-2023 stories) with web search for CEO-voiced change types (universal service model, owned insurance or wealth arm, transformation office), then reading the release on an open outlet (GoWest, GlobeNewswire, credit union newsrooms, league sites). CU Times, CUInsight and the Business Wire mirror return 403. Four names cleared, fewer than five.
Sources: cutoday.info, cutimes.com, credit union newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- change type (universal service model, owned insurance or wealth arm, transformation office) through web search plus CUbroadcast and CUToday gives credit union (joined on credit union name)
- credit union through release on GoWest, GlobeNewswire or the credit union newsroom gives president and CEO quoted on the change (joined on credit union name plus 'President and CEO')
- CEO through second page (BizTucson, Tyfone, annual meeting release, league site) gives confirmation of the change and the CEO's words (joined on CEO name)
- credit union through ProPublica Form 990 (state charters) or Wikipedia infobox gives role, control and size (joined on EIN or credit union name)
- CEO through web search for successor or retirement gives still in office check (joined on CEO name)
New names that passed every check
- Matthew Gaspari, Tucson Federal Credit Union (Tucson, Arizona; member-owned federal credit union) ceo, United States
Replacing teller lines with a universal service model in which every employee acts as an account manager, branch by branch across all six existing branches.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““Choosing a CUSO was a strategic decision,” said Matthew Gaspari, TFCU’s CEO. “They understand the unique needs of credit unions, ensuring the final design aligns with our operational goals and member expectations.”” source
- What they did 2025 “The remodel introduces TFCU’s new universal service model, replacing traditional teller lines with open, collaborative spaces. A lobby manager will personally greet members and guide them to a member advocate for personalized, “shoulder-to-shoulder” assistance. This approach empowers all TFCU employees to serve as acco” source
- What they said 2025 ““These renovations and expansions demonstrate our ongoing commitment to evolving with our members’ needs and providing them with the best possible banking experience.”” source
- Kathy Orovitz, Navigant Credit Union (Smithfield, Rhode Island; member-owned state-chartered credit union) ceo, United States
Moved wealth advice from an in-house division to an owned, fiduciary advisory arm by buying an independent planning firm and sunsetting the old unit.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Compensation Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other Kathleen Orovitz (President/ceo) $759,362 $0 $284,221 Jason M Jolin (Evp/cfo) $603,274” source
- What they did 2025 “Launch of NCU Investment Solutions: In September, Navigant Credit Union completed the acquisition of Randall Financial Group, LLC and officially launched its new NCU Investment Solutions division. This multi-faceted financial advisory program focuses on fiduciary, advice-driven relationships that align with Navigant’s ” source
- What they said 2025 ““The launch of NCU Investment Solutions will give us a stronger framework to deliver the wealth management services our members need to successfully plan for their futures.”” source
- Lisa Pesta, Meriwest Credit Union (San Jose, California; member-owned state-chartered credit union) ceo, United States
Built an owned, digital insurance agency inside the credit union so members can shop and buy coverage in minutes as Bay Area insurance costs rise.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Area served Greater San Francisco Bay Area Key people Lisa Pesta, President/CEO Brian Hennessey, CFO Chad Maze, COO” source
- What they did 2025 “Meriwest Credit Union, headquartered in San Jose, announces the official launch of Meriwest Insurance Services, a full-service, digitally powered insurance agency developed in strategic partnership with Insuritas.” source
- What they said 2025 ““We can provide our members with convenient, competitive, and reliable insurance solutions to help meet their needs at a time when insurance costs are rising rapidly,” said Lisa Pesta” source
- Chris Parker, Lighthouse Credit Union (formerly Northeast Credit Union; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; member-owned federal credit union) ceo, United States
Set up a standing Transformation Office for enterprise change management after rebranding and taking a federal charter to serve beyond its home footprint.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““This year has been extraordinary as we transition from Northeast CU to Lighthouse CU and broaden our field of membership with a federal charter,” says Chris Parker, President & CEO of Lighthouse CU.” source
- What they did 2025 “The Transformation Office will serve as a catalyst for precise execution, enabling Lighthouse to balance its strategy with day-to-day operations through structured initiatives, enterprise change management, and data-driven performance tracking.” source
- What they said 2025 “The launch of the Transformation Office is a major step in making sure Lighthouse is not only thinking big” source
- What they said 2024 “We are committed to supporting our members as we enhance our product and service offerings, branch experience, and digital platforms in the months ahead.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian manufacturer and services group, not a US credit union or member-owned financial co-op; the route (credit union trade press, CU newsrooms)
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; outside the credit union universe and the US.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; not a credit union, not US.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; not covered by credit union trade press.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above the 5,000-staff band; appears in CU press only as a vendor (Copilot), never as a credit union leader.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the route.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a privately held US food maker, not a member-owned financial cooperative; the route does not reach it.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a US apparel firm owned by a trust; not a credit union, so the route cannot hit him.
Route 327: Independent service firms: Mutual and reciprocal insurers, third pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. SECOND PASS: the first pass already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). LATER PASS: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). Start from policyholder-owned mutual and reciprocal insurers with 50 to 5,000 staff (not stock companies) whose chief executive changed how claims, underwriting or service work is done 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Third pass at US mutual and reciprocal insurers is exhausted. Across three attempts (about 40 fetches and 30 searches) only one leader qualified (Jeanette Ward, Texas Mutual). After S-300 and S-315 took the visible CEOs, the remaining in-band mutual CEOs are quoted on appointments, dividends, ratings, mergers (Curi and Constellation), partnerships (Pharmacists Mutual with Positive Physicians), new executive hires (PEMCO 2024) and growth goals (Utica National 2025, voiced by a communications director). Core-system and AI releases quote the CIO or claims officer (Columbia, MEMIC on Gradient AI). Key leads sit on hosts that block scripts (businesswire.com, insurancenewsnet.com, coverager tag pages). The route cannot reach three counted names without stretching deals and hires into redesigns.
Sources: Insurance Journal, Carrier Management, Best's News, insurer newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- in-band US mutual or reciprocal carrier through WebSearch over Insurance Business, Carrier Management, Insurance Journal, regional business press gives CEO-voiced change to how claims, underwriting or service work is done (joined on carrier name)
- change through carrier's own year-in-review or subsidiary page gives confirmed change (new role layer or new owned arm) (joined on carrier domain)
- carrier through CEO appointment story (insurancebusinessmag.com) and carrier ownership statement gives CEO tenure, mutual ownership (joined on CEO name)
- change through earliest dated move under this CEO gives signal year (joined on carrier name plus date)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Leads a public software company, not a US mutual or reciprocal insurer.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian miner, not a US mutual insurer.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software company, not an insurer.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company, not an insurer.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public drug maker, not an insurer.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer, not an insurer.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate, not a US mutual insurer.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker, not an insurer.
Route 328: Independent service firms: Independent veterinary and dental groups, third pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. SECOND PASS: the first pass already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). LATER PASS: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). Start from privately held, doctor-owned veterinary and dental practice groups that are NOT private-equity backed, with 50 or more staff, 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Third pass at privately held, doctor-owned US veterinary and dental groups for the Independent service firms profile. S-303 and S-317 already took the six countable people this pool holds (Willis, White, Hughes, Thomas, Nelsen, Spencer), and candidates.json also holds Swenson, Becknell, Leonetti, Patel and Hoe. In about 14 searches and 6 receipts this pass found 0 new people who pass size, ownership, control and a leader-voiced 2023 to 2026 change. Dental AI vendor releases now quote clinical vice presidents (DECA Dental and Pearl, Feb 2026), the dentist-owned DSO launch (REV One Dental, Apr 2024) is a new firm whose site no longer lists its launch CEO and shows five locations, Lap of Love took Cortec Group money in 2020, Corus Orthodontists is Canadian, and the vet ESOPs found (1st Pet, Allied) are already counted. The pool is exhausted for this profile.
Sources: Today's Veterinary Business, Dental Economics, Becker's Dental, group newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade or vendor search (doctor-owned, dentist-owned, employee-owned, independently owned) through WebSearch over vendor newsrooms, EIN Presswire, regional business press, vet job boards gives group name (joined on group name)
- group name through vendor release or the group's own launch release gives quoted leader and change (joined on group name plus leader name)
- leader through group home page (leadership and locations) gives control and size check (joined on leader name)
- group through ownership search (private equity, recapitalization) gives ownership verdict (joined on group name)
- change through second dated page gives signal year (joined on group name plus change)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy; not a US vet or dental group.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; out of universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software company; out of universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial firm; out of universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company; out of universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma; out of universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company; out of universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel; out of universe.
Route 329: Independent service firms: Independent physician groups, third pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. SECOND PASS: the first pass already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). LATER PASS: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). Start from physician-owned independent medical groups (not hospital or PE owned) with 50 to 5,000 staff, from AMGA, MGMA and Becker's coverage 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Third pass at independent physician groups gave 0 qualifying new names from 8 searches and 15 fetches. Becker's ASC and Crain's are 403. New spines tried: the Navina AI customer archive (navina.ai/case-studies, news), eClinicalWorks In the News and its customer releases, and the AMGA 2025 Independent Group Track agenda (amga.org, 200). Vendor material quotes medical directors, EHR administrators and IT vice presidents, not the leader. The one CEO quote (Shawn Crawford, CVFP, April 2023, Navina) is from a hired CEO who now appears as CEO of MD Resource Corp. The AMGA roster names hired CEOs whose changes are summarized by AMGA, not in their own words: Mark Mantei (Vancouver Clinic) retired at the end of 2025 and Charlotte Flood (Northwest Primary Care) has no other press. Holston Medical Group is now part of Optum, Quincy Medical Group sits inside PE-backed Duly, and OrthoIndiana is a merger, not a redesign. Earlier passes (S-304 agilon, S-318 Assort) already took the groups that pass.
Sources: beckersasc.com, beckershospitalreview.com, amga.org, group newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- AI vendor or AMGA conference through navina.ai case studies, eclinicalworks.com news, amga.org conference track gives independent medical group (joined on group name)
- independent medical group through group newsroom, local business press gives leader who controls it (joined on group name + CEO title)
- leader through vendor release or local press gives own-words quote on the change (joined on person name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel company, not a physician group; never in AMGA, Navina or eClinicalWorks material.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy; outside a US physician-group route.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a medical group; not in any source this route reads.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software firm; not a physician group.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; not a US physician group.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial firm; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software firm; not a physician group.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software firm; not a physician group.
Route 330: Independent service firms: Legal innovation awards: midsize firms, third pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. SECOND PASS: the first pass already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). LATER PASS: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). Start from ILTA Innovative Law Firm, Legalweek Leaders in Tech Law and American Legal Technology Awards winners 2023 to 2026 that are US firms of 50 to 600 lawyers.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Third pass at legal innovation award rosters for US law firms of 50 to 600 lawyers. The national rosters (Legalweek, ILTA, ALTA, LegalTech Breakthrough) and the New York, Texas, New Jersey, Florida, D.C. and 2025 California ALM regional pages were mined by S-309 and S-320. This pass read the ALM Pennsylvania (2024, 2025), Southeastern (2025) and California (2026) honoree pages and the new BridgeTower Lawyers Weekly Legal Innovation awards (Michigan, Virginia, Massachusetts, 2026). Firm-level categories outside AI (Talent Management Innovation, Law Firm of the Year) surfaced the founder-led insurance defense firm Tyson & Mendes. Most other in-band honorees showed only award copy with no dated change, or the firm site blocks scripts (stradley.com 403 direct and via Jina).
Sources: iltanet.org, law.com where fetchable, lawsites.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award program through ALM regional legal awards honoree pages on event.law.com (Pennsylvania, Southeastern, California 2026), all categories including Talent Management Innovation and Law Firm of the Year; Lawyers Weekly Legal Innovation honoree releases on firm sites gives firm or named individual (joined on firm name as printed)
- firm through firm newsroom award release (tysonmendes.com/<slug>/) gives leader title, founding, headcount and pointers to owned arms and methods (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm launch release for the change (tysonmendes.com/the-apex/) gives dated change to how the work is done plus the leader's own words (joined on firm name plus method or arm name)
- leader through leader bio and about page (tysonmendes.com/attorneys/<slug>/, /about-us/) gives control (founding partner, executive committee), current headcount, owned arms (joined on person name)
- firm through older firm release (tysonmendes.com/reimagine-your-future-at-tyson-mendes/) gives earlier redesign signals and ownership (firm principals) (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Robert Tyson, Tyson & Mendes LLP (San Diego; national insurance defense trial firm founded 2002 by Robert Tyson and Patrick Mendes, 250+ attorneys in 28 offices; partner-owned) owner, United States
Founder of a national insurance defense firm who rebuilt how his lawyers prepare and try cases around a data-derived method (The Apex) drawn from 100 Nuclear Verdict transcripts, and spun up a consulting arm to sell it.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Founded in 2002 by Robert Tyson and Patrick Mendes, the firm has experienced tremendous growth, with offices across the United States.” source
- What they did 2025 “Tyson & Mendes has integrated The Apex℠ into its internal education programming, trial preparation, and client advisory services.” source
- What they said 2025 “The insurance defense industry is notoriously slow to adapt, and the data we’ve analyzed bears that out. The good news is that we know what works. If there’s a pattern, we can break it.” source
- What they did 2026 “Tyson also co-founded Apex Defense Consulting, which provides carriers and defense counsel with practical education, collaborative resources, and bespoke consulting services grounded in real-world litigation experience.” source
- What they said 2026 “Mr. Tyson is the Co-Founder and serves as a Consultant for Apex Defense Consulting (ADC) , where he helps defense attorneys, insurance professionals, and corporations stop Nuclear Verdicts® through data-driven education, collaboration, and consulting.” source
- Marshall Wall, Cranfill Sumner LLP (Raleigh, North Carolina; partner-owned litigation and business firm founded 1992, offices in Raleigh, Charlotte, Wilmington and Washington, D.C.) executive, United States
Managing partner of a North Carolina partner-owned litigation firm who restructured how the firm is run by hiring its first CEO from outside the partnership, a bank transformation executive, to modernize operations and bring AI into the work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““Our focus has always been on delivering exceptional service and results for our clients,” said Marshall Wall, Managing Partner of Cranfill Sumner LLP.” source
- What they did 2025 “Cranfill Sumner is leading the way in legal industry innovation as the first firm in the Southeastern U.S. to appoint a CEO from outside its partnership.” source
- What they said 2025 “Her strategic guidance will allow our attorneys and staff to work even more efficiently and collaboratively, ensuring we continue to provide the responsive, high-quality counsel our clients rely on today and will need tomorrow.” source
- What they said 2016 “Technology is important in so many areas of our life but in this law firm it’s going to have to be front and center to differentiate ourselves and show our clients we are giving them good value.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and energy billionaire; not a US law firm, never on a US legal innovation award roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO; outside the route's universe of US law firms.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate owner; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company CEO; Microsoft appears on legal award pages only as a vendor or in-house team, not as a law firm.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company CEO; Box can appear only as a legal-tech vendor, never as a law firm.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Outdoor apparel owner; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian commerce software CEO; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; outside the route's universe of US law firms.
Route 331: Independent service firms: Rural electric and telecom cooperatives, third pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). Start from member-owned rural electric and broadband cooperatives with 50 to 5,000 staff whose chief executive changed how field and member service work is done 2023 to 2026 (NRECA and NRTC news, Cooperative.com).
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Works after a change: co-op AI and field-service stories still quote staff, so the route reads CEO annual-meeting speeches and CEO columns in statewide co-op magazines (Indiana Connection) and co-op newsrooms, where the CEO voices a dated fiber subsidiary, acquisition or new service arm.
Sources: cooperative.com, electric.coop, co-op newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- state through statewide co-op magazine (Indiana Connection) and G&T newsroom gives co-op CEO column or annual meeting speech (joined on co-op name category page)
- co-op through CEO column, speech or co-op newsroom release gives dated change (fiber subsidiary, acquisition, new service LLC) (joined on co-op name plus subsidiary name)
- change through second page (G&T newsroom, business press, co-op site) gives confirmation of change (joined on subsidiary name)
- co-op through 2025-2026 annual meeting remarks, co-op About page, podcast page gives leader in post, headcount, ownership (joined on CEO name plus co-op name)
- change through earliest CEO column or launch story gives signal year (joined on subsidiary name)
New names that passed every check
- Brett Abplanalp, Decatur County REMC (Greensburg, Indiana; member-owned rural electric cooperative) and its fiber business PowerStream Fiber ceo, United States
Took a rural electric co-op into the fiber internet business, launching PowerStream Fiber in January 2025 after about two years of preparation and a partnership with a telephone co-op.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “This article is adapted from CEO Brett Abplanalp’s remarks delivered at the Annual Meeting on Friday, June 13, 2025.” source
- What they did 2025 “This January, Decatur County REMC saw the fulfillment of nearly two years of preparation with the official launch of PowerStream Fiber.” source
- What they said 2025 “Reflecting on how Decatur County REMC brought power to our rural communities 87 years ago, it’s only fitting that we bring fiber in the same way.” source
- What they did 2025 “So far, we’ve been awarded nearly $5 million, enabling us to bring fiber service to over 1,400 members.” source
- Mark McKinney, Jackson County REMC (Brownstown, Indiana; member-owned rural electric cooperative with a fiber division and the Jackson Solutions LLC subsidiary) ceo, United States
Turned a rural electric co-op into a fiber broadband provider with a $130 million network decided in 2017, then added a new subsidiary in 2024 to sell services beyond utilities.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “For about 11 years, Mark McKinney has been President and CEO of Jackson County REMC which is a non-profit that is member-owned and provides electricity and other types of services to the southern Indiana region.” source
- What they did 2017 “Our $130 million investment in designing, constructing, and operating your fiber-optic broadband network underscores our commitment to our membership.” source
- What they said 2024 “At Jackson Solutions, LLC, our goal is to provide a diverse range of products and services that extend beyond traditional utilities.” source
- What they did 2025 “We have not increased our monthly rates since we started offering service in 2018, and we still have no hidden fees, router rental fees, managed Wi-Fi fees, or contracts for our members.” source
- Mike Malandro, Choptank Electric Cooperative (Denton, Maryland; member-owned distribution co-op, 171 full-time employees) and its wholly owned subsidiary Choptank Fiber ceo, United States
After taking over a Maryland electric co-op in 2019, set up a fiber subsidiary that began connecting members in April 2021 and reinvests its profits in more rural build-out.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “shared Mike Malandro, President of Choptank Fiber and CEO of Choptank Electric Cooperative.” source
- What they did 2021 “Choptank Fiber has been connecting members to high-speed internet since its first customer connection in April of 2021.” source
- What they said 2022 ““When we engineered our system, we wanted to be ready for what members would need in the future, says Malandro.” source
- What they said 2025 ““We are, of course, proud of these accomplishments, but more importantly we are celebrating that Choptank Fiber has stuck to its mission of serving our unserved rural electric cooperative members and reinvesting profits back into infrastructure development,”” source
- Rob Schwartz, Miami-Cass REMC (Peru, Indiana; member-owned rural electric cooperative) and its acquired broadband subsidiary Broadway Broadband ceo, United States
Bought a small local internet company in 2020 and turned it into the co-op's own fiber arm, Broadway Broadband, building out across the service territory and beyond.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Welcome to the 86th Annual Meeting of Miami-Cass REMC. I’m Rob Schwartz, CEO of your cooperative.” source
- What they did 2020 “If you recall from last year’s meeting, I spoke about the purchase of Broadway Broadband and our intention to build out fiber and high-speed internet throughout our service territory and beyond.” source
- What they did 2024 “Headquartered in Peru, Broadway Broadband is owned by the public utility group Miami-Cass REMC, and REMC CEO Rob Schwartz said he’s excited for the deal.” source
- What they said 2021 “There are more opportunities for grants coming with the stimulus packages that we will pursue to help fund and speed up our fiber deployment.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani does not lead a US rural electric or telecom cooperative; the route's sources (cooperative.com, electric.coop, statewide co-op magazines, co-op ne
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard does not lead a US rural electric or telecom cooperative; the route's sources (cooperative.com, electric.coop, statewide co-op magazines, co-op n
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest does not lead a US rural electric or telecom cooperative; the route's sources (cooperative.com, electric.coop, statewide co-op magazines, co-op n
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie does not lead a US rural electric or telecom cooperative; the route's sources (cooperative.com, electric.coop, statewide co-op magazines, co-op news
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella does not lead a US rural electric or telecom cooperative; the route's sources (cooperative.com, electric.coop, statewide co-op magazines, co-op ne
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan does not lead a US rural electric or telecom cooperative; the route's sources (cooperative.com, electric.coop, statewide co-op magazines, co-op n
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya does not lead a US rural electric or telecom cooperative; the route's sources (cooperative.com, electric.coop, statewide co-op magazines, co-op ne
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke does not lead a US rural electric or telecom cooperative; the route's sources (cooperative.com, electric.coop, statewide co-op magazines, co-op newsr
Route 332: Independent service firms: Farm credit and cooperative banks, third pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). Start from Farm Credit System associations and cooperative banks with 50 to 5,000 staff whose CEO changed how lending or member service work is done 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Third pass at Farm Credit associations and cooperative banks. The sources are open (association newsrooms, cobank.com/news, agcountry.com, fcsamerica.com, agweb.com all 200 with --text) but, after skipping Reynolds, Norte and Harris (already in candidates.json from S-322) and the many credit union CEOs already found, no further leader passes the own-words test. Farm Credit Mid-America's news index (fcma-news) shows no 2023-2026 redesign, and its leadership restructure under Dan Wagner is dated February 2022 and is an org chart, not a change to the work. CoBank's March 2026 Chief Transformation Officer and Transformation Management Office are voiced by Eric Itambo, who is president and chief banking officer, not the CEO, so he does not control the bank. The April 2024 joint management of AgCountry, FCSAmerica and Frontier under CEO Mark Jensen is the biggest structural move in the System, but the release and AgWeb coverage quote only the three board chairs, and the leadership pages carry no Jensen words. Other 2025-2026 moves are mergers (AgSouth into Carolina Farm Credit, Central Florida with Southwest Georgia, Lone Star with Ag New Mexico), which are ownership deals, not redesigns; new-CEO appointments under a year in post; or tech adoptions dated before 2023 (Texas Farm Credit nCino, 2020). The FCA corporate activity report is a PDF the verifier cannot read and lists only charter actions. The list is mined out.
Sources: farmcredit.com, ag lender trade press, association newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- cooperative lender through association newsroom, cobank.com/news, ag trade press (agweb.com) gives dated change announcement (joined on association name)
- change announcement through the release text gives named speaker (joined on quoted person and title)
- speaker through association senior leaders page gives CEO role and control (joined on person name + title)
- CEO + change through second page (trade press or association learning center) gives confirmation and year (joined on association name + change nouns)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not a Farm Credit System or cooperative bank leader; does not appear in association newsrooms, CoBank or ag lender trade press. Chobani is a food maker, not a l
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not a Farm Credit System or cooperative bank leader; does not appear in association newsrooms, CoBank or ag lender trade press. Novartis, Switzerland, out of US
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not a Farm Credit System or cooperative bank leader; does not appear in association newsrooms, CoBank or ag lender trade press. Shopify, Canada.
- Missed Aaron Levie Not a Farm Credit System or cooperative bank leader; does not appear in association newsrooms, CoBank or ag lender trade press. Box is a public software firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella Not a Farm Credit System or cooperative bank leader; does not appear in association newsrooms, CoBank or ag lender trade press. Microsoft is a public software f
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not a Farm Credit System or cooperative bank leader; does not appear in association newsrooms, CoBank or ag lender trade press. Fortescue, Australia.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not a Farm Credit System or cooperative bank leader; does not appear in association newsrooms, CoBank or ag lender trade press. Reliance, India.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not a Farm Credit System or cooperative bank leader; does not appear in association newsrooms, CoBank or ag lender trade press. Patagonia is apparel, not lendin
Route 333: Independent service firms: Independent pharmacy and home medical groups, third pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of roughly 50 to 5,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders; go further down the same list (smaller, newer or less covered firms, other states). Start from independently owned (not PE-backed) pharmacy chains, infusion and home medical equipment providers with 50 or more staff that changed how care is delivered 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Third pass at independent pharmacy, infusion and HME groups found no new person who fits after 22 logged fetches and 15 searches. The Chain Drug Review April regional-chain roster is a closed set of about eight US chains (Kinney, Lewis, Hartig, CARE, Thrifty White, Fruth, Hy-Vee, Discount Drug Mart) that earlier passes already worked; the remaining ones show growth, ESOP ownership or pre-2023 moves (Discount Drug Mart central fill 2018 and MetroHealth clinics 2015, Hayat nurses 2021) and no dated 2023-2026 redesign voiced by the controlling leader. HME and infusion AI coverage quotes vendors, investors and PE-platform executives, and the independents quoted are single-store or tiny. Infusion and HME firms above 50 staff are nearly all PE platforms or now strategic-owned (Shield HealthCare, Henry Schein 2023).
Sources: Drug Topics, HME News, NCPA news, company newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade roster through Chain Drug Review April regional chains issue; HME News digital edition gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through trade article or local news gives dated change (joined on firm name + year)
- dated change through same article, firm newsroom gives controlling leader quote (joined on leader name)
- leader through firm boilerplate, Wikipedia infobox, newswire boilerplate gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial and services group, not a US pharmacy, infusion or HME firm; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian conglomerate; Reliance Retail pharmacy is not a US independent chain; outside the universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public software, not a privately owned US pharmacy or HME provider.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer; no trade pharmacy or HME source covers it.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is apparel retail; not in Chain Drug Review, HME News or NCPA coverage.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public, Canadian, software; outside the universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss drug maker, a supplier to the chains in this route, not a pharmacy operator.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; outside the universe.
Route 334: Large independent service firms: Am Law 200 law firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Am Law 200 and NLJ 500 law firms with 1,000 to 10,000 total staff, led by an elected chair or managing partner who has changed how legal work is done 2023 to 2026 (firm-built AI, new delivery or pricing models, redesigned associate or staff roles).
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: law.com/americanlawyer, Bloomberg Law, Legaltech News, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- Am Law 200 firm (1,000 to 10,000 staff) through WebSearch: firm name or 'Am Law' + 'proprietary AI' / 'chair said' / 'acquires' (2025-2026) gives firm-level redesign event (joined on firm name)
- redesign event through firm newsroom release or firm repost of Bloomberg Law / Law360 Pulse / American Lawyer interview gives chair or managing partner with own-words quote (joined on firm name + leader title on the page)
- leader through ABA Journal daily-news pickup or second firm release gives second page confirming the change (joined on leader surname + change name (e.g. Athena, Regina OS))
- firm through firm boilerplate ('more than 1,600 attorneys') or interview headcount line gives headcount and partnership form (joined on firm name)
- firm through earliest firm release on the same platform gives signal year (joined on platform name)
New names that passed every check
- Anthony McCusker, Goodwin Procter LLP (Boston-founded Am Law 100 partnership; 3,000 attorneys and business professionals; revenue above $2.7 billion) executive, United States
As chair he committed Goodwin to about $25 million a year to build its own AI products, starting with a lawyer-built venture financing tool on a firm operating system, to move a million lawyer hours a year to higher-value work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “They would be freed up to help clients navigate complex business issues, develop industry-specific insights, and mentor the next generation of lawyers, according to Anthony McCusker , the firm’s chair.” source
- What they did 2026 “The firm has earmarked about $25 million a year to buy and develop products “designed by lawyers and powered by technology with a real client focus,” McCusker said in an interview.” source
- What they said 2026 “The financing tool is powered by a custom version of Anthropic’s Claude platform and will provide the basis for programs in other practice areas, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, litigation and fund formation, McCusker told Bloomberg Law.” source
- What they did 2026 “Bloomberg law added that the tool was developed under the leadership of Eric Tan, chief digital and technology officer at the firm and was built by six associates.” source
- Tom Cole, Troutman Pepper Locke LLP (Atlanta, Philadelphia and Dallas; partner-owned Am Law 100 firm formed by the Jan. 1, 2025 Troutman Pepper and Locke Lord merger; more than 1,600 attorneys in 30+ offices) executive, United States
As chair he runs a 1,600-lawyer firm on its own in-house AI agent, Athena, and keeps folding new research AI into that firm-controlled platform rather than buying tools lawyer by lawyer.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Cole, Chair of Troutman Pepper Locke and based in the Philadelphia office, is recognized for steering two transformative law firm mergers within five years.” source
- What they did 2026 ““We are excited to bring a leading, agentic legal research capability inside our own proprietary AI environment. This integration underscores our commitment to responsible, practical innovation that improves the way we serve our clients.”” source
- What they said 2025 ““Now at our size we can be a little more experimental and make sure we’re trying to stay up with our peers,” Cole emphasized. “We’re not looking at just efficiency but also effectiveness.”” source
- What they did 2023 “NEW YORK – Troutman Pepper announced today the firmwide release of Athena, a firm-approved, ChatGPT application to help attorneys and business professionals safely and effectively use generative AI to improve workflows and enhance overall user and client experiences.” source
- Kenneth I. Rosh, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP (New York; partner-owned Am Law 100 firm, more than 800 lawyers per its 2026 Chambers profile; total staff not published, inferred above 1,000) executive, United States
As chairman he launched FundAssist, an AI platform Fried Frank built itself for fund formation work, with plans to let clients query their own documents through it.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Chairman: Kenneth I. Rosh Managing Partner: Steven Epstein Vice Chairman: Scott B. Luftglass Firm Overview: Fried Frank is a leading international law firm with more than 800 lawyers” source
- What they did 2026 “Fried Frank is rolling out a new, internally-built artificial intelligence platform it says will streamline its practice advising private equity funds and may provide a strategic advantage through client collaboration and cost savings.” source
- What they said 2026 ““We are excited to launch FundAssist, which reflects our ongoing commitment to investing in and evolving with new technology. Our platform is tailored to what our fund clients want and need, and is resulting in greater efficiencies and significant cost savings, while still securely maintaining our standard of excellenc” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan leads Novartis (pharma, Switzerland); not a US law firm, so Am Law and firm-newsroom sources never surface him.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke leads Shopify (software, Canada); out of scope for a US law-firm route.
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella leads Microsoft, a public software company; it appears in law-firm releases only as a vendor (Azure), never as the firm being redesigned.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest leads Fortescue (mining, Australia); out of scope for a US law-firm route.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani leads Reliance Industries (India); out of scope for a US law-firm route.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya owns Chobani (food manufacturing, US); not a service firm and not a law firm, so the Am Law spine never reaches him.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler owns Semco (Brazil); out of scope for a US law-firm route.
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie leads Box, a public software company; not a law firm, so the route cannot surface him.
Route 335: Large independent service firms: Top 100 accounting and advisory firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Accounting Today Top 100 and INSIDE Public Accounting Top 100 firms with 1,000 to 10,000 staff that are still partner-owned (skip the private-equity-backed ones).
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Over two attempts the route screened every partner-owned firm of 1,000 to 10,000 people in the IPA Top 500 (about 25 firms) and found one countable leader, Steven Strammello of Crowe. The pool is too small: CLA, Withum, Weaver, BPM and LBMC leaders are already candidates; Eide Bailly took Reverence Capital private equity in 2026; Andersen is now public; Wipfli, Aprio, Cherry Bekaert, EisnerAmper, CohnReznick, Citrin, Armanino, Sikich, PKF, UHY, Doeren Mayhew, Elliott Davis, Frazier & Deeter, Schellman, Richey May and Springline are PE-backed; BDO, RSM, Baker Tilly and CBIZ are over 10,000 people or public. The remaining independents (Plante Moran, Forvis Mazars, Kearney & Company, Rehmann, Warren Averett, BerryDunn, Bonadio, Katz Sapper & Miller, RubinBrown, HCVT, Novogradac, Frank Rimerman) have no dated change voiced by the leader: their AI moves are voiced by a CIO or COO, or the leader quotes are about awards, partner classes and culture. The source is public and pullable; the target population behind it is exhausted, so the route cannot reach 3 new names.
Sources: accountingtoday.com, ipa-inc.com, CPA Trendlines, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through IPA Top 500 (2026) table: rank, firm / HQ, MP / CEO, net revenue gives firm plus named leader (joined on firm name)
- firm through ownership screen: Accounting Today Top 100 feature quotes and deal news (PE backing named in the leader's own quote, e.g. Wipfli and New Mountain) gives partner-owned firm in the size band (joined on firm name)
- firm through WebSearch for the firm plus launch, AI, new business unit, pricing; CPA Practice Advisor and Consulting.us releases gives dated change with the leader's own words (joined on firm name plus leader surname)
- change through second outlet carrying the same release with different wording gives second dated page and headcount (joined on firm name)
- leader through IPA role line and release attribution gives control check and signal year (joined on leader name plus title)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not a US firm leader; the IPA Top 500 and Accounting Today Top 100 list only US CPA firms, so the route cannot surface this person. Andrew Forrest leads Fortesc
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya leads Chobani, a food manufacturer, not an accounting or advisory firm; absent from the IPA Top 500.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not a US firm leader; the IPA Top 500 and Accounting Today Top 100 list only US CPA firms, so the route cannot surface this person. Vas Narasimhan leads Novarti
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie leads Box, a public software company, not an accounting firm; absent from the IPA Top 500.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not a US firm leader; the IPA Top 500 and Accounting Today Top 100 list only US CPA firms, so the route cannot surface this person. Ricardo Semler led Semco (Br
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not a US firm leader; the IPA Top 500 and Accounting Today Top 100 list only US CPA firms, so the route cannot surface this person. Tobi Lutke leads Shopify (Ca
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not a US firm leader; the IPA Top 500 and Accounting Today Top 100 list only US CPA firms, so the route cannot surface this person. Mukesh Ambani leads Reliance
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard founded Patagonia, an apparel maker, not an accounting firm; absent from the IPA Top 500.
Route 336: Large independent service firms: Employee-owned engineering and design firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from ENR Top 500 Design Firms and ENR Top 400 Contractors that are employee-owned or family-owned with 1,000 to 10,000 staff.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Three attempts and about 70 firm and mechanism searches gave one countable name (Jordan Goldstein, Gensler). The roster step works: the NCEO Employee Ownership 100 gives headcount and ESOP status for about 25 in-band AEC firms. The change-and-voice step does not: in employee-owned and family AEC firms of 1,000 to 10,000, costly AI moves are voiced by a CIO, chief digital officer or AI manager (McCarthy, Terracon, Consigli, DPR, Kimley-Horn, CDM Smith, Haley & Aldrich), and CEOs speak on growth, successions and awards. The few CEO-voiced cases are already in output/candidates.json (Salas O'Brien's Darin Anderson, Gresham Smith's Rodney Chester, Thornton Tomasetti, Suffolk, HNTB, SSOE, KCI, Clayco and others) or fail on control (Woolpert). The slice is exhausted for new names.
Sources: enr.com, BD+C Giants 400, NCEO, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list through NCEO Employee Ownership 100 (nceo.org, 200 with --text) gives firm with headcount and ESOP year (joined on firm name)
- firm through web search: firm name + CEO + AI OR prefabrication OR new company + 2025 gives change story (joined on firm name plus CEO surname)
- change story through trade or business press interview (commercialobserver.com, fortune.com) gives leader own-words quote (joined on CEO name)
- leader through second outlet on the same change (webpronews.com reprint of Business Insider) gives dated costly move (joined on firm name plus change name)
- firm through dated 2025 headcount line in the interview, NCEO row for ownership gives band check 1,000 to 10,000 (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not a privately owned US service firm of 1,000 to 10,000; not on the NCEO or ENR rosters.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is public and Swiss; out of the route's universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian; out of the route's universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia makes and sells apparel, not AEC or contracting services; not on the ENR or NCEO AEC rows.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; the route is US only.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is public and Australian; out of universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is public and Indian; out of universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public; out of universe.
Route 337: Large independent service firms: Employee Ownership 100
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the NCEO Employee Ownership 100 list of the largest majority employee-owned US companies, service firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The NCEO Employee Ownership 100 is open and gives a clean roster of majority employee-owned US firms with headcount, but S-280 already harvested its best service rows (Westat, Chemonics, Swinerton) and most of the rest announce only promotions, awards, same-business acquisitions or staff-voiced AI. This pass added three CEO-voiced structural changes from firm newsrooms reached by WordPress REST listing.
Sources: nceo.org, ESOP Association, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list through NCEO Employee Ownership 100 (Oct 2025) gives firm (joined on company name, business, US employees)
- firm through firm newsroom (WordPress REST posts listing or news index) gives dated change release (joined on firm domain)
- release through same release gives leader quote and title (joined on said <name>, <title>)
- change through trade press (csemag.com M&A update, informedinfrastructure.com) gives second page on the change (joined on firm name plus deal or structure noun)
New names that passed every check
- David Haskins, Davis H. Elliot Company (Lexington, Kentucky; 100% ESOP, 3,455 employees per NCEO EO100; utility electrical contractor) ceo, United States
Turning a utility line contractor into a full engineering, procurement and construction provider by buying a power systems engineering firm as an owned engineering arm.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As we evaluated the industry for potential opportunities, we could not have found a company more aligned with our culture and vision than Wells Engineering,” said David Haskins, President/CEO of Elliot.” source
- What they did 2023 “Combined with the Davis H. Elliot Company’s 75+ year track record in the utility construction industry, the companies will be able to offer full-service engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services.” source
- What they said 2023 “We set a goal as part of our company’s strategic plan to expand our engineering services.” source
- What they did 2023 “Elliot Engineering (Lexington, KY), a member of the Davis H. Elliot Company family of brands, acquired Wells Engineerin” source
- Rob Slimp, HNTB Corporation (Kansas City, Missouri; 100% employee-owned through the HNTB Ownership Plan, 7,391 employees per NCEO EO100; infrastructure engineering) ceo, United States
Reorganizing a 7,000-person employee-owned engineering firm around firm-wide markets and services, a single operating chief and consolidated regions so clients get the whole firm.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “HNTB’s growth strategy centers on discovering what our clients value and delivering that value better than anyone else,” said Rob Slimp , PE, HNTB chairman and CEO.” source
- What they did 2026 “Dippel will lead HNTB’s newly expanded West Region, which now includes the firm’s West, Central and Great Lakes Divisions.” source
- What they said 2019 “To respond to rapid growth and expanding market opportunities, we have prepared organizationally for an exciting future.” source
- Jim Benbow, DCS Corporation (Alexandria, Virginia; 100% ESOP, 2,133 employees per NCEO EO100; defense engineering and technical services) ceo, United States
Folding a separately branded subsidiary into one integrated DCS with common processes and systems, then buying an aerospace R&D firm to widen what the integrated firm does.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““This acquisition represents an exciting step forward.” said Jim Benbow, DCS chairman and CEO.” source
- What they did 2023 “On December 21, DCS Corporation announced the successful merger of its wholly owned subsidiary, Infoscitex (IST) into DCS effective January 1, 2024.” source
- What they said 2023 “This is an exciting next step in the evolution of DCS, further integrating IST’s impressive array of technical capabilities to better serve our customers.” source
- What they did 2026 “DCS said Thursday it will combine ARCTOS’ expertise in aerospace safety, propulsion, advanced manufacturing and technology transition with its engineering and technical services portfolio.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian, Fortescue is listed; not on a US employee-ownership list.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public; not on the EO100.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is owned by a purpose trust and nonprofit, not an ESOP or worker co-op, so it is not on the EO100.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is founder-owned with an equity grant, not majority employee-owned; not on the EO100.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is Indian and listed; outside the US roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is Canadian and public; not on the EO100.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss and public; not on the EO100.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; the EO100 covers US firms only.
Route 338: Large independent service firms: Forbes largest private companies, service firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Forbes America's Largest Private Companies list, service businesses (consulting, staffing, healthcare services, engineering, insurance brokerage, facilities and field services) with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: open api
Verdict revised
Sources: forbes.com/largest-private-companies, firm newsrooms, trade press
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list year through Forbes America's Largest Private Companies API (forbesapi/org/largest-private-companies/<yyyy>) gives firm row (organizationName, employees, industry, ceoName, ceoTitle, description) (joined on organizationName + ceoName)
- firm row (service industries, 1,000 to 10,000 employees) through web search '<ceoName> <firm> said AI|launch|investment' then the firm newsroom gives dated firm-wide change release (joined on firm name + CEO surname)
- change release through firm newsroom / partner or counterparty release / trade press gives leader's own words on why (joined on CEO name)
- leader through second outlet (counterparty release, trade press, law firm deal notice) gives confirming page (joined on event name)
- firm through Forbes row description, firm site or 2025-2026 press gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Brian Duffy, Greenberg Traurig, LLP (shareholder-owned law firm; 5,100 staff on the Forbes 2024 row; 3,100+ attorneys) ceo, United States
Rolls agentic AI that plans, researches and drafts into the core legal work of every office of a 1,000-partner firm, after a four-year build with the vendor.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “More recently, Greenberg launched an AI-driven subsidiary called Recurve to deliver legal services through its 41 offices in Denver, Tel Aviv and Poland. CEO Brian Duffy leads the 1,000-partner firm.” source
- What they did 2026 “Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP has deployed the next generation of CoCounsel Legal, Thomson Reuters' agentic artificial intelligence (AI) for legal professionals.” source
- What they said 2026 “By combining this technology with the experience and judgment of our lawyers, we are enhancing our ability to deliver efficient, forward-looking, and client-centered legal services,” Greenberg Traurig Chief Executive Officer Brian L. Duffy said” source
- Thai Lee, SHI International Corp. (Somerset, New Jersey; privately held IT solutions and services provider, over 7,000 employees, largest minority- and woman-owned business in the US) owner, United States
Moves a $16 billion IT reseller toward delivering AI programs end to end, through its own AI & Cyber Labs and a strategic investment in an AI engineering consultancy.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Thai Lee is CEO of $16 billion (gross sales) IT provider SHI International, which has 17,000 customers, including Boeing and AT&T.” source
- What they did 2025 “This investment further strengthens SHI's commitment to being at the forefront of AI solution development and delivery. Through this engagement, customers of SHI's AI & Cyber Labs will have access to NStarX's 100+ data scientists, enabling end-to-end delivery of AI programs.” source
- What they said 2025 “AI is unlocking possibilities we could only imagine a few years ago,” stated SHI President and CEO Thai Lee. “At SHI, our mission is to ensure customers don’t just keep up with this transformation – they lead it.” source
- Mike Gitlin, Capital Group Companies (Los Angeles; privately held, associate-owned investment manager; 9,300 staff on the Forbes 2025 row) ceo, United States
Takes a 94-year-old public-markets fund house into public-private funds and model portfolios with KKR, a new service line for everyday investors and 401(k) plans.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Capital Group is undergoing a significant shift under its CEO, Mike Gitlin, who took the position in 2023.” source
- What they did 2025 “Two funds started as part of the tie-up with KKR have more than $500 million in assets already.” source
- What they said 2025 “Our goal is to redefine what’s possible for investors through best-in-class strategies that combine the strengths of both public and private markets” source
- What they said 2025 “It was clear we were meant to get together and try to figure out how we can deliver more for clients.” source
- Julie Jones, Ropes & Gray LLP (Boston; partner-owned law firm, 3,000 staff on the Forbes 2025 row) executive, United States
Puts agentic AI and a first chief of AI strategy behind every lawyer of a 1,500-lawyer partnership, so AI work reaches client delivery and growth rather than back-office pilots.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““Building and sustaining strong connections with our clients is what sets our firm apart,” said Julie Jones, Chair of Ropes & Gray.” source
- What they did 2026 “Ropes & Gray LLP , a preeminent global law firm, has selected Intapp DealCloud to power growth and relationship management and Celeste to bring agentic AI across the firm” source
- What they said 2025 “The AI revolution demands bold leadership and innovative thinking. Ropes & Gray has been leading the legal industry, and Gretchen will help us catalyze our early action to deliver differentiated value to our clients.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian (Fortescue is public); not on the US private-companies list.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is on the 2025 list (rank 193, 3,000 employees) but its industry is Food and Drink, so the service-industry filter drops it by design.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian; not on the list.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public; not on the list.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is public and Indian; not on the list.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is public and Swiss; not on the list.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; not on the US list.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public; not on the list.
Route 339: Large independent service firms: Partner-owned consulting and IT services firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from privately held, partner- or founder-owned management consulting, IT services and professional services firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees (Vault and Consulting Magazine rankings, Inc. 5000 alumni that grew past 1,000).
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The Consulting Magazine Best Firms rosters fetch and name the right size band, but almost every in-band US consulting or IT services firm that is founder-, partner- or employee-controlled is already in candidates.json (Centric, Westat, Mathematica, iLink, VDart, Clarkston, Chetu, Compunnel), and the rest fail on ownership or control (West Monroe is 50 percent MSD Partners with a 50/50 board, CapTech is majority Markel, Quinnox was bought by Everforth in March 2026, Ankura is PE-backed, Slalom is over 10,000). Attempt 2 widened professional services to partner- and employee-owned accounting and design firms read through trade press (Inside Public Accounting, CPA Practice Advisor, Commercial Observer), which added Steven Strammello (Crowe) and Jordan Goldstein (Gensler) to Sayandeb Banerjee (MathCo). The revision is to start from trade-press coverage of firmwide AI rollouts at partner-owned firms, not from the rankings.
Sources: consultingmag.com, vault.com, inc.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- size-band ranking through Consulting Magazine Best Firms to Work For winners (Large 1,000+ billable and Midsize 250-999 billable) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through WebSearch for ownership plus firm newsroom index gives independent in-band firm (joined on firm name; drop PE, public parent or 50/50 investor boards)
- independent firm through firm newsroom press release (AI-native, operating model, owned platform) gives change plus leader quote (joined on release URL; leader named in the quote attribution)
- change through trade press feature (ciol.com) or adviser deal note (hollandhart.com) gives second page confirming the change (joined on firm name plus program name)
- leader through firm leader page plus Wikipedia infobox gives role, control and headcount (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Sayandeb Banerjee, MathCo (TheMathCompany Inc.; Chicago, IL and Bengaluru; co-founded 2016; AI and analytics services; about 1,200 employees per Wikipedia, building toward 4,000+; privately held, founder-led, Brighton Park Capital minority investor 2022) owner, United States
He is moving his analytics services firm to an AI-native way of working, with forward deployed engineers and an owned platform, so delivery is rebuilt around AI rather than analyst hours.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Sayandeb Banerjee Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer Background Sayandeb Banerjee has a rich background in quantitative economics and data analytics” source
- What they did 2026 “As it marks ten years, MathCo is shifting towards what it calls an "AI-native" operating model. Over the next four years, the company aims to build a workforce of more than 4,000 AI-native professionals across India and the US” source
- What they said 2026 “Transforming into an AI-native organization is about fundamentally rethinking how businesses operate, solve problems, and create using AI.” source
- What they did 2024 “Sayandeb points to the company’s investments in its proprietary platform, NucliOS, and expansion into the US and Europe as strategic moves that are strengthening MathCo’s global presence” source
- Steven Strammello, Crowe LLP (Chicago; partner-owned accounting, tax and consulting firm; FY24 net revenue $1.34 billion; about 7,995 employees per Revelio Labs, March 2026) ceo, United States
He is rebuilding how a partner-owned accounting firm does audit, tax and consulting work by putting ChatGPT Enterprise and OpenAI APIs in the hands of every professional.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “On behalf of our management committee, our Board, our partners and the entire firm, I am very proud to congratulate each one of our new partners on this momentous career achievement,” source
- What they did 2025 “This deepened adoption is a significant and strategic milestone for Crowe as it accelerates the development and deployment of responsible AI-enabled solutions across its audit, tax and consulting businesses.” source
- What they said 2025 “AI is already transforming how we work, and this deployment ensures our people are fully equipped to lead that change,” source
- Jordan Goldstein, Gensler (San Francisco; employee-owned global architecture and design firm; about 6,000 employees in 2025; co-CEO since 2024) ceo, United States
He is changing how the largest US architecture firm designs buildings, with in-house AI software and firmwide generative tools that now touch most of its projects.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “After serving as co-CEOs for nearly 20 years, Cohen and Hoskins became Gensler’s first global co-chairs in 2024, and the firm named Jordan Goldstein and Elizabeth Brink as the new co-CEOs” source
- What they did 2025 “Gensler handles roughly 3,000 projects annually. Today AI touches the majority in some form. Designers simulate sunlight patterns in hallways. They model sound propagation across open offices.” source
- What they said 2025 “The architecture, design, real estate and construction industry has never really experienced massive disruption. Buildings and the process itself hadn’t changed, really. There’s design process, bid process, build process.” source
- What they did 2025 “Ten years ago, we hired a head of technology for us that was head of technology at the time for Disney Imagineering.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a consulting or IT services firm; outside the route universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; the route is US consulting and IT services firms only.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not a privately held service firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker; not in any consulting ranking.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; outside the universe.
Route 340: Large independent service firms: Mutual insurers and large credit unions
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from US mutual insurance companies and credit unions with 1,000 to 10,000 employees whose chief executive changed how claims, underwriting or member service work is done.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 5 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: Insurance Journal, Best's Review, CU Times, Credit Union Journal, newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- large US credit union or mutual/fraternal insurer (1,000 to 10,000 staff) through web search by firm name plus CEO name plus transformation, AI, core, charter; cubroadcast.com news; vendor customer stories gives dated change story (joined on firm name)
- dated change story through the same story or the firm newsroom release gives CEO quote on why (joined on CEO name)
- CEO and change through second outlet (Banking Dive, diginomica, Fortune, CUbroadcast, creditunions.com) gives confirmation of the change (joined on firm name plus change noun (charter, core, Agentforce))
- firm through firm newsroom CEO letter, Built In, Wikipedia infobox gives headcount and ownership (member-owned, fraternal) (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Terry Rasmussen, Thrivent (Minneapolis and Appleton; member-owned fraternal benefit society, about 4,500 corporate employees; Thrivent Bank opened June 2025) ceo, United States
Turning a 120-year-old fraternal life insurer into a diversified financial services firm by converting its credit union into an owned, online-only bank under an ILC charter.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “For over 120 years, Thrivent has provided purpose-based advice and now we're expanding in banking to grow and serve even more people," said Terry Rasmussen, Thrivent president and CEO.” source
- What they did 2024 “Thrivent Financial for Lutherans received an industrial loan company charter from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday, finalizing its yearslong quest for deposit insurance to create Thrivent Bank.” source
- What they said 2025 “That transformation includes securing an industrial loan company bank charter and doubling down on its digital experience” source
- What they said 2025 “Thrivent is deepening client relationships, building out digital banking, and investing in a new generation of financial advisors” source
- James Schenck, PenFed Credit Union (Pentagon Federal Credit Union; McLean/Tysons, Virginia; member-owned federal credit union, about 2,558 employees, 2.8 million members) ceo, United States
Rebuilding how a large credit union serves members by running branches, call centers and operations on one platform with 76 AI agents working beside staff, so the same team can serve twice the members.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “So says James Schenck, CEO of the Pentagon Federal Credit Union, better known as PenFed.” source
- What they did 2026 “We have 76 agents running side by side with our employees. A good example is in our call centers.” source
- What they did 2026 “We save 30,000 minutes a day of labor with automated call summaries alone, which adds up to $3 million worth of time a year.” source
- What they said 2026 “Think about that - 500 credit unions and banks are either merged or beaten out of existence every year. And so we knew we had to change” source
- Leigh Brady, State Employees' Credit Union (SECU; Raleigh, North Carolina; member-owned, more than 8,000 employees, 275 branches) ceo, United States
Replacing the second-largest US credit union's legacy core and service model in a multi-year enterprise transformation so members can move between channels with one integrated service.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"Our mission is grounded in creating real, measurable value for our members," said Leigh Brady, SECU President and CEO.” source
- What they did 2026 “has selected Engage fi, a leading consulting firm guiding credit unions and banks through complex technology and enterprise transformation, as its strategic partner for a multi-year” source
- What they did 2026 “More than 1,000 employees contributed input as cross-functional teams identified the capabilities needed to strengthen service across the organization, Brady said.” source
- What they said 2026 “"This will be a multi-year transformation plan that will carry us into the future, helping us enhance the service experience for our members and employees," said SECU President and CEO Leigh Brady.” source
- Beverly Anderson, BECU (Tukwila, Washington; member-owned credit union, more than 3,300 employees in 2025, 1.5 million members) ceo, United States
Building an owned in-house AI team at a large credit union by buying a fintech AI advisor platform and its staff, to deliver personalized financial health guidance to members and deploy AI across the firm.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Beverly Anderson, BECU's President and Chief Executive Officer. "The team will also lead the thoughtful deployment of AI solutions across BECU."” source
- What they did 2025 “today announced the sale of its AI Advisor technology assets to BECU. BECU is a leading depository institution with over $29 billion in assets.” source
- What they did 2026 “To further scale its financial health resources, BECU acquired generative AI capabilities in 2025 to build a financial health advisor tool that will deliver personalized guidance to members.” source
- What they said 2025 “Our newly formed AI Strategy and Innovation team, led by Nadim Homsany, will rapidly accelerate our development of member-facing mobile and digital solutions,” source
- Darryl Button, Pacific Life Insurance Company (Newport Beach, California; mutual holding company structure, 4,048 employees in 2023 and about 4,800 in 2026) ceo, United States
Refocusing a large mutual life insurer on its core by building a new Workforce Benefits unit and generative AI tools in underwriting and service, while selling units outside life insurance.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Button became only the 15th president at Pacific Life a year ago, when he replaced Jim Morris who retired.” source
- What they did 2023 “Pacific Life is entering new markets such as forming a unit called Workforce Benefits that provides life, vision and dental insurance.” source
- What they said 2026 “Through targeted investments in our people and in generative AI, we launched new internal tools to enhance customer experience in our life and annuity businesses and strengthen underwriting capabilities in Workforce Benefits.” source
- What they said 2023 “They didn’t fit our core definition of being a life insurance company,” Button said. “We’re focused on being a life insurance company.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel company, not a mutual insurer or credit union; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above 10,000 staff; outside the universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian listed miner; the route is US mutuals and credit unions only.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software firm; outside the universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a private food maker, not a cooperative financial firm; the route never reaches it.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian listed conglomerate; outside the universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss listed pharma company; outside the universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; outside the universe.
Route 341: Large independent service firms: Independent insurance brokers and wealth firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from privately held, employee- or family-owned insurance brokerages, benefits consultancies and wealth management firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees (Business Insurance top brokers, Barron's and InvestmentNews rankings; skip PE-backed roll-ups).
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Works only as a firm-by-firm change search, not from a ranking spine: about 25 web searches and 24 fetches gave 3 counted names (Peter Mallouk, Danny Kaufman, Terry Rasmussen). The in-band private broker and wealth pool is small and largely already on the list (Holmes Murphy, IMA, Alliant, INSURICA, Gregory & Appel, Mariner); most remaining leaders voice culture, not a dated change, and The Insurer and Higginbotham pages block scripts.
Sources: businessinsurance.com, investmentnews.com, wealthmanagement.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- sector through web search by firm name plus change words; trade press firm pages (wealthmanagement.com, investmentnews.com/companies, insurancebusinessmag.com) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through trade press story on a dated change (acquisition creating an owned arm, digital or AI build) gives change event (joined on firm name + year)
- change event through same story or firm interview gives leader quote (joined on leader name and title)
- leader through firm leadership page or second press page gives confirming page (joined on leader name)
- firm through ownership and headcount story (PE stake terms, family ownership, employee count) gives control and size check (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Peter Mallouk, Creative Planning (Overland Park, Kansas; independent RIA with in-house CPAs and attorneys, over 1,500 employees per InvestmentNews; Mallouk holds the majority stake, General Atlantic (2020) and TPG (2024) hold minority stakes) owner, United States
Turning a wealth manager into a full-service firm for owners and families by buying a 600-person CPA and business services firm and making it an owned business-services arm.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Mallouk will remain onboard as president and CEO, keeping his majority stake in the company.” source
- What they did 2023 “The acquisition, when combined with other services Creative Planning already has, is the foundation for Creative Planning for Business, overseen by Hinnenkamp.” source
- What they did 2025 “Creative Planning is an Overland Park-based independent registered investment advisor (RIA), with over 1,500 employees. The firm provides wealth management, tax, and estate planning services through in-house CPAs and attorneys.” source
- What they said 2026 “He discusses artificial intelligence as both an efficiency enabler and future competitor, and notes that partner liquidity has occurred without an IPO.” source
- Danny Kaufman, Burns & Wilcox and H.W. Kaufman Group (Farmington Hills, Michigan; family-owned wholesale specialty insurance broker and underwriting manager; the group employs more than 2,000 professionals; third-generation family leader, Group Co-President and board member) owner, United States
Rebuilding a family-owned wholesale broker's operations around a $100M+ digital platform and in-house AI tools that strip repetitive work from brokers and underwriters.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Danny Kaufman is Co-President, H.W. Kaufman Group and serves as the President for Burns & Wilcox, Kaufman’s largest subsidiary and the globally recognized leader in specialty insurance brokerage and underwriting.” source
- What they did 2020 “Under Danny’s leadership, Burns & Wilcox has prioritized innovation, which includes a $100M+ digital transformation that is powering the company’s substantial and sustained growth” source
- What they said 2025 “"We're using AI not to replace people, but to enhance what they do - removing repetitive tasks and giving us better data to serve clients,"” source
- What they did 2021 “He prioritized the launch of its expert-driven Practice Groups, developed best-in-class operational processes and has led significant transformational technology initiatives.” source
- Terry Rasmussen, Thrivent (Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Minneapolis; member-owned financial organization offering advice, investments, insurance and banking; about 9,243 employees in March 2026 per Revelio Labs; CEO since 2018 with no controlling owner above her) ceo, United States
Turning a member-owned life insurer into an advice-led financial services firm by building an online-only bank and retraining career-changers as financial advisors.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Thrivent is a member-owned financial organization that helps our clients put their money where their heart is. We offer advice, investments, insurance, banking and generosity programs to help clients make an impact on the people, causes and communities they love.” source
- What they did 2024 “TFL intends to move all TFCU’s existing products, customers, infrastructure and personnel with all assets and liabilities to Thrivent Bank, which will be online-only.” source
- What they said 2025 “But we are transforming into a diversified financial services company—and that requires vision, patience, and persistence.” That transformation includes securing an industrial loan company bank charter and doubling down on its digital experience, moves aimed at extending Thrivent’s reach to younger generations and attr” source
- What they said 2025 “We’re investing in second-career professionals—former teachers, community leaders—people with strong values and the desire to serve,” Rasmussen says. “We train them. We team them. And they’re thriving.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian (Semco); the route covers only US private insurance brokers, benefits consultancies and wealth firms.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not an insurance, benefits or wealth service firm.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, outside the broker and wealth universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian, Reliance is public; outside the US private service universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss, Novartis is public pharma; outside the universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; outside the universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian, Fortescue is public mining; outside the universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public software; outside the universe.
Route 342: Large independent service firms: Physician-owned and independent care groups
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from physician-owned medical groups, independent dental, veterinary, therapy and home care organizations with 1,000 to 10,000 employees that are not PE-controlled and not nonprofit health systems.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route works only as a firm-by-firm roster walk (name the large physician-owned or partner-owned groups first, then look for the leader's own words), not as a topic search. Becker's sites return 403. Most 1,000 to 10,000 person care groups are already on the list, PE-backed, or have changes voiced by a COO. Two new names passed on this attempt: Vituity and Twin Cities Orthopedics.
Sources: Becker's, MGMA, Modern Healthcare, group newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- segment (physician-owned medical groups, partnerships, dental, home care) through WebSearch for named large independent groups; AMGA independent group track gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through group newsroom or award release gives leader (CEO elected by physician partners) (joined on firm name + CEO title)
- leader through regional business press interview (tcbmag.com) or wire reprint (financialcontent.com) gives dated change in the leader's own words (joined on leader name + firm)
- change through second page (firm release or wire reprint) gives confirmation of the change and ownership (joined on firm name + change noun (MOOV, Revo Health))
- firm through firm about blurb gives headcount and ownership (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Imamu Tomlinson, Vituity (physician-owned and led multispecialty partnership, Emeryville, California; more than 6,000 doctors and clinicians per its 2025 release) ceo, United States
Runs a partnership of physician owners that has moved past contract staffing into running hospital throughput programs and its own consumer wellness studios.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As CEO of Vituity, Dr. Imamu Tomlinson has championed bold strategies to enhance operational performance and patient-centered care.” source
- What they did 2023 “MOOV was founded in 2023 by physicians from Vituity, a national multispecialty physician-owned and led partnership. Currently, MOOV operates from 8 locations and is rapidly expanding into new communities nationwide.” source
- What they did 2024 “Under his leadership, in 2024 Vituity lead a national emergency department (ED) throughput collaborative across 16 hospitals, which resulted in significant efficiency improvements” source
- What they said 2025 “At Vituity, innovation is not a buzzword—it’s a commitment to breaking boundaries in patient care, empowering frontline clinicians, and building systems that truly serve our communities.” source
- Christopher Meyer, Twin Cities Orthopedics (TCO; physician-owned orthopedic group, Minnesota and western Wisconsin; first practicing-physician CEO, January 2026) ceo, United States
A practicing surgeon elected by his partners to run the group, cutting back-office overhead and moving patient access to an AI-automated 24/7 phone line and same-day scheduling.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Twin Cities Orthopedics (TCO) has appointed sports medicine orthopedic surgeon Christopher Meyer as its CEO.” source
- What they did 2026 “We have online scheduling, walk-in clinics—all of those things are very important. Our AI-automated phone system is 24/7.” source
- What they said 2026 “The board has tasked me with overhead reduction. We’re a very big system that’s had a lot of growth, and we are really working on efficiencies in the back office” source
- What they did 2017 “As Revo Board President, Dr. Meyer has championed Revo’s mission to support innovative physician leaders in their pursuit to revolutionize the delivery of healthcare.” source
- Yogin Patel, ApolloMD (Atlanta; private, independent emergency and hospital medicine group with no outside ownership, clinician-owned through ApolloMD Partners; 2,500+ clinicians and 400+ company employees) ceo, United States
An emergency physician who rose to run a clinician-owned group of about 2,900 people and is rolling AI documentation across its emergency departments nationwide while rethinking clinician roles.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As Chief Executive Officer, he oversees all clinical and business operations for our 2,500+ clinicians and 400+ company employees proudly serving over 4 million patients annually.” source
- What they did 2025 “The partnership will begin with a phased rollout across ApolloMD’s network of emergency departments, ultimately extending to their entire national presence.” source
- What they said 2024 “I am proud of ApolloMD’s 40-year history as a successful, independent, physician-run and employee-owned health care group. I’m also aware that today’s health care environment is unlike anything in the last 40 years,” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker, not a physician-owned or independent care group, so the route's spine never reaches it.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy, outside the US care-group universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software company; not a care group.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya US food manufacturer; not a service business in health care, so the care-group spine does not include Chobani.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma; not a US privately owned care group.
- Missed Satya Nadella US public software company; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie US public software company; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate; outside the route's universe.
Route 343: Large independent service firms: Independent agencies and marketing services
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from independent (not holding-company owned) advertising, media, PR and marketing services agencies with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: Ad Age Agency Report, Adweek, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- segment through O'Dwyer's 2025 independents ranking (FT employees column) plus WebSearch for non-PR independents (Ad Age holding-company list, firm About pages) gives independent firm with 1,000 to 10,000 staff (joined on firm name)
- firm through WebSearch '<firm> AI restructure 2025' then trade press (PR Daily) or the firm's GlobeNewswire releases gives dated change to how the work gets done (joined on firm name + year)
- change through same release or the leader's own blog gives controlling leader and their own words (joined on leader name as quoted)
- leader through second page at a different URL (leader blog, earlier release) gives second intent citation (joined on leader name)
- firm through Conference Board bio, release About boilerplate gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Richard Edelman, Edelman (Daniel J. Edelman Holdings; independent, family-owned communications firm, New York; 5,964 full-time staff per O'Dwyer's 2025) owner, United States
He folded Edelman's specialist boutiques into one integrated firm and put money into a proprietary large language model built on 25 years of trust data.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Richard Edelman is the CEO of Edelman, a global communications firm, and Chairman of Daniel J. Edelman Holdings, the firm's holding company.” source
- What they did 2024 “As part of a restructuring, Edelman will shutter Edible, Revere, Salutem, Mustache, EGA and Delta brands.” source
- What they said 2025 “As competitors navigate mergers, Edelman has reduced barriers and is operating as a more integrated team. It’s our moment to charge, to continue to lead.” source
- What they said 2024 “We are investing in our own large language model premised on 25 years of Trust data that enables AI as a predictive tool, both communications and action, enabling better decisions by business related to trust,” Richard Edelman said.” source
- Chris Meyer, Project Worldwide (employee-owned alliance of 14 agencies including George P. Johnson; 2,300 employees; Auburn Hills, Michigan) ceo, United States
As CEO of an employee-owned agency alliance he put one executive over AI implementation across all 14 agencies, then consolidated the network's AI and workflow-redesign work into a single practice.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Project is an employee-owned alliance of 14 diverse agencies with 2,300 employees across 42 markets.” source
- What they did 2025 “Cracco’s role at Wondersauce plays well into Project’s new technology vision and roadmap, where he’ll focus on AI implementation across agencies and its diverse set of clients while continuing his role at Wondersauce.” source
- What they said 2026 “Today, those experiences extend to the platforms and intelligent systems that shape daily customer relationships. Expanding Wondersauce allows us to help clients connect physical engagement with the technology required to unlock growth.” source
- Gary Vaynerchuk, VaynerX (privately held parent of VaynerMedia, ChukMedia, Gallery Media Group and Tamara Group; nearly 2,500 employees; New York) owner, United States
He launched a third, production-first agency inside his privately held group that flips the usual 80/20 split so most staff make content rather than plan it.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Serial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk is the Chairman of VaynerX, CEO of VaynerMedia, CEO of VeeFriends, and a 6x New York Times bestselling author.” source
- What they did 2026 “Whereas a traditional agency might divvy up its teams’ responsibilities so 80% of employees tackle strategy and creative and the other 20% handle production, Tamara Group tries to flip that calculus.” source
- What they said 2026 “As the third agency in the VaynerX ecosystem, her name fittingly serves as our exact blueprint: The Attention, Media, And Relevance Agency. This is a massive next step for us” source
- What they said 2026 “AI, social, and digital will continue to transform our universe” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan leads Novartis (public pharma, Switzerland); not an agency, so agency rankings and trade press never surface him.
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella leads Microsoft (public software); outside an independent agency route.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest (Fortescue, Australia, mining); not US, not an agency.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani (Reliance, India, public conglomerate); out of scope.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia, apparel maker); a product company, not an agency.
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie leads Box (public software); out of scope.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler (Semco, Brazil, industrial); not US, not an agency.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya (Chobani, food maker); not an agency.
Route 344: Large independent service firms: Employee-owned and family construction services
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from employee-owned or family-owned general contractors, specialty contractors and facilities services firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees that changed how field work is done (prefab, robotics, AI in estimating or scheduling).
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route works change-first, not firm-first. Step 1 must be a dated change notice: ENR regional Specialty Contractor of the Year profiles, state economic-development facility releases, trade-press notices of a contractor restructuring its own units (Food Engineering supplier news), and foreign investment-agency or national press on a US contractor opening an owned design division abroad (delfino.cr). Firm-first passes over the NCEO EO100 and family contractor names gave leader voices only for growth, markets or succession. Three names over two attempts.
Sources: enr.com, Construction Dive, Facilities Dive, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region and year through ENR regional Contractor / Specialty Contractor of the Year keyword pages gives winning firm profile (joined on enr.com/articles/<id>-<slug>)
- firm profile through ENR profile body gives dated owned-arm or prefab move plus the quoted leader (joined on firm name)
- dated move through state economic-development release (opportunitylouisiana.gov) and a regional business reprint gives leader quote on the move, investment amount (joined on firm name + facility)
- leader through firm CEO profile page and firm press release gives founder control, headcount, private ownership (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- James B. Rutland, MMR Group Inc. (Baton Rouge, Louisiana; founder-led, privately owned electrical and instrumentation contractor, 5,500 employees) owner, United States
He is moving his electrical contractor's field work into an owned factory, a $55.2 million modular systems division in Lafayette that builds server racks and electrical components off site for data center and AI projects.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “James “Pepper” Rutland founded MMR Group Inc. in 1991. Under his leadership, the company has grown from 25 to 5,500 employees, becoming the largest merit shop electrical and instrumentation contractor in the nation.” source
- What they did 2025 “MMR bolstered its prefabrication capabilities this year by retrofitting a Lafayette Parish manufacturing building into a facility for producing modularized server racks and other electrical components.” source
- What they said 2025 “In doing so, we have the unique ability to provide our core E&I capabilities alongside an in-house suite of specialty services, such as the new modular systems division. This allows us to streamline processes and assist our clients in completing complex projects within scope, budget and more efficiently.” source
- What they did 2025 “The retrofitted facility will allow MMR to produce modular systems on site, all critical elements in the construction of AI and data centers throughout the nation.” source
- What they said 2020 “Under the leadership of MMR President and CEO James "Pepper" Rutland, MMR continues to flourish as the largest privately-owned electrical and instrumentation contractor in the nation.” source
- Stephen Gray, Gray, Inc. (Lexington, Kentucky; family-owned industrial design-builder, 2,100+ team members, partly employee-owned through a minority ESOP) owner, United States
He folded three separately run engineering and automation companies into one unit, Gray AES, so that design, engineering and robotics work is delivered by a single team alongside Gray's construction arm instead of by different teams per engagement.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “In 2011, Stephen Gray was named president and chief executive officer of the company. Gray announced an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), at 20% employee owned.” source
- What they did 2025 “Gray AES will continue to provide architecture, engineering, and automation and robotics solutions that have historically been provided by Gray AE, Gray Solutions, and InLine Engineers.” source
- What they said 2025 “Gray AES brings together similar services, allowing us to simplify our message to our customers with a more unified approach,” says Stephen Gray , President & CEO, Gray, Inc. “We’re not only streamlining how we operate, but also enhancing the value and experience we deliver.” source
- Mitch Permuy, Power Design (St. Petersburg, Florida; founder-owned family MEP and electrical contractor, more than 2,500 employees) owner, United States
He and co-founder Dana Permuy are moving MEP engineering, BIM and support work for 300+ active US jobs into a new owned division in Heredia, Costa Rica, opened in 2025.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “We’ve gone from starting out in Mitch and Dana Permuy’s garage in ’89 to now more than 2,500 employees across 23 states” source
- What they did 2025 “La nueva oficina de Power Design en Heredia servirá como centro estratégico para brindar soporte a más de 300 proyectos activos en Estados Unidos, que abarcan desde estadios deportivos de gran escala hasta hoteles de lujo.” source
- What they said 2025 “Mitch y Dana Permuy , Co-Chairs y Fundadores, Power Design, comentaron: Como una empresa familiar con raíces en la innovación y en relaciones a largo plazo, vemos esta expansión no solo como un hito” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not in this universe by construction: the route starts from privately owned US construction and facilities firms of 1,000 to 10,000 staff; this person is not re
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not in this universe by construction: the route starts from privately owned US construction and facilities firms of 1,000 to 10,000 staff; this person is not re
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not in this universe by construction: the route starts from privately owned US construction and facilities firms of 1,000 to 10,000 staff; this person is not re
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not in this universe by construction: the route starts from privately owned US construction and facilities firms of 1,000 to 10,000 staff; this person is not re
- Missed Aaron Levie Not in this universe by construction: the route starts from privately owned US construction and facilities firms of 1,000 to 10,000 staff; this person is not re
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not in this universe by construction: the route starts from privately owned US construction and facilities firms of 1,000 to 10,000 staff; this person is not re
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not in this universe by construction: the route starts from privately owned US construction and facilities firms of 1,000 to 10,000 staff; this person is not re
- Missed Satya Nadella Not in this universe by construction: the route starts from privately owned US construction and facilities firms of 1,000 to 10,000 staff; this person is not re
Route 345: Large independent service firms: Large independent staffing and outsourcing firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from privately held staffing, recruiting, BPO and outsourced services firms with 1,000 to 10,000 internal employees (Staffing Industry Analysts largest staffing firms lists; skip PE-owned).
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. The roster step is dead or thin: staffingindustry.com (SIA lists and articles) returns 403, and the Forbes largest private companies API gives only Allegis (19,000, over band) and Jackson Healthcare (2,448) among staffing rows. Large private staffing firms mostly fail control (hired CEO under founder owners: Insight Global, Aya Healthcare after May 2025) or headcount counts consultants. One name came from a mechanism search on a founder-owned IT staffing firm's AI investment release. Attempt 3 added a second name from the BPO side: Anthony Marlowe, founder-owner of MCI, voiced the Nov 2025 AiCX spinout. SupportNinja and Medix failed on PE control; Qualfon is over band.
Sources: staffingindustry.com, SIA lists, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- staffing and outsourcing sector through Forbes largest private companies API (SIA lists 403) plus WebSearch snippets of SIA Staffing 100 entries gives private staffing firm (joined on firm name)
- private staffing firm through firm newsroom or press-wire reprint (einpresswire, insightglobal.com/news) gives dated change to the work (AI investment, owned arm) (joined on firm name + year)
- dated change through same release, leader quote gives leader who controls the firm (joined on quoted name + title (founder, CEO))
- leader through second trade page on the same change (techedgeai.com) gives confirmation (joined on firm + deal name)
- firm through firm About page and release boilerplate gives ownership, control and headcount (joined on firm domain)
New names that passed every check
- Justin Christian, BCforward (Indianapolis, Indiana; founded 1998; IT staffing, workforce solutions and consulting; Black-owned, founder-led; about 4,000 employees worldwide per its June 2025 release, a count that includes deployed consultants) owner, United States
Moving a staffing firm into AI-led delivery by taking a major stake in an AI-native services firm and embedding it in BCforward's delivery model.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “As CEO, he leads the company’s overall corporate strategy and cultivates executive-level relationships with customers and corporate partners.” source
- What they did 2025 “BCforward, a recognized leader in professional services and workforce management, has taken a major step to strengthen its AI capabilities by investing in Stellar, an AI-native services company.” source
- What they said 2025 “By embedding Stellar’s AI expertise directly into our delivery model, we are helping clients solve their most complex problems and unlock business value.” source
- Anthony Marlowe, MCI (Marlowe Companies Inc., Manalapan, Florida; founded 2003; contact center BPO, staff augmentation and IT services; owned by its founder; 2,500 to 4,000+ employees on Outsource Accelerator and the firm's own bio page, though one job ad claims 10,000+) owner, United States
Splitting a founder-owned contact center BPO into a human BPO unit and an AI-native AiCX business that deploys AI agents and small language models alongside human teams.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “We are a tech-enabled BPO owned by Anthony Marlowe, who is the CEO of BYC Aqua, East West BPO, Gravis Apps, Gravis Marketing, March East, Mass Markets, MCI BPOaaS, MCI BPO, MCI Federal Services,” source
- What they did 2025 “The addition of Misczak is timely as MCI is set to embark on new ventures, particularly with its recently spun-out AiCX.com division.” source
- What they said 2025 “Mark is the right leader to help me drive the next phase of our expansion as we bring our AI capabilities to market, accelerate our data flywheel while finalizing our small language models, and deploy AI systems that support human teams and other artificial intelligence agents alike.” source
- What they said 2025 “2026 is going to be the busiest year in my almost 25 years leading this company from dial-up modem and sticky notes to where it is at today.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far over 10,000 staff; not a staffing or outsourcing firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is public, Swiss and a drugmaker; outside the route.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the route.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public, Canadian software; outside the route.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the route.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a private food maker, not a staffing or outsourcing service firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and not a US staffing firm in band.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software; outside the route.
Route 346: Trade press sweep: US construction contractors and engineering firms that changed how the work gets done, firms of 5,000 to 10,000
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGER-FIRM RERUN (count only people who fit): earlier passes of this route looked only at firms under 5,000 people. Now look ONLY at US service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 employees, nationwide; this size rule and nationwide scope override any size or region in the text below. Privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor); the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them); a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced; a transformation quote in the leader's own words (not a staff officer). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Sweep of construction and engineering trade press (ENR, Construction Dive, For Construction Pros, Building Design+Construction, Civil + Structural Engineer, Zweig Group news, Architect's Newspaper) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US general contractor, specialty contractor, engineering or architecture-engineering firm announces a firm-wide change to how the work gets done (an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign).
- Find the firm named in the story.
- Find the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner quoted on why the old model has a limit.
- Find the firm's own announcement or a second outlet as the second source.
- Check control: that this person can decide (owner, founder, chief executive of a private or mid-sized firm, named in a dated 2025-2026 source).
- Check cost: that the change is dated and expensive.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The 5,000 to 10,000 slice of privately owned US construction and engineering firms holds about 15 firms, and trade press gives no new countable leader. Hensel Phelps, Gensler, HNTB, Suffolk, Faith Technologies, Barton Malow, Clayco and Gilbane are already in output/candidates.json. Black & Veatch is over band (more than 12,000 employee-owners in 2024). At DPR, Terracon, Kimley-Horn, CDM Smith and Whiting-Turner the AI moves are voiced by a CIO, AI manager or AI strategy lead, or not at all. Walsh, Yates, Baker Concrete, Performance Contracting and Zachry show no dated leader-voiced change for 2024 to 2026. The one in-band firm with a real dated change, STO Building Group (5,700 people, three new business lines in May 2026, a first CTO in June 2026), fails control: CEO Bob Mullen works under Executive Chairman Jim Donaghy of the founding family. Seven receipts and about 18 searches.
Sources: ENR (enr.com); Construction Dive; For Construction Pros; Building Design+Construction; Zweig Group; press wires; firm newsrooms; ESOP announcements (NCEO)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade press topic page through Construction Dive technology topic and press-release pages; ENR articles (200 with --text) gives story naming a firm and a change (joined on firm name)
- firm through release boilerplate or dated roster (NCEO EO100, firm About text) gives headcount 5,000 to 10,000 and ownership (joined on firm name)
- firm through ENR Groundbreakers interview or firm newsroom gives chief executive quoted on the change (joined on firm name plus CEO surname)
- chief executive through firm newsroom leadership release gives control check (any controlling owner or executive chair above) (joined on CEO name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not in this universe by construction (not a construction or engineering firm).
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not in this universe by construction (non-US).
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not in this universe by construction (not a construction or engineering firm).
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not in this universe by construction (non-US, public).
- Missed Satya Nadella Not in this universe by construction (public, over band).
- Missed Aaron Levie Not in this universe by construction (public software firm).
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not in this universe by construction (non-US, public).
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not in this universe by construction (non-US, public).
Route 347: Trade press sweep: US independent marketing, advertising and communications agencies that changed how the work gets done, firms of 5,000 to 10,000
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGER-FIRM RERUN (count only people who fit): earlier passes of this route looked only at firms under 5,000 people. Now look ONLY at US service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 employees, nationwide; this size rule and nationwide scope override any size or region in the text below. Privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor); the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them); a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced; a transformation quote in the leader's own words (not a staff officer). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Sweep of agency trade press (Ad Age, Adweek, Digiday, The Drum, PRWeek US, O'Dwyer's, MediaPost, 4A's news) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US independent advertising, marketing, PR or media agency announces a firm-wide change to how the work gets done (an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign).
- Find the firm named in the story.
- Find the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner quoted on why the old model has a limit.
- Find the firm's own announcement or a second outlet as the second source.
- Check control: that this person can decide (owner, founder, chief executive of a private or mid-sized firm, named in a dated 2025-2026 source).
- Check cost: that the change is dated and expensive.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. At 5,000 to 10,000 employees the US independent agency universe is about five firms, and none yields a new countable person. O'Dwyer's 2025 independents ranking has exactly one US firm in the band (Edelman, 5,964 FT staff), and Richard Edelman is already in candidates.json. Freeman (family-owned events marketing) has a hired CEO, Janet Dell, under the family, and the chair's transformation story is host prose about COVID, not a dated 2024-2026 change in her words. Wasserman, now THE TEAM, is Providence Equity controlled (full buyout July 2026). Crossmark and Inmar are private-equity backed. Everything else the trade press calls independent is under 2,500 staff (VaynerX, Horizon, PMG and Project are already listed) or owned by a holding company. indieagency.news sweeps return boutiques only.
Sources: Ad Age; Adweek; Digiday; The Drum; PRWeek; O'Dwyer's; MediaPost; press wires; agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- segment through O'Dwyer's independents ranking plus trade-press search for large independents gives firm (joined on firm name, FT Emp. >= 5,000)
- firm through deal and leadership releases (Pollstar, Private Equity Wire, Supermarket News, Corporate Event News) gives ownership and control verdict (joined on firm name)
- firm through trade press and the firm's own release gives leader quote on a dated change (joined on firm + year)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Mining and philanthropy, Australia; not an agency.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Public software company, Canada; not in agency trade press.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company; not an agency.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker; not an agency.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food maker; not an agency.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company; not an agency.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Public conglomerate, India; out of scope.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Public pharma, Switzerland; out of scope.
Route 348: Another sweep of Route 46: US senior living, home care and post-acute operators that changed how the work gets done, firms of 5,000 to 10,000
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGER-FIRM RERUN (count only people who fit): earlier passes of this route looked only at firms under 5,000 people. Now look ONLY at US service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 employees, nationwide; this size rule and nationwide scope override any size or region in the text below. Privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor); the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them); a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced; a transformation quote in the leader's own words (not a staff officer). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. ANOTHER SWEEP of S-46: read specs/S-46/spec.md first and do NOT repeat its queries, outlets or years; use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates across 2023 to 2026. US people only. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Sweep of aging-services trade press (Senior Housing News, Skilled Nursing News, McKnight's Senior Living, McKnight's Long-Term Care News, Home Care Magazine, Argentum news) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US senior living operator, home care agency, skilled nursing or post-acute operator changes how the work gets done across the firm (an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm named in the story.
- Find the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner quoted on why the old model has a limit.
- Find the firm's own announcement or a second outlet as the second source.
- Check control: that this person can decide now (owner, founder, or chief executive of a private or mid-sized firm, named in a dated 2025-2026 source).
- Check cost: that the change is dated and expensive, and is more than an ownership deal.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Two attempts screened about 25 US private aging-services operators in the 5,000 to 10,000 staff band. Only Tom Grape (Benchmark Senior Living) passes all four checks. The rest are already in candidates.json (Discovery, American Senior Communities, Kisco, Belmont, Phoenix, Morning Pointe, Sunrise, Erickson), have a hired CEO above or beside a silent owner (Ciena, Majestic, Silverado, Brightview, Watermark, American House), are over the band (Signature HealthCARE 18,000, Life Care Centers 38,000, Discovery 17,000), are under it (Senior Lifestyle, New Perspective 3,200, Oakmont), have no public headcount and a change voiced by a general counsel (Cascadia), or are an administrative services firm that says it neither owns nor operates its facilities (Centers Health Care). Aging-services trade press at this size covers capital and deals, not leader-voiced firmwide redesigns.
Sources: Senior Housing News; Skilled Nursing News; McKnight's Senior Living; McKnight's Long-Term Care News; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- size band through Argentum Largest Providers / operator boilerplate (associates count) gives in-band operator (joined on operator name)
- operator through Senior Housing News, Skilled Nursing News gives dated change story (joined on operator name)
- change story through operator newsroom release gives leader quote and title (joined on leader name)
- leader through second outlet (REBusinessOnline, SHN podcast) gives own-words transformation quote (joined on leader name plus operator)
- operator through ownership search (REIT, PE, recap stories) gives control verdict (joined on operator name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest does not lead a US senior living, home care or post-acute operator, so aging-services trade press (SHN, SNN, HHCN) carries no firm-redesign story
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler does not lead a US senior living, home care or post-acute operator, so aging-services trade press (SHN, SNN, HHCN) carries no firm-redesign story
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella does not lead a US senior living, home care or post-acute operator, so aging-services trade press (SHN, SNN, HHCN) carries no firm-redesign story
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani does not lead a US senior living, home care or post-acute operator, so aging-services trade press (SHN, SNN, HHCN) carries no firm-redesign story
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke does not lead a US senior living, home care or post-acute operator, so aging-services trade press (SHN, SNN, HHCN) carries no firm-redesign story abo
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie does not lead a US senior living, home care or post-acute operator, so aging-services trade press (SHN, SNN, HHCN) carries no firm-redesign story ab
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan does not lead a US senior living, home care or post-acute operator, so aging-services trade press (SHN, SNN, HHCN) carries no firm-redesign story
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard does not lead a US senior living, home care or post-acute operator, so aging-services trade press (SHN, SNN, HHCN) carries no firm-redesign story
Route 349: Owner-led service firms: privately held property management and real estate services firms, firms of 5,000 to 10,000
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGER-FIRM RERUN (count only people who fit): earlier passes of this route looked only at firms under 5,000 people. Now look ONLY at US service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 employees, nationwide; this size rule and nationwide scope override any size or region in the text below. Privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor); the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them); a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced; a transformation quote in the leader's own words (not a staff officer). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 5,000 to 10,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of privately held property management and real estate services firms based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with 5,000 to 10,000 employees that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The 5,000 to 10,000 band for privately held US property management and real estate services firms holds almost no one who fits. Associa states 15,000+ team members (over band), Asset Living has about 13,000 staff and passed from Roark Capital to New Mountain Capital in June 2026 (PE), Lincoln Property took Stone Point Capital money with a co-CEO succession in 2023, RPM Living (about 4,500), Bozzuto (about 2,800) and WinnCompanies (3,000 to 4,300) sit under 5,000, Hines (about 5,000) and Hunt show no leader-voiced dated change to the work in 2023 to 2026, and Bozzuto's CEO frames AI as early innings, not a redesign. The Forbes largest private companies API (2024 and 2025) carries no real estate services rows in the band. Ten searches and nine receipts gave zero new fit names.
Sources: NMHC and NARPM rankings, Inman, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- roster through Forbes largest private companies API; NMHC Top 50 names via trade press gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm boilerplate and trade press (headcount, ownership) gives in-band private firm (joined on firm name)
- in-band private firm through firm newsroom, Multifamily Executive, CRE Daily gives controlling leader plus dated change (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not a property management or real estate services firm; the route's rosters and trade press do not cover it.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; outside a US private real estate services roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial and services group; non-US and not in real estate services rosters.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public US software company; not a real estate services firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above 10,000 staff; not in the route's universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; not in the route's universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; not in the route's universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; not in the route's universe.
Route 350: Second sweep: US law firms and legal services businesses led by a chair or founder who redesigned the firm, firms of 5,000 to 10,000
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGER-FIRM RERUN (count only people who fit): earlier passes of this route looked only at firms under 5,000 people. Now look ONLY at US service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 employees, nationwide; this size rule and nationwide scope override any size or region in the text below. Privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor); the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them); a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced; a transformation quote in the leader's own words (not a staff officer). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Sweep of US legal trade press (LawSites, Legaltech News headlines, ABA Journal, Bloomberg Law news headlines, Texas Lawyer, Law360 Pulse headlines, Attorney at Work, Arizona ABS directory) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US law firm, alternative legal services provider, or Arizona or Utah licensed legal business announces a firm-wide change to how the work gets done (an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign).
- Find the firm named in the story.
- Find the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner quoted on why the old model has a limit.
- Find the firm's own announcement or a second outlet as the second source.
- Check control: that this person can decide (owner, founder, chief executive of a private or mid-sized firm, named in a dated 2025-2026 source).
- Check cost: that the change is dated and expensive.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The 5,000 to 10,000 band of US law firms is about a dozen Am Law 25 partnerships. Kirkland, Greenberg Traurig and Morgan & Morgan are already in candidates.json. Latham's Harvey rollout is voiced by the CIO and COO, Skadden's OpenAI tools release has no leader quote, and Morgan Lewis's AI work is voiced by its Chief AI Officer (its 2023 chair has handed over). DLA Piper (about 13,000 people) and Reed Smith (about 1,600 lawyers) are outside the band, and ALSPs at this size are private-equity owned. Three names pass: Hogan Lovells Cadwalader's Washington-based CEO, who tied the 2026 merger to AI costs in his own words, plus two borderline names whose total staff is near or unproven at 5,000.
Sources: LawSites (lawnext.com); ABA Journal; Legaltech News; Attorney at Work; Arizona ABS Directory; Utah Office of Legal Services Innovation; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- size band through Forbes largest private companies API (law rows) plus Wikipedia firm infobox num_employees gives law firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through WebSearch '<firm> chair AI 2025 2026' and firm newsroom gives firm-wide change (joined on firm name)
- firm-wide change through firm release or vendor newsroom (legora.com/newsroom) or pulse2.com reprint gives leader quote (joined on chair or managing partner title on page)
- leader through second outlet (Bloomberg Law podcast page, firm insight page) gives second dated citation (joined on leader name)
- leader through Wikipedia key people / firm release gives tenure and control check (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Heather McDevitt, White & Case LLP (New York; partner-owned global law firm, 2,559 lawyers in 2024 and approx. 4,800 total staff per its Wikipedia infobox, so at the bottom edge of the band) executive, United States
As chair she is moving White & Case to a build, buy and partner AI model: a firm-owned platform (Atlas), a firm-wide Legora rollout to all lawyers in 43 offices, and a 2026 equity stake in a legal AI platform.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “AI is reshaping the delivery of legal services and being at the forefront of this change is important to us in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where we have a long history and deep commitment,” said Heather McDevitt, Chair of White & Case.” source
- What they did 2025 “The rollout will extend to all lawyers across White & Case’s global platform. The firm operates in 43 offices across 29 countries in the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific regions” source
- What they did 2026 “So, we built our own AI platform called Atlas, completely secure and safe, and White & Case-branded and owned.” source
- What they did 2026 “Global law firm White & Case LLP today announced that it has made a strategic investment in Clauze.AI, a new legal AI platform, founded by Waad Alkurini, serving legal and corporate clients” source
- Yvette Ostolaza, Sidley Austin LLP (Chicago; partner-owned law firm, about 2,300 lawyers per Wikipedia and 4,200 on the Forbes row; total staff not published, inferred near 5,000; she chairs the management committee beside an executive committee chair) executive, United States
As management committee chair she is making AI core firm infrastructure at Sidley: a first Chief Data and AI Officer, a Data Strategy 2025 with an AI Council, and firm-wide governance, training and practice-group liaisons.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Yvette Ostolaza, chair of Sidley’s management committee, sits down with Bloomberg Law reporter Meghan Tribe” source
- What they did 2025 “She will work closely with senior business professionals and Sidley’s AI Council to launch Sidley’s Data Strategy 2025.” source
- What they said 2025 “We continue to make significant investments in our technology infrastructure and generative AI to enhance Sidley’s Built to Win” source
- What they did 2026 “She also weighed in on how Sidley is treating AI: not as a pilot project, but as core leadership infrastructure deployed across the firm with dedicated governance, training, and practice-group liaisons.” source
- What they said 2026 “There are no sacred cows,” Ostolaza said. “We need to continue to evaluate how the industry is changing.” source
- Miguel Zaldivar, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader (partner-owned law firm; CEO based in Washington, D.C.; more than 3,200 lawyers after the July 2026 merger and an in-house AI chatbot with 4,400+ users, so total staff is likely 6,000 to 8,000, though no total is published) executive, United States
As elected CEO he merged Hogan Lovells with Cadwalader to fund an AI-driven change in the firm's cost structure, built on the firm's own legal tech venture (ELTEMATE) and proprietary chatbot CRAIG rather than outside vendors.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Miguel Zaldivar will serve as CEO of the combined firm. Cadwalader is currently led by two Co-Managing Partners, Pat Quinn and Wes Misson” source
- What they did 2025 “Hogan Lovells has made significant investments to become a fully technology-enabled firm, embedding advanced AI capabilities across client work and internal operations as a core strategic priority.” source
- What they said 2026 “When you have an AI challenge coming your way, you know it’s going to be costly. Your cost structure in this business is people first, real estate second, tech third, operations fourth.” source
- What they said 2026 “His leadership will be instrumental to further modernizing our global technology platform, advancing our AI strategy, and delivering innovative technology solutions to our clients.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a product company, not a law firm or legal services business; the route's trade press never covers it.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue, Australia: outside US legal services.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in legal trade press only as a vendor, not as a firm redesigning legal work.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance, India: outside US legal services.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco, Brazil: outside US legal services.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software vendor, not a law firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis, Switzerland: outside US legal services.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a legal services firm.
Route 351: Third sweep of Route 41: US mid-market chief executives describing in their own words how they rebuilt the firm, firms of 5,000 to 10,000
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGER-FIRM RERUN (count only people who fit): earlier passes of this route looked only at firms under 5,000 people. Now look ONLY at US service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 employees, nationwide; this size rule and nationwide scope override any size or region in the text below. Privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor); the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them); a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced; a transformation quote in the leader's own words (not a staff officer). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. ANOTHER SWEEP of S-41: read specs/S-41/spec.md and specs/S-57/spec.md first and do NOT repeat their queries, outlets or years; use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates across 2023 to 2026. US people only. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Sweep of long-form interviews and transcribed podcasts with chief executives (Inc. and Fast Company features, Forbes and Fortune interviews, Chief Executive magazine, Harvard Business Review case interviews, McKinsey and BCG interview transcripts, company podcasts with published transcripts) where the chief executive describes a dated change to how the work gets done for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US mid-sized or private company (roughly 50 million to 5 billion dollars revenue) changes how the work gets done across the firm (an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm named in the story.
- Find the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner quoted on why the old model has a limit.
- Find the firm's own announcement or a second outlet as the second source.
- Check control: that this person can decide now (owner, founder, or chief executive of a private or mid-sized firm, named in a dated 2025-2026 source).
- Check cost: that the change is dated and expensive, and is more than an ownership deal.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. At 5,000 to 10,000 employees, the US private, mutual or partner-owned service firms that show a dated, costly redesign (Guardian Life's seven-year HCLTech deal moving Guardian India's nearly 2,000 staff, July 2026; Northwestern Mutual's new COO; Mutual of Omaha's COO for AI enablement; TQL's automation program) voice it through staff officers such as the chief digital officer, COO or CIO, never through the controlling chief executive. The firms whose leaders do speak in their own words (Crowe, ZS, HNTB, SHI, Greenberg Traurig, Kirkland, Thrivent, SECU, Pacific Life) are already in candidates.json. Long-form interview sweeps (Fortune, Inc., Chief Executive, Above the Law, McKinsey) returned firms that are public, PE-backed, over 10,000 staff or already listed. Above the Law, McKinsey and 01net returned 403. Zero new names over 9 logged fetches and 16 searches.
Sources: Inc.; Fast Company; Chief Executive magazine; Harvard Business Review; McKinsey and BCG interview pages; podcast transcript pages; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- long-form interview or announcement through Fortune, Inc., Chief Executive, CIO Dive, vendor and law-firm press releases gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through headcount page (Wikipedia infobox, InvestmentNews profile) gives size band 5,000 to 10,000 (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom or second outlet gives chief executive quoted on the change (joined on speaker attribution on the release)
- chief executive through output/candidates.json gives new or already listed (joined on normalized name and firm)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public and over the 10,000 ceiling; the band rule excludes it and no hit came from this route's sources.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian; Fortescue is public and not a service firm. Out of scope.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above 10,000 staff.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss; Novartis is public.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a product maker with about 3,000 staff, under the 5,000 floor and not a service firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian; Shopify is public.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian; Reliance is public.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a service firm; no hit in this route's sources.
Route 352: Marty profile: privately held freight brokerage and logistics services firms, firms of 5,000 to 10,000
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGER-FIRM RERUN (count only people who fit): earlier passes of this route looked only at firms under 5,000 people. Now look ONLY at US service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 employees, nationwide; this size rule and nationwide scope override any size or region in the text below. Privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor); the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them); a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced; a transformation quote in the leader's own words (not a staff officer). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. MARTY PROFILE (count only people who fit all of it): leads a US service business (the firm sells work done by people for clients) with 5,000 to 10,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or cooperative; NOT public and NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them). Each person needs a dated costly change to how the firm works AND a quote in their own words showing a transformation or first-principles mindset (record it as a stated intent citation). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Search privately held freight brokerages and logistics services firms (Transport Topics top freight brokerages, FreightWaves, Supply Chain Dive, firm newsrooms) for stories from 2023 to 2026 in which the leader of such a firm changed how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm and the leader.
- Find the leader's own words on why the old model had a limit.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, private ownership and the person's control from the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. At 5,000 to 10,000 employees the privately held US freight brokerage and logistics universe is about ten firms, and none yields a new countable leader. The TT 2026 Top 100 Logistics list has one private brokerage in the band: Total Quality Logistics (9,000 staff). Its founder-CEO Ken Oaks has no public voice on a redesign; the only receipted Oaks words are a 2025 pay-to-quit email, a retention offer he also made in 2015 and 2019, not a change to how the work is done. On the TT 2026 For-Hire list the private in-band carriers are Southeastern Freight Lines, Averitt, Ruan, Crete, C.R. England, Dayton Freight and PITT OHIO. PITT OHIO is already a candidate, and Southeastern, Averitt, Ruan and Crete failed control in earlier freight routes. Dayton Freight and Central Transport publish no dated change by their leader. Crowley's January 2026 split into two divisions is voiced by the COO and a division head, not by Tom Crowley. The others in the band are public, foreign-owned or PE-held.
Sources: privately held freight brokerages and logistics services firms (Transport Topics top freight brokerages, FreightWaves, Supply Chain Dive, firm newsrooms)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- segment through TT 2026 Top 100 Logistics and Top 100 For-Hire (Employees column) gives firm (joined on firm name, employees 5,000 to 10,000)
- firm through ownership and leader check (Wikipedia infobox, firm About page, earlier LESSONS.md verdicts) gives controlling leader (joined on firm name)
- controlling leader through FreightWaves tag pages, regional business press (Jax Daily Record), firm releases gives dated change in the leader's own words (joined on leader name + firm + year)
- change through second outlet (shipandbunker.com, careersourcenortheastflorida.com reprint) gives confirmation (joined on firm + event date)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker; not a freight or logistics firm, so absent from the TT lists.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Public Indian conglomerate; outside US private freight.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining; outside US freight.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Public Canadian software company; not on TT lists.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company; not on TT lists.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Public Swiss pharma; out of scope.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food maker; ships freight but is not a logistics service firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial firm; outside US freight.
Route 353: Owner-led service firms: family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed), firms of 5,000 to 10,000
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGER-FIRM RERUN (count only people who fit): earlier passes of this route looked only at firms under 5,000 people. Now look ONLY at US service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 employees, nationwide; this size rule and nationwide scope override any size or region in the text below. Privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor); the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them); a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced; a transformation quote in the leader's own words (not a staff officer). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 5,000 to 10,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is preferred, not required. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from a roster of family-owned facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services companies (not PE-backed) based in the Midwest and Plains (Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms), keep firms with 5,000 to 10,000 employees that are privately, family or employee owned.
- For each firm, search its newsroom and the trade and regional press from 2023 to 2026 for a change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm).
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The 5,000 to 10,000 band for private US facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services firms is thin. Forbes largest private companies has no facility or HVAC rows in the band (their revenue is below the Forbes cut). Of the in-band firms reachable by search, Pritchard Industries is Littlejohn-owned with a hired CEO, HHS has a hired CEO under the Spry family, Marsden (10,500+) and SBM (12,000 in its 2023 release) are over band, Rosendin reached 12,000 in 2025, ACCO is under band with no voiced change, and Walden Security has no dated leader-voiced change. One founder-led firm passed: Flagship Facility Services (6,000 employees, privately owned, founder-CEO Dave Pasek, 2023 Flagship Lab Services arm built from two acquisitions). Attempt 2 worked through the leads left by attempt 1 and found no second name: Wright Tree Service is employee-owned, but its president is a hired successor (Nick Fox from October 2026) and it has no leader-voiced change. Merchants Building Maintenance (6,000+, family-owned) has no public leader voice or dated change. Harvard Maintenance shows no dated 2023 to 2026 change. HHS is over band (17,000 team members). Marsden's CEO sits under a Woodley Family Trust joint venture, and the firm voices only acquisitions. Over two attempts and about 30 firm searches, this route gave one name against three needed. It does not work as a standing route at this size.
Sources: Contracting Business, ACHR News, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, regional business journals, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- roster through WebSearch for large private janitorial, facility, HVAC and security firms; Forbes largest private companies API as a cross-check gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm about page or anniversary release (headcount, ownership, founder role) gives in-band private firm with controlling leader (joined on firm name)
- in-band private firm through firm newsroom (flagshipinc.com, ifm.flagshipinc.com) gives dated change with leader quote (joined on leader name)
- dated change through second firm page or trade press on the same change gives confirmation and signal year (joined on change name (Flagship Lab Services))
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian manufacturer and services group; route is US facility, HVAC, cleaning and home services firms of 5,000 to 10,000.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a service firm; never appears in facility services rosters.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the route's sector, country and ownership filters.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; outside sector and ownership filters.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside sector, country and ownership filters.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel retailer, not a facility or home services firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far over band.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; outside every filter.
Route 354: Another sweep of Route 43: US boutique consulting, research and advisory firms that changed how the work gets done, firms of 5,000 to 10,000
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGER-FIRM RERUN (count only people who fit): earlier passes of this route looked only at firms under 5,000 people. Now look ONLY at US service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 employees, nationwide; this size rule and nationwide scope override any size or region in the text below. Privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor); the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them); a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced; a transformation quote in the leader's own words (not a staff officer). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. ANOTHER SWEEP of S-43: read specs/S-43/spec.md first and do NOT repeat its queries, outlets or years; use different outlets, different phrasings, other US states and sub-sectors, and dates across 2023 to 2026. US people only. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Sweep of consulting and research trade press (Consulting magazine, Consultancy.org US, Source Global Research, Quirk's, Greenbook, Research Live, Insights Association news) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US boutique management consulting, market research, economic consulting or advisory firm (not the Big Four, Accenture or MBB) changes how the work gets done across the firm (an AI workforce or agent deployment across the core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new pricing or service model, a new owned arm).
- Find the firm named in the story.
- Find the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner quoted on why the old model has a limit.
- Find the firm's own announcement or a second outlet as the second source.
- Check control: that this person can decide now (owner, founder, or chief executive of a private or mid-sized firm, named in a dated 2025-2026 source).
- Check cost: that the change is dated and expensive, and is more than an ownership deal.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. US private consulting, research and advisory firms of 5,000 to 10,000 staff are a near-empty band, and none of the in-band firms put a leader-voiced redesign on a page. Forvis Mazars US (7,000 team members, partner-owned) shows firmwide AI tools and thousands of team-built agents, but CEO Tom Watson's quotes are about stewardship, not the change. Alvarez and Marsal's May 2026 Global AI Board is voiced by a managing director, the chief AI officer and the COO, not CEO Bryan Marsal. Milliman's 2026 move is a new AI solution practice (a service line) under a just-appointed CEO. BDO USA (12,000+) and ZS are over band, Kearney is global with a few thousand staff, and Guidehouse is PE-owned. West Monroe, Crowe, CLA, Westat and Mathematica are already in candidates.json. Seven fetches logged, zero new names.
Sources: Consulting magazine; Consultancy.org; Quirk's Media; Greenbook; Insights Association; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade story or firm profile through Consulting.us firm pages and AI news filter gives firm (joined on firm slug)
- firm through firm newsroom release gives leader quoted (joined on "said <Name>, <title>")
- leader through release boilerplate and dated role page gives headcount and control check (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software, outside the consulting universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is Canadian public software.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a consulting firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian, outside US scope.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is apparel.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian mining.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears only as a platform vendor in consulting press.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss pharma, a client not a consulting firm.
Route 355: Independent service firms: Security and facility services firms, firms of 5,000 to 10,000
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGER-FIRM RERUN (count only people who fit): earlier passes of this route looked only at firms under 5,000 people. Now look ONLY at US service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 employees, nationwide; this size rule and nationwide scope override any size or region in the text below. Privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor); the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them); a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced; a transformation quote in the leader's own words (not a staff officer). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. OWNER-LED SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 5,000 to 10,000 employees, privately owned (private, family, employee-owned or co-op; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from SIA and Security Magazine rankings of privately held US guarding and integration firms, and BSCAI building service contractors, 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount, ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The 5,000 to 10,000 band of privately owned US guard and building service firms is close to empty and the few firms in it do not have a leader-voiced dated change. Walden Security (8,000+ staff, family-owned, Amy Walden chair and CEO per waldensecurity.com/our-company/about-us) launched online training in Sept 2023 with no quote from her. Flagship Facility Services (6,000+ staff, founder-CEO Dave Pasek) rolled out about 100 SoftBank cobots in 2024, but the releases quote its COO Todd Jacobs and president Kevin Barton, and Pasek speaks only on the 35th anniversary. CCS Facility Services' 2025 AI workforce tools are voiced by a VP and an EVP. Able Services went to ABM (public) in 2021, Inter-Con is over 36,000 staff, CSC counts 60,000 part-time staff, and the Security Magazine 2025 guarding report quotes only VPs of Allied Universal, GardaWorld and ECAM plus client CSOs. Its ranking table is not in the fetchable page or digital edition text. No new names after 14 fetches and about 18 searches.
Sources: securitymagazine.com, bscai.org, sdmmag.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Security Magazine Annual Guarding Report / BSCAI gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom, vendor case study, trade press gives dated change (joined on firm name + change noun)
- dated change through release or interview gives leader quote (joined on named speaker and title)
- leader through firm about/leadership page gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm domain)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate, not a US private guard or building service firm; absent from Security Magazine guarding coverage and BSCAI.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and not a US security or facility contractor; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; not in any US guarding or building service source.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma firm; not a service contractor in this universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and a technology maker; never appears in guarding or BSCAI rankings.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not a guard or janitorial contractor; outside the universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian; not a US service contractor.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software; not in security or facility services sources.
Route 356: Trade press sweep: US real estate brokerages, property managers and mortgage lenders that changed how the work gets done, firms of 5,000 to 10,000
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGER-FIRM RERUN (count only people who fit): earlier passes of this route looked only at firms under 5,000 people. Now look ONLY at US service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 employees, nationwide; this size rule and nationwide scope override any size or region in the text below. Privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor); the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them); a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced; a transformation quote in the leader's own words (not a staff officer). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Sweep of real estate and mortgage trade press (Inman, HousingWire, Real Estate News, The Real Deal, Commercial Observer, Multifamily Dive, National Mortgage News) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US real estate brokerage, property manager, commercial real estate services firm or independent mortgage lender announces a firm-wide change to how the work gets done (an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign).
- Find the firm named in the story.
- Find the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner quoted on why the old model has a limit.
- Find the firm's own announcement or a second outlet as the second source.
- Check control: that this person can decide (owner, founder, chief executive of a private or mid-sized firm, named in a dated 2025-2026 source).
- Check cost: that the change is dated and expensive.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The 5,000 to 10,000 band of privately owned, leader-controlled US real estate and mortgage service firms holds only two people who pass every check (Victor Ciardelli of Rate and Ron Leonhardt of CrossCountry Mortgage, both verified and kept below), short of the three-name minimum. Attempt 2 checked every remaining in-band lender: Freedom Mortgage has no dated 2024 to 2026 headcount and its Moder and Palantir AI build is voiced by the founder's son Michael Middleman, not Stan Middleman (the April 2025 LEADERS interview names no change); Fairway's enterprise AI rollout to 600 branches is voiced by an EVP and an SVP at The Gathering, April 2026; New American Funding sits near 4,100 staff; Movement Mortgage near 4,400; Veterans United states more than 5,000 staff but its CEO Nate Long voices no 2024 to 2026 change. Brokerages count agents as contractors, property managers were exhausted by S-349, and commercial real estate services firms in the band are public or PE-backed. No query variant produced a third qualifying name.
Sources: Inman; HousingWire; Real Estate News; The Real Deal; Commercial Observer; Multifamily Dive; National Mortgage News; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade press story through HousingWire, MPA, National Mortgage News gives firm (joined on firm name in story headline or lede)
- firm through HousingWire leader interview or trade story quoting the CEO gives leader (joined on name and title (founder and CEO) in the story)
- leader through second outlet (MPA, Gateless newsroom, a second HousingWire story) gives dated costly change (joined on named platform or subsidiary (Rate Intelligence, CrossCountry Capital) plus dollar figure)
- firm through Wikipedia infobox or firm about page, plus trade story boilerplate gives control and headcount (joined on firm name; 'founder', 'owning the company', 'Type Private', employee count)
- change through same receipts gives signal year (joined on launch year of the platform or subsidiary)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not in this universe by construction: the route reads US real estate and mortgage trade press for private service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 staff; this person wa
- Missed Satya Nadella Not in this universe by construction: the route reads US real estate and mortgage trade press for private service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 staff; this person wa
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not in this universe by construction: the route reads US real estate and mortgage trade press for private service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 staff; this person wa
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not in this universe by construction: the route reads US real estate and mortgage trade press for private service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 staff; this person wa
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not in this universe by construction: the route reads US real estate and mortgage trade press for private service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 staff; this person wa
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not in this universe by construction: the route reads US real estate and mortgage trade press for private service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 staff; this person wa
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not in this universe by construction: the route reads US real estate and mortgage trade press for private service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 staff; this person wa
- Missed Aaron Levie Not in this universe by construction: the route reads US real estate and mortgage trade press for private service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 staff; this person wa
Route 357: Trade press and wire announcements: firms that changed how the work gets done, firms of 5,000 to 10,000
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGER-FIRM RERUN (count only people who fit): earlier passes of this route looked only at firms under 5,000 people. Now look ONLY at US service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 employees, nationwide; this size rule and nationwide scope override any size or region in the text below. Privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor); the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them); a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced; a transformation quote in the leader's own words (not a staff officer). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Weekly sweep of vertical trade press and press wires for a firm announcing a firm-wide change to how work is done (an AI workforce contract, a restructure into new layers, a new owned law, tax or trust arm, a new pricing or service model).
- Find the firm named in the story.
- Find the chief executive, founder or managing partner quoted on why the old model has a limit.
- Find the vendor newsroom behind the deal, for other firms on the same model.
- Check control: through Form ADV owner schedules, the firm's own capital releases or the Arizona ABS register.
- Check cost: that the change is dated and expensive (contract value, licence granted, restructure).
- Back-search for the earliest redesign move to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. At 5,000 to 10,000 employees the route's wealth, accounting, law and insurance beat yields no new qualifying leader. The vendor-newsroom step has one customer (Mariner, already a candidate). In-band leaders who voiced a dated, costly change (Crowe, Kirkland, Goodwin's Anthony McCusker, Edward Jones, Ropes & Gray, Cooley, Greenberg Traurig, Pacific Life, Thrivent) are already in candidates.json. The rest of the in-band pool (Securian, Baird, Capital Group, Forvis Mazars, Plante Moran, Northwestern Mutual, Mutual of Omaha, Guardian) speaks about operating-model change only through staff officers (an SVP of Operations, a COO, a CDTO) or has no leader-voiced redesign at all, and the large accounting firms not yet taken are PE-backed or over 10,000.
Sources: InvestmentNews, Transformation section (https://www.investmentnews.com/transformation); RIABiz (https://riabiz.com/); WealthManagement.com (Informa) (https://www.wealthmanagement.com/ria-news/neuberger-berman-buys-minority-stake-in-mariner); Business Wire releases via the Morningstar news mirror (https://www.morningstar.com/news/business-wire/20260714748378/mariner-and-humanity-labs-announce-five-year-partnership-to-leverage-an-ai-workforce-of-700-ftes); American Banker (https://www.americanbanker.com/news/mariners-ai-splits-firm-into-experience-and-execution); Financial Advisor magazine (FA-Mag) (https://www.fa-mag.com/news/mariner-adds-a-digital-workforce-to-its-staff-87812.html?section=126); Accounting Today (https://www.accountingtoday.com/); CPA Practice Advisor (https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/); LawSites (LawNext) (https://www.lawnext.com/); Arizona Supreme Court ABS Directory (https://www.azcourts.gov/cld/Alternative-Business-Structure/Directory)
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade press or wire story through WealthManagement.com, Bloomberg Law, Business Wire, Financial Planning (WebSearch with allowed_domains) gives firm (joined on firm name in headline)
- firm through story body gives quoted leader (joined on speaker title (CEO, chair, managing partner))
- firm through vendor newsroom (Humanity Labs releases) gives other client firms (joined on vendor name)
- leader through output/candidates.json gives new or already found (joined on normalized name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not a US service firm of 5,000 to 10,000; Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate, outside the route's filter and its trade press.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; outside the size, ownership and sector filter.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a product company with a trust ownership change, not a service firm; the route's trade press only syndicates it via Bloomberg wires (S-20 lesson).
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is public and Australian; outside the route.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and far under 5,000; outside the route.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a US food maker, not a service firm, and over 10,000-band trade press does not cover it.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far over 10,000 staff.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian; outside the route.
Route 358: Large independent service firms: Am Law 200 law firms, later pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS: an earlier pass already found the most visible leaders on this list; go further down it (less covered firms, other states), 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from the Am Law 200 and NLJ 500 law firms with 1,000 to 10,000 total staff, led by an elected chair or managing partner who has changed how legal work is done 2023 to 2026 (firm-built AI, new delivery or pricing models, redesigned associate or staff roles).
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Later pass at Am Law 200 firms of 1,000 to 10,000 people. The route as written (law.com and Bloomberg Law leader interviews) is paywalled or harvested; the working change is to start from legal AI vendor firmwide-rollout posts (harvey.ai/blog, legora.com/newsroom) and keep only firms whose own release quotes the elected chair. That gave 4 new names (Jackson Lewis, Foley & Lardner, Crowell & Moring, Faegre Drinker), all with 1,000+ attorneys or staff. The other leads failed on voice (Nelson Mullins, Littler, Kilpatrick Labs, Morgan Lewis) or were already candidates (K&L Gates' Ackermann, MoFo's McCrath). Three of the four changes are vendor rollouts plus an in-house tool, which is weaker than a firm-built platform.
Sources: law.com/americanlawyer, Bloomberg Law, Legaltech News, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- legal AI vendor through harvey.ai/blog and legora.com/newsroom firmwide-rollout posts (found by WebSearch) gives law firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through firm newsroom release on the same rollout or the firm's own AI build gives firm leader quote (joined on firm name + 'said ... Chair')
- firm leader through firm newsroom leadership release (election, re-election) or Wikipedia infobox gives role and control (joined on leader name)
- law firm through second page: vendor repost, award write-up or award shortlist release gives confirmed change and earliest year (joined on firm name + tool name)
- law firm through firm boilerplate or Wikipedia num_employees / attorneys gives size band check (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Kevin Lauri, Jackson Lewis P.C. (New York; principal-owned professional corporation, national labor and employment firm, 1,100+ attorneys in 60+ offices, so over 1,000 people on attorneys alone) executive, United States
As elected Firm Chair he committed the largest US employer-side labor firm to a firmwide generative AI build-out in 2026: Harvey for all 1,100+ attorneys with vendor engineers building labor-law applications, beside an AI-drafted matter-data base of 30,000 matters.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The firm is led by a board of directors, and its current chair is Kevin G. Lauri.” source
- What they did 2026 “Nationwide employment law firm Jackson Lewis P.C. is expanding its investment in artificial intelligence by deploying Harvey firmwide to more than 1,100 attorneys across more than 60 offices.” source
- What they said 2026 “As a leader in labor and employment law, we see AI as an opportunity to build on that strength, and Harvey stood out as the right partner to help us do it.” source
- What they did 2026 “began using generative AI to draft matter narratives from case documents, guided by templates designed to shape AI responses.” source
- Daljit Doogal, Foley & Lardner LLP (Milwaukee-founded, partner-owned law firm, 1,100 lawyers in 27 offices; total revenue $1.275 billion in 2025) executive, United States
As elected Chairman and CEO he reorganized two-thirds of Foley's lawyers into industry sectors and built an AI-first stack with an in-house assistant (FoleyChat, 2025) and a firmwide Harvey rollout (2026).Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Daljit Doogal has been reelected to serve as Chairman and CEO for a second, four-year term beginning May 1, 2026” source
- What they said 2025 “We are committed to using AI in both services provided to clients and business activities to provide the excellence and value our clients demand” source
- What they did 2026 “Foley has built a curated AI tool stack that combines internally developed technology with leading enterprise platforms.” source
- What they did 2026 “is rolling out Harvey firmwide. Following a successful pilot and rigorous evaluation, Foley will deploy Harvey throughout the firm” source
- Chahira Solh, Crowell & Moring LLP (Washington, D.C.; partner-owned law firm, more than 700 attorneys; 1,000 employees in its Wikipedia infobox) executive, United States
As Chair of the Executive Committee she backs a firm that built its own generative AI platform (CrowellAI, 2024) and then committed to a firmwide Legora rollout used by 91 percent of its attorneys in 2026.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “the culture of innovation we bring to our work every day," said Chahira Solh , Chair of Crowell’s Executive Committee.” source
- What they said 2026 “When we committed to this investment, we did so with the conviction that AI, deployed thoughtfully and responsibly, would meaningfully enhance the way we serve our clients.” source
- What they did 2024 “the development of its proprietary AI platform, CrowellAI, released in early 2024. The firm continues to leverage CrowellAI, and dozens of other AI tools, for specific use cases” source
- What they did 2024 “The firm was recognized for its development of CrowellAI, an in-house generative AI platform, along with robust and unique ethical usage guidelines and guardrails.” source
- Gina Kastel, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (Minneapolis and Philadelphia; partner-owned law firm, about 1,200 attorneys and consulting professionals) executive, United States
As firm chair she put Harvey and Microsoft Copilot in the hands of every lawyer, consultant and staff member in 2026, backed by mandatory firmwide AI training and a new technology and innovation chief.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “they will help us deliver better results for our clients and strengthen our firm," said Gina Kastel, firm chair.” source
- What they said 2026 “Innovation drives better client service. These investments give us new tools to solve complex problems, anticipate client needs, and provide excellent service.” source
- What they did 2026 “The firm has also rolled out Microsoft Copilot to all lawyers, consulting professionals, and staff.” source
- What they did 2026 “will deploy Harvey to lawyers, consulting professionals, and staff across the organization. The decision followed a rigorous, multi-phase evaluation” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a software company in Canada; the route only reads US law firm newsrooms and legal vendor releases.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a software company; it is not a law firm and never appears in Am Law or legal AI rollout releases.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss drugmaker; out of the route's universe (US law firms).
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian miner; out of the route's universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a product company, not a law firm; legal trade press and firm newsrooms do not cover it.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian conglomerate; out of the route's universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian manufacturer; out of the route's universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; it appears in law firm releases only as a vendor (Copilot), never as the firm making the change.
Route 359: Large independent service firms: Employee Ownership 100, later pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS: an earlier pass already found the most visible leaders on this list; go further down it (less covered firms, other states), 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from the NCEO Employee Ownership 100 list of the largest majority employee-owned US companies, service firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. A fourth pass at the NCEO Employee Ownership 100 (after S-280, S-336, S-337 and S-344) gave 0 qualifying names in about 30 firm searches and 17 fetches. Every 5,000 to 10,000 service row was already worked or fails (HNTB in candidates; ACT, Wright Service, Acadian, Austin Industries tried; Parsons is public; Schweitzer and Davey Tree are a manufacturer and over band). Lower rows announce awards, promotions, new sites and same-business acquisitions; the few real changes in the work (ACCO and PCI prefab factories) are voiced by sales managers, an SVP or a head of IT, not the CEO, and the CHCA joint venture dates to 2020. The list itself is open and accurate, but the firms on it are mined out for this signal.
Sources: nceo.org, ESOP Association, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list through NCEO Employee Ownership 100 (Oct 2025 update) gives firm (joined on company name, business, US employees)
- firm through firm newsroom via WordPress REST listing, else WebSearch gives dated change release (joined on firm domain)
- release through same release gives leader quote and title (joined on said <name>, <title>)
- change through trade or local press gives second page confirming the change (joined on firm name plus change noun)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is founder-controlled with an equity-share plan, not a majority ESOP; not on the EO100.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is owned by a purpose trust and nonprofit, not an ESOP or co-op; not on the EO100.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian; outside the list.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public; outside the list.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is public and Indian; outside the list.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is public and Swiss; outside the list.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; the EO100 is US only.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is public and Australian; outside the list.
Route 360: Large independent service firms: Forbes largest private companies, service firms, later pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS: an earlier pass already found the most visible leaders on this list; go further down it (less covered firms, other states), 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from the Forbes America's Largest Private Companies list, service businesses (consulting, staffing, healthcare services, engineering, insurance brokerage, facilities and field services) with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The later pass on the Forbes America's Largest Private Companies list found no new qualifying leader. Four years of the open Forbes API (2022 to 2025, 200 to 275 rows each) hold about 90 service-type rows at 1,000 to 10,000 staff. All but about 20 are already in candidates.json or were screened out by S-338, S-336, S-344, S-346, S-350 and S-352. The 2022 and 2023 years add no new in-band service firm. The remaining rows fail on voice, control or service fit: Zachry, Michels, Kokosing, Yates, Arco, Walbridge, Ryan Companies, Saltchuk, R+L Carriers and Carahsoft have no 2023 to 2026 change voiced by the controlling leader. Kokosing has co-CEOs under a chair, and Walbridge and Ryan have hired CEOs. Davis Polk, Simpson Thacher, King & Spalding and Paul Weiss voice AI through a CIO, CTO, AI practice head or innovation officer. The one leader-voiced change, Quinn Emanuel's proprietary AI trial platform (John B. Quinn, March 2026), fails control: in August 2026 the firm said Quinn had stepped back from the Executive Committee and that co-managing partners Burck and Carlinsky run it. His own podcast also says he has not seen a restructuring of law firms. The list stops at the Forbes revenue cut (about $2B), so there is no lower tier to work.
Sources: forbes.com/largest-private-companies, firm newsrooms, trade press
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list year through Forbes largest private companies API gives firm row (employees, industry, ceoName, description) (joined on organizationName)
- firm through WebSearch for a 2023 to 2026 change plus the leader's name and 'said' gives dated change story (joined on firm name + leader surname)
- change story through firm newsroom or the leader's own podcast or interview gives leader quote and control check (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public; not on the private companies list.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is on the 2024 and 2025 lists (3,000 staff, Food & Drink, ceoName Hamdi Ulukaya) but is a food manufacturer, so the service filter drops it, and the row
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is Indian and public; out of scope for a US private list.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is not on any 2022 to 2025 list year, and it is an apparel maker, not a service firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; not on a US list.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss and public.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian and public.
Route 361: Large independent service firms: Partner-owned consulting and IT services firms, later pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS: an earlier pass already found the most visible leaders on this list; go further down it (less covered firms, other states), 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from privately held, partner- or founder-owned management consulting, IT services and professional services firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees (Vault and Consulting Magazine rankings, Inc. 5000 alumni that grew past 1,000).
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Later pass at private US consulting and IT services firms of 1,000 to 10,000 staff, after S-339 and S-354. The remaining in-band firms fail on control, voice or novelty, not on access. Tredence (San Jose, about 3,000 to 6,000 staff, CEO and co-founder Shub Bhowmick) has a dated 2025 agentic AI hiring and training push in his words, but Advent International holds a board seat and Chicago Pacific Founders stays a meaningful shareholder, so founder control is unproven. Quantiphi (Boston, about 3,500, privately held) runs a TSaaS outcome-priced delivery model voiced by co-founder Asif Hasan, but hired ex-Accenture Jim Reesing as CEO in May 2026. Exadel's AI-first shift is voiced by its COO. Fulcrum Digital's founder Rajesh Sinha is already in candidates.json. Tiger Analytics (founder-CEO Mahesh Kumar, 4,000+) has no own-words dated change to its delivery model. 18 fetches logged, zero countable new names.
Sources: consultingmag.com, vault.com, inc.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- change-first query (AI-native, services as software, outcome-based delivery) through WebSearch over Indian and US tech trade press and firm newsrooms gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through candidates.json grep gives new firm only (joined on firm name and leader name)
- firm through firm release or trade story quoting the leader gives leader and own words (joined on "said <Name>, <title>")
- firm through deal release (investor stake) and HFS fact sheet or firm about page gives headcount, ownership and control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, outside the consulting and IT services universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian mining, outside US scope and the universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian, outside US scope.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is Canadian public software.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not a service firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and appears only as a platform partner in services press.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss public pharma, a client of services firms, not one.
Route 362: Large independent service firms: Mutual insurers and large credit unions, later pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS: an earlier pass already found the most visible leaders on this list; go further down it (less covered firms, other states), 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from US mutual insurance companies and credit unions with 1,000 to 10,000 employees whose chief executive changed how claims, underwriting or member service work is done.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. A fourth pass at US mutual insurers and large credit unions of 1,000 to 10,000 staff gave 0 new names after 13 logged fetches and about 16 web queries. Every in-window change found is voiced by a staff officer (Hudson Valley CU's two chief AI officers, BCU's chief data officer, SECU's loan-automation SVP, Golden 1's chief digital officer, Suncoast's VP of loan fulfillment, Ameritas's chief AI officer), predates 2023 (PSECU 2020 and Coastal 2021 restructures, SELCO 2021), or is an ownership event (DCU and First Tech merger 2026, GECU bank purchase). The vendor reverse index (Clutch releases on PR Newswire) anonymizes its large credit union clients. The CEOs in band who do voice a dated change (Brady, Anderson, Schenck, Rasmussen, Button, Clobes, Ogilvie, Jean, Morrell and others) are already in candidates.json from S-299, S-300, S-314, S-315, S-326, S-327 and S-340.
Sources: Insurance Journal, Best's Review, CU Times, Credit Union Journal, newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- large US credit union or mutual insurer (1,000 to 10,000 staff) through creditunions.com features (CU QUICK FACTS box gives EMPLOYEES), CUToday features, vendor releases gives dated change story (joined on firm name)
- dated change story through same story or the firm or chamber newsroom release gives who voices the change (CEO or staff officer) (joined on speaker name and title)
- CEO through output/candidates.json gives new or already found (joined on normName(name))
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company, not a mutual insurer or credit union; outside the route's universe and its trade press.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a mutual insurer or credit union.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside geography and universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software firm; outside geography and universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; outside geography and universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not a mutual or cooperative financial firm.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a trust-owned apparel maker, not a mutual insurer or credit union.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; outside geography and universe.
Route 363: Large independent service firms: Independent insurance brokers and wealth firms, later pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS: an earlier pass already found the most visible leaders on this list; go further down it (less covered firms, other states), 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from privately held, employee- or family-owned insurance brokerages, benefits consultancies and wealth management firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees (Business Insurance top brokers, Barron's and InvestmentNews rankings; skip PE-backed roll-ups).
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Later pass on private US insurance brokers, benefits consultancies and wealth firms of 1,000 to 10,000 found no new leader who passes all screens. Every in-band private firm with a dated 2023 to 2026 change speaks through a staff officer (Leavitt Group: Chief Project Officer on the FurtherAI case study; Milliman AI Solutions: practice leader, with the new CEO taking office two days after launch; BBH fund accounting AI: a managing director, 2021). Firms where the leader does speak on AI fail ownership or size (Lockton nearly 15,000 Associates; Alliant PE-backed; Ryan Specialty and Baldwin public; Newfront sold to WTW Jan 2026). Remaining in-band private firms (Higginbotham, Cottingham and Butler, IOA, Heffernan, Cross, Captrust, D.A. Davidson, Segal, Fisher) show no leader-voiced dated change in searches. The earlier pass (S-341) already took the visible names.
Sources: businessinsurance.com, investmentnews.com, wealthmanagement.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking or firm roster through Business Insurance top brokers, firm boilerplate, Wikipedia gives private in-band firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom, Business Wire copy, vendor case study, trade press gives dated change to the work (joined on firm name + AI/practice/arm)
- change through same release or interview gives speaker (leader vs staff officer) (joined on quoted name and title)
- leader through firm boilerplate or appointment story gives control, ownership, headcount (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian firm, outside the US-only route and not an insurance broker or wealth firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; the route screens only private US brokers and wealth firms.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a service firm; never appears in broker or wealth rankings.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a product maker; outside the broker and wealth universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; fails the private service-firm screen.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside geography and sector.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far over 10,000 staff.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma firm; outside geography, sector and size.
Route 364: Large independent service firms: Physician-owned and independent care groups, later pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS: an earlier pass already found the most visible leaders on this list; go further down it (less covered firms, other states), 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from physician-owned medical groups, independent dental, veterinary, therapy and home care organizations with 1,000 to 10,000 employees that are not PE-controlled and not nonprofit health systems.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. A second pass over US physician-owned, dental, veterinary, therapy and home care organizations of 1,000 to 10,000 people gave no new leader who passes every test. 14 searches and 8 fetches covered firms the first pass (S-342) skipped. Willamette Dental (dentist-owned, about 50 offices, founder-CEO) has only community and rebrand news from 2025 to 2026. Patient First (79 centers, physician-led since 1981) has no dated change in the founder's own words. Integrity Home Care went to Bayada (2022). MyPath (ESOP) has a CEO new in post since 2025-2026. Primary Health Medical Group changed CEO in 2022 and shows no later change. EmpRes has no leader statement after 2017. Personal-Touch is at the 10,000 cap with a hired CEO under an owner-chair. The Permanente groups now sit under TPMG, which is over 10,000. Heritage Provider Network is in a private-equity sale process, Motor City Dental Partners has about 435 staff, and UVA Physicians Group is university-affiliated. With S-24, S-94, S-105, S-119, S-133, S-147, S-165 and S-342, this band is exhausted for the Marty profile.
Sources: Becker's, MGMA, Modern Healthcare, group newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- segment through WebSearch on segment plus ownership words (dentist-owned, physician-owned, ESOP, family-owned) and a size word gives named firm (joined on firm name)
- named firm through firm newsroom or media sheet gives leader and ownership line (joined on firm name plus CEO)
- leader through firm newsroom, regional business press (sbj.net, idahonews, urbanmilwaukee) gives dated change in the leader's own words (joined on leader name plus firm)
- change through second page (vendor release, wire reprint, business journal) gives confirmation (joined on firm name plus change noun)
- firm through firm boilerplate or a dated 2025-2026 profile gives headcount, ownership and control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma, outside a US care-group spine.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy, not a care group.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner, not a US care group.
- Missed Satya Nadella US public software firm.
- Missed Aaron Levie US public software firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer, not a care service.
Route 365: Large independent service firms: Independent agencies and marketing services, later pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS: an earlier pass already found the most visible leaders on this list; go further down it (less covered firms, other states), 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from independent (not holding-company owned) advertising, media, PR and marketing services agencies with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. A second pass over US independent advertising, media, PR and marketing services firms of 1,000 to 10,000 staff found no new person who clears every gate. The 1,000+ pool is small and the first pass (S-343) plus earlier routes already hold its owner-led members (Edelman, Project Worldwide, VaynerX, Horizon Media, PMG, Known, Finn Partners, Ruder Finn, Aquent). Every remaining lead failed one gate: Scorpion (about 1,400 staff, founder Rustin Kretz, AI intake product) took a $100 million Bregal Sagemount investment in 2021 with two sponsor board seats and a hired CEO, so control is not clearly the founder's; Czarnowski Collective was bought by Platinum Equity in January 2026; Mod Op (853 staff, $10 million AI pledge voiced by CEO Eric Bertrand) is under 1,000; NP Digital is about 750; BDA (about 1,400, co-owners Deutsch and Bensussen) shows acquisitions only, which are capital events, not a redesign; APCO's AI work is voiced by the president, not the CEO or founder; Wieden+Kennedy's 2024 cuts were voiced by an office president and tied to account losses; Freeman's chair describes pre-2023 changes. Eleven receipts and about 20 searches support this.
Sources: Ad Age Agency Report, Adweek, PRWeek, O'Dwyer's, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- agency universe through O'Dwyer's independents ranking, Adweek 50, trade searches gives independent firm with 1,000+ staff (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom, investor release, company profile (yespress.io) gives ownership, control and headcount (joined on firm name)
- firm through trade press and firm release gives dated change voiced by the controlling leader (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company, not a US independent agency; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not an agency.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian public conglomerate; outside US and agency scope.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; not an agency.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; outside scope.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a US private company but an apparel maker, not an advertising or marketing services agency.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; not an agency.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; outside US and agency scope.
Route 366: Large independent service firms: Employee-owned and family construction services, later pass
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS: an earlier pass already found the most visible leaders on this list; go further down it (less covered firms, other states), 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from employee-owned or family-owned general contractors, specialty contractors and facilities services firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees that changed how field work is done (prefab, robotics, AI in estimating or scheduling).
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Firm-first search over employee-owned and family contractors (Haskell, Sundt, Alberici, Southland, Bergelectric, Ace Electric, M.C. Dean) gave one leader-voiced, dated, costly change to how field work is done: M.C. Dean's $63 million Modular Mission Critical plant expansion (Aug 2023), voiced by third-generation CEO Bill Dean, with a 2026 enterprise lean transformation reporting to him. The working step is the firm's own WordPress search endpoint (/wp-json/wp/v2/search?search=<CEO name>), which lists every release that quotes the CEO. One new name of five needed, so refine. Attempt 2 ran about 15 more firms and the same WordPress search step on usengineering.com and kokosing.biz. It surfaced one strong held lead, Tyler Nottberg (U.S. Engineering, fifth-generation family CEO; $25M Metalworks plant Sept 2026, DfMA arm, companywide AI principles in his own column), not counted because no dated source puts company-wide headcount at 1,000 or more (LinkedIn 577, aggregators 1,001 to 5,000). Attempt 3: the EC&M Top 50 Electrical Contractors PDF table plus the WordPress search step gave Eric Laub (Cache Valley Electric); Interstates and Gaylor leads failed on ownership proof and dated change.
Sources: enr.com, Construction Dive, Facilities Dive, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- contractor class (family or employee-owned, prefab or modular) through WebSearch over trade press and state economic-development coverage gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm WordPress search API /wp-json/wp/v2/search?search=<CEO name> gives CEO-quoted releases (joined on CEO name)
- release on owned plant or operating change through firm newsroom release (mcdean.com/?p=<id>) gives dated costly change plus CEO quote (joined on release URL)
- change through second outlet reprint or earlier trade story (zweiglist.com, buildings.com) gives confirmation and earliest move (joined on facility name)
- firm through Wikipedia infobox plus 2026 release boilerplate gives ownership, control, headcount (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Bill Dean, M.C. Dean, Inc. (Tysons, Virginia; family-owned design-build electrical and systems integration contractor, more than 9,000 professionals per its Jan 2026 release) owner, United States
Third-generation family CEO moving the firm's electrical and systems field work into an owned modular manufacturing campus and, from 2026, an enterprise lean transformation.Evidence (6 checked quotes)
- Power to act “M.C. retired from the firm in 1980 and was succeeded by his son, Casey Dean. In 1997, Mr. Dean's grandson, Bill Dean, assumed the position of President and CEO” source
- What they did 2023 “With a total campus investment of $83 million to date, this building marks the completion of the company’s five-year $63 million Phase 3 expansion” source
- What they said 2023 “Modular delivery is faster, higher quality, and safer, at equal or lower cost” source
- What they said 2022 “The demand for modular delivery, which involves complex design, off-site manufacturing, and digitization of construction activities, continues to grow across our customer base, especially for mission critical environments” source
- What they did 2026 “Following continued investment in this area, he now returns in an expanded role to drive M.C. Dean’s lean transformation across the enterprise. Reporting to CEO Bill Dean” source
- What they said 2026 “M.C. Dean is headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, and employs more than 9,000 professionals” source
- Eric Laub, Cache Valley Electric (Logan, Utah; family-owned since 1915, fourth-generation Laub leadership, over 3,000 employees per its Jan 2025 release; co-CEO with his father Jim Laub, the owner) owner, United States
Fourth-generation family co-CEO taking control panel fabrication, robotics and automation in-house through an owned division and expanding the firm's prefabrication capacity with a new Salt Lake City site.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Cache Valley Electric (CVE) is proud to announce the appointment of Eric Laub as Co-Chief Executive Officer, joining his father, Jim Laub, in leading one of the nation’s largest electrical contracting firms” source
- What they did 2025 “Rouser Automation brings expertise in UL508A-certified control panel fabrication, PLC and HMI programming, robotics and motion control, OEM design and build services, SCADA systems, automation project consulting, and vision systems integration” source
- What they said 2025 “This acquisition allows us to deliver even greater value to our customers with fully integrated solutions that meet the evolving demands of modern industry” source
- What they did 2025 “It will serve as the future home of CVE’s Line and Substation Division and will expand the company’s prefabrication capacity to meet the demands of increasingly complex projects across the Western United States” source
- What they said 2025 “This investment is about preparing for what’s next,” said Eric Laub, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Cache Valley Electric. “We’re building the kind of space that empowers our people, supports our work, and positions us for the future of the industry” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not in this route's universe by construction (the route reads private US contractors of 1,000 to 10,000 staff); no lookup was made.
- Missed Aaron Levie Not in this route's universe by construction (the route reads private US contractors of 1,000 to 10,000 staff); no lookup was made.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not in this route's universe by construction (the route reads private US contractors of 1,000 to 10,000 staff); no lookup was made.
- Missed Satya Nadella Not in this route's universe by construction (the route reads private US contractors of 1,000 to 10,000 staff); no lookup was made.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not in this route's universe by construction (the route reads private US contractors of 1,000 to 10,000 staff); no lookup was made.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not in this route's universe by construction (the route reads private US contractors of 1,000 to 10,000 staff); no lookup was made.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not in this route's universe by construction (the route reads private US contractors of 1,000 to 10,000 staff); no lookup was made.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not in this route's universe by construction (the route reads private US contractors of 1,000 to 10,000 staff); no lookup was made.
Route 367: Large independent service firms: Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For, private service firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For and Fortune Best Workplaces lists (2023 to 2026), privately held service firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list is open and pullable (greatplacetowork.com/best-workplaces/100-best/<yyyy>, 200 with --text for 2023 to 2026), but as a spine for private US service firms of 1,000 to 10,000 people it holds only about 15 firms across four years, and earlier routes had already screened nearly all of them (Plante Moran, Kimley-Horn, Baird, TQL, Jackson Healthcare, Veterans United, New American Funding, Ryan, Edward Jones, Crowe). The rest are public, over 10,000 (WWT about 14,000, Bain, Slalom), PE-backed (Power Home Remodeling took Bain Capital money in May 2026, CHG, OneDigital, Encore) or have no leader-voiced change (Alston & Bird, Perkins Coie). Attempt 2 found two firms attempt 1 had skipped (Vizient, MTSI) and added Byron Jobe of Vizient (member-owned, Kaufman Hall advisory arm bought out in 2024), so two names pass: Mitch Zuklie of Orrick and Byron Jobe of Vizient. The route works mainly as a coverage diff, not as a discovery spine.
Sources: fortune.com/best-companies, greatplacetowork.com
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- year through GPTW / Fortune 100 Best list page gives firm (rank, industry, HQ) (joined on firm name)
- firm through candidates.json plus LESSONS screen, then WebSearch for ownership and size gives private in-band service firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm leadership bio gives controlling leader (joined on firm name to chair/CEO title)
- leader through firm newsroom and trade reprint (lawfuel.com) gives dated change in the leader's own words (joined on leader surname)
- firm through Revelio Labs company employees page gives headcount 2026 (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Mitch Zuklie, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP (partner-owned law firm, about 2,448 employees in March 2026 per Revelio Labs; Fortune 100 Best 2023 and 2024) owner, United States
He is rebuilding how a large law firm delivers legal work, moving work into an analytics and AI center in Wheeling and a data and business transformation team charged with reimagining staffing and processes.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Mitch Zuklie, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Orrick, is a seasoned business and legal advisor.” source
- What they did 2019 “The new roles, sophisticated analytics tools and innovative processes we are developing and delivering here enable the firm to offer a whole new suite of solutions to our clients.” source
- What they did 2023 “He will focus on enhancing the firm’s performance and client service through use of data, AI and other hyper-productivity tools, and by reimagining staffing and processes.” source
- What they said 2023 “With the creation of a Chief Digital Officer role and the commercial experience Nige brings, we are aiming to be leaders in this transformation, which is essential to practicing at the highest level in the tech, financial and energy sectors” source
- Byron Jobe, Vizient, Inc. (Irving, Texas; member-owned health care performance improvement, sourcing and advisory services company; over 4,000 employees per Wikipedia; Fortune 100 Best 2023 No. 45 and 2024 No. 52) ceo, United States
He turned a member-owned purchasing cooperative into a combined data, sourcing and strategic advisory firm by taking a 2021 stake in Kaufman Hall and buying the rest from Madison Dearborn in 2024.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"We are both mission-driven organizations," said Byron Jobe, Vizient's president and chief executive officer.” source
- What they did 2024 “Healthcare performance improvement leader Vizient will acquire the remaining interest in Kaufman Hall, a strategic advisor to the industry, from Madison Dearborn Partners (MDP) in a move intended to enhance its advisory services.” source
- What they said 2024 “Helping healthcare organizations achieve their full potential in service to others is the reason we exist and the catalyst behind our growth. We believe we can create more value together for clients who share the responsibility of improving healthcare in communities across the country.” source
- What they did 2015 “On April 1, 2015, VHA and UHC (University HealthSystem Consortium) merged to make one company, Vizient, making them the largest member-owned health care company in the nation.” source
- Scott White, IGS Energy (Dublin, Ohio; private, family-owned retail energy, solar and home services firm; 2,250 employees after the July 2025 Just Energy close; Fortune 100 Best 2025) owner, United States
He switched a family-owned energy retailer from selling commodity gas and power to selling only renewable electricity and carbon-neutral gas to new residential customers, adding solar and an innovation team for new services.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “IGS Energy is a private, family-owned company with 36 years in business, founded by CEO Scott White and his father, Marv White .” source
- What they did 2020 “The Dublin company says the first phase of this plan involves providing 100% renewable electricity and carbon-neutral gas to all new residential customers, and to offer carbon-neutral options for commercial customers.” source
- What they said 2020 “"As more of it becomes available, we want to play a part in stimulating that, and as an independent retail supplier, we can productize it."” source
- What they did 2021 “To meet this goal, IGS Energy is expanding its product portfolio, shifting exclusively to clean energy for residential consumers, and introducing additional sustainable and efficiency-focused products for its commercial customers.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian; Fortescue is a public miner, not on any 100 Best list 2023-2026.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and over 10,000 staff; not on the 2023-2026 100 Best receipts.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian; Reliance is public; outside the US list.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian; Semco is not on the US list.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian; Shopify is public and absent from the receipts.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss; Novartis is public and absent from the receipts.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a service firm, and is absent from the 2023-2026 receipts.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a product company and is absent from the 2023-2026 receipts.
Route 368: Large independent service firms: US Best Managed Companies
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Deloitte and Wall Street Journal US Best Managed Companies program (privately held winners 2022 to 2026), service firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The Deloitte and WSJ US Best Managed Companies honoree PDFs for 2025 (61 firms) and 2026 (63 firms) are public and fetchable, but the list is mostly manufacturers, distributors, grocers and consumer brands. Only about a dozen honorees are service firms, and every one screened fails a hard condition. Associa (23,000 team members), Burns & McDonnell and Lockton are over 10,000. Lithko is backed by Pritzker and DNS Capital. JE Dunn has a hired CEO under the Dunn family, and its AI rollout (Copilot, citizen development) is voiced by VPs. Rumpke (about 4,400 staff, family-owned, CEO Bill Rumpke Jr.) voices only acquisitions, CNG trucks and an MRF upgrade, not a change to how the work is done. VHB, ATS, Walbridge, OnPoint, CoBank and Pan-American Life have no leader-voiced, dated change. Zero names pass, and known people found on the 8-person sample is 0/8 because no sample firm is an honoree.
Sources: deloitte.com best managed companies, wsj.com
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- program year through Deloitte US Best Managed Companies honoree PDF gives private US firm (joined on company name + HQ city + industry column)
- private US firm through firm press room, trade press (Waste Dive, Insight, Business Wire) gives dated change in the work (joined on firm name)
- dated change through same or second article quoting the leader gives controlling leader with own-words quote (joined on firm name + title)
- leader through firm About or press room page gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; the program lists US private firms only. Not in the 2025 or 2026 PDF.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is private and US but not on the 2025 or 2026 honoree PDF.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public; the program is for private firms.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is public and Indian.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is private and US but not on the 2025 or 2026 honoree PDF; it is also a food maker, not a service firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is public and Swiss.
Route 369: Large independent service firms: Crain's largest private companies: Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Crain's Chicago, Crain's Detroit and Crain's Cleveland largest privately held companies lists, service firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Only one of the three Crain's lists is public. Crain's Detroit's Private 200 (2026 edition, ranked by 2025 revenue) is an open PDF on data.crainsdetroit.com with worldwide headcount, top executives and type of business. The Chicago list (chicagobusiness.com, 403 even via jina, Book of Lists URL 404) and the Cleveland list (crainscleveland.com article and data-lists page carry no rows) are behind the Crain's Data Membership. Of about 20 Detroit service rows at 1,000 to 10,000 people, the ones not already in candidates.json (Barton Malow and Burns & Wilcox/H.W. Kaufman are) all fail. Atwell (2,000) took an Advent International investment in March 2026. Belle Tire (3,100) is being bought by Big Brand Tire. Roush and Walbridge have hired CEOs. Plante Moran (4,221), Rehmann (1,145), Dickinson Wright (1,022), Strategic Staffing Solutions, Acro Service, Epitec, Kyyba, Motor City Electric, SmithGroup and Global Automotive Alliance show no leader-voiced change to the work from 2023 to 2026 (Rehmann's CEO calls AI a tool, no dated move; Plante Moran's CoCounsel rollout is vendor-voiced). Zero new names.
Sources: chicagobusiness.com, crainsdetroit.com, crainscleveland.com
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through Crain's Detroit Private 200 PDF (Chicago and Cleveland lists paywalled) gives firm (joined on firm name, worldwide employees column 1,000 to 10,000, type of business = service)
- firm through output/candidates.json gives new firm (joined on firm name grep)
- firm through WebSearch: firm + leader + AI / launch / new company 2023-2026 gives leader-voiced change (joined on firm name + top executive from the list)
- firm through deal and ownership news (PE investor releases, acquisition notices) gives ownership and control check (joined on firm name)
- leader through second page on the same change gives confirmed change and signal year (joined on firm + move)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is in Ventura, California; not on the Detroit, Chicago or Cleveland private lists.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian (Fortescue, public); outside the route's US regional lists.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public company (Shopify); outside the route.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian firm (Semco); outside the route.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is based in New York; not on the Detroit, Chicago or Cleveland lists.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public company (Novartis); outside the route.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public; private-company lists never include it.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate (Reliance); outside the route.
Route 370: Large independent service firms: Crain's New York and the Northeast business journals
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Crain's New York Business largest private companies and the Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New Jersey business journals' largest private companies lists, service firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Crain's New York's largest private companies table and the bizjournals Boston, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh lists are behind an All Access subscription or return 403, and NJBIZ is 403. The usable spine is the same lists republished as PDFs by firms that made them (BBJ 2022 on columbiacc.com, PBT 2024 on centimark.com), which print total employees and the chief executive per row. One leader passed every screen in this attempt (Tim Wall, CDM Smith, about 7,000 staff, employee-owned, Feb 2026 Trinnex expansion in his words); the route is short of the gate and needs a second attempt on the remaining in-band rows.
Sources: crainsnewyork.com, bizjournals.com
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list through Boston Business Journal Largest Private Companies in Massachusetts (republished PDF) and Crain's New York largest private companies article gives firm (joined on firm name + total employees + chief executive column)
- firm through firm newsroom and trade press reprint gives dated change in the work (joined on firm name)
- dated change through same release or firm innovation page gives leader own words (joined on leader name and title)
- leader through firm About page gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm domain)
New names that passed every check
- Tim Wall, CDM Smith (Boston; employee-owned engineering and construction services firm, about 7,000 employees) ceo, United States
Turning an employee-owned engineering firm into a digital engineering firm by building and now doubling an owned data and AI consulting subsidiary, Trinnex.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The race is on to harness technology to drive accuracy, productivity and quality into measurable results for our clients. We intend to show the market that CDM Smith sets the pace.” Tim Wall Chairman and CEO” source
- What they did 2026 “Now, by doubling the resources of Trinnex and broadening its data and digital consulting services with the integration of the industry-leading GIS and asset management team from CDM Smith, the company is positioned to deliver end-to-end solutions” source
- What they said 2026 “Together, under the Trinnex brand, we will deliver unmatched value, accelerate innovation and redefine what’s possible for our clients and our company,” said Tim Wall, Chairman and CEO of CDM Smith.” source
- What they said 2026 “The race is on to harness technology to drive accuracy, productivity and quality into measurable results for our clients. We intend to show the market that CDM Smith sets the pace.” source
- Casey Ryan, Reed Smith LLP (Pittsburgh-founded partner-owned global law firm; 3,259 total employees per Pittsburgh Business Times 2024; about 1,800 lawyers) executive, United States
Rebuilding how a partner-owned law firm delivers legal work around AI, through a firm-wide associate AI certification mandate and a paid partner AI program at Cornell.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Under Managing Partner Casey Ryan’s five-year strategic plan, the firm operates on the frontier of legal service delivery — not just by adopting AI, but by fundamentally rethinking how it creates value for clients.” source
- What they did 2026 “The program, to be held at the Cornell Tech campus in New York City in September 2026, will equip the firm’s partners with advanced knowledge of artificial intelligence strategy, ethics, and digital transformation” source
- What they said 2026 “Our clients are navigating one of the most significant technological shifts in a generation, and they need trusted advisors who understand AI at the highest level. The Reed Smith AI Leadership Program at Cornell University equips our partners to meet that moment, combining strategic vision, ethical grounding, and pract” source
- What they did 2025 “Managing Partner Casey Ryan set a firm-wide expectation: 100% AI certification for every associate. The result was a self-sustaining adoption curve.” source
- What they did 2025 “Reed Smith has also embraced AI-driven innovation, with 750+ lawyers and staff completing AI certification on its primary AI platform.” source
- Bill Ashworth, VHB (Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Watertown MA; employee-owned civil engineering and design firm, about 2,200 people) ceo, United States
Leading an employee-owned engineering firm that put an AI coworker into every CAD engineer's workflow and says it will keep evolving around technology and AI.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Also last month, Ashworth became VHB’s president, and will take over for Mike Carragher as its chief executive on July 1, as the fourth person to lead the firm in its nearly five decades of business.” source
- What they did 2024 “By May, the first prototype was live. By August, an improved version rolled out company-wide, integrated seamlessly into Microsoft Teams where engineers already collaborated.” source
- What they said 2026 “I’m honored to lead our talented, forward-focused team as we continue to evolve, embracing technology, AI, and innovation to accelerate our impact for clients and communities.” source
- What they said 2026 “Not VHB, which remains owned by about a quarter of its employees. “All the decisions we make aren’t made for short-term outcomes,” Ashworth said. “They’re made for the long term.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining (Fortescue); not on any Northeast private list and not a US service firm.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel maker owned by a trust; not on the Crain's, BBJ, PBJ, PBT or NJBIZ lists the route reads.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is an upstate New York food manufacturer, outside the Crain's NYC-area footprint and not a service firm.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public; private lists exclude it.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public; private lists exclude it.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is public and Swiss.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is public and Indian.
Route 371: Large independent service firms: Southern business journals' largest private companies
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Tampa, Miami and Birmingham business journals' largest private companies lists, service firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The Southern business journals' largest private companies lists are closed: bizjournals.com list pages for Houston and Atlanta return 403 both direct and via --jina, as earlier routes found for Dallas, Atlanta and other ACBJ lists. The only fetchable copies are a firm-hosted PDF of the South Florida 2025 list (189 rows, local employees only), the Business Alabama 2025 statewide PDF, the Florida Trend top 50 preview (names and cities only) and firm releases that cite the Houston list. Screened in-band service firms all fail a gate. Crowley (Jacksonville, family-owned) restructured into two divisions in January 2026, but the release and the Jax Daily Record story quote the COO and division presidents, not Tom Crowley. Haskell's 2026 leadership changes are a title shuffle with no work redesign. NaphCare (Birmingham, family-owned, 6,000 employees) sells its own EHR to state prisons, but its CIO voices it and TechCare dates from 2004. Moss, Holder, Brasfield & Gorrie, Austin Industries, Baker Donelson, Walter P Moore and Holland & Knight have no leader-voiced 2023 to 2026 change in search (unfetched WebSearch screens, not receipts). Greenberg Traurig, Jackson Healthcare and ApolloMD are already in candidates.json or were rejected by earlier routes. Zero new names.
Sources: bizjournals.com, houstonchronicle.com, dallasnews.com
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- city list through business journal largest private companies list, or a fetchable mirror (firm-hosted PDF, Business Alabama, Florida Trend, firm release citing the list) gives firm with local employees and revenue (joined on firm name)
- firm through WebSearch for a 2023 to 2026 change plus the leader's name, then regional daily or wire mirror gives dated change story (joined on firm name + leader surname)
- change story through firm newsroom or wire release gives leader quote, ownership and headcount (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is public and Indian; not on any US Southern private companies list.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; outside the route's US Southern geography.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is public and Australian; not on any Southern list.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and Seattle-based; not a private Southern service firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer in New York and Idaho, not a Southern service firm; not on the fetched lists.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel maker; not a Southern service firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is public and Swiss.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian.
Route 372: Large independent service firms: Western and Midwestern business journals' largest private companies
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Seattle, Portland, Denver, Phoenix, Salt Lake, Kansas City, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Columbus and Indianapolis business journals' largest private companies lists, service firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. The named spine (bizjournals.com largest private companies lists for 11 Western and Midwestern metros) is 403 to fetch.mjs directly and via --jina, and startribune.com is 429 per LESSONS. Ingram's 100 (Kansas City) is readable in a browser but 403 to fetch.mjs. The working revision uses the firm's own WordPress posts that re-announce its rank on the business journal list as the roster, then the firm WordPress search API for the leader. Attempt 1 gave one name. Attempt 2 found that the BizTimes Wisconsin 75 receipt does hold the full 2022 roster (75 firms) and worked its in-band service rows plus re-announcing law firms; every lead failed on leader voice, change or fit (Baird: 5,460 associates, employee-owned, but the CEO letter names no change; Barnes & Thornburg: AI voiced by AI co-chairs and the chief legal operations officer). Still one name.
Sources: bizjournals.com, startribune.com
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- metro through business journal largest private or family-owned list (bizjournals, Ingram's 100), read through firm re-announcement posts gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm WordPress search API on CEO name gives leader pages and releases (joined on leader name)
- leader through firm thought-leadership post in the leader's voice gives stated intent (joined on author byline)
- firm through dated firm release with dollar figure gives costly change (joined on firm name and date)
- firm through firm staff page and history gives control and ownership (joined on title)
New names that passed every check
- Tyler Nottberg, U.S. Engineering Holdings (Kansas City, Missouri; fifth-generation family-owned mechanical construction, service and fabrication group) owner, United States
Moving mechanical construction work off the job site into the firm's own fabrication plants and putting AI into everyday work under a co-intelligence rule.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Tyler Nottberg is Chairman and CEO of U.S. Engineering Holdings. He leads strategic development, focusing on our people and culture, leadership principles, innovation and strategic communications.” source
- What they did 2026 “The $25 million investment extends U.S. Engineering Metalworks’ footprint across Venture Park Drive, creating a campus designed to support continued growth.” source
- What they said 2025 “Recently, our Talent Development team hosted a companywide Learning Week focused on AI. The conversations reinforced something I’ve believed for a while: understanding AI isn’t about completely grasping the underlying science. It’s about learning how to collaborate with a new kind of tool.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining billionaire; not on a US metro private-company list.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is public and Swiss.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; out of US metro lists.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer headquartered in New York, not a service firm in the 11 metros.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is public and Indian.
Route 373: Large independent service firms: California business journals' largest private companies
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Los Angeles, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Sacramento, San Diego and Orange County business journals' largest private companies lists, service firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Of the six California journals, only two lists are readable. The LABJ Largest Private Companies list (Oct 6, 2025) is an open PDF with employees, top executive and description. OCBJ's June 2026 list story names about eight firms. The SF Business Times, Silicon Valley and Sacramento lists (bizjournals.com) are 403 direct and via jina. The SDBJ Book of Lists is subscriber-only, and its 2025 PDF is over the fetch size cap. In-band LA and OC service rows were already candidates (ActOne, Salas O'Brien, Pacific Life), sponsor-owned (Trace3, Episource) or had no change in the leader's own words (SCS Engineers, DLR Group, ACCO). SDBJ news gave one new name: MedImpact's founder, chair and CEO Frederick Howe. One new name in this attempt. Attempt 3 (2026-10-08) screened LA-founded partnerships and more SD, OC and Sacramento firms and found no third person who passes every condition: Quinn Emanuel's founder stepped off the Executive Committee in 2026, Latham's Harvey rollout is voiced by its CIO and COO, Aya Healthcare is over 10,000 with its founder deceased, Heffernan is under 1,000 with a PE minority stake, and Golden 1 has no dated change. The route ends at 2 new names.
Sources: bizjournals.com, latimes.com, ocbj.com
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- region through LABJ Largest Private Companies PDF; OCBJ largest private companies story; SDBJ news (bizjournals SF, SV, Sacramento lists blocked) gives firm (joined on firm name, employees column 1,000 to 10,000, service description)
- firm through output/candidates.json gives new firm (joined on firm name grep)
- firm through WebSearch firm + leader + AI / launch / acquisition / model 2023-2026, then firm newsroom gives leader-voiced change (joined on firm name + top executive from list)
- firm through deal news (PE and acquirer releases) and the firm's own boilerplate gives ownership and control (joined on firm name)
- leader through second page on the same change (regional business journal story) gives signal year (joined on firm name + change)
New names that passed every check
- Frederick Howe, MedImpact Healthcare Systems (San Diego; independent pharmacy benefit manager, founded 1989) owner, United States
The founder-chair of the largest independent PBM is turning a one-size-fits-all pharmacy benefit into a modular set of clinical, cost and consumer services that clients pick from. He is staffing up and buying firms to do it.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The organization, founded in 1989 by pharmacist and independent drug store owner Frederick Howe, works with health plans and employers to increase prescription drug access” source
- What they did 2026 “By adding Sav-Rx to its portfolio, MedImpact continues its ongoing transformation into a diversified health solutions company.” source
- What they said 2025 “We are building a broad and modular suite of clinical, cost management, and consumer solutions” source
- George DeVries, American Specialty Health (San Diego; privately held musculoskeletal health services and benefits manager, co-founded 1987) owner, United States
The co-founder of a national physical therapy and chiropractic network manager is moving MSK care from in-clinic visits to a self-serve digital platform with low-cost virtual therapists, sold to health plans and employers.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “George DeVries co-founded American Specialty Health (ASH) in 1987 and guided the company’s growth as it became one of the nation’s largest health services organizations.” source
- What they did 2026 “1/8/2026 New Digital MSK Platform Already has 100+ Million Eligible Members and Offers Savings Upwards of 50-70% Compared to Many Other Digital MSK Offerings!” source
- What they said 2026 “With the injury prevention module, we’re growing our efforts to deliver practical, evidence-informed digital tools that help health plans and employers ensure their members can address MSK needs earlier” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia, public company; not on any California private list.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is based in New York, not on a California journal list.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and based in Washington.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is public and Indian.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public; private lists exclude it.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is public and Swiss.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia (Ventura) is private and Californian, but it is a product maker, and it does not appear on the LABJ list (Ventura County is outside it). The OCBJ and
Route 374: Large independent service firms: Largest physician-owned medical groups
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Modern Healthcare and Becker's rankings of the largest physician-owned and independent medical groups, groups with 1,000 to 10,000 employees that are not PE-controlled and not owned by a health system.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The route's spine, the Modern Healthcare and Becker's rankings of the largest physician-owned and independent medical groups, is not pullable. beckersphysicianleadership.com (The 15 largest independent physician groups) and beckershospitalreview.com return 403 directly and through --jina. modernhealthcare.com data-list and physician section URLs return 404 (the lists sit behind a paid Data subscription). The Definitive Healthcare source behind the Becker's rankings redirects both 'top physician groups' URLs to a generic group-practices-by-state page with no group names. MGMA publishes no ranking. As a fallback, group-name-first work on the largest family-owned group not yet listed (ChenMed, about 4,500 staff) failed control and voice: its CEO seat changed twice in 2024 and its 2025-2026 newsroom holds only awards and media features. Every other in-band independent group these rankings would surface (Austin Regional, Iowa Clinic, Hattiesburg, COPC, EmergeOrtho, Rothman, Vituity, ApolloMD, Lexington, McFarland, Wilmington) is already in output/candidates.json, and S-342 and S-364 closed this care-group band for the 1,000 to 10,000 profile.
Sources: modernhealthcare.com, beckershospitalreview.com, mgma.com
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Modern Healthcare / Becker's largest physician-owned groups (Definitive Healthcare data) gives medical group (joined on group name)
- medical group through group newsroom and trade press gives dated change to the work (joined on group name plus 2023-2026 date)
- change through group release or interview gives controlling leader and own words (joined on leader name)
- leader through second page (partner or vendor release) gives confirmation (joined on leader name plus change noun)
- group through firm site or dated 2025-2026 source gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on group name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a goods company, not a medical group; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company, not a US physician group.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; no medical group ranking lists it.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; outside the universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far over 10,000 staff; not a medical group.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; outside the universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani makes food; not a service firm or medical group.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian industrial; outside the US medical group universe.
Route 375: Large independent service firms: ENR Top 600 Specialty Contractors and Top 100 Construction Management firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from ENR Top 600 Specialty Contractors and ENR Top Construction Management-for-Fee firms that are family-, employee- or management-owned with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Two attempts gave one verified leader (Bill Dean, M.C. Dean). The ENR Top 600 Specialty Contractors and CM-for-fee tables are not pullable (the toplist page saves only 'Loading...'), and the substitute spines (Forbes private companies API construction rows, ENR specialty contractor of the year pages) are mined out by S-338, S-344, S-346, S-360 and S-366. Attempt 2 screened the remaining in-band leads and each failed one test: F.E. Moran (family-owned, about 1,550 staff, 2026 ENR Midwest winner) shows no dated change voiced by its CEO; McCarthy (100 percent employee owned, over 8,000) has a June 2026 Palantir AI operating system voiced only by its chief digital officer; Gaylor Electric (about 3,500) shows culture and training, no dated change, and no stated ownership; Egan is about 900 staff; Encore Electric's co-founder CEO retired in Oct 2025. The bottleneck is leader voice and control, not access, so a third attempt on this list would repeat S-366.
Sources: enr.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Forbes largest private companies API (industry Construction, employees 1,000 to 10,000) and ENR specialty contractor of the year keyword page (Bill Dean came instead from a change-first mechanism search: owned modular plant plus family-owned electrical contractor) gives firm (joined on firm name plus ceoName)
- firm through firm newsroom WordPress REST listing (wp-json/wp/v2/posts) gives dated change release (joined on firm domain)
- change release through firm press release gives leader quote (joined on CEO name in the release)
- leader through a second firm release on the same programme gives confirmation of the change (joined on programme name (Modular Mission Critical, Lean Enterprise))
- firm through Wikipedia infobox and history, or firm About block gives ownership, headcount, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not a construction or specialty contractor; not on the Forbes private construction rows or ENR specialty lists.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; route is US private contractors only.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; outside the universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian and listed; outside the universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; route covers US contractors only.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a US private food maker, not a construction service firm; not in the construction rows.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is apparel; not a contractor.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public software; outside the universe.
Route 376: Large independent service firms: Largest independent architecture and interiors firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Building Design+Construction Giants 400 and Architect 50 rankings, independent or employee-owned architecture, engineering and interiors firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The BD+C Giants 400 architecture and A/E rankings fetch cleanly (revenue table embedded as CSV in the page HTML) and give about 15 in-band US firms, but the route yields no new person who passes every gate. Gensler, CannonDesign, Gresham Smith, SSOE, Thornton Tomasetti and KCI are already in output/candidates.json. Perkins&Will (Dar Group), Page (Stantec, April 2025) and Populous (Providence Equity) fail ownership. At HKS the only leader-voiced change is a 2024 CEO and president split, and the CEO who made the remarks is now emeritus. Corgan's costly change (The Shop, Dec 2024) is voiced by the Shop Director, NELSON's AI leader hire carries no named voice, and the CEOs of DLR Group, Ware Malcomb and Corgan speak only on acquisitions, team lift-outs and appointments, which do not count as redesigns. Perkins Eastman is run by three co-CEOs with no single controlling leader. This repeats S-42, S-336 and S-346: large US design firms make costly changes, but the CEO does not voice them.
Sources: bdcnetwork.com, architectmagazine.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through BD+C Giants 400 Top Architecture and Top A/E firms 2025 gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through candidates.json screen plus ownership check (acquisition and PE news) gives independent in-band firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom, Business Wire mirrors, trade press gives dated change and speaker (joined on firm name plus CEO name)
- change through second page (local business press) gives leader quote confirmation (joined on CEO name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian manufacturer and services group, not a US architecture or A/E firm; not in the BD+C rankings.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; not in a design-firm ranking.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not in a design-firm ranking.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software company; not in a design-firm ranking.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; out of scope for a US design-firm ranking.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not a design services firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a design services firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; out of scope.
Route 377: Large independent service firms: Largest independent IT services and digital agencies
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from privately held IT services, digital engineering and systems integration firms with 1,000 to 10,000 US-led employees (CRN Solution Provider 500, Inc. 5000 alumni, Clutch leaders; skip PE-owned).
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The roster-first route as written (CRN Solution Provider 500, Inc. 5000, Clutch) does not reach privately held US IT services firms of 1,000 to 10,000 that pass control: crn.com list pages are 404 (S-116), Inc. has no headcount or owner field (S-283), and in-band commercial rows are mostly PE platforms or already candidates. Two changes work: change-first search for a dated structural move at founder-led firms (CGS, attempt 1), and the Washington Technology Top 100 as an open federal IT services roster whose per-company profile pages print headcount, leadership and ownership in one block (American Systems, attempt 2). 2 of 3 names.
Sources: crn.com, inc.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query through WebSearch (firm name + AI/restructuring + privately held + employees) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through wire release mirror (theinterline.com, globenewswire.com) on the structural move gives dated change + leader (joined on firm name, release date)
- dated change through second trade page (channelinsider.com) gives confirmation (joined on firm name)
- leader through founder interview (pulse2.com, leadersmag.com) gives own words + ownership cues (joined on leader name)
- firm through builtin / reveliolabs headcount page gives headcount (joined on firm slug)
- roster row through Washington Technology Top 100 company profile (washingtontechnology.com/rankings/company/<id>/top-100/<yyyy>/) gives headcount + leader + ownership (joined on WT company id)
New names that passed every check
- Phil Friedman, Computer Generated Solutions (CGS), New York owner, United States
Founder of a New York IT, learning and outsourcing services firm (about 5,500 to 8,000 staff) who split it into four independent companies in July 2025 and is pushing AI into its products, services and operations.Evidence (6 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Each company now operates independently with Phil Friedman, CGS’s founder and CEO, transitioning to new roles as Executive Chairman for each of these privately held companies.” source
- What they did 2025 “today announced that the company has restructured into four new legal entities, each designed to sharpen focus, accelerate growth, and better serve their respective markets.” source
- What they did 2025 “announced that each company will operate independently, with Phil Friedman, CGS’s founder and CEO, transitioning into new roles as Executive Chairman for each of the new legal entities.” source
- What they said 2024 “Looking toward the future, we are focused on expanding our use of emerging technologies, especially AI, to support our customers’ success. We’re investing in ongoing innovation through our three innovation labs located in Romania, Chile, and Canada, where we are constantly developing new products and solutions.” source
- What they said 2024 “let me take five programmers and launch a consulting service that would guarantee the same level of quality at half the cost.” source
- What they said 2024 “I am particularly excited by John’s vision for integrating AI into our products, services, and operations.” source
- John Steckel, AMERICAN SYSTEMS (100% employee-owned through an ESOP), Chantilly, Virginia ceo, United States
CEO of an employee-owned federal IT and engineering services firm who made the largest acquisition in its 50-year history in Sept 2025 to adopt a multi-tenant delivery model, and is building AI into the firm's test and evaluation work.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Number of employees: 1,600 Headquarters: Chantilly, Virginia Website: https://www.americansystems.com/ Leadership: John C. Steckel, president and CEO” source
- What they did 2025 “American Systems has acquired a provider of managed IT and cybersecurity services to federal agencies in a move aimed at adopting more of a multi-tenant delivery model” source
- What they did 2025 “The acquisition will result in more than 400 new employees joining AMERICAN SYSTEMS, further increasing the company” source
- What they said 2025 “This acquisition marks an important milestone in our strategic growth, broadening our customer base and deepening our ability to support them in their efforts to modernize and transform securely, rapidly and efficiently.” source
- What they said 2026 “By integrating advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence into our proven test and evaluation processes, we help our customers move promising capabilities from concept to the fleet faster and with greater confidence” source
- Nacho De Marco, BairesDev (nearshore software development services, US operations in San Francisco since 2012; founder-held, no outside capital) owner, United States
Co-founder and co-owner of a bootstrapped software services firm of 4,000+ people who bought an AI upskilling company in December 2025 to retrain its engineers for AI delivery, then handed the CEO role to its founder in 2026 to push an AI-first services model.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “BairesDev was founded 17 years ago without outside capital and has remained profitable every year since its launch. The company remains privately held by its founding shareholders, and the CEO transition does not involve any changes to its ownership structure.” source
- What they did 2025 “a leading nearshore software development company, today announced the acquisition of Modal Learning, the high-impact AI upskilling platform.” source
- What they said 2025 “Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-founder of BairesDev, Nacho De Marco, notes , “Together with Modal’s learning engine and our top 1% talent, we’re even better equipped to deliver complex, cutting-edge AI projects as the technology rapidly accelerates.”” source
- What they said 2026 “I’ve watched Darren rebuild how our commercial teams work together and roll out our first purpose-built AI offerings since the day he joined.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public commerce software company in Canada, not a privately held US service firm of 1,000 to 10,000; out of the route's universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharmaceutical company; outside the universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company far from IT services and over the control rule (public); outside the universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and over 200,000 staff; outside the universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani makes food (goods, not services); outside the universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia makes apparel (goods, not IT services); outside the universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the universe.
Route 378: Large independent service firms: Largest family-owned service businesses
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Family Business magazine and Forbes lists of the largest family-owned US companies, service businesses (home services, healthcare services, transportation services, hospitality services, education services) with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The largest-family-owned spine has almost no private US service firms of 1,000 to 10,000 people, and those it has are already listed or fail the screens. The Forbes America's Largest Family Businesses 2026 list (open API, 100 rows) has 26 private in-band rows: 15 are distributors, retailers, makers or energy firms, not service businesses. The 11 service rows are general contractors plus Saltchuk. HITT and Gilbane are already in candidates.json. Mortenson, JE Dunn and Holder have hired CEOs under the family. Earlier routes (S-336, S-344, S-360, S-366) found no voiced change at Walsh, Zachry, Yates, Walbridge or Saltchuk, and two Walsh searches here found none either. Family Business magazine's Family Business 100 dates from 2011 and ranks by revenue, so its rows are giants. The Crain's Detroit 2026 family list table is gated. Zero new names.
Sources: familybusinessmagazine.com, forbes.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list through Forbes America's Largest Family Businesses 2026 API gives firm (joined on organizationName, filtered on ownership=Private and employees 1,000 to 10,000)
- firm through firm newsroom and trade press gives dated change to the work (joined on firm name plus change noun)
- change through firm release or interview gives controlling leader's own words (joined on leader name)
- leader through second outlet gives confirming page (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm site or dated 2025-2026 source gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is public and Swiss; not on the Forbes or Family Business family lists.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is Indian and public; the route is US family-owned private firms only.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker and not on the Forbes 2026 family list (grep of the receipt: 0).
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and not family-controlled; not on either list.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public; not on either list.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian; not on either list.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; the route is US only.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian and public; not on either list.
Route 379: Second sweep: US law firms and legal services businesses led by a chair or founder who redesigned the firm, firms of 5,000 to 10,000, pass 2
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGER-FIRM RERUN (count only people who fit): earlier passes of this route looked only at firms under 5,000 people. Now look ONLY at US service firms of 5,000 to 10,000 employees, nationwide; this size rule and nationwide scope override any size or region in the text below. Privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor); the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them); a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced; a transformation quote in the leader's own words (not a staff officer). Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Sweep of US legal trade press (LawSites, Legaltech News headlines, ABA Journal, Bloomberg Law news headlines, Texas Lawyer, Law360 Pulse headlines, Attorney at Work, Arizona ABS directory) for stories from 2024 to 2026 in which a US law firm, alternative legal services provider, or Arizona or Utah licensed legal business announces a firm-wide change to how the work gets done (an AI workforce or agent deployment across the firm's core work, a restructure into new layers or roles, a new owned arm, a new pricing or service model, an ownership or capital change taken to fund a redesign).
- Find the firm named in the story.
- Find the chief executive, founder, owner or managing partner quoted on why the old model has a limit.
- Find the firm's own announcement or a second outlet as the second source.
- Check control: that this person can decide (owner, founder, chief executive of a private or mid-sized firm, named in a dated 2025-2026 source).
- Check cost: that the change is dated and expensive.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Second pass on US law firms and legal services businesses of 5,000 to 10,000 people found no new countable leader. The band is about a dozen Am Law 25 partnerships; S-350 already took White & Case, Sidley and Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, and Kirkland, Greenberg Traurig, Goodwin, Ropes, Cooley, Morgan & Morgan and Reed Smith are in candidates.json. The remaining firms fail on voice or proof: Latham (AI Academy voiced by its AI task force lead), Gibson Dunn (AI roadmap owned by the Chief Legal Operations Officer), Skadden and Jones Day (no leader words on AI), Mayer Brown (Van Gorp's AI capital idea is talk, not a dated change, and paywalled), McDermott Will & Schulte (outside-investment talks only, and under band), Holland & Knight (Feb 2026 reorg of the Business Section into three units is a practice regroup, and the AI investment is magazine prose, not his words; total staff under 5,000). The one fresh lead, Morgan Lewis's new chair David McManus (term began Oct 1, 2026), describes the firm's agentic AI platform in his own words, but only in a Law360 PDF that the verifier cannot read (jina returns 403), the costly change (the Dec 2023 Thomson Reuters co-development deal) predates him, and the firm publishes about 2,000 attorneys with no total staff figure. ALSPs in the band (Epiq, Consilio, UnitedLex, Axiom) are PE-owned.
Sources: LawSites (lawnext.com); ABA Journal; Legaltech News; Attorney at Work; Arizona ABS Directory; Utah Office of Legal Services Innovation; press wires; firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- legal trade press story through Bloomberg Law, Law360 Pulse reprints, firm newsrooms gives law firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through Wikipedia infobox, firm About page gives headcount band (joined on firm name)
- law firm through firm newsroom press release gives chair or managing partner (joined on title in release)
- chair through interview (Law360 Pulse, Semafor, Bloomberg Law) gives own-words transformation quote (joined on person name)
- change through firm release or vendor release gives dated costly change and signal year (joined on firm name plus date)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not a legal services firm; the route's sources do not cover it.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a product company; out of the legal trade press universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker; out of universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India, conglomerate; route is US legal services only.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in legal press only as a vendor, never as the redesigning firm.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia, mining; out of universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada, public commerce software; out of universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland, pharma; out of universe.
Route 380: Large independent service firms: Am Law 200 law firms, pass 3
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS: an earlier pass already found the most visible leaders on this list; go further down it (less covered firms, other states), 5,000 to 10,000 first. LATER PASS 3: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders on this list (all in output/candidates.json); go further down it, 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from the Am Law 200 and NLJ 500 law firms with 1,000 to 10,000 total staff, led by an elected chair or managing partner who has changed how legal work is done 2023 to 2026 (firm-built AI, new delivery or pricing models, redesigned associate or staff roles).
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route as written (law.com, Bloomberg Law and Legaltech News leader interviews) is mostly paywalled and its visible leaders are candidates. What worked in pass 3 is a different index: the launch pages of firm-built legal AI (OpenAI's Astra for Law page, Sept 2026, which quotes firm leaders) and firm-built client AI products (Debevoise STAAR), read through the news.bgov.com mirror of Bloomberg Law columns, which serves full text. Two new names pass; most Harvey and Legora rollouts in pass 3 are voiced by partners, AI committee chairs or a managing partner under a chair-CEO.
Sources: law.com/americanlawyer, Bloomberg Law, Legaltech News, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- legal AI build announcement through vendor or platform launch page naming firms that built their own tools (openai.com/index/astra-for-law/), legal press roundup (legalcheek.com), firm newsroom product launch (debevoise.com/news) gives law firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through the same launch page or a Bloomberg Law column on the news.bgov.com mirror, kept only when the chair, co-chairs or presiding partner speak gives leader quote (joined on firm name + 'said ... Co-Chairs / Presiding Partner')
- law firm through firm newsroom release for the earliest move (S&C 2024 AI practice release naming AIDA; Debevoise STAAR 2.0 release) gives signal year (joined on tool name)
- leader through firm leadership page or profile (S&C Feb 2026 co-chairs message; NYU Law profile of Furci) gives role, tenure and partner ownership (joined on leader name)
- law firm through Revelio Labs employee page, Ellis visa-sponsor page, Wikipedia infobox gives headcount 1,000 to 10,000 (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Robert J. Giuffra Jr., Sullivan & Cromwell LLP (New York; partner-owned law firm, 840 attorneys and about 1,610 total employees as of March 2026; co-chair with Scott D. Miller since January 2022) executive, United States
As elected co-chair he has moved S&C from buying AI to building its own: the AIDA first-level document review assistant (by 2024) and, in 2026, an agreement analyzer built on the firm's own negotiating playbooks with OpenAI engineers, which the co-chairs say is changing how its lawyers work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “We look forward to building on last year's momentum and continuing our work together in the months ahead. Download S&C's 2025 Review Robert J. Giuffra Jr. and Scott D. Miller Co-Chairs of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP” source
- What they did 2024 “Launched in collaboration with LAER AI, AIDA assists with the time-consuming, costly process of first-level document review. To date, AIDA has been trained on dozens of past cases and assists on several live S&C matters, dramatically speeding up the discovery process and freeing up attorneys to do more high-end work.” source
- What they said 2026 “AI is fundamentally transforming the way legal services are delivered, and Sullivan & Cromwell is committed to being at the forefront of that evolution. Our team is developing custom AI applications aligned with the way our lawyers work.” source
- What they did 2026 “Sullivan & Cromwell has built an agreement analysis tool using the firm’s own negotiating playbooks and precedents to flag risks, suggest redlines and help draft client advice.” source
- Peter Furci, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP (New York; lockstep partner-owned law firm, 900-plus lawyers; presiding partner since July 2022) executive, United States
As presiding partner he backs Debevoise's turn from hourly advice to a sold software product: STAAR, a client-facing AI platform of the firm's curated AI-risk work, sold as a $150,000-a-year subscription, which he frames as the start of client portals built on the lockstep partnership's shared knowledge.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “He was co-chair of Debevoise’s tax practice before being named presiding partner in 2022.” source
- What they did 2026 “Debevoise & Plimpton LLP announced the launch of STAAR 2.0, an enhanced version of its award-winning* client-facing AI platform designed to help in-house legal and compliance teams evaluate, govern, and deploy artificial intelligence quickly and responsibly.” source
- What they said 2026 “We think that is a huge advantage, just because our philosophy is to share information and coordinate,” said Debevoise Presiding Partner Peter Furci. “That will enable us to build incredible client-facing portals that are a complete window for that client into everything that’s going on for them at the firm.” source
- What they did 2026 “Debevoise is selling subscriptions to a limited number of clients for $150,000 a year.” source
- What they said 2025 “We’re leading peers who are invested in the enterprise because they happen to own it” source
- Timothy Mungovan, Proskauer Rose LLP (New York; partner-owned law firm, 829 FTE attorneys in 2025 and about 1,500 to 2,271 total employees per Ellis and Built In; elected firm chairman) executive, United States
As elected chair he has put about 3.5% of Proskauer's profits a year since 2024 into technology, mostly AI and the people to run it, paid for without debt, betting that clients will soon expect legal work delivered better, faster and cheaper.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““We can’t hide from it, and we’re running towards it as fast as we possibly can,” Timothy Mungovan, the firm’s chair, said of Proskauer’s approach to using AI tools.” source
- What they did 2026 “Speaking on expenses, Mungovan said much of the 3.5% of firm profits that Proskauer invested in tech was around AI, both in the technology and the people necessary to get it moving.” source
- What they did 2026 “We set out to invest in technology (including AI) without debt, and we have done that. We are already seeing the benefits of the investments from 2024 and last year.” source
- What they said 2025 “I do believe that it’s only a matter of time before there is consensus on the demand side—the buy side of the legal economy—where they will expect practitioners to use it and to be able to deliver results better, faster, and cheaper,” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a law firm; the route reads only US law firm AI launches and law firm leader quotes.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; it appears in law firm releases only as a vendor (Copilot), never as the firm making the change.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian miner; out of the route universe (US law firms).
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian conglomerate; out of the route universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss drugmaker; out of the route universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian manufacturer; out of the route universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a software company, not a law firm; legal AI launch pages do not cover it.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian software company; out of the route universe.
Route 381: Large independent service firms: Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For, private service firms, pass 2
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS 2: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders on this list (all in output/candidates.json); go further down it, 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For and Fortune Best Workplaces lists (2023 to 2026), privately held service firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Pass 2 moved off the main 100 Best roster (mined by S-367) onto the Fortune Best Workplaces industry and theme lists on greatplacetowork.com (Health Care, Consulting, Engineering, Construction, Real Estate, Texas, Companies That Care, Finance and Insurance). Those lists are open and add about 600 rows, but almost every in-band private service row is already a candidate, already screened in LESSONS.md, PE-backed, over 10,000, or speaks through staff officers. Two new names passed, both nonprofit health plans whose CEO has no owner above them: Sachin Jain of SCAN Group (Companies That Care 2026) and Erhardt Preitauer of CareSource (Health Care 2023 and 2024).
Sources: fortune.com/best-companies, greatplacetowork.com
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list year through Fortune Best Workplaces industry and theme lists (greatplacetowork.com/best-workplaces/<list>/<yyyy>) gives firm row (rank, name, industry, HQ) (joined on firm name)
- firm through diff against output/candidates.json and LESSONS.md by firm name; drop public, PE, over 10,000 gives unscreened in-band private or not-for-profit service firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom release on a dated change, quoting the leader gives leader + change (joined on firm name in release)
- leader + change through trade press interview (AJMC) or a second page gives leader's own words, second confirmation (joined on leader name)
- firm through Revelio Labs employee page (dated), Wikipedia infobox (ownership type), dated 2026 role mention gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Sachin H. Jain, SCAN Group and SCAN Health Plan (Long Beach, California; not-for-profit Medicare Advantage plan and care delivery group; about 2,325 employees as of March 2026 per Revelio Labs; Fortune Best Workplaces Companies That Care 2026) ceo, United States
He is turning a not-for-profit Medicare Advantage insurer into an integrated plan-and-provider group, first by launching its own care delivery organizations from 2021 and then by a 2025 joint venture health plan with Sutter Health.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Sachin Jain , President and CEO, Board Director at SCAN Health Plan, shared on LinkedIn” source
- What they did 2025 “Sutter Health (Sutter), a not-for-profit integrated healthcare system, and SCAN Group (SCAN), a diversified not-for-profit healthcare company, announce a long-term strategic collaboration that will introduce new Medicare Advantage (MA) products in Northern California in 2026” source
- What they said 2025 “What we know from doing this business is that patients don't see plans and providers as being separate,” source
- What they did 2021 “Beginning in 2021, SCAN launched four new care delivery organizations: Healthcare in Action , an integrated street medical group offering healthcare services for individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness” source
- What they said 2025 “SCAN and Sutter are doubling down and taking great strides to expand their networks and preserve nonprofit MA options for seniors” source
- Erhardt Preitauer, CareSource (Dayton, Ohio; nonprofit managed care organization, no owner above the board; about 8,332 employees as of March 2026 per Revelio Labs; Fortune Best Workplaces in Health Care 2023 and 2024) ceo, United States
He is turning a single-state nonprofit Medicaid plan into a multi-state nonprofit family that also runs long-term care and its own primary care clinics for people with complex needs, through the 2024 Community Care affiliation and the 2025 Commonwealth Care Alliance acquisition.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Erhardt Preitauer is the president and CEO of CareSource.” source
- What they did 2025 “CareSource, a nationally recognized, nonprofit managed care organization, today completed the acquisition* of Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA), a nonprofit, mission-driven health care services organization that offers innovative health plans and care delivery programs designed for individuals with the most significant ” source
- What they said 2024 “CareSource will bring our strong business fundamentals, operational efficiency, scale, and complex care capabilities alongside Community Care’s extensive experience delivering high-quality, community-centered long-term care in Wisconsin to change the trajectory of health care for individuals with complex health needs.” source
- What they said 2024 “CareSource is a nonprofit that began as a managed health care plan serving Medicaid members in Ohio .” source
- Paul Markovich, Ascendiun, the nonprofit parent of Blue Shield of California (Oakland; mutual benefit corporation with no owner above the board; 7,963 employees as of March 2026 per Revelio Labs; Fortune Best Workplaces in Health Care 2023 to 2025) ceo, United States
He is rebuilding how a nonprofit health plan buys and delivers prescription drugs, replacing a single PBM with an unbundled five-partner model from 2023 and then setting up Stellarus in 2025 to sell that pharmacy and technology model to other insurers.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Paul Markovich, Blue Shield’s CEO for over a decade, will become president of Ascendiun and will also lead Stellarus on an interim basis.” source
- What they did 2023 “Blue Shield of California has announced a new pharmacy care model that it says is designed to fix problems in today’s broken prescription drug system. The health plan is moving away from CVS Health’s Caremark as its sole pharmacy benefit manager” source
- What they said 2023 ““The current pharmacy system is extremely expensive, enormously complex, completely opaque, and designed to maximize the profit of participants instead of the quality, convenience and cost-effectiveness for consumers,” said Paul Markovich, president and CEO of Blue Shield of California” source
- What they did 2025 “Ascendiun also includes a newly created health services business called Stellarus, which aims to scale and sell Blue Shield’s pharmacy and technology offerings to other insurers.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian; Fortescue is a public miner and appears on none of the Best Workplaces lists pulled.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software firm (Shopify); not on any list pulled and outside the US private service filter.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a service firm, and is absent from the lists pulled.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma (Novartis); not on any list pulled.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian (Semco); the lists are US only.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate (Reliance); not on any list pulled.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box, Inc. is on the 100 Best 2023 to 2026 and Parents and Women 2025 lists, but it is public software, so step 2 drops it by design.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is absent from the lists pulled and is a retailer and maker, not a service firm.
Route 382: Large independent service firms: Crain's New York and the Northeast business journals, pass 2
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS 2: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders on this list (all in output/candidates.json); go further down it, 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from Crain's New York Business largest private companies and the Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New Jersey business journals' largest private companies lists, service firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Pass 2 of S-370 gives no new names. The named lists are not pullable: the Crain's NY privately held table is 403 on prod.crainsnewyork.com/businessdata/209/privately-held-209 (All Access on the main host), NJBIZ Top 250 pages are 403 and the firm repost (coleschotz.com) only links back to NJBIZ, and no open Philadelphia Business Journal private list was found. The only open copies remain the 2022 BBJ PDF and 2024 PBT PDF that S-370 already worked; their in-band service rows are all either candidates already (Goodwin, Suffolk, Fish, CDM Smith, VHB, Reed Smith, K&L Gates, Howard Hanna) or screened and failed. Off-list Northeast private firms tried by firm name (Brown Brothers Harriman, Analysis Group, Dechert, Cozen O'Connor, Fox Rothschild, Blank Rome, Amica, Point32Health, Healthfirst, Wellington Management, Neuberger Berman) all fail the leader-voice test: the costly change is voiced by a subsidiary CEO, CIO, innovation staff or not at all.
Sources: crainsnewyork.com, bizjournals.com
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- metro largest-private list through Crain's NY / BBJ / PBT / PBJ / NJBIZ list (or firm-hosted PDF copy) gives firm row (total employees, chief executive) (joined on firm name + website column)
- firm through firm newsroom and trade press (WebSearch) gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name)
- change release through release quote attribution gives who voices it (leader vs staff officer) (joined on quoted name and title)
- leader through firm leadership page or 2025-2026 release gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate; not on any Northeast private list.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is an upstate NY food maker, not a service firm and outside the Crain's NYC footprint.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian; not on US lists.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public and based in California.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian; not on US lists.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California maker; not on Northeast lists.
Route 383: Large independent service firms: Largest independent IT services and digital agencies, pass 2
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS 2: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders on this list (all in output/candidates.json); go further down it, 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from privately held IT services, digital engineering and systems integration firms with 1,000 to 10,000 US-led employees (CRN Solution Provider 500, Inc. 5000 alumni, Clutch leaders; skip PE-owned).
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Second pass on privately held US IT services, digital engineering and systems integration firms of 1,000 to 10,000 people found no new countable leader. The seam is harvested: candidates.json already holds the visible founder-owners (Thai Lee at SHI, Eugene Goland at DataArt, Phil Friedman at CGS, Nacho De Marco at BairesDev, Rajesh Sinha at Fulcrum Digital, Sidd Ahmed at VDart, Sree Balaji at iLink, Larry English at Centric, Gil Mermelstein at West Monroe, plus agency owners Koenigsberg and Popstefanov). Fresh screens failed on a single test each: HTC Global Services has a founder-voiced Aug 2023 AI division (HTCNXT) but counts 11,695 staff in March 2026 (over the band); Daugherty merged into CGI (Dec 2024); North Highland is OMERS private equity; Wizeline has a hired CEO and venture backing; Tredence took Advent capital; Visionet has a hired CEO since 2023; Credence, Kearney & Company, TechFlow, MTSI and Sagitec have no leader-voiced 2023 to 2026 change on any open page; Abt Global's AI move is a vendor partnership with no CEO quote.
Sources: crn.com, inc.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking or list through Washington Technology Top 100, CRN, Inc. 5000 honoree releases gives private IT services firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through Revelio Labs company page, firm About page gives dated headcount band (joined on firm slug)
- firm through firm newsroom release gives dated change (AI division, new arm, pricing model) (joined on firm name plus date)
- change through same release or trade press gives controlling leader's own words (joined on leader name and title)
- leader through firm leadership page, WT profile gives control (founder, owner, chair) (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a retailer, not an IT services firm; the route's spine never reaches it.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; out of scope (US, private, 1,000 to 10,000).
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software, not a private services firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and not an IT services firm on any US list used here.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above 10,000 staff.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; out of scope.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss drugmaker; out of scope.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a private food maker, not a service firm; the route does not reach it.
Route 384: Large independent service firms: Am Law 100, firms ranked 1 to 25, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Am Law 100 law firms ranked 1 to 25 by revenue (2025 or 2026 list). Work through EVERY firm in that range one by one: check total staff (1,000 to 10,000), that it is partner-owned, and whether its elected chair or managing partner changed how legal work is done 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The universe is closed: the 25 US firms ranked 1 to 25 by revenue (Kirkland through Weil on the AmLaw Global 200 table). Worked firm by firm, 9 leaders are already in output/candidates.json (Kirkland, Sidley, Ropes, White & Case, Hogan Lovells, Goodwin, Greenberg Traurig, Cooley, Sullivan & Cromwell), DLA Piper and Baker McKenzie are above 10,000 staff, and at the other 13 the AI or model change is voiced by an AI head, CIO, innovation officer or practice leader, or the leader who made it has stepped down. Only one new person qualifies: Weil Co-Managing Partner and Executive Partner-elect Ramona Nee, who voiced the August 2026 Google Cloud deployment and in-house AI build. One name from a fixed 25-firm list cannot reach five, and no further attempt can add firms to the list.
Sources: law.com/americanlawyer, firm newsrooms, Legaltech News, Bloomberg Law
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through AmLaw Global 200 table on Wikipedia (2025 ranks, US firms only) and ABA Journal summary of the 2026 Am Law 100 gives law firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through firm newsroom and Bloomberg Law / ALM coverage, 2023 to 2026 gives dated change to how legal work is done (joined on firm name + AI, pricing, subsidiary)
- change through the release quote block gives named leader (joined on speaker title (chair, executive partner, managing partner))
- leader through firm leadership release gives control (elected role, term dates) (joined on person name)
- firm through Revelio Labs employees page, Ellis visa-sponsor page gives total headcount (joined on firm slug)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company, not one of the 25 top-revenue US law firms.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a law firm on the Am Law list.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a retailer, not a law firm on the Am Law list.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and industrial; outside the US Am Law universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; outside the universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; outside the universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; outside the universe.
Route 385: Large independent service firms: Am Law 100, firms ranked 26 to 50, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Am Law 100 law firms ranked 26 to 50 by revenue. Work through EVERY firm in that range one by one: total staff 1,000 to 10,000, partner-owned, and whether its elected chair or managing partner changed how legal work is done 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The Am Law ranks 26 to 50 roster is open on Wikipedia, and walking it firm by firm gave four chairs or managing partners not yet in candidates.json who voice a dated 2025-2026 AI change in their own words (Sheppard Mullin, Willkie, Cleary, Mayer Brown). Eight of the 25 firms were already covered and most others fail on leader voice, so the band is now close to harvested.
Sources: law.com/americanlawyer, firm newsrooms, Legaltech News
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- revenue rank through Wikipedia list of largest law firms by revenue (Am Law figures), US firms only gives law firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through WebSearch for the chair or managing partner plus AI 2025 2026, then vendor newsrooms (Legora, Harvey, Google Cloud) and firm newsrooms gives dated change with leader quote (joined on firm name + leader name)
- change through second page on the same move (Legal IT Insider, lawfuel, Bloomberg Law news.bgov.com, Harvey blog) gives confirmation (joined on firm name + product name)
- leader through Wikipedia infobox key_people, firm election release gives role and control (joined on leader name)
- firm through Revelio Labs employees page or Wikipedia num_employees / num_attorneys gives headcount (joined on firm slug)
New names that passed every check
- Lucantonio Salvi, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP (Los Angeles; partner-owned law firm, over 1,200 attorneys and over 1,800 employees; elected chair since October 2021) executive, United States
As elected chair he moved Sheppard Mullin to a firmwide Legora rollout after a competitive pilot, tied to mandatory role-based AI training and new workflows across every practice, to change how its lawyers work.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “No. of employees Over 1,800 Major practice areas Corporate law, litigation, regulatory matters, and industry-focused practices including healthcare, technology, and financial services Key people Lucantonio Salvi, Chairman” source
- What they did 2025 “In November, Am Law 100 law firm Sheppard Mullin announced a key milestone in its multi-year innovation roadmap - a partnership with European-founded GenAI provider Legora.” source
- What they said 2025 “We are investing not only in best-in-class technology, but also in the adoption, training and implementation of new workflows that scale impact across all practices and industry teams.” source
- Thomas Cerabino, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP (New York; partner-owned law firm, about 1,300 lawyers and about 2,144 total employees as of March 2026 per Revelio Labs; co-chairman) executive, United States
As co-chairman he has taken Willkie from buying AI to building it: a firmwide Harvey rollout wired into the firm-built Wendell Intelligence platform in 2025, then a 2026 OpenAI collaboration to build more proprietary platforms through its Willkie Works unit, with the stated aim of rethinking how legal services are delivered.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Key people Matthew A. Feldman, co-chairman [ 2 ] Thomas M. Cerabino, co-chairman [ 3 ] Jeffrey R. Poss, incoming co-chairman [ 4 ] Revenue $2.06 billion (2025)” source
- What they did 2025 “More than 1,200 lawyers and business professional staff across 16 offices worldwide will gain access to Harvey beginning in September, marking one of the most significant global deployments of legal AI to date” source
- What they said 2026 “The opportunity AI presents is not simply to work faster, but to rethink how legal services are delivered, how institutional knowledge is leveraged and how clients are served.” source
- What they said 2026 “We have been through pivotal transformations before and are embracing this generational shift, supporting our position as a leader in the AI evolution.” source
- Jeffrey Karpf, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (New York; partner-owned law firm, 1,050+ attorneys; elected managing partner since January 1, 2026) executive, United States
In his first year as elected managing partner he took Cleary into an agentic AI partnership with Google Cloud, building on the firm's own AI build shop (Springbok, bought in 2025), with the stated aim of embedding AI into how the firm's work is done.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Cleary Gottlieb announced today that Jeff Karpf has been elected Managing Partner, effective January 1, 2026. He will succeed Michael Gerstenzang, who has led the firm since 2017” source
- What they did 2026 “Cleary is committed to embedding AI into our workflows in strategic and competitive ways," said Cleary Managing Partner Jeff Karpf.” source
- What they said 2025 “I am committed to leading the firm through its next chapter by continuing to invest strategically in our people, deepening our client relationships globally, and embracing innovation to drive growth while enhancing how we deliver world-class legal services.” source
- Jon Van Gorp, Mayer Brown LLP (Chicago; partner-owned law firm, more than 1,700 lawyers and about 3,300 total employees as of March 2026 per Revelio Labs; chairman since 2021) executive, United States
As chairman he made AI training mandatory for every Mayer Brown lawyer and business professional in 2026, including training partners to lead AI-enabled teams, and argues for outside capital tailored to fund law-firm AI.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “No. of lawyers More than 1,700 (2026) [ 3 ] Major practice areas Litigation, capital markets, real estate, fund formation, finance [ 4 ] Key people Jon Van Gorp (chairman)” source
- What they did 2026 “Our approach is focused on amplifying lawyer capabilities and judgement, not replacing them. This mandatory training will ensure every lawyer and business services professional at Mayer Brown - not just early adopters - can utilize GenAI” source
- What they said 2026 “I could see private capital providing specific funding for AI with a use agreement between the firm and the AI vehicle where it’s tailored, just like litigation funding,” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian conglomerate, not a US partner-owned law firm; the route reads only Am Law 100 firms ranked 26 to 50 and their elected leaders.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not a law firm in the Am Law 100 ranks 26 to 50, so the route cannot surface Chouinard.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group, outside the US law firm roster this route walks.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; the route reads only partner-owned US law firms ranked 26 to 50 by revenue.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner, outside the Am Law 100 roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company, not a US law firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss drug maker, not a law firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a law firm; the route reads only Am Law 100 firms ranked 26 to 50 and their chairs.
Route 386: Large independent service firms: Am Law 100, firms ranked 51 to 75, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Am Law 100 law firms ranked 51 to 75 by revenue. Work through EVERY firm in that range one by one: total staff 1,000 to 10,000, partner-owned, and whether its elected chair or managing partner changed how legal work is done 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 4 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Worked firm by firm through the US firms ranked about 51 to 75 by revenue plus neighbours (19 unworked firms after dropping 8 whose leaders are already candidates or failed in S-358 and S-380). Four chairs passed: BakerHostetler, Sheppard Mullin, Pillsbury and Fragomen; the last two are borderline (a new AI leadership layer; a digital identity joint venture). The Am Law 100 table itself is paywalled, so the spine is the AmLaw Global 200 table on Wikipedia filtered to US firms.
Sources: law.com/americanlawyer, firm newsrooms, Legaltech News
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through AmLaw Global 200 table on Wikipedia, non-US firms dropped (proxy for Am Law 100 order) gives law firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through output/candidates.json and LESSONS.md screen gives unworked firm (joined on firm name)
- unworked firm through WebSearch '<firm> chair AI', '<firm> launches', '<firm> Harvey|Legora firmwide'; firm newsroom, legora.com/newsroom, harvey.ai/customers, news.bgov.com, mlex.com/pulse gives dated change with speaker (joined on firm name + chair name)
- chair through firm bio or later firm release; Wikipedia key_people gives current role and tenure (joined on person name)
- law firm through reveliolabs.com/companies/<slug>/employees/, Wikipedia num_employees, firm career profile gives total staff (joined on firm slug)
New names that passed every check
- Paul M. Schmidt, BakerHostetler (Baker & Hostetler LLP; partner-owned Am Law 100 law firm, 1,780 employees in 2026 per Revelio Labs, more than 1,000 lawyers) executive, United States
As chair he launched a firm-built AI platform, the Practice Intelligence Center, that ties firm data, legal knowledge and AI workflows into how BakerHostetler lawyers do the work.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The legal industry is evolving quickly, and our responsibility is to make sure BakerHostetler continues to provide clients with outstanding service in an increasingly complex environment,” said Paul Schmidt , chair of BakerHostetler.” source
- What they did 2026 “BakerHostetler has announced the launch of an internal artificial intelligence platform, which debuts with a research tool developed alongside legal technology giant Clio” source
- What they said 2026 “Practice Intelligence Center represents a long-term investment in how we connect information, support our attorneys and deliver value to clients” source
- Luca Salvi, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP (Sheppard; partner-owned Am Law 100 law firm, over 1,200 attorneys and over 1,800 employees) executive, United States
As chair he committed the whole firm, more than 1,200 attorneys in every practice and office, to an AI platform plus training, certification and new workflows, saying the aim is to change how the firm works.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Each member of this year’s partner class reflects the excellence, integrity and collaborative spirit at the heart of Sheppard,” said Luca Salvi, chair of Sheppard.” source
- What they did 2025 “Sheppard Mullin is rolling out Legora across all practice groups and offices, enabling more than 1,200 attorneys to use it for the likes of research and diligence, drafting and negotiations, and analysing trends” source
- What they said 2025 “Sheppard Mullin’s innovation strategy is about leveraging machine learning and generative AI technology to change how we work, deliver more efficient service and create greater value for clients” source
- What they said 2025 “We are investing not only in best-in-class technology, but also in the adoption, training and implementation of new workflows that scale impact across all practices and industry teams.” source
- David T. Dekker, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP (partner-owned Am Law 100 law firm, about 1,459 total employees worldwide as of March 2026 per Revelio Labs) executive, United States
As chair he added a C-suite AI layer (a first chief AI officer with four new director-level jobs under him) and says AI spending will reshape how the firm staffs matters and prices its services.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Pillsbury’s firm chair since January 1, 2017, and member of its managing board since 2014.” source
- What they did 2026 “International man of mystery and legal AI guru, Oz Benamram, has joined US law firm Pillsbury as its first Chief AI Officer.” source
- What they did 2026 “Before taking the new role, Benamram helped Pillsbury shape four new, director-level jobs that will report to him, Dekker said.” source
- What they said 2026 “For us, AI investment will become inseparable from many broader firm investments—where we grow, how we build teams and staff matters, how we price services and how we deliver differentiated value.” source
- Lance Kaplan, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy LLP (partner-owned immigration law firm, more than 6,000 professionals and staff) executive, United States
As co-chair he took the immigration firm into an owned digital identity venture with SICPA, building a platform for identity and document verification next to its core mobility and compliance work.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The future of mobility, compliance and digital trust depends on making identity and document verification more secure, more portable and easier to use,” said Lance Kaplan, Co-Chair of Fragomen.” source
- What they did 2026 “The joint venture will deliver an end-to-end, standards-based platform that connects identity verification, verifiable credentials, document authentication, digital wallets and credential lifecycle management within a single ecosystem.” source
- What they said 2026 “Fragomen has been investing in digital identity innovation and technology platforms designed to reduce friction across global mobility and compliance processes” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss drug maker, not a US law firm; the route reads only Am Law 100 law firms ranked 51 to 75.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian mining firm; the route reads only US law firms in the Am Law 51 to 75 band.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not a law firm; the route reads only Am Law 100 law firms ranked 51 to 75.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not a law firm; the route reads only Am Law 100 law firms ranked 51 to 75.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian public conglomerate; the route reads only US law firms in the Am Law 51 to 75 band.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian manufacturer; the route reads only US law firms in the Am Law 51 to 75 band.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a law firm; the route reads only Am Law 100 law firms ranked 51 to 75.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software company; the route reads only US law firms in the Am Law 51 to 75 band.
Route 387: Large independent service firms: Am Law 100, firms ranked 76 to 100, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Am Law 100 law firms ranked 76 to 100 by revenue. Work through EVERY firm in that range one by one: total staff 1,000 to 10,000, partner-owned, and whether its elected chair or managing partner changed how legal work is done 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Two attempts screened every firm in the 2026 Am Law 100 band 76 to 100 (counselcontacts.com mirror, plus Fish & Richardson as the likely rank 97 missing from it) and the band holds only two new leaders who voiced a dated change: ArentFox Schiff chairman Anthony Lupo (FoxAI, Aug 2026) and Bradley chairman and managing partner Jonathan Skeeters (firmwide Legora, Sep 2026). Seven band leaders are already in candidates.json. Attempt 2 re-screened the remaining 17 firm by firm (Kilpatrick, Ogletree, Cozen, Shook, Womble, Duane Morris, Barnes & Thornburg, Mintz, Nixon Peabody, Wilson Elser, Steptoe, Dorsey, Jenner, Williams & Connolly, Fish) and every change is voiced by a lab leader, principal, CIO, CLOO or AI practice co-chair, or is a UK-side rollout, so the 3-name bar cannot be reached from this closed list. The two names stand on their own evidence.
Sources: law.com/americanlawyer, firm newsrooms, Legaltech News
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Am Law 100 2026 mirror (counselcontacts.com) gives law firm (joined on firm name + AmLaw rank 76-100)
- law firm through firm newsroom press releases, legal AI vendor newsrooms (legora.com/newsroom), Law360 Pulse headline gives dated change to how legal work is done (joined on firm name)
- change through firm press release quote attribution gives elected chair / managing partner (joined on title in quote attribution)
- leader through firm innovation page or Law360 Pulse (second page) gives confirmation of the change (joined on program name (e.g. FoxAI))
- firm through ellis.com visa-sponsor page; firm bio gives headcount and control (joined on legal entity name (ArentFox Schiff LLP))
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chair, not a US law firm. Not a leader of an Am Law 100 law firm ranked 76 to 100 (counselcontacts.com/rankings/amlaw-100 lists the band); t
- Missed Satya Nadella Not a leader of an Am Law 100 law firm ranked 76 to 100 (counselcontacts.com/rankings/amlaw-100 lists the band); the route only reads those 25 firms, so it cann
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not a leader of an Am Law 100 law firm ranked 76 to 100 (counselcontacts.com/rankings/amlaw-100 lists the band); the route only reads those 25 firms, so it cann
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not a leader of an Am Law 100 law firm ranked 76 to 100 (counselcontacts.com/rankings/amlaw-100 lists the band); the route only reads those 25 firms, so it cann
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian commerce CEO. Not a leader of an Am Law 100 law firm ranked 76 to 100 (counselcontacts.com/rankings/amlaw-100 lists the band); the route only reads tho
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining chair. Not a leader of an Am Law 100 law firm ranked 76 to 100 (counselcontacts.com/rankings/amlaw-100 lists the band); the route only reads t
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner. Not a leader of an Am Law 100 law firm ranked 76 to 100 (counselcontacts.com/rankings/amlaw-100 lists the band); the route only read
- Missed Aaron Levie Not a leader of an Am Law 100 law firm ranked 76 to 100 (counselcontacts.com/rankings/amlaw-100 lists the band); the route only reads those 25 firms, so it cann
Route 388: Large independent service firms: Am Law Second Hundred, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Am Law Second Hundred (firms ranked 101 to 200). Work through EVERY firm with 1,000 or more total staff one by one: partner-owned, and whether its elected chair or managing partner changed how legal work is done 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The Am Law Second Hundred, worked firm by firm, gives no new countable leader of a 1,000 to 10,000 person firm. The roster itself is closed: law.com tables are paywalled and David Lat's 2025 and 2026 Second Hundred posts (fetched, 200) stop at 'for the full list, check out The American Lawyer'. Only about 25 to 30 firms in the 101 to 200 band reach 1,000 total staff, and about half of those leaders are already in candidates.json (Benesch, Lowenstein, Fennemore, Bass Berry, Phelps Dunbar, Vorys, Thompson Hine, Freeman Mathis, WSHB, Clark Hill, Stinson, Spencer Fane, Tucker Ellis, Akerman and others). The rest failed on voice or produced no dated change: Buchanan Ingersoll's in-house BuchananArtifex (2023) and its May 2026 HIKE2 commercialization are voiced by the CIO and the vendor (wpxi.com receipt), and bipc.com is 403 direct and via jina. Marshall Dennehey's 2025 BTI 'Generative AI Pioneers' recognition carries no CEO quote, and the release is 403 direct and via jina. Kutak Rock, Dorsey, Shook Hardy, Snell & Wilmer, Dykema, Quarles, Lathrop GPM, Fredrikson, Hinshaw, Dinsmore, Dickinson Wright, Constangy, Goldberg Segalla, Saul Ewing, Butler Snow, Adams and Reese and Jones Walker turned up only elections, client AI practices or job postings. Lewis Brisbois, Wilson Elser, Gordon Rees, Barnes, Ice Miller, Fox Rothschild and Carlton Fields failed in S-334, S-358 and S-380. The leaders of the Second Hundred have been harvested for this target.
Sources: law.com/americanlawyer, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- Am Law Second Hundred rank through law.com Am Law 200 table (paywalled); firm 'ranked No. X' releases gives law firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through firm newsroom, regional business press gives dated change to how legal work is done (joined on firm name plus AI, platform, subsidiary)
- change through firm release or press interview gives elected chair or managing partner and own words (joined on title in release)
- change through second outlet (vendor release, local news) gives confirmation (joined on firm name plus date)
- law firm through firm About page, Revelio Labs, Built In gives headcount 1,000 to 10,000, partner ownership (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian public conglomerate, not a US Am Law Second Hundred law firm; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a product company, not a law firm; the Am Law ranking does not cover it.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public technology company, not a law firm in the Am Law 101 to 200 band.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software company; not a US law firm.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian manufacturer and holding group; not a US law firm.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; not a US law firm.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not a US law firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker; not a US law firm, so the Am Law ranking does not surface him.
Route 389: Large independent service firms: Forbes largest private companies, service firms ranked in the top 125, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Forbes America's Largest Private Companies list, the service businesses (consulting, staffing, healthcare services, engineering, insurance brokerage, asset and wealth management, IT services, facilities) among the top 125. Work through EVERY such firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The Forbes America's Largest Private Companies top 125 holds only 28 rows that sit in a service industry with 1,000 to 10,000 staff in 2025, plus 2 more in 2024 (AmTrust, Transportation Insight). Every one was already worked: it is in output/candidates.json (SHI, Kirkland, HITT, Capital Group, Gilbane, Walsh, Clayco, Suffolk, Mortenson, Yates, Arco, Stripe and others) or was screened out by S-338, S-360, S-375, S-377, S-352 and S-378. The reasons were hired CEOs under family chairs (STO, Holder, JE Dunn, Clark, Walbridge, McCarthy, Hoffman), changes voiced by a CIO or innovation officer rather than the leader (Latham, Hensel Phelps, McCarthy), a distributor or reseller rather than a service firm (Uline, Carahsoft), a founder with no public redesign words (TQL, Whiting-Turner, Zachry), or private-equity control (AmTrust; Transportation Insight, a Gryphon Investors portfolio company with a hired CEO). The 2026 edition is not yet published (API returns an empty body). The list yields no new counted name, so the route is a duplicate of S-338 and S-360 and is invalidated.
Sources: forbes.com/largest-private-companies, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Forbes largest private companies API (rank <= 125, employees 1,000 to 10,000, service industry) gives firm (joined on uri)
- firm through output/candidates.json and earlier write-up verdicts (S-338, S-360, S-375, S-377, S-352, S-378) gives unworked firm (joined on firm name)
- unworked firm through web search and firm or sponsor newsroom gives controlling leader with a voiced change (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and far below the Forbes US revenue floor; not on the list.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is public and Indian; not on a US private companies list.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is public and Swiss; not on the list.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a service firm, so the service filter drops it even if listed.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a retailer and manufacturer, not a service firm; filtered out.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is public and Australian; not on the list.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian; not on the list.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public; not on a private companies list.
Route 390: Large independent service firms: Forbes largest private companies, service firms ranked 126 to 250, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Forbes America's Largest Private Companies list, the service businesses ranked 126 to 250. Work through EVERY such firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Forbes America's Largest Private Companies ranks 126 to 250 (2025 list ends at 200, so ranks 201 to 250 come from the 2024 list of 275) hold 87 rows at 1,000 to 10,000 employees, but only about 35 are service firms, and every one of those is already in output/candidates.json (Swinerton, Barton Malow, Gray, Consigli, Rosendin, Ropes & Gray, Sidley, White & Case, Greenberg Traurig, Hogan Lovells) or was screened out by S-338, S-345, S-350, S-352, S-360, S-366, S-375, S-379, S-380 and S-384. They failed on leader voice (Skadden, Gibson Dunn, Jones Day, Moss, Crowley, Austin Industries, Alberici, Sundt, Saltchuk, Michels, R+L, Yates), control (Ryan Companies, Kokosing, Holder; Zones founder stepped down as CEO 2025; Skadden executive partner Friedman retired in 2026), private equity (Echo, Convergint, Covetrus, Blackhawk) or size (Baker McKenzie over 10,000). The rest are manufacturers, food, retail or energy. The 2026 edition is not published (API returns count 0). No new counted name; the route duplicates S-338, S-360 and S-389.
Sources: forbes.com/largest-private-companies, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list year through Forbes largest private companies API gives firm row (rank, employees, industry, ceoName) (joined on uri)
- firm row through output/candidates.json org field and earlier write-up dispositions gives unworked in-band service firm (joined on firm name)
- unworked firm through web search for leader-voiced change gives leader quote (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; not on a US private companies list.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public; not on the private list.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is public and Swiss.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is not in ranks 126 to 250 of either year, and it is a retailer and maker, not a service firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is public and Indian.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is public and Australian.
Route 391: Large independent service firms: Largest independent wealth and asset managers by headcount, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the largest independent (not PE-controlled, not bank-owned) US wealth managers, RIAs and asset managers with 1,000 to 10,000 employees (Barron's top RIA firms, InvestmentNews, P&I largest managers). Work through EVERY such firm one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The route works only for the largest asset managers, not wealth managers or RIAs. Independent US RIAs in the band are PE-controlled, under 1,000 staff on Revelio (Savant 863, AQR 876) or already candidates (Mallouk, Gitlin, Rasmussen, Welling, LaMena). The two names came from private hedge fund and asset manager partnerships of 1,300 to 3,000+ people.
Sources: barrons.com, investmentnews.com, pionline.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list of large US wealth and asset managers through InvestmentNews company profiles (Employees, Financing status, Key people) plus Wikipedia infobox gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through Revelio Labs employee page gives headcount 2026 (joined on revelio slug)
- firm through hedge fund and asset management trade press (hedgeweek, InvestmentNews, Fortune/Bloomberg reprints, aistreet) gives dated change and leader quote (joined on firm name plus leader surname)
- leader through firm newsroom release or second outlet gives second dated page (joined on leader surname)
New names that passed every check
- Nir Bar Dea, Bridgewater Associates (Westport CT; private, employee-owned since founder Ray Dalio ceded control in 2022; about 1,300 to 1,715 staff) ceo, United States
He is moving a 50-year-old macro investment firm from human judgment to machine learning as the primary decision-maker, through the AIA Labs division and a fund run by it.Evidence (5 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Type Private Industry Finance Genre Hedge fund Founded 1975 ; 51 years ago ( 1975 ) [ 1 ] in New York City Founder Ray Dalio Headquarters Westport, Connecticut , U.S. Area served worldwide Key people Nir Bar Dea ( CEO ) [ 2 ] Products Pure Alpha All Weather Pure Alpha Major Markets Daily Observations AUM US$ 92 billion” source
- What they did 2024 “Bridgewater Associates, the hedge fund major led by CEO Nir Bar Dea, has launched a new strategy that uses machine learning as the primary basis for its investment decision making process” source
- What they said 2024 “The push into machine learning is a “good manifestation of us taking the flag and putting it at the top of the mountain,” Bar Dea said in an interview, while declining to provide specifics about the new fund.” source
- What they said 2025 “Bridgewater Associates' $2 billion AI fund is generating "unique alpha that is uncorrelated to what our humans do," CEO Nir Bar Dea said at a Bloomberg conference this week.” source
- What they did 2025 “Chief Executive Nir Bar Dea told employees that the firm intends to make “more than half the company real owners of Bridgewater” source
- Jean Hynes, Wellington Management (Boston; private partnership; Employees 3,000+ per InvestmentNews) ceo, United States
She is turning an institutional sub-adviser into a firm that builds public-plus-private products for individual investors and owns its own advisor distribution arm.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Key people: Jean Hynes (CEO); Steve Klar (president); Terry Burgess (head of investment boutiques); Ted Duffy (head of international); Sandhya Douglas, Connor Fitzgerald, and Kim Gailun (senior managing directors) Financing status: private partnership” source
- What they did 2026 “Wellington Management, Boston-based asset manager overseeing more than a trillion dollars in AUM, has agreed to acquire Hartford Funds from The Hartford, according to a Wednesday announcement.” source
- What they said 2025 “We believe the unique combination of our investment expertise and well-respected brands will enable us to provide investors with comprehensive asset class exposure in easy-to-access investment solutions.” source
- What they said 2026 “AI is also transforming the practice of investment management, and at Wellington we are actively evaluating how and where to utilize it to drive innovation, productivity, and client value.” source
- George Walker, Neuberger Berman (New York; private, independent, employee-owned since the 2009 buyback; about 2,900 staff per InvestmentNews) ceo, United States
He is adding an owned wealth and alternatives arm to an employee-owned asset manager by taking over McKinsey's in-house investment unit MIO Partners.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Financing status: employee-owned company Neuberger Berman (NB) is a private, independent, and employee-owned investment manager based in New York City. The firm oversees equities, fixed income, and private funds for institutions and individuals globally. It employs about 2,900 people across 39 cities worldwide” source
- What they did 2026 “Neuberger Berman Group has agreed to take over MIO Partners, McKinsey & Company’s asset and wealth manager for current and former employees of the New York City-based consultancy.” source
- What they said 2026 “We are honored to be selected by McKinsey to be their partner in preserving and protecting MIO’s special capabilities. Neuberger and McKinsey share strong cultural alignment as private, employee-owned firms with a singular focus on serving the long-term interests of clients.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semler runs Semco Partners in Brazil, not a US wealth or asset manager; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software firm; not in the wealth and asset manager list.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss drugmaker; not in the universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far over 10,000 staff; not in the universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not a wealth or asset manager.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; not in the universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; not in the universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a service firm; not in the universe.
Route 392: Large independent service firms: Top 100 insurance brokers, privately held, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Business Insurance and Insurance Journal top 100 US brokers. Work through EVERY privately held, employee- or family-owned broker (skip PE-backed and public) with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The Insurance Journal 2026 Top 100 P/C agencies (insurancejournal.com/?p=881636) is the only free roster; the Business Insurance 100 with officers and headcount is sold as PDF or Excel. Only about 30 rows are large enough for 1,000 to 10,000 staff, and every private, non-PE row was already worked or fails a test. Already candidates: IMA (Rob Cohen), INSURICA (Mike Ross), Holmes Murphy, Gregory & Appel, M3, Burns & Wilcox. Too big: Lockton (nearly 15,000 Associates, June 2026 release). PE or bank control: Alliant, HUB, Acrisure, BroadStreet, USI, EPIC, Alera, World, Highstreet, Trucordia, Hilb, ALKEME, Keystone, Patriot, IOA, Relation, Inszone, Sunstar (Reverence 2024), Liberty, OneDigital, Oakbridge, King Risk. Too small: Heffernan (about 900), Brown & Riding (300+), TrueNorth. Failing control: Hylant (family-owned with a non-family CEO), Cottingham & Butler (new president 2026). No change voiced by the leader: Leavitt (the Sept 2026 AI programme is voiced by its COO and a new chief innovation officer and only evaluates tools), Cross (the only AI move is a 2024 PwC vendor case study with no quote from CEO Jonathan Cross), Higginbotham (S-251: Reid voices only acquisitions), Unison Risk Advisors (no Klonk quote found; oswaldcompanies.com/news is 404). The IJ July 2026 AI account-manager feature quotes vendors and recruiters, not owners. Eight regional insurance slices were already invalidated; the national pass gives 0 new names.
Sources: businessinsurance.com, insurancejournal.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Insurance Journal Top 100 P/C Agencies 2026 (rank, P/C and other revenue, HQ office; * carrier, ** bank) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through ownership screen: firm site, PE sponsor releases, Business Insurance deal news gives private non-PE firm (joined on firm name)
- private non-PE firm through firm newsroom and trade press (insurancejournal.com, businessinsurance.com, insurancebusinessmag.com) gives dated change plus quoted speaker (joined on firm name + AI or service-model terms)
- quoted speaker through firm leadership page or appointment release gives controlling leader (joined on person name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company, not a US insurance broker; not in the IJ Top 100.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian manufacturing and services, not a US insurance broker.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not an insurance broker.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; out of the route's universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not an insurance broker.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above 10,000 staff; not a broker.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not an insurance broker.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company, not a US broker.
Route 393: Large independent service firms: Largest independent agencies and PR firms, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Ad Age and PRWeek rankings of the largest independent (not holding-company owned) US agencies and PR firms. Work through EVERY such firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This is the fourth pass over large US independent agencies and PR firms of 1,000 to 10,000 staff (after S-343, S-347 and S-365), and it found no new person who clears every gate. The Ad Age Agency Report 2026 independent rankings are paywalled (adage.com body stripped, agency-report URL 404; the ATDb mirror holds only the headline) and PRWeek is 403 to scripts, so the roster came from O'Dwyer's 2025 independents table (the 2026 URL is 404) and the Everything-PR 2026 US index. Every 1,000+ owner-led independent on them is already in candidates.json (Edelman, MWW, Finn Partners, Ruder Finn, plus Horizon, PMG, Known, Project, VaynerX, Aquent from earlier passes) or fails control (APCO's change is voiced by its president; ICR and Real Chemistry are sponsor-backed; Teneo is CVC-majority; DKC is ACC-owned). The one unworked firm, We. Communications (about 1,500 staff, founder-CEO Melissa Waggener Zorkin), has a real 2025 to 2026 AI and intelligence build, but every newsroom release voices it through a Head of Intelligence, the Head of We. Studio or the APAC president, never the founder, so it fails the leader's-own-words rule. Ten fetch attempts are logged, two of them failures.
Sources: adage.com, prweek.com, odwyerpr.com, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- agency universe through Ad Age Agency Report 2026 (paywalled), O'Dwyer's independents 2025, Everything-PR US index 2026 gives independent US agency or PR firm with 1,000+ staff (joined on firm name)
- firm through candidates.json and earlier write-up pulls (S-343, S-347, S-365) gives unworked firm (joined on firm name)
- unworked firm through firm newsroom (wecommunications.com/news/<slug>) gives dated change voiced by the controlling leader (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not an agency or PR firm; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian public conglomerate; outside US and agency scope.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a service firm on any agency ranking.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; outside US and agency scope.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; not an agency.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; outside scope.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; not an agency.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not an agency.
Route 394: Large independent service firms: ENR Top 500 Design Firms, employee-owned and private, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the ENR Top 500 Design Firms ranked 1 to 150. Work through EVERY employee-owned, partner-owned or family-owned firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one (skip public and PE-owned).
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The ENR 2026 Top 500 Design Firms list is open (enr.com/toplists/2026-Top-500-Design-Firms-1 and -2, rank, firm, city, type) and ranks 1 to 150 hold about 45 US private firms of 1,000 to 10,000 staff, but the route yields no new leader who passes every gate. Twelve in-band firms are already in output/candidates.json (Gensler, HNTB, CDM Smith, Salas O'Brien, CannonDesign, Gresham Smith, SSOE, KCI, VHB, Thornton Tomasetti, Ulteig, Woodard & Curran), and earlier routes (S-336, S-346, S-376) cleared Kimley-Horn, HKS, Corgan, DLR, Langan, Moffatt & Nichol, Haley & Aldrich, Terracon and Walter P Moore. This attempt screened 31 more firms. Ownership killed Geosyntec (Blackstone 2022), Westwood (Blackstone 2024), Enercon (Oaktree 2023), Pape-Dawson (Palm Beach Capital 2023) and IPS (Alleghany). Control killed Dewberry, S&B and KPFF (hired CEO under a family or executive chair) and HOK, SmithGroup, SOM and RK&K (co-leaders or partnerships). Voice killed Hazen and Sawyer (June 2026 DataTech launch voiced by the CTO), SWCA (AI by the CTO) and Sargent & Lundy (AI by an SVP). At JMT, RS&H, ECS, Carollo, Mead & Hunt, CEC, Merrick, Bolton & Menk, Barr, HGA, Braun Intertec and GPI the CEO voices no dated 2023 to 2026 change to how the work is done; Weston & Sampson and AEI are under 1,000. LaBella's CEO speaks of AI only in general terms, on a page that blocks fetching (rbj.net 403).
Sources: enr.com, firm newsrooms, BD+C
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through ENR 2026 Top 500 Design Firms, ranks 1 to 150 (enr.com/toplists, rank, firm, city, type) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through candidates.json screen, then ownership and headcount check (firm site, NCEO EO100, deal news) gives independent in-band firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom (wp-json listings and search), trade press gives dated change and the leader who voiced it (joined on firm name plus CEO name)
- change through second page (trade or regional press, partner release) gives confirmation (joined on CEO name plus change nouns)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharmaceutical company, not a US design firm; it does not appear on the ENR Top 500 Design Firms list.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker, not a design or engineering firm, so it is outside the ENR Top 500 Design Firms spine.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company, not on the ENR Top 500 Design Firms list.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; Andrew Forrest leads no firm on the ENR Top 500 Design Firms list.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a design or engineering service firm, so it is outside the ENR spine.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian public conglomerate, not on the ENR Top 500 Design Firms list (US firms only).
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial and services group, not on the US ENR Top 500 Design Firms list.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company far over 10,000 staff and not an ENR design firm.
Route 395: Large independent service firms: Largest management consulting firms, partner-owned, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Vault and Consulting Magazine rankings of US management, strategy, economics and specialty consulting firms. Work through EVERY partner- or employee-owned firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The spine is closed and the band is harvested. Vault's Consulting 50 table is withheld ('Ranking data is not available at the moment'); its 2026 announcement names only the top 5 per region, and consultingmag.com returns 403. Working the known in-band partner- or employee-owned consulting firms one by one gave no leader who passes every test: Kearney (Bob Willen, partner-owned, about 5,300 consultants) has AI moves voiced by partners; AlixPartners has had CDPQ, PSP and Investcorp as owners since 2016; Analysis Group, L.E.K. (Clay Heskett), Gallup (Jon Clifton, 1,724 staff) and Spencer Stuart (Jordan Brugg) have no dated leader-voiced change; BRG's AI practice is voiced by its head of AI under an outside chair; Russell Reynolds (1,900+ colleagues) has CEO-voiced C-suite appointments for AI and science, but these are hires, not a redesign, and no source confirms its ownership. Westat, Mathematica, Clarkston, West Monroe, North Highland, Point B, Cornerstone, Milliman and Crowe were settled by earlier routes.
Sources: vault.com, consultingmag.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- consulting ranking through Vault Consulting 50 North America, Consulting Magazine rankings gives consulting firm (joined on firm name)
- consulting firm through firm newsroom, consulting.us firm news gives dated change to how the work is done (2023 to 2026) (joined on firm name plus AI, acquisition, new practice)
- change through firm release or interview gives elected managing partner, chair or CEO and own words (joined on title in release)
- change through second outlet (consulting.us, trade press) gives confirmation (joined on firm name plus date)
- consulting firm through firm About page, Revelio Labs, ownership releases gives headcount 1,000 to 10,000, partner or employee ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a product company owned by a trust, not a management or economics consulting firm; it is not on any Vault or Consulting Magazine consulting ranking
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian public conglomerate; outside the route's US consulting-firm universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani makes food products; not a consulting firm and not on a consulting ranking.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a listed Australian miner; outside the US consulting universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; not a consulting firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a listed Swiss pharma company; not a consulting firm.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public US software company; not a consulting firm and fails the private-ownership test.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far over 10,000 staff; not a consulting firm.
Route 396: Large independent service firms: Largest mutual insurers and fraternal benefit societies, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the largest US mutual life and property-casualty insurers and fraternal benefit societies (by assets or premium). Work through EVERY one with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one: the CEO and whether they changed how claims, underwriting or member service work is done.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. A fourth pass over US mutual and fraternal insurers at 1,000 to 10,000 staff (after S-300, S-315, S-327, S-340, S-351 and S-362) gives 0 new names. The in-band carriers whose CEO voices a dated change are already candidates: Thrivent (Rasmussen), Pacific Life (Button), EMC (Jean), Church Mutual (Ogilvie), MagMutual (Morrell), Boston Mutual (Ward), Mutual of Enumclaw (Otis), Indiana Farmers (Sprinkle). The firms no earlier pass opened fail one test each. Voice: Guardian's July 2026 HCLTech deal (nearly 2,000 Guardian India staff move) is voiced by CDTO Steve Rullo and its Feb 2026 Avantos AI deal by Mike Perry; Pan-American Life's March 2026 Swiss Re claims portal by its chief claims officer; Medical Mutual of Ohio's Hippocratic AI voice agents by a VP and its CDIO, under an interim CEO since November 2024; Plymouth Rock's 2026 claims AI hires by its COO. No dated change: WoodmenLife (McCauley, CEO Oct 2023, only general 'improving the member experience' words), OneAmerica (Davison; the 2025 Voya sale is a divestiture), MassMutual (Crandall; AI is CIO-voiced and in job posts), Northwestern Mutual (Gerend; COO and CDIO hires), Knights of Columbus, Federated (Fetters retired), Farm Bureau Financial Services (Pitcher stresses people over chatbots), Michigan Farm Bureau (only a 2019 chatbot pilot), Amica (Shallcross; 2021 CCC claims AI, 2026 news is a claims chief succession). Leader changed: Utica (Creedon retired June 2024), Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee (Pannell retired end of 2025). Too big: State Farm, Nationwide, Liberty Mutual, New York Life, USAA, American Family. Too small: Jewelers Mutual, Physicians Mutual, Modern Woodmen home office.
Sources: ambest.com, Insurance Journal, NAIC, newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- sector through largest US mutual, mutual-holding and fraternal insurers (Wikipedia Mutual insurance, earlier write-up rosters S-340 and S-362) gives carrier (joined on carrier name)
- carrier through size and control screen: carrier site, Revelio, appointment releases gives in-band carrier with sitting CEO (joined on carrier name)
- in-band carrier through carrier newsroom, vendor and partner releases, trade press gives dated change plus quoted speaker (joined on carrier name + AI, claims, underwriting or service terms)
- quoted speaker through leadership page or appointment release gives controlling leader in own words (joined on person name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker, not a mutual insurer or fraternal society. Miss by universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss drugmaker, outside the mutual insurer universe. Miss by universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a private food maker, outside the universe. Miss by universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial firm, outside the universe. Miss by universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate, outside the universe. Miss by universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software firm, outside the universe. Miss by universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software firm, outside the universe. Miss by universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software firm, outside the universe. Miss by universe.
Route 397: Large independent service firms: Largest credit unions, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the 60 largest US credit unions by assets. Work through EVERY one with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one: the CEO and whether they changed how member service or lending work is done 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Three attempts, about 55 firm-by-firm CEO searches across the top 60 US credit unions by assets (MX list from March 2025 NCUA data), gave one CEO-voiced name that passes every check (Mike Wilson, Members 1st FCU). The gate is 3. Attempt 3 searched the last untried rows (Redwood, Eastman, UNFCU, Bellco, Police and Fire, Coastal, Mountain America, America First) and found no dated 2023 to 2026 change in the CEO's own words: only anniversary, asset and hire releases, vendor case studies (Talkdesk for UNFCU, AKUVO for PFFCU) or a 2021 succession. The one in-band lead with a CEO interview (America First, Thayne Shaffer, 3,500 staff) is blocked: news.americafirst.com and theceomagazine.com return 403 direct and via jina. Most remaining top-60 rows (Virginia, Citadel, Tinker, Summit, Landmark, Mission, DFCU, Bank Fund Staff, Baxter, American Airlines, Bellco) are under 1,000 staff. After S-299, S-314, S-326, S-340, S-362 and this route, the large US credit union pool is mined out: as a standing monitor this route yields about one name per 50 firms.
Sources: cutimes.com, cuna.org, ncua.gov, credit union newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- NCUA asset ranking through MX top 250 US credit unions by assets (March 2025 NCUA data) gives credit union name, ranks 1 to 60 (joined on credit union name)
- credit union through web search: <credit union> CEO <name> said 2025 AI / launch / transformation; Tyfone industry news, CUbroadcast news, firm newsroom gives dated change story with CEO quote (joined on credit union name plus CEO name)
- CEO and change through firm newsroom release (second URL) gives confirmation of the change (joined on credit union name plus change noun (AI officer, AI center of excellence, CUSO))
- credit union through Built In company page, firm releases gives headcount (1,000 to 10,000) and member-owned status (joined on credit union name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software firm, not a credit union; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; outside the universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma firm; outside the universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a credit union.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software firm; outside the universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel company, not a credit union.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software firm; outside the universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; outside the universe.
Route 398: Large independent service firms: Black Enterprise BE100s, service firms, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Black Enterprise BE100s and Black Enterprise industrial/service company rankings (2022 to 2026). Work through EVERY privately held service firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Attempt 3 closes the route at 1 counted name. The BE100s stopped after the 2019 edition, and its 2017-2018 rows hold about 6 private, Black-owned service firms in the 1,000 to 10,000 band. Each one except Thompson Hospitality fails a test: famous owner (Salamander), no dated change (V and J, AGB, Advantage Living), hired CEO (PRWT, MINACT), headcount now 200 to 500 (Jackmont, Diversant), or over the ceiling (WWT). The 2026 ForbesBLK 25 adds no in-band private service firm (DGN Enterprise has 585 staff; Cityblock and Esusu are VC-backed).
Sources: blackenterprise.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Black Enterprise BE100s Top 100 page (2018 edition, 2017 staff table) and BE's 2026 write-up of the ForbesBLK 25 gives firm (joined on company name)
- firm through trade press (FSR, NRN) and regional profiles gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on company name)
- change through press release quoted in trade press gives leader own words (joined on leader name)
- leader through dated 2025-2026 profile gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on leader name + firm)
New names that passed every check
- Warren Thompson, Thompson Hospitality (Reston VA; privately held foodservice management and restaurant group, more than 6,000 people) owner, United States
The founder of the largest privately held Black-owned foodservice group split its restaurants into a separate Thompson Restaurants division in late 2023 and rebuilt how the units run, collapsing eight point-of-sale systems into one and moving staff to daily electronic pay.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “today his Reston-based Thompson Hospitality employs more than 6,000 people and owns and operates more than 70 restaurants across Virginia, Maryland, Florida, Ohio, and Washington, DC” source
- What they did 2023 “So for the past two years or so, Berentzen has been revving up to change that with the launch “Thompson Restaurants” as a separate division. It was quietly done late last year and announced officially in early August.” source
- What they did 2024 “There were eight point-of-sale systems. Now, there’s one (Toast). The company tipped on cash and bi-weekly paychecks. Neither worked, Berentzen says. Today, there’s GradShare, which allows employees to receive money electronically every day.” source
- What they said 2024 “"It is a favorable moment to focus on the restaurant industry, despite the unprecedented challenges it faces," Warren Thompson, Thompson Hospitality founder, said in a statement. "While many might view this as an inopportune time to invest in the industry, we see it as a unique opportunity,” Thompson continued.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; not on a list of US Black-owned businesses.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; outside the BE100s universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; outside the BE100s universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer and not Black-owned; not on the BE100s pages.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public; not on the BE100s pages.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian firm; not on the BE100s pages.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker and not Black-owned; not on the BE100s pages.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public; not on the BE100s pages.
Route 399: Large independent service firms: Largest Hispanic-owned firms, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Hispanic Business, Latino Leaders and USHCC rankings of the largest Hispanic-owned US companies. Work through EVERY privately held service firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Invalidated after two attempts: the Latino Leaders Index 500 full table is not pullable (Issuu flipbooks for 2025 and 2026 have no text layer; the BMO Index500 page has no roster), and the open top 20 (voz.us) holds only one in-band, privately held, leader-voiced service firm, Independent Living Systems (Nestor Plana). Attempt 2 rebuilt ranks 21 to 500 from firm releases and the Hispanic Executive top-10 lists: Source Logistics is majority-owned by Palladium Equity since Nov 2023, Inter-Con has over 40,000 staff, COLSA (3,000) and OneSupport (3,000) publish no leader-voiced change in 2023 to 2026, and dealers, developers and food makers are not service firms. One verified name over two attempts.
Sources: latinoleaders.com, ushcc.com, hispanicbusiness.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Latino Leaders Index 500 (BMO release names only the top 5; full table is an Issuu flipbook) and voz.us top-20 summary with headcounts gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm's own 'named to the Index 500' release and newsroom (WordPress wp-json search) gives leader + dated change (joined on firm name, leader surname)
- dated change through partner or trade page on the same change (vendor newsroom) gives second confirmation (joined on firm name + change)
- firm through firm release citing a largest-private list or headcount gives size, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; the route reads only privately held Latino-owned US service firms on the Latino Leaders Index 500 and Hispanic-ow
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharmaceutical company; not on any Hispanic-owned US ranking the route reads.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a US apparel maker and retailer, not a Latino-owned service firm on the Index 500 or voz.us top 20.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public US software company; not on any Hispanic-owned ranking the route reads.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian firm; the route covers only US-headquartered Latino-owned firms on the Index 500.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; out of the route's universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public US software company; not a privately held Latino-owned service firm.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a US food maker, not a Latino-owned service firm on the Index 500.
Route 400: Large independent service firms: Largest women-owned and women-led private firms, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Women Presidents' Organization 50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies, Forbes and Fortune lists of the largest women-owned and women-led private companies, and WBENC top corporations' suppliers. Work through EVERY privately held service firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The named spines are weak (WPO 50 Fastest Growing honorees are small, Forbes and Fortune have no open women-owned largest list, WBENC has no firm roster), but the Top Workplaces Woman-Led award has open 1,000+ and 2,500+ size pages that work as a roster of woman-led US employers. Screening that roster plus women-led research and consulting firms gave two verified names (Mile Corrigan, Noblis; Kathleen Flanagan, Abt Global). Most woman-led in-band firms fail on control (hired CEO under a family owner: Freeman, Kenco), PE (CHG, CareCentrix, Cielo, IOA), voice (Kenco AI voiced by its COO, Gensler AI by the male co-CEO) or no dated change (AMC, Halff, Stanley).
Sources: womenpresidentsorg.com, forbes.com, wbenc.org, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award list through Top Workplaces Woman-Led award, size pages 1000+, 1000-2499, 2500+ (2025, 2026) and 500+ (2023, 2024) gives woman-led employer name, size band, city (joined on company name)
- employer through web search: <firm> CEO <name> launches OR acquires OR venture arm 2023-2026; GovConWire, Washington Technology, firm newsroom gives dated change with the leader quoted (joined on firm name plus CEO name)
- change through second outlet (local press, wire reprint, firm leadership page) gives confirmation of the change (joined on firm name plus change noun (acquired company, venture arm))
- firm through Revelio Labs company page, Built In company page, Wikipedia gives headcount 1,000 to 10,000 and ownership (employee-owned, nonprofit, no PE) (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Mile Corrigan, Noblis, Inc. (Reston, Virginia; nonprofit science, technology and strategy services firm for federal agencies; about 2,300 employees per Revelio Labs, March 2026; listed as a Woman-Led Top Workplace 2023 and 2024) ceo, United States
Turning a nonprofit federal research contractor into an investor in early-stage dual-use startups through its own venture arm, so new technology reaches government missions faster.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Mile Corrigan, Noblis’ president and chief executive officer (CEO).” source
- What they did 2023 “While serving as EVP, she launched Noblis Ventures, which she operationalized as CEO in 2023, to enable the firm to invest in early stage, deep-tech startups that accelerate dual-use technology to the federal government” source
- What they said 2023 “We firmly believe that because of our government access and our ability to provide those startups with guidance, we can help and facilitate the acceleration of those technologies to our government customer missions.” source
- Kathleen Flanagan, Abt Global (formerly Abt Associates; Rockville, Maryland; research, consulting and technology firm; 3,400 employees per Built In; employee-owned per older profiles, current ESOP share not confirmed) ceo, United States
Moving a 60-year-old policy research firm into digital delivery by buying a federal IT modernization firm and running it as an in-house division.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “An executive team leads Abt Global with Kathleen Flanagan as president and CEO since October 2009” source
- What they did 2024 “TSPi provides public sector agencies with secure digital offerings in support of their transformation goals and will now be known as TSPi, a division of Abt Global.” source
- What they said 2024 “For almost 60 years, Abt has continuously adapted how we partner with our clients and the communities they serve.” source
- Jean Yang, Vinfen (Cambridge, Massachusetts; nonprofit mental health and human services provider; 3,200+ employees per its 2025 facts page; Woman-Led Top Workplace 2025, 1000+ size band) ceo, United States
Moving a large human-services nonprofit from scheduled programs into a 24/7 diversion-first crisis center that takes people police would otherwise bring to an emergency room or jail.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Koutoujian is the Middlesex County Sheriff; Jean Yang is CEO of Vinfen; and Kurt Isaacson is the president and CEO of Spectrum Health Systems.” source
- What they did 2026 “Operated by Vinfen in partnership with Spectrum Health Systems, the Restoration Center provides a low-barrier, trauma-informed alternative to hospital emergency departments and the criminal justice system.” source
- What they said 2026 “Across Massachusetts we have expanded access to behavioral health services, but individuals in crisis too often still end up in emergency departments or in the criminal justice system,” source
- What they said 2026 “This model honors Lowell’s legacy: supporting every individual with dignity, especially in their most vulnerable moments.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a man-founded apparel maker, not on the woman-led lists and not a service firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; outside a US woman-led service roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and male-led; not on the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software firm; not on the roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software firm; not on the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining group; outside the route.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and male-led; outside the route.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker led by its male founder; not on the roster.
Route 401: Large independent service firms: Largest Asian American-founded private service firms, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from rankings and features on the largest Asian American-founded and -led private US companies (Forbes, Asian American Business Development Center Outstanding 50, Gold House). Work through EVERY privately held service firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The Asian American spines do not list in-band private service firms. The AABDC Outstanding 50 (2016 to 2026 classes on aabdc.com/event/outstanding-50-award) honors staff executives at public companies (FedEx, Accenture, Church & Dwight, Selective) and a few small founders. Gold House A100 honors culture, media and venture-backed tech founders. The Forbes 2025 largest private companies API has only three Asian American-led rows: SHI (Thai Lee, already listed), Kingston (hardware) and Panda (48,000 staff, restaurants). The LA Business Journal 2026 minority-owned list has no Asian American service firm between 1,000 and 10,000 staff. Firm-by-firm search found four in-band firms, and none passes every screen. 22nd Century Technologies (about 6,500 staff, CEO Anil Sharma) has no dated change voiced by the CEO. At Trianz (about 2,000 to 3,300 staff, founder-CEO Sri Manchala), Capital Square Partners took an undisclosed growth-equity stake in Feb 2024 and is listed as PE owner. At ValueMomentum (4,000+ staff), the CEO's quote covers the brand and a founder executive chair sits above him. Synechron (16,000) and Collabera (9,000 to 12,000, hired CEO under owner-chair) fail size or control. Zero verified new names.
Sources: forbes.com, aabdc.com, goldhouse.org, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- Asian American business ranking or award list through AABDC Outstanding 50; Gold House A100; Forbes largest private companies API; LA Business Journal minority-owned list gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom or wire release gives dated change to the work plus leader quote (joined on firm name + CEO name)
- change through second trade or press page gives confirmation (joined on firm name + change name)
- firm through firm site or dated 2025-2026 profile gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian national and Reliance is public; not on any US Asian American private-firm list.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public and Levie is not Asian American; absent from AABDC, Gold House and Forbes private rows.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian; Semco is not a US firm. Outside the route by geography.
- Missed Satya Nadella Indian American, but Microsoft is public and 200,000+ staff; not on the AABDC or Forbes private pages fetched.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian; Shopify is public. Outside the route.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian; Fortescue is public. Outside the route.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is on the Forbes 2025 private list (3,000 staff) but it makes food and Ulukaya is Turkish American, so both the service and Asian American filters drop
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a product maker owned by a trust; not Asian American-founded. Outside the route.
Route 402: Large independent service firms: Native American and tribally owned service enterprises
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from tribally owned and Alaska Native corporation service businesses (government services, engineering, healthcare, IT) with 1,000 to 10,000 employees whose CEO changed how the work is done 2023 to 2026; count only firms where the CEO, not a parent holding board, controls the operating decisions.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Over two attempts the route screened all 15 Alaska Native corporation parents of 1,000 to 10,000 staff on the Alaska Business Top 49ers 2025 list, plus Lower 48 tribal enterprises (Ho-Chunk Inc., Chickasaw Nation Industries, Cherokee Nation Businesses, Dine Development Corporation). Only Koniag's Ron Unger voiced a dated change to how the work is done (Koniag AI Solutions and Koniag Cyber, 2025). Every other parent CEO voices acquisitions or diversification (CIRI's HABCO and I2X buys in 2026, BSNC's Alaka'ina buy in June 2026, UIC's Northbank buy in 2025), dividends or casino expansion (Ho-Chunk), or the change is voiced by a board (Olgoonik restructuring, Jan 2026), a communications VP (BBNC) or a staff officer (DDC's EVP of Innovation on its StackAI AI-first model, Nov 2025). Subsidiary presidents who do announce AI work sit under a parent board. The pool is exhausted at 1 name, short of the 3 required.
Sources: ncaied.org, Alaska Native corporation newsrooms, Washington Technology
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- Alaska-owned company list through Alaska Business Top 49ers 2025 (employees worldwide, CEO per row) plus Washington Technology Top 100 2026 for Lower 48 tribal firms gives ANC or tribal parent of 1,000 to 10,000 staff (joined on corporation name)
- ANC parent through Alaska Business regional ANC roundup (Dec 2025) and Billions with a B (Oct 2026), which quote each CEO gives dated change voiced by the CEO (joined on corporation name + CEO name)
- change through the corporation's own newsroom (koniag.com/news/page/<n>/) gives second page confirming the new arm or service (joined on arm name (Koniag Cyber, Koniag AI Solutions))
- leader through Top 49ers row (title) and roundup byline (Chairman and CEO) gives control: CEO of a shareholder-owned ANC with no controlling owner above (joined on leader name)
- firm through Top 49ers employees worldwide gives headcount in band (joined on corporation name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker owned by a trust and nonprofit, not a tribally owned or Alaska Native corporation service firm, so the route never reaches Chouina
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not a tribally owned or ANC service enterprise; the route reads only ANC and tribal enterprise rosters.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; the route is US tribal and Alaska Native corporations only.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; outside the tribal and ANC universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a privately held food maker, not a tribally owned or ANC service enterprise.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss drug maker; outside the universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian private group; outside the US tribal and ANC universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public company; outside the tribal and ANC universe.
Route 403: Large independent service firms: Largest home health, hospice and home care operators, independent, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Home Health Care News and Hospice News rankings of the largest US home health, hospice and personal care operators. Work through EVERY independently owned (not public, not PE-controlled, not health-system owned) operator with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The spine is not pullable and the band it would name is already harvested. The Hospice News 50 (2025) names its operators only inside a gated download behind a business-email lead form (raw/hn50-flagship.txt); the public announcement (raw/hn-top50-2025.txt) gives only aggregates. HHCN publishes no size ranking of private home care operators; its nearest list, the 2026 Inc. 5000 roundup (raw/hhcn-inc5000-2026.txt), ranks growth and names small agencies, franchisors and PE platforms. Screening the in-band operators by hand, each failed: VitalCaring is two-thirds owned by Vistria and Nautic (raw/vitalcaring-p1701.txt), New Day Healthcare (about 10,000 staff) is owned by the family office Kaltroco and run by an interim CEO after the founder's death (raw/hhcn-newday-interim.txt), Care Advantage has been majority-owned by Searchlight Capital since 2021 (raw/hhcn-careadvantage-searchlight.txt), and EmpRes/Eden is already a candidate. Zero new names. businesswire.com returns 403 to fetch.mjs; three early fetches failed only because of a malformed shell call and were re-run successfully.
Sources: homehealthcarenews.com, hospicenews.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Hospice News 50 / HHCN lists gives operator (joined on operator name)
- operator through HHCN, Hospice News, firm site gives ownership and controlling leader (joined on operator name)
- leader through trade press interview gives dated change in own words (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO of a public firm; not a US home health, hospice or home care operator, so absent from HHCN and Hospice News operator coverage.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Outdoor apparel maker, not a care operator; the route's spine (home-based care rankings) cannot reach him.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software firm CEO; not in home-based care trade press as an operator.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian owner of an industrial group; non-US and not a care operator.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining billionaire; outside geography and sector.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software firm CEO; not a care operator.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; outside geography and sector.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer owner; not a service firm and not in home-based care coverage.
Route 404: Large independent service firms: Largest dental, veterinary and therapy groups that are dentist-, vet- or clinician-owned
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from rankings of the largest US dental support, veterinary and physical therapy groups. Work through EVERY clinician-owned or founder-owned (not PE-controlled) group with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Rankings of the largest US dental, veterinary and physical therapy groups hold no clinician- or founder-controlled firm of 1,000 to 10,000 people whose leader voiced a dated 2023 to 2026 redesign. Each firm fails one test. PDS Health is dentist-owned and founder-led but has 16,000+ team members (Jan 2025 press kit). MedVet is 95% doctor and employee owned with only a minority Leonard Green stake (June 2024), but its 2023 to 2026 releases are new hospitals, not a change to how the work is done. Rock Valley Physical Therapy is therapist-owned with 428 US employees. Comfort Dental is a franchise of separately dentist-owned offices with no single employer and no dated change. Drayer is part of Revelstoke-backed Upstream, and Athletico (BDT), Heartland (KKR), Aspen and Smile Brands are PE-controlled. Becker's Dental, the ranking spine, returns 403. With S-303, S-317, S-328 and S-364 this band is exhausted; the in-band independents (Mortenson, Park Dental, Rising Tide, Blueprint) are already in candidates.json.
Sources: Group Dentistry Now, Today's Veterinary Business, WebPT, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- segment through largest-group rankings (Becker's DSO ownership list, Orbital PT chain map, Group Dentistry Now search) gives named group with owner type (joined on group name)
- named group through investor or deal release (leonardgreen.com, privsource), firm press kit gives ownership and control (clinician-majority, PE minority or majority) (joined on group name)
- group through firm press kit or topworkplaces.com profile gives headcount 1,000 to 10,000 (joined on group name)
- controlling leader through firm newsroom and wire copies (globenewswire) gives dated 2023 to 2026 change in how the work is done, in the leader's words (joined on leader name plus group)
- change through second page (trade press: dvm360, Group Dentistry Now) gives confirmation and signal year (joined on group plus change noun)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public commerce software firm, not a dental, vet or therapy group.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company far above 10,000 staff, outside a care-group ranking.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software company, not a clinician-owned group.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate, outside US care-group rankings.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy, not a care group.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial firm, not a US dental, vet or therapy group.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma, not a care-delivery group.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya US food manufacturer, not a service business in this segment.
Route 405: Large independent service firms: Largest behavioral health and autism services providers, independent
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from rankings of the largest US behavioral health, addiction treatment and autism/ABA services providers. Work through EVERY founder-owned or employee-owned (not PE-controlled, not public) provider with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The route's universe is empty in practice. Every US behavioral health, addiction or autism provider of 1,000 to 10,000 staff that the BHB rosters and searches surfaced is PE-controlled (Centria under Thomas H. Lee Partners with about 6,000 staff; Behavior Frontiers sold to NexPhase Capital in May 2025 with about 3,300 staff; Proud Moments under Nautic since Feb 2025), VC-backed, public, nonprofit (which the fit filter rejects), or run by a hired CEO under a founder-shareholder (Recovery Centers of America, Brett Cohen since July 2023). The one founder-owned in-band firm, ABA Centers of America (Christopher Barnett), is already in output/candidates.json. The employee-owned ABA practices (North Arrow, Constellations, later sold to Stepping Stones) are far under 1,000 staff. Remaining leads (Positive Behavior Supports Corp, Signature Healthcare Services) have no verifiable 2025-2026 headcount, ownership statement or leader quote on a dated change. 12 fetches, 11 searches, 0 names.
Sources: Behavioral Health Business, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- query through Behavioral Health Business WordPress API and executive roundups gives provider firm (joined on firm name)
- provider firm through BHB deal stories, firm newsroom, wire releases gives ownership and headcount (joined on firm name)
- ownership and headcount through firm newsroom or BHB interview gives controlling leader and own-words quote on a dated change (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Leads Novartis, a public Swiss pharma company; not a US behavioral health or autism provider, so the BHB roster and provider newsrooms never surface him.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Owner of Chobani, a food manufacturer; outside the behavioral health and autism provider universe this route reads.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian owner of Semco; not a US behavioral health provider and absent from BHB coverage.
- Missed Tobi Lutke CEO of public Shopify, Canada; outside the sector and the geography of the route.
- Missed Satya Nadella CEO of public Microsoft; not a behavioral health provider. BHB mentions Microsoft only as a vendor, never as a provider redesign.
- Missed Aaron Levie CEO of public Box; outside the provider universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining owner; outside sector and geography.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia owner, apparel; outside the behavioral health provider universe.
Route 406: Large independent service firms: Largest independent senior living operators, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Argentum and ASHA 50 largest US senior living operators. Work through EVERY family-, founder- or employee-owned operator (not REIT-owned operating companies, not PE-controlled) with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The ASHA 50 operator table (2025 edition, open PDF) is a usable roster for large US senior living operators, but most in-band founder- or family-owned operators are already in candidates.json or voice no dated change. Three founder-led managers of 1,600 to 2,200 staff passed; one of them (Priority Life Care) rests on platform adoptions and is flagged as weak.
Sources: argentum.org, seniorhousingnews.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through ASHA 50 operators table (2025 PDF, pdftotext -layout) gives operator + CEO name (joined on company name)
- operator through candidates.json screen + ownership check (SHN, NIC profile, firm boilerplate) gives founder- or family-owned operator (joined on company name)
- operator through seniorhousingnews.com ?p=<id> interviews (WebSearch '<operator> <CEO> AI OR in-house OR model') gives dated change in the leader's words (joined on CEO name)
- change through second page: operator site, vendor release reprint, or a second SHN story gives confirmation (joined on operator + change name)
- operator through greatplacetowork.com/certified-company/<id> gives U.S.-based employee count (joined on company name)
New names that passed every check
- Stephanie Harris, Arrow Senior Living Management (St. Charles, Missouri; founder-led third-party operator, 44 communities in seven Midwestern states; 1,671 U.S. employees per GPTW; ASHA 50 2025 rank 42) owner, United States
Founder-CEO rebuilding how frontline caregivers get their daily work, through an in-house staffing app born from a company hackathon and a 2025 split of leadership roles.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Stephanie Harris is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Arrow Senior Living and Principal of Turnaround Solutions, LLC. She founded Turnaround Solutions in 2005 while attending Saint Louis University School of Law and launched Arrow Senior Living in 2009,” source
- What they did 2023 “Harris highlighted the company’s innovative approach to technology. Earlier this year, Arrow Senior Living held a hackathon that resulted in the launch of a new app, The Archer. Integrated into the existing Arrow App, The Archer allows residents to view schedules or menus and communicate” source
- What they said 2025 “This year, Harris said her corporate leadership team is working to create a new way for frontline caregivers to navigate their daily assignments more efficiently. To get there, Arrow hosted its latest “hackathon” technology-event, from which the company’s The Archer staffing app was created in” source
- What they did 2025 “Arrow divided roles within its leadership teams, aiming to bring new ideas forward to improve operations at the community level. Advertisement “It’s pretty important to improve how we work, and that’s going to be important to future-proofing the product that we’re offering residents,” Harris said.” source
- Chris Hollister, Pegasus Senior Living (Grapevine, Texas; co-founded 2018, 50+ communities; 2,200 U.S. employees per GPTW; ASHA 50 2025 rank 50) owner, United States
Co-founder, chair and CEO replacing instinct-based executive director hiring with a custom quantitative leadership model (Pegasus Green) built with a UT Austin professor.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Pegasus Senior Living CEO and Chair Steven Vick has retired, and co-founder Chris Hollister has taken the reins of the Dallas-based company as its new CEO and chair. Vick is” source
- What they did 2024 “The new staffing model, now known as Pegasus Green, is still under development even as hiring begins of the process’s first candidates. Hollister describes the staffing model as a “three ply cord” that integrates hiring software Predictive Index, mixed with a quantitative data model crafted by Paul Green, a University” source
- What they said 2023 “On staffing — particularly as it relates to executive directors, Hollister said Pegasus is taking a “Moneyball” approach. He is referring to the 2003 nonfiction book — later turned into a movie in 2011 — chronicling the Oakland Athletics’ successful” source
- What they said 2023 “We need a whole new look,” Hollister said of changing how Pegasus executes its workforce strategy. “We want to go deeper. It is still very early days but” source
- Sevy Petras, Priority Life Care (Fort Wayne, Indiana; co-founded, family owned and operated, 60+ communities; 1,920 U.S. employees per GPTW; ASHA 50 2025 rank 41) owner, United States
Co-founder-CEO moving 60+ communities onto an AI-forward clinical and digital move-in platform; weak, because both moves are platform adoptions rather than a redesign of roles.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Sevy Petras is Co-Founder and CEO of Priority Life Care, which operates 64 senior living communities nationwide. With over 20” source
- What they did 2026 “always been to build a model of care and operations that is truly future-ready,” said Sevy Petras, CEO of Priority Life Care. “ECP stood out because they are not only mature in the areas that matter today, but also deeply aligned with where we see” source
- What they did 2024 “Adopting a digital Move-In workflow advances Priority Life Care’s position at the forefront of modernizing senior living operations and driving the industry forward to attract the next generation of staff and residents. Severine Petras , CEO of Priority Life Care,” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler runs Semco in Brazil; not a US senior living operator, so not in the ASHA 50.
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie leads Box, a public software firm; outside the senior living roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya leads Chobani, a food maker; outside the roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani, Reliance (India); outside the roster and the US.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan, Novartis (Switzerland, public pharma); outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella, Microsoft (public); outside the roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest, Fortescue (Australia); outside the roster.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia (apparel); outside the roster.
Route 407: Large independent service firms: Largest education and childcare service providers, private
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from rankings of the largest US private K-12 operators, tutoring, early childhood and childcare providers. Work through EVERY founder- or family-owned (not PE-controlled) provider with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. Two attempts, 1 counted name. Childcare is a PE rollup (8 of the top 10 chains on Orbital's June 2026 map are sponsor-held or public), tutoring is franchised (Huntington) or sold (Proximity Learning to ESS), and the private K-12 operators in band speak through enrollment and expansion, not leader-voiced redesigns. Attempt 2 worked the nonprofit and founder-led seam firm by firm with Revelio first: WGU (Craft Education purchase, 10,783 staff) and ETS (PSI purchase, 10,474) fail only on the size ceiling; Acelero (996) is just under the floor; Great Hearts and BASIS have no change in the leader's own words. Eva Moskowitz (Success Academy, 2,903 staff) counts on a high school redesign into majors (NY1, Dec 2023) and a 40-school Florida commitment (Bloomberg, July 2025). Attempt 3 added two in-band Texas charter CEOs under nonprofit boards: Fatih Ay (Harmony, 3,864 staff) launched a paid statewide online course arm (Dec 2025, confirmed by Community Impact) after moving all staff to early-release Fridays (2023); Mark DiBella (YES Prep, 1,677) is rebuilding a 6-12 network into pre-K-12 and set up an AI design team.
Sources: Child Care Exchange top 50, EdWeek Market Brief, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Orbital largest US childcare chains map (June 2026); web search for K-12, tutoring and testing operators gives operator (joined on operator name)
- operator through Revelio Labs employee page gives headcount (joined on Revelio company slug)
- operator through operator newsroom or chain map owner column gives ownership and controlling leader (joined on operator name)
- leader through operator press release gives dated change in leader's own words (joined on leader name)
- change through trade or local press (avweb.com, sfchronicle.com) gives second page confirming the change (joined on change name)
New names that passed every check
- Eva Moskowitz, Success Academy Charter Schools (New York; nonprofit charter network she founded; about 2,903 staff on Revelio, March 2026) owner, United States
Founder-CEO reorganizing her charter network's high school into college-style majors and committing the network to 40 new Florida schools.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Eva Moskowitz, founder and CEO of Success Academy, joined NY1 political anchor Errol Louis on” source
- What they did 2023 “We have looked at the college courses and we have oriented and organized our high school so that the kids can major in math, science and engineering” source
- What they did 2025 “The organization is looking to open 40 schools in a 10-year period, starting in the 2027-28 school year, according to Success founder and Chief Executive Officer Eva Moskowitz” source
- Fatih Ay, Harmony Public Schools (Texas nonprofit charter system, 65 campuses; about 3,864 staff on Revelio, March 2026) ceo, United States
CEO turning a campus-based charter network into a statewide online course provider that sells credit courses to students of any Texas school system.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"Harmony Online Learning expands access to rigorous, standards-aligned coursework for students across Texas," said Harmony CEO Fatih Ay.” source
- What they did 2025 “Harmony Public Schools has announced the launch of Harmony Online Learning , a new statewide program that allows students from any Texas school system to take high-quality online courses for official high school course credit toward graduation.” source
- What they did 2026 “The cost of tuition per course is $325, a spokesperson from Harmony Public Schools told Community Impact. Harmony is also developing a system that would allow local school districts to purchase online courses on behalf of students, the spokesperson said.” source
- What they did 2023 “The Texas-based public charter school announced on Monday, May 8 a new schedule for the 2023-24 school year that includes early release Fridays for all full-time campus and district staff each week” source
- Mark DiBella, YES Prep Public Schools (Houston nonprofit charter network, 26 schools; about 1,677 staff on Revelio, March 2026) ceo, United States
CEO rebuilding a middle and high school network into a full pre-K-12 system because incoming sixth graders arrived below grade level, and now setting up an AI design team for staff work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “I'm the CEO of YES Prep Public Schools in Houston, Texas. I've been with YES Prep since 2001.” source
- What they did 2024 “"We are taking our proven model and scaling it to serve more students while investing in our staff, students and communities."” source
- What they did 2024 “"At Yes Prep, we believe every student can graduate college-ready, and that starts in pre-K. Our passionate educators, who are the best in their field, provide personalized instruction and work with families to make that happen for each student."” source
- What they said 2026 “We've had an AI working group that we're expanding to an AI design team. I want to hear the voices of super-users and skeptics from every type of role at YES Prep” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie US public software CEO (Box); not an education or childcare provider, so absent from childcare chain maps and education operator coverage.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public commerce software CEO; outside US education and childcare providers.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; outside US education and childcare providers.
- Missed Satya Nadella US public software CEO; Microsoft sells into education but is not a provider of K-12, tutoring or childcare services.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chair; not a US education or childcare operator.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian owner; founded Lumiar schools in Brazil, but the route is US only and starts from US operator rankings, so he does not surface.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya US food maker owner; not an education or childcare provider.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard US apparel owner; Patagonia runs on-site child care for its staff but is not a childcare provider, so absent from the chain map.
Route 408: Large independent service firms: Largest government services and federal contractors, employee- or founder-owned
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Washington Technology Top 100 and Bloomberg Government BGOV200 federal contractors. Work through EVERY employee-owned or founder-owned (not public, not PE-owned) services firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The Washington Technology Top 100 (2025 and 2026, open, one fetch per company page) is the only pullable spine; the Bloomberg Government BGOV200 is a 2023 lead-form PDF behind reCAPTCHA. After removing public companies, PE platforms (SMX is OceanSound and Apollo S3 controlled; Guidehouse, Peraton, GovCIO, Everforth ECS, Astrion, Kentro), Alaska Native and tribal parents (S-402), resellers (Carahsoft, FCN, Minburn, Thundercat, V3Gate, Four Points, Iron Bow, DLT, Sterling, GAI), firms over 10,000 and rows already in candidates.json or failed by S-377 and S-383 (AMERICAN SYSTEMS, Chemonics, LMI, Westat, Kearney & Company, TechFlow, Credence, Torch), about 15 in-band private rows remain: Noblis, MITRE, Battelle, Aerospace Corp, RTI, IDA, RAND (not-for-profit), DCS, MTSI, ARA, DAI, Abt Global (employee-owned), SRC, Odyssey, Loyal Source, Applied Research Solutions, Sierra Nevada (privately held). None has a 2023 to 2026 change to how the work is done voiced by the leader who controls the firm: AI moves are company-voiced (Abt's AI Governance Board, Aerospace's Google agentic AI pilot), staff-voiced (RTI's May 2025 Office of Data and AI Strategy under a VP; MTSI's AI lab is 2019 and voiced by staff), or the leader's interviews are generic (Noblis CEO Mile Corrigan on GovCon Wire). Not-for-profit CEOs answer to independent boards, and Abt's board is independent with a separate chairman. Sierra Nevada is a maker, not a service firm. This is the third pass at the WT Top 100 after S-377 and S-383; the roster is harvested for this target.
Sources: washingtontechnology.com, about.bgov.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- federal prime contractor roster through Washington Technology Top 100 gives firm (joined on /rankings/company/<id>/)
- firm through WT company profile block (Number of employees, Leadership, Ticker) gives leader, size, ownership (joined on company id)
- firm plus leader through web search, GovCon Wire, firm newsroom gives dated change voiced by leader (joined on leader name plus firm name)
- change through second independent page gives confirmation (joined on firm name plus change nouns)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and energy owner; not a US federal contractor, so the WT Top 100 and BGOV200 spine never lists him.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian commerce software firm, not a federal services contractor; absent from the WT Top 100.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian private firm with no US federal contracting; the route's roster cannot reach it.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma maker, not a US government services firm; not on the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is on the WT Top 100 2026 roster but is public and far over 10,000 staff, so the route's ownership and size filter drops it before any change step.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a privately held apparel maker and seller, not a federal services contractor; not on the roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate with no US federal contracting; not on the roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software vendor; it is not a ranked prime on the WT Top 100 and fails the private ownership filter.
Route 409: Large independent service firms: Largest environmental, engineering and water services firms, employee-owned
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from ENR Top 200 Environmental Firms and water/wastewater services rankings. Work through EVERY employee-owned or family-owned firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The ENR 2026 Top 200 Environmental Firms table is open (enr.com/toplists/2026-Top-200-Environmental-Firms-1, 200 with --text, all 200 rows with rank, firm, city and type), but its US private, non-PE firms of 1,000 to 10,000 people are already worked. Woodard & Curran (Alyson Watson) is a candidate, and S-280, S-313, S-336, S-346, S-366, S-375 and S-394 failed Brown and Caldwell, Carollo, Hazen, Garney, CDM Smith, Terracon, Haley & Aldrich, SWCA, SCS Engineers, Langan, Barr, Freese and Nichols, Kokosing, Alberici, Sundt, Haskell, Mortenson, Walsh and Kimley-Horn. The rows no earlier pass opened each fail one test here. Weston Solutions: the 2026 leader interview is by the President and COO, with no dated move. Phillips Infrastructure (formerly Phillips & Jordan): a Dec 2025 holding-company restructure voiced by a long-serving executive at a woman-owned family firm, with no change to how the work is done. Pepper Construction: the group CEO is a non-family executive under chairman Stan Pepper, and no dated change was found. Michels: now over 10,000. Sevenson, Barnard and ECC: under 1,000. Wharton-Smith: no dated change. ECC, Verdantas, Trinity, Apex, Kleinfelder, GEI, TRC and Geosyntec: PE or too small. The route yields no new name.
Sources: enr.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- segment through ENR 2026 Top 200 Environmental Firms table gives named firm with HQ city (joined on firm name)
- named firm through prior write-up dispositions plus candidates.json diff gives unworked US private firm (joined on firm name)
- unworked firm through web search, firm newsroom, trade interviews gives ownership, control and headcount (joined on firm name)
- controlling leader through trade interview or firm release gives dated 2023 to 2026 change in the leader's own words (joined on leader name plus firm)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not on the ENR environmental services list.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate, not a US environmental or water services firm.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, outside the ENR environmental list.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian firm, outside a US ENR ranking.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above 10,000 staff, not an environmental firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public drugmaker, not an environmental services firm.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner, not on the ENR list.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not an environmental or water services firm.
Route 410: Large independent service firms: Largest accounting firms still partner- or employee-owned, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Accounting Today Top 100 and INSIDE Public Accounting Top 100 firms ranked 1 to 60. Work through EVERY firm one by one, keep only those still partner- or employee-owned (no private-equity investment) with 1,000 to 10,000 people.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This route repeats S-335 (invalidated 2026-10-08) on the same roster: the 2026 IPA Top 500 ranks 1 to 60. Screened firm by firm, the pool of partner- or employee-owned US accounting firms with 1,000 to 10,000 people is now down to about Forvis Mazars, Plante Moran, Kearney & Company and RubinBrown. None has a leader-voiced, dated change to how the work is done. Since S-335, ownership has thinned the pool further: Crowe sold a majority stake to KKR (June 2026), which knocks out S-335's only name. HBK took H.I.G. Capital money (August 2026), Cohen & Co took Lovell Minnick (2024) and Schellman flipped to Goldman Sachs Alternatives (March 2026). Forvis Mazars (7,000+ team members, partner-owned) reports AI agents in its 2026 Integrated Report, but CEO Tom Watson's words are about stewardship and partner ownership, not the change. The firms ranked 29 to 60 that stay independent are under about 1,000 people (HCVT 800+, HBK 770 staff). Zero new names.
Sources: accountingtoday.com, ipa-inc.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through INSIDE Public Accounting Top 500 (2026) gives firm and MP/CEO (joined on firm name)
- firm through CPA Practice Advisor / Journal of Accountancy M&A and PE coverage gives ownership status (joined on firm name)
- independent firm through firm newsroom and annual or integrated report gives dated change and leader quote (joined on firm name plus CEO name)
- leader through second trade page gives confirmation of change, headcount (joined on CEO name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public technology company, not on the IPA accounting roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not an accounting firm.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public mining company; out of roster and geography.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software company, not an accounting firm.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel company, not on the accounting roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a service firm on the IPA list.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and not an accounting firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; out of roster and geography.
Route 411: Large independent service firms: Largest family-owned hospitality and food service management firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from rankings of the largest US food service management, hospitality management and catering companies (Food Management top 50, Hotel Management top management companies). Work through EVERY family- or founder-owned firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The two rankings are open and give a clean firm list, but the in-band, family- or founder-controlled firms on them yield no leader with a dated 2023 to 2026 costly change voiced in their own words. Whitsons' Berkeley production center (July 2025) is real but the board is chaired by a GenNx360 managing partner, so it is PE-controlled. Sage Hospitality co-founder Walter Isenberg wrote in Oct 2025 that Sage is 'not chasing trends' in AI and handed the CEO role to Daniel del Olmo in Feb 2026. Concord's AI rollout is voiced by staff officers, not the CEO. Driftwood's Jan 2026 CEO release is a succession item with no dated change. Warren Thompson is already claimed by S-398; AIHG and Hotel Equities are already candidates. Other in-band operators screened by search (Metz, AVI, SAGE Dining, Thomas Cuisine, Lessing's, McKibbon) showed no leader-voiced 2023 to 2026 change. S-310 found the same result in this sector.
Sources: food-management.com, hotelmanagement.net, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Food Management Top 50 (2023, 2022 revenue) and Hotel Management Top Third-Party Management Companies 2026 gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom, GlobeNewswire, LODGING Magazine, Hotel Management gives dated change and leader quote (joined on firm name plus 2023 to 2026)
- leader through release board and leadership lines gives control test (owner, hired CEO, PE chair) (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Leads Box, a public software company; not a food service or hotel management firm, so neither ranking lists him.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Leads Reliance Industries, a public Indian conglomerate; outside the US contract food service and hotel management rankings.
- Missed Satya Nadella Leads Microsoft, a public software company; not on the FM Top 50 or the Hotel Management third-party list.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial and services group; not a US food service or hotel management firm, so the rankings never surface him.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Leads Novartis, a public Swiss pharma company; outside both rankings.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a contract food service or hotel management firm, and it is not on the FM Top 50.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel company; outside both rankings.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian mining company; outside both rankings.
Route 412: Large independent service firms: Largest private trucking, logistics and transportation services firms, family-owned
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Transport Topics Top 100 For-Hire Carriers and Top 100 Logistics companies. Work through EVERY family-, founder- or employee-owned firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised
Sources: ttnews.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Transport Topics Top 100 For-Hire Carriers 2026 and Top 100 Logistics 2026 gives firm (joined on firm name + employee column)
- firm through firm About page, newsroom or trade profile gives owner-leader (joined on firm name)
- owner-leader through WebSearch '<firm> CEO AI / new division / interview' then trade press (freightwaves.com, ttnews.com, truckinginfo.com, fleetowner.com, dcvelocity.com) gives dated change in leader's words (joined on leader name + firm)
- dated change through second, different page (firm newsroom or other trade outlet) gives confirmation (joined on firm + event)
- firm through firm site or 2025-2026 dated source gives headcount, ownership and control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Robert Low, Prime Inc. (founder-owned truckload, refrigerated and logistics carrier, Springfield MO; 4,746 employees per Transport Topics 2026) owner, United States
Prime's founder and owner moved the carrier's bid, contract and pricing work onto an AI-driven network analytics platform in 2026 so his teams price from data rather than instinct.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Prime Inc. Owner and Founder Robert Low knows that small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.” source
- What they did 2026 “With GoodShip, Prime can centralize bid and contract data, apply AI-driven analytics to evaluate RFP opportunities and pricing strategies, improve forecasting and profitability, and bring more structure and insight to customer conversations through dynamic scorecards and performance visibility.” source
- What they said 2026 “"Providing the highest level of service to our shipper customers requires better visibility into our network and the freight we commit to move," said Robert Low, Founder and CEO of Prime Inc.” source
- What they said 2026 “GoodShip brings our data, pricing strategy, and operational expertise together in one place, giving our teams the ability to make smarter decisions, strengthen our network, and deliver better outcomes for our customers.” — Robert Low, Founder & CEO, Prime Inc.” source
- Rick Roehl, Roehl Transport (Roehl family-owned truckload carrier, Marshfield WI; 2,766 employees per Transport Topics 2026) owner, United States
The second-generation family CEO put AI-driven autonomous trucks to work on a Roehl lane from April 2026, while still driving loads himself to stay close to the work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Under the leadership of CEO Rick Roehl , we remain a family-owned, multi-modal carrier, offering a wide variety of transportation services.” source
- What they did 2026 “Starting in April 2026, trucks equipped with the Kodiak Driver, Kodiak’s autonomous system, began hauling freight between Dallas and Houston four times roundtrip per week for Roehl Transport.” source
- What they said 2026 “Roehl Transport is built on values, and safety is our cornerstone value,” said Rick Roehl, CEO of Roehl Transport. “The Kodiak Driver was built with this same philosophy. Kodiak’s safety-first approach was a key factor in our decision to partner with Kodiak.” source
- What they said 2026 “"We believe Roehl drivers should earn more," said CEO Rick Roehl, who still maintains his CDL and hauls loads to stay close to the work and service Roehl drivers provide to customers.” source
- Royal Jones, Mesilla Valley Transportation (founder-owned truckload and cross-border carrier, Las Cruces NM; 2,803 employees per Transport Topics 2026) owner, United States
MVT's founder reworked how his trucks fuel, stop and route in 2024 to cut costs he could not pass to customers, then folded his brokerage, cross-border and warehousing brands into one MVT Logistics service in 2025. Borderline: both moves are modest.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Royal Jones, CEO and founder of Mesilla Valley Transportation, said he is optimistic that cross-border freight will remain strong. About 40% of the company's business comes from Mexico, he said.” source
- What they did 2024 “Mesilla Valley Transportation has reworked its fuel optimizer and has eliminated one stop per truck per month, which adds up to 1,700 fewer stops monthly.” source
- What they said 2024 “"Every time you stop, you waste an hour. That is 60 miles. I'd rather put those 60 miles on the odometer."” source
- What they did 2025 “He recently combined the J.H. Rose Logistics and Stagecoach Cartage and Distribution brands that operate within the MVT family of companies into a single MVT Logistics brand. "It lets my sales team do more under one name. They can say, 'I can broker your freight, or I can do cross-border and warehousing,'" he said.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a trucking or logistics service firm on the TT for-hire or logistics lists; outside the universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker and retailer, not on the TT for-hire or logistics lists; outside the universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian firm; the route covers US carriers and 3PLs on the TT lists only.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not a trucking or logistics service firm; outside the universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian commerce software company; outside the universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; outside the universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the universe.
Route 413: Large independent service firms: Largest private real estate services and property managers, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the NMHC 50 Largest Apartment Managers and commercial property services rankings. Work through EVERY family- or founder-owned manager (not public, not PE-controlled) with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Working the 2026 NMHC Top 10 managers and three large commercial real estate services firms one by one gave no leader who meets every condition. Greystar is over 10,000 staff; Asset Living is PE-owned; Willow Bridge was bought by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan in 2023 and its AI work is voiced by a property management president; Cushman & Wakefield is public; Bozzuto is already on the list; ZRS has a hired successor CEO since January 2025 and its AI move is a Funnel vendor deal; AMC's CEO describes a first CFO, a Microsoft 365 move and an invoice system, not a redesign, and ownership is not stated; Avenue5's co-founder CEO speaks only in general terms while its AI leasing story is vendor-voiced; WinnCompanies' CEO statements in 2024 to 2026 are about promotions; RPM Living yields no leader voice. Transwestern's transformation is voiced by a hired president and a Chief Transformation Officer, Stream has a promoted president as CEO with AI run by a director, and Lee & Associates is owned office by office by brokers with AI only in a job ad. Eleven searches and 16 receipts gave zero new names, which matches S-349 and S-356 for this sector.
Sources: nmhc.org, multihousingnews.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through NMHC 2026 Top 50 Managers (via Dunn Report text and firm releases; nmhc.org pages 404 or render in JavaScript) gives manager firm (joined on firm name)
- manager firm through Multifamily Dive Q&A, Multifamily Executive profiles, firm newsrooms gives leader plus dated change (joined on firm name)
- leader through second trade story or firm release gives confirmed change (joined on leader name)
- firm through firm boilerplate or dated trade press gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software firm, not a property manager on the NMHC list.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker; outside the real estate services rankings.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; not US, not a property manager.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software firm; not in the route's rankings.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and industrial; not US real estate services.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the route.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far over 10,000 staff; outside the route.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not a property manager or real estate services firm.
Route 414: Large independent service firms: Largest cooperatives in the US, service co-ops, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the NCB Co-op 100 list of the largest US cooperatives. Work through EVERY service cooperative (financial, insurance, health, utility services, purchasing and shared services) with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The NCB Co-op 100 roster cannot be read: both report PDFs exceed the fetch size cap (truncated at 15 MB, pdftotext fails) and the jina mirror returns 403, so the open press release, which names only the sector leaders, is the usable spine. Working the in-band service and purchasing co-ops one by one gave two weak names. Do it Best's CEO voiced a dated, costly move: the $153 million initial cash offer for True Value, run as a separate subsidiary (Nov 2024). NISC's CEO told members AI will change how the work is done (Sept 2025) and led a merger with Meridian Cooperative (effective Aug 2026). At Wakefern, AWG and TruStage the 2025 to 2026 AI and automation moves are voiced by a president, EVP, SVP or chief business officer, not the CEO. CoBank's CEO voices only giving programs. Wakefern and Ace headcounts are unconfirmed and probably over 10,000.
Sources: ncb.coop, cooperative newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through NCB Co-op 100 press release (2025 edition, 2024 revenue) gives cooperative (joined on co-op name and sector)
- cooperative through regional business press and trade press (insideindianabusiness.com, nwindianabusiness.com, newsnationnow.com, grocerydive.com, hardwareretailing.com) gives dated change voiced by the CEO (joined on co-op name + CEO name)
- change through co-op's own newsroom (doitbestonline.com/?p=<id>) gives leader quote and title (joined on CEO name)
- leader through business press headcount line gives headcount and member ownership (joined on co-op name)
New names that passed every check
- Dan Starr, Do it Best Corp. (Fort Wayne, Indiana; member-owned hardware, lumber and building materials purchasing cooperative, about 1,700 employees in Oct 2024 before adding its True Value subsidiary) ceo, United States
Runs a member-owned purchasing co-op that made a $153 million initial cash offer for bankrupt rival True Value in 2024 and runs it as a separate subsidiary, doubling the co-op's reach to independent home improvement stores.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““A successful acquisition of True Value assets would represent a strategic milestone for Do it Best and home improvement retailers around the world,” said Dan Starr, Do it Best President and CEO.” source
- What they did 2024 “Do It Best will make an initial cash offer of $153 million and the assumption of up to $45 million in additional liabilities.” source
- What they said 2024 ““This is a generational opportunity that will shape the future of our cooperative and our industry,” Starr said. “We’re focused on taking our time to get it right.” source
- What they said 2024 ““We’re doubling the size of this organization, and more important than just our growth, we’re going to be able to serve more than 4,000 new retailers who have a need, and that’s what we exist for.”” source
- Doug Remboldt, National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC; Lake Saint Louis, Missouri and Mandan, North Dakota; member-owned IT and billing-software services cooperative for electric and telecom co-ops, more than 1,400 professionals; merged with Meridian Cooperative effective Aug 1, 2026) ceo, United States
Leads a member-owned technology co-op that is folding a peer co-op (Meridian) into one organization and tells members AI will change how the co-op's work gets done.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Current NISC CEO Doug Remboldt will serve as CEO of the combined organization and current Meridian CEO Chris Haas will serve as its COO.” source
- What they did 2026 “This merger is a true fusion of two strong, mission-driven cooperatives, blending our boards, leadership, employees and Members into a single organization.” source
- What they said 2025 “Remboldt’s message centered on customer service, and how advances in technology, namely artificial intelligence, will change the way we work going forward.” source
- Thayne Shaffer, America First Federal Credit Union (Riverdale, Utah; not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperative, sixth-largest US credit union, about 2,100 US employees per Top Workplaces; Meadows Bank acquired May 31, 2026) ceo, United States
Leads a member-owned credit union that bought Meadows Bank, a $1.4 billion commercial bank, and runs it as Meadows Financial, a new division, to build out commercial services for its 90,000 business members.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act ““America First is thrilled to welcome the Meadows family to our organization,” Thayne Shaffer, president and chief executive officer of America First, said in a statement.” source
- What they did 2026 “Las Vegas-based Meadows Bank has been acquired by America First Federal Credit Union and is now known as Meadows Financial, a division of America First.” source
- What they said 2026 “"Our credit union serves over 90,000 business members, and we are always seeking ways to expand our ability to serve those members, especially in the Nevada and Phoenix markets," Thayne Shaffer, president and CEO of America First, said in the release.” source
- What they did 2025 “America First, a not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperative founded in 1939, currently operates 113 locations across six Western states and serves 1.5 million members.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian company, not a US cooperative. Not a leader of a US service cooperative on the NCB Co-op 100; the route's source never surfaces thi
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a privately owned food maker, not a cooperative and not a service firm. Not a leader of a US service cooperative on the NCB Co-op 100; the route's so
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is owned by a trust and a nonprofit, not a cooperative. Not a leader of a US service cooperative on the NCB Co-op 100; the route's source never surfac
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public company. Not a leader of a US service cooperative on the NCB Co-op 100; the route's source never surfaces this person.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public company far over 10,000 staff. Not a leader of a US service cooperative on the NCB Co-op 100; the route's source never surfaces this perso
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public company. Not a leader of a US service cooperative on the NCB Co-op 100; the route's source never surfaces this person.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public company. Not a leader of a US service cooperative on the NCB Co-op 100; the route's source never surfaces this person.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian public company. Not a leader of a US service cooperative on the NCB Co-op 100; the route's source never surfaces this person.
Route 415: Large independent service firms: Largest privately held staffing, healthcare staffing and PEO firms, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Staffing Industry Analysts' largest US staffing firms and largest healthcare staffing firms lists. Work through EVERY family-, founder- or employee-owned firm (not PE-owned, not public) with 1,000 to 10,000 internal employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Staffing Industry Analysts is closed to scripts and to non-members: the largest US staffing firms and largest healthcare staffing firms report pages return 403 to fetch.mjs (logged twice here, as in S-35 and S-345), and the full firm-by-firm tables are members-only. The only open roster is firms' own 'we made the SIA list' releases (Favorite, Supplemental Health Care, Judge Group, Medical Solutions, all 200 with --text). Screened firm by firm, every in-band private firm fails one test. Favorite Healthcare Staffing is a member of the UK Acacium Group. Supplemental Health Care is owned equally by Vistria Fund IV and Apollo Impact Mission (vistria.com release). Medical Solutions is sponsor-owned. Amergis (the former Maxim staffing arm, rebranded April 2024) is fronted by its president Bill Butz under the Maxim owners, and the rebrand is a name change, not a change to the work. Fusion (Omaha) is run by a hired CEO, former CFO Corey Watton, since 2023. Beacon Hill (about 1,400 internal staff) is led by CEO Andrew Wang, not a founder, and no dated leader-voiced redesign was found. Health Carousel has no public ownership or 2023 to 2026 change. PEOs: G&A Partners is founder-built but has 850 internal staff, under the floor, and its CEO is now Jeff Williams; Vensure is Stone Point backed; Engage and PrestigePEO are small or PE-held; Insperity and TriNet are public. Rose International and Elwood are led by a second-generation or non-family president with no dated change. Every founder-led staffing firm in band that earlier routes found (Pinnacle, Pyramid, BCforward, Compunnel, VDart, Jobot, Aquent, eTeam, TalentLaunch and others) is already in candidates.json, and S-345 (three attempts) and S-290 reached the same wall. The route yields no new name.
Sources: staffingindustry.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- segment through SIA Largest US Staffing Firms and Largest Healthcare Staffing Firms (members-only; firm self-announcements as fallback) gives named staffing firm (joined on firm name)
- named firm through candidates.json diff plus S-345 and S-290 dispositions gives unworked firm (joined on firm name)
- unworked firm through firm newsroom, sponsor releases, web search gives ownership, control, internal headcount (joined on firm name)
- controlling leader through firm release or trade interview gives dated 2023 to 2026 change in the leader's own words (joined on leader name plus firm)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not a staffing, healthcare staffing or PEO firm on the SIA lists.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company, not on the SIA staffing lists.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a staffing firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; route is US staffing only.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; outside a US staffing roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; outside a US staffing roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian manufacturer; outside a US staffing roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software company; not a staffing firm.
Route 416: Large independent service firms: Largest business journals' private companies: Texas, Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the business journal and Crain's lists of the largest private companies in Texas, Florida, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Ohio. Work through EVERY service firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The route's spine, the business journal and Crain's largest private companies lists for Texas, Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee and Ohio, cannot be pulled. bizjournals.com list pages return 403 (Nashville tested here; Houston and Atlanta in S-371), businessnc.com Top 125 returns 403 direct and via jina, and the Crain's Cleveland 2025 list page loads its rows through a gated MYTHYR widget with an empty recs array. The one open list, Florida Trend's 225 Biggest Private Companies (2026), prints only rank, name and city for the top 50, with no headcount or leader. Its service rows were already worked by earlier specs (Greenberg Traurig in candidates.json; Holland & Knight in S-379; Haskell in a construction write-up; Crowley in S-371; Pellera found H.I.G.-owned in an IT services write-up), or show no leader-voiced 2023 to 2026 change in search results (Moss, whose newest 2025 news is officer appointments; Florida Cancer Specialists, a hired CEO under a physician executive board, whose 2025 AI remarks came from a medical director). This repeats S-371, which already found that regional revenue lists hold the same firms as the Forbes list plus dealers and distributors. Zero new names.
Sources: bizjournals.com, crainscleveland.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- state through business journal / Crain's / Florida Trend largest private companies list gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom and trade press gives dated change (joined on firm name)
- dated change through release or interview quoting the leader gives controlling leader (joined on leader name)
- leader through second page (trade press or counterparty release) gives confirmation (joined on leader name + firm)
- firm through firm site or dated 2025-2026 source gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is headquartered in California and its ownership moved to a trust and nonprofit; it is not on any Texas, Florida, Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee or Ohi
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is public and Australian; out of the route's geography and ownership screen.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; not on any US state business journal list.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is public and Swiss; out of scope for US private company lists.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public and based in California; not on these state private lists.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is based in New York and Idaho; it would not appear on these state lists, and the route did not surface it.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public; excluded by the private-company spine.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is public and Indian; out of geography and ownership screen.
Route 417: Large independent service firms: Largest business journals' private companies: Mountain, Plains and Pacific Northwest states
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the business journal lists of the largest private companies in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and the Dakotas. Work through EVERY service firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The Mountain, Plains and Pacific Northwest largest-private lists cannot be pulled: bizjournals.com list pages (Denver, Seattle) return 403 direct and via Jina, and ColoradoBiz's Top 200 page and its 2015 PDF return 403 to fetch.mjs. The ColoradoBiz 2024 Top 200, read for screening only, has 13 rows at 1,000 to 10,000 people. The in-band service rows are already candidates (IMA, RK Industries, Hensel Phelps), are PE-backed (Ingenovis, Western Veterinary Partners) or have no change voiced by the leader (Merrick, Encore Electric). Off-list firms in the 13 states fail the same way: Eide Bailly took Reverence Capital private equity in 2026. Perkins Coie's November 2025 Ashurst merger release quotes Bill Malley only on growth, and he is a co-CEO of a combined global firm. At Mutual of Omaha and Ameritas, the COO, CIO or chief AI officer voices the AI work. D.A. Davidson, DLR Group, Ruan, Hoffman Construction, Duncan Aviation, Wellmark and Snell & Wilmer show no dated 2023 to 2026 change in the leader's own words. No new name passed every condition.
Sources: bizjournals.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- state through business journal largest private companies list (ACBJ, ColoradoBiz) gives firm with employees 1,000 to 10,000 (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom and trade press, 2023 to 2026 gives dated change to how the work is done (joined on firm name)
- change through release or interview gives controlling leader's own words (joined on person named in the release)
- leader through second, different page gives confirmation of the change (joined on firm plus change name)
- firm through firm site or dated 2025-2026 source gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian; not on any US regional private list.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker headquartered in New York, not a service firm, and appears on no open list read for the 13 states.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; outside US regional lists.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is public and Australian.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a California apparel maker and retailer; not a service firm in the 13 states.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far over 10,000 employees, so it is excluded by construction.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is public and Indian.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software, California; excluded by construction.
Route 418: Large independent service firms: Forbes America's Best Midsize Employers, service firms, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Forbes America's Best Midsize Employers lists (1,000 to 5,000 employees, 2022 to 2026). Work through EVERY privately held service firm on them one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The Forbes America's Best Midsize Employers rosters for 2022 to 2026 are open and pullable (five GETs, 1,216 unique organisations, about 515 rows in service industries with 1,000 to 10,000 or unknown staff), but they do not yield new leaders who fit the profile. Most service rows are public companies, government bodies, nonprofits, Blue Cross plans or PE-owned platforms. The private, leader-controlled service rows that remain are either already in output/candidates.json (Ryan, Crowe, CDM Smith, Hensel Phelps, HITT, Gilbane, Reed Smith, Morrison Foerster, Pitt Ohio, Husch Blackwell) or were worked by S-307 in three attempts for one name. This attempt worked 16 further rows (Clark Construction, DPR, JE Dunn, ACCO, Big-D, Shook Hardy & Bacon, WilmerHale, Acuity, Sentry, West Bend, Amica, Shelter, Cenlar, Granite Telecommunications, TMC, Apple Bus) with one leader-quote search each. Every dated AI or operating-model change found was voiced by a staff officer (CIO, chief digital officer, innovation lead, SVP) or a firm program page, not by the controlling leader. The one leader-voiced case (Rob Hale, Granite, edgeboot AI product) is a billionaire founder of a telecom reseller with a product-marketing quote, not a redesign of how the work is done, so it was not counted. Zero new names after the roster has now been worked across four attempts.
Sources: forbes.com/best-midsize-employers, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list year through Forbes Best Midsize Employers API gives employer row (joined on organizationName, ceoName, industry, employees, webSite)
- employer row through WebSearch on ceoName plus change words; firm newsroom gives dated change with leader quote (joined on ceoName and firm name)
- dated change through second page (trade press or firm release) gives confirmation (joined on firm name and date)
- firm through firm site or dated 2025-2026 source gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public and not on any 2022-2026 Midsize roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; the list is US employers only.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is Indian and far above 10,000 staff; not on the list.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss, public and not on the Midsize list.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is Canadian and public; not on the list.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is on the 2025 and 2026 rosters, but the row names CEO Ryan Gellert, not Chouinard, and it is retail (Clothing industry), which the service filter dro
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above 10,000; not on the list.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is on the 2026 roster with ceoName Hamdi Ulukaya (Food industry, 3,000 staff), but the route keeps only service firms, so the route as written drops him
Route 419: Large independent service firms: Forbes America's Best Large Employers, private service firms, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Forbes America's Best Large Employers lists (2022 to 2026). Work through EVERY privately held service firm with 5,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. The Forbes America's Best Large Employers list is an open JSON GET per year (2023 to 2026, 500 to 701 rows) with employees, industry and ceoName, but no ownership field. About 328 US rows fall at 1,000 to 10,000, most are public companies, universities, governments or hospitals. Of the private and nonprofit service rows, nearly all were already worked by earlier routes. The unworked seam is independent nonprofits that sell services: Blue Cross NC (Sotunde) and RTI International (Gabel) passed; BCBS Michigan is over band at 12,196, and Terracon, CAI and Davey fail on voice, voice or size. Attempt 3 screened the last in-band rows (Mutual of Omaha, MITRE, COUNTRY Financial, Guardian, Averitt, Forvis Mazars) and none passed: the change is voiced by a staff officer or the CEO left, so the route stays at two counted names.
Sources: forbes.com/best-large-employers, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list year through Forbes America's Best Large Employers API gives firm row (employees, industry, ceoName) (joined on uri)
- firm row through filter: US, employees 1,000 to 10,000, service industry, not public/government/university/hospital, not in candidates.json or LESSONS.md gives unworked private or nonprofit service firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through web search for a 2023-2026 change plus the CEO's name, then the firm's own newsroom gives dated change voiced by the leader (joined on CEO name)
- change through second page (firm's closing release or trade press) gives confirmation (joined on deal name)
- leader through firm leadership and about pages; ownership check (PE deal search) gives control and ownership (joined on CEO name)
New names that passed every check
- Tunde Sotunde, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and parent CuraCor Solutions (Durham NC; not-for-profit health plan with no shareholders; 5,000 staff on the Forbes 2024 to 2026 lists) ceo, United States
Moved a not-for-profit insurer from paying for care to delivering it, buying all 55 North Carolina FastMed urgent and primary care clinics (agreed Oct 2023, closed Jan 2024), then reorganizing under the CuraCor holding company.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Brian Fork CEO Carolina Hurricanes Tunde Sotunde, MD, MBA, FAAP President and CEO CuraCor Solutions, LLC” source
- What they did 2023 “With approximately half of FastMed’s clinics located in rural areas of our state with limited access to health care resources, this is an important investment in North Carolina,” said Blue Cross NC President and CEO, Tunde Sotunde.” source
- What they did 2024 “Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) has acquired all North Carolina-based locations of FastMed and named Jim Moffett as FastMed’s CEO.” source
- What they said 2024 “As I’ve traveled across North Carolina and listened, it is clear that access to basic primary care services is a critical need.” source
- Tim Gabel, RTI International (Research Triangle Park NC; independent nonprofit research institute serving government and commercial clients, no owner above the CEO; 6,000 staff on the Forbes 2025 list, cut by about 35% in 2025 per WRAL) ceo, United States
Redesigned an independent contract-research institute after its federal work collapsed: a 2025 strategic reorganization toward new markets and faster, client-focused delivery, plus an in-house language model (RTIGPT) built into its research work.Evidence (6 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Tim J. Gabel became RTI International’s president and chief executive officer in 2022. Before becoming CEO in 2022, he served 10 years as executive vice president of Social, Statistical, and Environmental Sciences” source
- What they did 2025 “RTI International, a nonprofit based in the Research Triangle, announced a reorganization on Thursday that includes layoffs and a strategic redesign. The changes, introduced by President and CEO Tim J. Gabel this summer” source
- What they said 2025 “RTI's next chapter will demand bold thinking and strategic agility," Gabel said in a statement. "We're realigning our organization to lead with greater speed, enhanced collaboration, and tightened client focus, while ensuring that our scientific impact is amplified.” source
- What they did 2025 “To support this commitment, RTI is deploying new internal tools, including a bespoke application called RTIGPT, a custom language model archiving RTI’s research insights.” source
- What they said 2025 “AI is transforming how we work, think and solve problems; at the same time, it’s still people who drive purpose and impact” source
- What they said 2025 “In 2025, our willingness to adapt in the face of disruption was more necessary than ever. We made tough decisions and our resilience was tested.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue appears in the 2024 list but is Australian, public and far over 10,000; the route filters it out.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is not on the 2023 to 2026 lists; Canadian and public anyway.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and not on a US employer list.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box appears in 2025 and 2026 but is public; the route's ownership screen drops it.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is on every year (122,000 staff; a 2026 row misprints 5,300) but is public and over band.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is not on the 2023 to 2026 lists, and it makes food, not a service.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is not on the lists and is a product company.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis appears (75,883 to 108,000 staff) but is Swiss, public and over band.
Route 420: Large independent service firms: EY Entrepreneur Of The Year US winners, firm by firm
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from EY Entrepreneur Of The Year national and regional US winners and finalists, 2021 to 2025. Work through EVERY founder or CEO of a privately held service firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year US regional winner releases are open (ey.com/en_us/newsroom/<yyyy>/06/<slug>, 200, names in raw HTML list rows) for 2024, 2025 and 2026; the 2023 and older releases now redirect to the newsroom index. About 330 winners across three years and 45 regional releases were screened. Almost all are product makers, venture-backed tech, PE-backed firms or service firms under 1,000 people. In-band private service firms not already listed were rare (about 15) and one passed every test: Anil Sharma, 22nd Century Technologies. Route revised to a three-year rolling read of the June releases plus a strict size and ownership screen before any change search.
Sources: ey.com/en_us/entrepreneur-of-the-year, regional winner announcements, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award program through EY Entrepreneur Of The Year US regional winner releases (June, one per region, ey.com newsroom) gives winner and firm (joined on 'Name | Firm | City' list row in raw HTML)
- firm through candidates.json check, then WebSearch '<firm> private equity OR backed employees' gives in-band private service firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom or product site release gives dated change to how the work is done in the leader's own words (joined on firm name + CEO name)
- dated change through trade press (washingtontechnology.com, americanbazaaronline.com) gives second confirming page (joined on firm + event)
- leader through university or trade profile with headcount and founder history gives headcount, ownership and control (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- Anil Sharma, 22nd Century Technologies (TSCTI), McLean, Virginia; founder-led government IT services integrator, 6,000+ employees ceo, United States
He is turning a staffing-style federal IT services firm into a product-centric one by buying and building owned platforms (QED public safety software in 2023, the 22nd Century Networks subsidiary in 2026).Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “He has diligently nurtured this $ 2 million IT Consulting business into a $400M/6000+ employees Public Sector focused IT Systems Integrator, supporting the nation's digital transformation and protecting the critical infrastructure.” source
- What they did 2023 “This acquisition is a strategic pivot towards building and growing a product-centric organization that complements our existing services,” said Anil Sharma, CEO of TSCTI.” source
- What they did 2026 ““With 22nd Century Networks, we are advancing digital modernization while also securing the network layer that underpins our nation’s most critical operations across the Department of (Defense), Department of Justice, and Department of State,”” source
- What they said 2026 “Sharma said he ultimately turned that “struggle” into an “opportunity,” leading to the founding of 22nd Century Technologies.” source
- Gayle Packer, Terracon, Olathe, Kansas; 100% employee-owned engineering consulting firm, 7,000+ employees ceo, United States
She is moving a 7,000-person employee-owned engineering consultancy from field testing toward owned data and AI products (Pivvot, Stage1, PAVE-AI) built into its service lines.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Gayle Packer, Terracon chair, president, and CEO.” source
- What they said 2021 “Pivvot's location intelligence solutions, together with Terracon's own suite of technology products for site selection and project data management, allow us to leverage the power of data to accelerate projects and provide an unmatched client experience.” source
- What they did 2025 “In this new role, Nair will oversee efforts to incorporate artificial intelligence throughout the company to enhance efficiency and fulfill client requirements.” source
- What they did 2025 “Terracon is an employee-owned, multidiscipline consulting firm comprised of more than 7,000 curious minds focused on solving engineering and technical challenges from more than 180 locations nationwide.” source
- Sonya Locke, EDS Service Solutions, Atlanta, Georgia; founder-led, privately held labor outsourcing and workforce management firm, 7,000 employees owner, United States
She is turning an airport and car-rental labor contractor into a data-driven workforce platform, with an owned scheduling system (Workforce Velocity) that sets staffing levels from historical data and a 2025 move into hotels.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “At EDS, our success stems from our founder, Sonya Locke, whose 27 years of experience in human capital management and the airport ecosystem have laid the foundation for our company.” source
- What they did 2025 ““This isn’t just a title change; it’s about building the right structure to support our vision,” said Locke.” source
- What they said 2024 “As the founder of Workforce-Velocity, I spearhead an ERP cloud-based platform revolutionizing workforce management and managing every stage of an employee's lifecycle.” source
- What they did 2025 “EDS operates in over 40 states with over 150 locations and 7,000 employees across the United States.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public drug maker; not in any EY US regional winner release fetched (2024 to 2026) and outside the US private service universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software firm; not in the US regional winner lists fetched.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a service firm, and Ulukaya is not in the 2024 to 2026 regional winner lists fetched.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian; Fortescue is public mining. Not in the US program.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far over 10,000 staff; not in the regional winner lists.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker and retailer; Chouinard is not in the 2024 to 2026 regional winner lists fetched.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian; Semco is not in the US program.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software; Levie is not in the 2024 to 2026 regional winner lists fetched.
Route 421: Large independent service firms: Business journals' Most Admired CEOs, large private firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the business journals' Most Admired CEOs and CEO of the Year awards (Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Denver, Phoenix, Charlotte, Nashville, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City and others), 2022 to 2026. Work through EVERY honoree who leads a privately held service firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Business journal Most Admired CEO and CEO of the Year rosters are closed (bizjournals.com is 403 direct and via --jina, and WebSearch refuses the domain), so the only roster is honoree releases from firms, chambers and event hosts. Those name mostly firms under 1,000 staff (Hunton Group, 650), office managing partners of national firms with no control (Deloitte, EY, McKinsey, Protiviti, Cherry Bekaert), division managers (Choate Construction), public companies, nonprofits and banks. The in-band private service honorees found are already in candidates.json (Sanjeev Tirath of Pyramid Consulting, Sidd Ahmed of VDart, Jimmy Hiller of Hiller, Gresham Smith) or fail on ownership (Aprio, private-equity backed). Zero new names from 13 fetch attempts and 13 searches across Atlanta, Houston, Tampa, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Nashville, Dallas, Denver and Minneapolis.
Sources: bizjournals.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award program through business journal Most Admired CEO honoree lists (via event host, chamber and firm releases) gives honoree and firm (joined on honoree name and firm name)
- firm through firm site or dated release gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom and trade press gives dated change voiced by the leader (joined on firm name plus leader surname)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a privately held food manufacturer, not a service firm, and no business journal Most Admired CEO honoree release for Ulukaya surfaced in this route's
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; outside the route (private service firm of 1,000 to 10,000) by design.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far above 10,000 staff; outside the route by design.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian; outside the route by design.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the route by design.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss drugmaker; outside the route by design.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the route by design.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker and retailer, not a service firm, and Chouinard is not a business journal honoree in the rosters this route can open.
Route 422: Large independent service firms: Great Place to Work industry lists: health care and professional services
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Fortune/Great Place to Work Best Workplaces in Health Care and Best Workplaces in Consulting and Professional Services lists (large company category), 2022 to 2026. Work through EVERY privately held service firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The Fortune / Great Place to Work Best Workplaces in Health Care (2022 to 2025; 2026 is 404) and Consulting and Professional Services (2022 to 2026) lists are open and pullable (9 list pages, about 740 rows, 200 with --text), but as a spine for leaders of private US service firms of 1,000 to 10,000 they are harvested. Every in-band private, non-PE service firm on the large tier is already in candidates.json (Ryan, Jobot, FBT Gibbons, Withum, LBMC, Acquis, AVIAN, Vizient, SCAN, CareSource, Blue Shield of California) or was failed by earlier specs S-291, S-381, S-367, S-345 and others (Plante Moran, Kimley-Horn, Alston & Bird, Dechert, Pariveda, Jackson Healthcare, Aya, Roth, ChenMed, VSP, Freese and Nichols). The rest are public, PE-held, VC-backed startups, nonprofit hospital systems, over 10,000 staff, or under 1,000. The four fresh screens failed: ITA Group (employee-owned, 1,200 staff) has only geographic acquisitions in the CEO's voice, Torch Technologies and Southern Ohio Medical Center show no leader-voiced change, and Solaris Healthcare is small. No new names.
Sources: greatplacetowork.com, fortune.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list year through GPTW Best Workplaces industry list gives firm (joined on firm name + HQ city)
- firm through output/candidates.json and LESSONS.md diff gives unscreened in-band private firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom or trade press gives leader-voiced dated change (joined on firm name)
- leader through second page plus dated headcount and ownership page gives verified discovery (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is apparel and retail, not on the Health Care or Consulting lists 2022 to 2026; no row in any receipt.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and not on either industry list; no row in any receipt.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a service firm; not on either list.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; the lists are US workplaces only.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is Canadian and public; not on either list.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software; not on either list.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is Indian and public; out of scope for a US workplace list.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss, public pharma; not on the US Health Care list rows.
Route 423: Large independent service firms: Great Place to Work industry lists: financial services, insurance and construction
Looks for: future legends · Status: stalled
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Fortune/Great Place to Work Best Workplaces in Financial Services and Insurance and Best Workplaces in Construction lists (large company category), 2022 to 2026. Work through EVERY privately held, employee-owned or mutual service firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. The GPTW finance-insurance and construction lists are open (200 with --text) but nearly all in-band private service rows were already candidates or screened by S-291, S-367 and S-381. Two new names passed after working the remaining unscreened rows one by one across two attempts: Dmitry Balyasny (hedge fund, Applied AI team 2022) and Rick Arvielo (New American Funding, owned India tech arm 2022, 5,242 staff). The rest fail on voice (staff officers), control (hired CEOs under founders) or size. The route works only as a yearly coverage diff, not as a discovery spine.
Sources: greatplacetowork.com, fortune.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- industry list through GPTW Best Workplaces finance-insurance and construction 2022-2026 gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through candidates.json and LESSONS.md diff, then WebSearch for ownership and headcount gives in-band private firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through vendor case study or trade story on the change gives dated change (joined on firm name)
- dated change through leader interview (Institutional Investor, The National) gives leader own words (joined on leader name)
- firm through reveliolabs.com employees page gives headcount (joined on revelio slug)
New names that passed every check
- Dmitry Balyasny, Balyasny Asset Management owner, United States
The co-founder and managing partner of a Chicago multistrategy fund is rebuilding investment research around an in-house Applied AI team and agents, aiming to disintermediate the firm's own analysts.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Dmitry Balyasny, managing partner and chief investment officer Balyasny Asset Management, which oversees more than $30 billion across multi-strategy portfolios” source
- What they did 2022 “In late 2022, Balyasny established an Applied AI team: a centralized group of 20 researchers, engineers, and domain experts tasked with building AI-native tools that embed directly into team-level workflows.” source
- What they said 2025 “We’re trying to disintermediate ourselves and use AI as much as possible, use quantitative and systematic resources and strategies because that’s where the world is going” source
- What they did 2025 “Mr Balyasny breaks down how his team has built 2,000 AI agents running 5,000 daily tasks, transforming productivity.” source
- Rick Arvielo, New American Funding owner, United States
The co-founder and co-owner of a privately funded US mortgage lender replaced contract offshore developers with an owned tech company in India in 2022 so the firm can build its own loan technology and AI instead of buying it from vendors.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Rick Arvielo is a business visionary, leader, and the Co-Founder and CEO of New American Funding.” source
- What they did 2022 “So we decided to open our own company in India: NAF Tech India . We have about 150 New American Funding employees over there now to help supplement our somewhat lofty tech build goal.” source
- What they said 2023 “So, we just realized that the only way that we were going to control that world is to own it ourselves” source
- What they did 2026 “We create technology products and intelligent servicing platform revolutionize the end-to-end mortgage processing journey, from digital application submission to the final payment settlement.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Not on any GPTW Best Workplaces in Construction or Financial Services and Insurance list 2022 to 2026 (receipts gptw-construction-2022..2026, gptw-finance-insur
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Not on any GPTW Best Workplaces in Construction or Financial Services and Insurance list 2022 to 2026 (receipts gptw-construction-2022..2026, gptw-finance-insur
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Not on any GPTW Best Workplaces in Construction or Financial Services and Insurance list 2022 to 2026 (receipts gptw-construction-2022..2026, gptw-finance-insur
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not on any GPTW Best Workplaces in Construction or Financial Services and Insurance list 2022 to 2026 (receipts gptw-construction-2022..2026, gptw-finance-insur
- Missed Aaron Levie Not on any GPTW Best Workplaces in Construction or Financial Services and Insurance list 2022 to 2026 (receipts gptw-construction-2022..2026, gptw-finance-insur
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not on any GPTW Best Workplaces in Construction or Financial Services and Insurance list 2022 to 2026 (receipts gptw-construction-2022..2026, gptw-finance-insur
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not on any GPTW Best Workplaces in Construction or Financial Services and Insurance list 2022 to 2026 (receipts gptw-construction-2022..2026, gptw-finance-insur
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not on any GPTW Best Workplaces in Construction or Financial Services and Insurance list 2022 to 2026 (receipts gptw-construction-2022..2026, gptw-finance-insur
Route 424: Large independent service firms: Top Workplaces USA, large category
Looks for: future legends · Status: working
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Energage Top Workplaces USA lists (large and mega categories), 2022 to 2026. Work through EVERY privately held service firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Found 0 of 8 held-out known people · 3 new names · lead time not measurable yet · 100% of quotes confirmed on the cited page · data: public web
Verdict revised. The Top Workplaces USA large (1000-2499) and mega (2500+) size pages are open GETs and give 275 unique employers across 2024-2026, but most rows are public companies, banks, health systems, PE-held firms or rows already in candidates.json. About 30 private service rows were screened; only 2 gave a controlling leader with a dated change in their own words, both weak. Route works only as a roster feeding change-first searches, at about 1 name per 15 rows screened.
Sources: topworkplaces.com, usatoday.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award year through Top Workplaces USA size pages (Energage / USA TODAY) gives employer row (name, size band, HQ city, blurb) (joined on employer name)
- employer row through output/candidates.json org field gives unclaimed private service firm (joined on org name substring)
- firm through WebSearch: firm name + CEO + AI / acquisition / launch + year gives dated change and leader (joined on firm name)
- leader through firm newsroom, trade press (POWER, Sports Destination Management) gives leader's own words and second page (joined on person name)
- firm through firm newsroom, PE deal databases (privsource.com) gives headcount and ownership (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Victor Suchodolski, Sargent & Lundy (Chicago; engineering design firm for power generation and delivery; 4,000 employees per its Dec 2024 HQ release; private LLC, ownership structure not confirmed in a receipt) ceo, United States
Moving a 134-year-old engineering design firm onto AI-enabled engineering and into new power markets, saying the firm must constantly evolve how it thinks and engineers.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Suchodolski, who took the helm of the 134-year-old engineering design firm in January 2023, earned the honor for his influence on the power industry” source
- What they did 2025 “simultaneously implementing cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) and security protocols, he has ensured that Sargent & Lundy is not just participating in the energy transition, but serving as a key architect for clients navigating it” source
- What they said 2025 “Our clients trust us to deliver reliable, forward-looking solutions, and that requires us to constantly evolve how we think and how we engineer.” source
- Jason Clement, The Sports Facilities Companies (Clearwater, Florida; sports and recreation facility planning and management; 3,000-plus team members; co-founder led, Stonehenge Partners minority growth investment since Oct 2022) owner, United States
Turning a sports-facility manager into a multi-vertical operator by buying an ice-rink management firm and running it as an owned Ice Division.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Jason Clement is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Sports Facilities Companies (SFC)” source
- What they did 2024 “With the creation of its Ice Division, SFC now operates more than 60 facilities with 3,000-plus team members, welcoming more than 25 million guests and producing over $500 million in economic impact annually” source
- What they said 2024 “With this acquisition and the creation of our Ice Division, we are expanding our capabilities to better serve communities across the country” source
- Ira Coleman, McDermott Will & Schulte (law firm; 1,750 lawyers and 3,200-plus employees; partner-owned limited liability partnerships led by its chairman, no outside owner) executive, United States
Merging with Schulte Roth & Zabel so a partner-owned law firm has the scale to put about $30 million a year into AI in the core legal work.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “said Ira Coleman, McDermott’s chairman, in a statement provided to the legal publications” source
- What they did 2025 “Ira Coleman, who leads McDermott Will & Emery, said in a July Bloomberg Law podcast that part of his firm’s rationale for merging with Schulte Roth & Zabel was to scale up in order to pay for AI” source
- What they said 2025 “going to put $30 million in AI this year, you have to have scale,” he told podcast host Jessie Kamens. “You can’t do that if you’re a four or five hundred lawyer firm. It’s pretty hard to do it if you’re a 1,500 lawyer firm” source
- What they said 2025 “We’re redefining what it means to be a modern, elite law firm-deeply specialized, relentlessly client-focused and committed to a people-first culture” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia does not appear on the 2024-2026 Top Workplaces USA large or mega pages; the route surfaces employers that enter the survey, and Patagonia is not one.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is Canadian and public; not on the US rosters.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a service firm, and is not on the 2024-2026 large or mega pages.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is Indian and public; out of scope.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian and public; out of scope.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far over 10,000; the only 'Microsoft' hit in the rosters is a 3Cloud blurb.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss and public; not on US rosters.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; not on US rosters.
Route 425: Large independent service firms: ESOP Association and S Corp ESOP award winners
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the ESOP Association awards, Employee-Owned S Corporations of America members and NCEO case studies of large employee-owned companies. Work through EVERY employee-owned service firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The ESOP Association, ESCA and NCEO sources are open but give no new in-band leader. The ESOP Association Company of the Year list (2015 to 2024) names small and mid firms plus Recology (2021), whose automation is voiced by a general manager (search result, not receipted). ESCA's member roster (esca.us/members/, about 230 companies) carries no headcount or leader, and its news feed is policy op-eds. The in-band service members were already worked (HNTB, Wright, Sundt, Boldt, Consigli, Hargrove, Mathematica, Rosendin, Project Worldwide), are over 10,000 (Black & Veatch, Burns & McDonnell, HDR), or failed one test here. Receipted: Telecare (Anne Bakar, family and ESOP, over 6,000 staff) has no dated 2023 to 2026 change in her own words, as her redesign moves date from 2018 to 2019 (telecare-ceo-corner, telecare-2023-report). From search results only, not receipted: Smithbucklin is about 650 staff; CCMSI's AI dates from 2022 and is voiced by its CIO; Garney's CEO voices only same-business acquisitions; Liberty Military Housing's 2020 ESOP is an ownership deal; VGM, Pima Medical and Performance Contracting show no leader-voiced change. Together with S-280, S-336, S-344, S-359 and S-366, the employee-owned roster is harvested for this profile.
Sources: esopassociation.org, esca.us, nceo.org, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- association roster or award list through ESOP Association awards, ESCA members, NCEO EO100 gives employee-owned firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through output/candidates.json and LESSONS.md diff gives unscreened in-band service firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom, CEO page, annual report, trade press gives leader-voiced dated change 2023 to 2026 (joined on firm name + CEO name)
- leader through second page plus dated headcount and ownership page gives verified discovery (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker with an equity grant, not an ESOP service firm; absent from ESCA members, ESOP Association awards and the EO100 receipts.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is owned by a purpose trust and nonprofit, not an ESOP; absent from every receipt.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public; out of scope for an employee-owned roster.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; US ESOP rosters do not cover it.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public; not on any ESOP roster.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian; not on any ESOP roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is public and Swiss; not on any ESOP roster.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is public and Australian; not on any ESOP roster.
Route 426: Large independent service firms: Inc. 5000 honorees that grew past 1,000 employees
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Inc. 5000 honorees (2018 to 2025) that now have 1,000 to 10,000 employees and are still founder-owned or employee-owned service firms. Work through them one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The Inc. 5000 cannot act as a roster for 1,000 to 10,000-person independent service firms. The open API (api.inc.com/rest/i5list/<year>, 2017 to 2024, about 19,400 unique honorees) and the per-company profile endpoint (api.inc.com/rest/companyprofile/<slug>) carry no headcount; ifc_company_size is blank or a small band. Honorees that later grew past 1,000 were screened through 166 long-running service rows. Every unworked in-band firm failed ownership: ALKU (New Mountain Capital majority, founder moved to chair in Sept 2025), ATI Restoration (TSG Consumer Partners, 2020), Groundworks (KKR 2023, hired CEO 2026), Insight Global (Leonard Green), Coastal Cloud (Sverica, then TCS). Others were already decided in earlier routes: TQL, CapTech (Markel), Power Home (Bain 2026), 22nd Century, Compunnel and Hargrove. Sustained Inc. 5000 growth to this size is what draws private equity, so the honoree spine selects against the target. The 2025 list endpoint returns 418, and so does 2014.
Sources: inc.com/inc5000, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list year through Inc. 5000 API i5list gives honoree firm (joined on ifc_filelocation)
- honoree firm through Inc. companyprofile API gives CEO name, size band (joined on ifc_filelocation)
- firm through reveliolabs.com headcount, firm releases gives headcount and owner (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom gives leader-voiced change (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public and a software firm; it does not appear in the 2017 to 2024 Inc. 5000 API rows.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia does not appear in the 2017 to 2024 Inc. 5000 rows; it is a products company held by a purpose trust.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not US; Reliance is public. Out of the route's universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Not US; Novartis is public. Out of the route's universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not US (Brazil). Out of the route's universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Not US; Fortescue is public. Out of the route's universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a service firm, and does not appear in the 2017 to 2024 Inc. 5000 rows.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Not US; Shopify is public. Out of the route's universe.
Route 427: Large independent service firms: Fast Company Most Innovative Companies, private service firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Fast Company Most Innovative Companies lists (2022 to 2026), privately held service firms (consulting, agencies, law, health services, engineering, staffing) with 1,000 to 10,000 employees. Work through them one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The spine is closed: fastcompany.com list and category pages (most-innovative-companies/list, /2026, /91497089 business services) return 403 to fetch.mjs directly, through --jina and through WebFetch, and the mirrors tried (Becker's Hospital Review 63-company health list, HealthExec, Campaign, Business Wire honoree releases) also return 403. The open fallbacks do not rebuild the roster: GlobeNewswire's keyword RSS keeps only the last 20 releases, all startups, public firms or the list launch, and PR Newswire search treats the phrase loosely and returns unrelated recent news. WebSearch screening of the 2023 to 2026 lists found no consulting, law or staffing category; the service honorees are holding-company agencies (BBDO, Goodby, Weber Shandwick under Omnicom), public firms (C.H. Robinson, ABM), small agencies (The Brand Agency, SolComms) or firms already in candidates.json (Edelman, FINN Partners, Horizon Media, HNTB, Gensler, Thornton Tomasetti, West Monroe, McKinstry). The one unscreened in-band independent honoree, Wieden+Kennedy, has no dated 2023 to 2026 change in its global CEO's own words on any fetchable page (wk.com/news is pre-2021; Campaign is 403). Zero new names from 15 logged fetch attempts plus one WebFetch.
Sources: fastcompany.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list year and category through Fast Company Most Innovative Companies (blocked; honoree self-announcements as fallback) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through output/candidates.json diff, ownership and headcount screen gives unscreened private US service firm of 1,000 to 10,000 (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom or trade press gives leader-voiced dated change 2023 to 2026 (joined on firm name)
- leader through second page plus dated headcount and ownership page gives verified discovery (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; outside the US private service-firm filter and no row in any receipt.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; not a US firm and no row in any receipt.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public pharma company; outside the filter, no row in any receipt.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify leads the 2026 list (raw/gnw-mic.txt, list-launch title) but only as a company name with no leader quote; it is a public Canadian software firm, so the
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian and public; no row in any receipt.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears in raw/gnw-mic.txt only as a company name in a 2022 honoree release; public software firm, dropped by the filter, no leader quote.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software firm; no row in any receipt.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia appears in raw/gnw-mic.txt only as a keyword on a supplier's honoree release; apparel and retail, not a service firm, no leader quote.
Route 428: Large independent service firms: RealTrends largest independent real estate brokerages
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the RealTrends 500 and T3 Sixty Mega 1000 rankings, independent and family-owned brokerages and real estate services firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees (count employees, not agents). Work through them one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The RealTrends Verified rankings (500 by Volume, Top Independents - Private) and the T3 Sixty Mega 1000 on realestatealmanac.com render their tables in the browser, so fetched pages carry no firm rows; only press releases and HousingWire coverage name ranked firms. Beyond access, the universe does not meet the target: residential brokerages count contract agents, not employees, and their real staff sit far below 1,000 (John L. Scott about 1,500 agents in total; United Real Estate 369 people on Revelio). The firms that do reach 1,000 to 10,000 staff are owned by HomeServices (Houlihan Lawrence), private equity (Asset Living under Roark then New Mountain; FPI folded into Asset Living; BH Management under Pretium) or are broker-owned networks with no controlling leader (Lee & Associates). The family-owned large independents (Howard Hanna, William Raveis, Baird & Warner, Crye-Leike, Keyes, HomeSmart, Lamacchia) are already in output/candidates.json. Zero new names pass all conditions.
Sources: realtrends.com, t3sixty.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through RealTrends Verified 2026 / T3 Sixty Mega 1000 gives brokerage (joined on firm name (tables are client-rendered; names only via press releases and HousingWire))
- brokerage through reveliolabs.com employees page gives headcount (joined on Revelio slug (not guessable; counts LinkedIn affiliates including agents))
- brokerage through trade press (Bisnow, MFE, RISMedia, Real Estate Almanac) gives owner and controlling leader (joined on firm name)
- leader through firm newsroom release gives dated change in own words (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Not a US real estate brokerage or services firm leader; outside the RealTrends and T3 universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy; not in a US brokerage ranking.
- Missed Aaron Levie Software company CEO; not a brokerage or real estate services firm.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel company; outside the route's industry.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian commerce software; outside the route's industry and country.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company; outside the route's industry and ownership band.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer; not a service firm and not in the brokerage rankings.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma; outside the route's industry, country and ownership band.
Route 429: Large independent service firms: Largest third-party administrators and claims services firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from rankings of the largest US third-party administrators, claims adjusting and benefits administration firms (Business Insurance TPA rankings), privately held or employee-owned, 1,000 to 10,000 employees. Work through them one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The Business Insurance 2025 TPA ranking (2024 revenue, read from the page 42 reprint on us.charlestaylor.com; the BI page itself is a Buy PDF/Excel frame) has no in-band firm that passes ownership and control: Sedgwick (29,147 claims staff, Carlyle-backed) and Charles Taylor (PE) fail ownership, Crawford and CorVel are public, UMR, Gallagher Bassett, Meritain, Helmsman and ESIS are subsidiaries of public or mutual carriers led by hired presidents, and Luminare has 309 claims staff. Below the top 10, the private firms fail on voice or kind of change: CCMSI's AI work is fronted by its CIO (S-367, S-425), Pilot Catastrophe Services' On-Demand redesign is voiced by a Director of Operations, TRISTAR's recent moves are acquisitions and a VP-voiced vendor link, Worley Claims is Aquiline-controlled since 2014, Zenith American is BPOC (PE) owned, and AmerAdjust's AI deployment is voiced by a VP. Forward searches for founder-voiced AI or service-model changes at independent adjusters returned 2024-2025 startups (Pine Claims, Adjusto, Corgi Claims) far under 1,000 staff. Zero names after 12 fetch attempts.
Sources: businessinsurance.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- sector through Business Insurance Largest Third-Party Administrators 2025 (page 42 reprint) gives TPA firm (joined on firm name)
- TPA firm through ownership screen: deal pages (intelligentinsurer.com, bpoc.com), firm boilerplate gives private, non-PE, in-band firm (joined on firm name)
- in-band firm through firm site, vendor case studies, coverager.com, Business Wire mirrors gives dated change plus quoted speaker (joined on firm name + AI, on-demand, virtual claims terms)
- quoted speaker through leadership page or release gives controlling leader in own words (joined on person name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not a third-party administrator or claims firm. Miss by universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company, not on the Business Insurance TPA ranking. Miss by universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian mining company, outside the US TPA universe. Miss by universe and geography.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a service firm or TPA. Miss by universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial firm, outside the US TPA universe. Miss by universe and geography.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian conglomerate, outside the US TPA universe. Miss by universe and geography.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public drug maker, not a TPA. Miss by universe and geography.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software company, not a TPA. Miss by universe and geography.
Route 430: Large independent service firms: Largest privately held facilities, janitorial and security services firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from rankings of the largest US janitorial, facilities services and security services companies (Cleaning and Maintenance Management top 100, Security magazine top guarding firms). Work through EVERY family-, founder- or employee-owned firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This route repeats S-302 (three attempts), S-353 (two) and S-355 at a wider 1,000 to 10,000 band, and the extra 1,000 to 5,000 slice adds no leader who passes. The Security Magazine guarding hub (securitymagazine.com/top-guarding-and-security-officer-companies) lists only the annual report articles, with no ranking table, and the CMM site search for robots returns no article rows. Firm-by-firm checks of the in-band private firms not tried before all failed: Weiser Security (family-owned, grandson Mickey Weiser president and CEO, 4,000+ staff per recruiting copy) has no dated 2023 to 2026 change in his words; United Protective (privately held, over 2,000 staff) has only a 25th-anniversary quote; B and B Maintenance (1,100 staff) moved to an ESOP in Jan 2026 under managers from the exiting investor Neatland, an ownership deal not a redesign and no controlling leader voice; SOS Security went to Allied Universal in 2019; Temco became ATALIAN; Massey Services' record is acquisitions; Brilliant General Maintenance has a robotics-champion president but no size, ownership or dated move on any open page. No new names after 7 fetches and about 14 searches.
Sources: cmmonline.com, securitymagazine.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- trade ranking through Security Magazine guarding report hub; CMM; BSCAI convention speakers gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom, trade press, business press gives dated change (joined on firm name plus change keyword)
- dated change through same and a second page gives leader own words (joined on leader name)
- leader through firm about page or dated 2025-2026 profile gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a US janitorial, facilities or guard services firm; it is absent from Security Magazine guarding coverage, CMM and BSCAI.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian group, outside the US-only scope, and not a janitorial, facilities or guard firm on any ranking this route reads.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; not a service firm in this trade and not US.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not a facilities, janitorial or guard services firm.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker; not in janitorial, facilities or guard rankings.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside scope and absent from these trade sources.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far over 10,000 staff; not a facilities or guard firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate; not a US private guard or building service firm.
Route 431: Large independent service firms: Largest mutual banks and savings institutions
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the largest US mutual banks, mutual holding companies and savings institutions by assets. Work through EVERY one with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one: the CEO and whether they changed how banking work is done 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The population is too small to work. FDIC BankFind data for June 30, 2026 shows only two US mutual or mutual-holding-company banks with 1,000 to 10,000 employees: Dollar Bank FSB (1,501, Dollar Mutual Bancorp) and Bangor Savings Bank (1,173, Bangor Bancorp MHC). Directly mutual banks (FDIC MUTUAL:1, 222 active) top out at Ridgewood Savings Bank with 523 staff. Third Federal (992) and Columbia (799) are publicly listed MHC structures and under 1,000. Dollar Bank's CEO Jim McQuade has no dated 2023 to 2026 change to how the work is done in his own words (newsroom is community events; press kit and search give branch and capital news only). Bangor's CEO Bob Montgomery-Rice retired on Aug 31, 2026, so he no longer controls the firm, and the bank's AI work is a staff upskilling program in an unsigned annual report section. The private savings banks near the band fail too: Apple Bank (1,260 staff) is owned by trusts for Stanley Stahl's heirs, so its hired CEO has a controlling owner above him, and Emigrant has 420 staff. The best leader-voiced redesign in the sector, Liberty Bank's AI Center of Excellence (CEO David Glidden, July 2026), sits at 923 staff, under the 1,000 floor. Zero names.
Sources: americanbanker.com, ABA Banking Journal, bank newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- US bank charter through FDIC BankFind institutions API (MUTUAL flag, NAMEHCR holding company name, ASSET) gives mutual or MHC-owned savings institution (joined on FDIC CERT)
- savings institution through FDIC BankFind financials API (NUMEMP at REPDTE 20260630) gives institution with 1,000 to 10,000 employees (joined on FDIC CERT)
- in-band institution through bank newsroom, annual report, American Banker, tyfone.com breaking news gives CEO and a dated change voiced by the CEO (joined on bank name)
- CEO through second outlet (business journal, trade press) gives confirmation of the change and control (joined on person name plus bank name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software firm, not a US mutual or savings institution; outside the FDIC spine.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; not in the FDIC spine.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; not in the FDIC spine.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a bank; not in the FDIC spine.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software firm; not in the FDIC spine.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; not in the FDIC spine.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel firm; not in the FDIC spine.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software firm; not in the FDIC spine.
Route 432: Large independent service firms: Largest certified B Corp service companies in the US
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the largest certified B Corporations in the US by headcount, service businesses (consulting, staffing, engineering, health services, financial services) with 1,000 to 10,000 employees that are privately held. Work through them one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Invalidated after real attempts. The spine, the bcorporation.net Find a B Corp directory filtered to US and 1,000+ staff, is 403 to fetch.mjs both direct and via --jina, and B Lab's own press pages are also 403. The open B Lab USCA blog (usca.bcorporation.net) prints no headcount roster: the 2022 Best for the World post has size groups but no names by size. Sustainabilitymag's Top 10 US B Corps is 403 and its 2022 flipbook page has no text layer. Five sector searches (consulting, engineering, staffing, health, financial services) found one US certified B Corp service firm in band: Cooperative Home Care Associates (worker-owned, 1,600+ staff). Its CEO Adria Powell (since January 2017) has no dated 2023 to 2026 costly change in her own words; the only change on its site is an undated, third-person line about automated scheduling. Large US B Corps are product makers (Patagonia, Danone NA, King Arthur) or public (Veeva, Amalgamated); the in-band service firms named in earlier B Corp work (Armanino, Schellman) are PE-backed, and the CPA firms (AAFCPAs, BPM, Clark Nuber) are under 1,000. This confirms S-292: B Corp status cannot be the spine for 1,000 to 10,000-person service firms.
Sources: bcorporation.net, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- US certified B Corps through bcorporation.net Find a B Corp (size and country filters) gives service firm with 1,000+ staff (joined on company slug)
- firm through firm newsroom and press gives dated 2023-2026 change in how the work is done (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm about/leadership page gives controlling leader and own-words quote (joined on firm name + leader name)
- leader through second independent page gives confirmation of change, headcount, ownership (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian listed miner, not a US B Corp service firm; outside the route's universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian and not a US certified B Corp service firm of 1,000 to 10,000; outside the universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a Canadian public software company, not a certified B Corp; outside the universe.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a certified B Corp but an apparel maker and retailer, not a service firm, so the route's service filter drops it; the B Lab directory that would li
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a US B Corp service firm; outside the universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not a certified B Corp; outside the universe.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian public conglomerate; outside the universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and not a certified B Corp; outside the universe.
Route 433: Large independent service firms: Accounting Today Best Firms to Work For, large category
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Accounting Today Best Accounting Firms to Work For (large category), 2022 to 2026. Work through EVERY partner- or employee-owned firm (no private equity) with 1,000 to 10,000 people one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Invalidated after real attempts. All five Accounting Today Best Midsized and Large Accounting Firms to Work For lists (2022 to 2026) are open (200 with --text), and every row prints HQ, staff and chief executive. But the large category starts at 250 staff, and across five years only one firm ever reaches 1,000: Kearney & Co. (776 in 2022, 896 in 2023, 1,011 in 2024, 1,066 in 2025, 1,070 in 2026). The next largest are Warren Averett (786 at most), Mauldin & Jenkins (544) and Schellman (500, PE-backed since March 2026). Kearney's full 2023 to 2026 newsroom (three pages) holds only awards, hires and a CMMC certification; its CEO Brian Kearney took over from family leadership in 2024 and is quoted only on culture. No firm on the list passes the 1,000 to 10,000 band with a leader-voiced, dated change, so the list cannot be a spine for this profile.
Sources: accountingtoday.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- annual list through Accounting Today Best Midsized and Large Firms to Work For gives firm (joined on firm name, Staff field >= 1,000)
- firm through firm newsroom and trade press gives dated change voiced by leader (joined on firm name)
- leader through firm site or 2025-2026 dated source gives ownership and control (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Switzerland-based pharma CEO; not a US accounting firm, never on the AT Best Firms list.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public tech company CEO; not on any AT Best Firms to Work For list 2022-2026.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; outside the US accounting-firm universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food maker owner; not an accounting firm, not on the list.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian owner; outside the US accounting-firm universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public tech CEO; not on the list.
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software CEO; not on the list.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker; not an accounting firm, not on the list.
Route 434: Large independent service firms: ENR and Zweig Group Best Firms to Work For, large firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Zweig Group Best Firms to Work For and Hot Firm lists and ENR Top Starts, large AEC firms that are employee-owned or private with 1,000 to 10,000 employees. Work through them one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Zweig Group's lists are open but hold almost no firms of 1,000 to 10,000 people. Best Firms to Work For tops out at a 200+ Employees category whose 2023 to 2026 winners are mostly 200 to 1,000-person regional firms. The Hot Firm 2026 list is growth-ranked, and its in-band rows are public (Bowman, Colliers), backed by private equity (Verdantas, Westwood, WSB, Atwell, Apex, Ardurra, Langan minority) or already worked (Woolpert, LJA, Ulteig, ECS). ENR Top 500 article pages save only the title, and the one CEO-quoted AI story (MG2) is at a Colliers firm. After diffing against candidates.json and LESSONS.md, the unworked in-band firms (LJA, KPFF, U.S. Engineering, Robins and Morton, Andersen, Shambaugh, OEG) gave no dated change voiced by the leader, or were subsidiaries of public companies. Private AEC firms of 1,000 to 10,000 have now been searched by more than ten earlier routes, so this one gave 0 new names.
Sources: zweiggroup.com, enr.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award list through Zweig Best Firms to Work For (200+ category) and Hot Firm gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through candidates.json and LESSONS.md diff gives unworked firm (joined on firm name)
- unworked firm through open-web search on firm plus AI, prefabrication or new company gives dated change and leader voice (joined on firm name plus CEO name)
- change through firm newsroom or trade press gives ownership, control and headcount (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and energy owner; not on any Zweig or ENR AEC list.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software company, far over the size band; not an AEC firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma; outside geography, size and sector.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software firm; not on AEC lists.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker, not an AEC service firm; not on Zweig or ENR lists.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food manufacturer, not an AEC service firm.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate; outside geography, size and sector.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; outside geography and sector.
Route 435: Large independent service firms: Law.com A-List and Am Law innovation awards
Looks for: future legends · Status: queued
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from The American Lawyer A-List and Legal Week / Legaltech innovation awards for US law firms, 2022 to 2026. Work through EVERY firm with 1,000 to 10,000 total staff one by one: the chair or managing partner and their own words on changing how legal work is done.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. The Am Law A-List is a 20-firm financial and culture ranking with no innovation field, and law.com articles are paywalled. The open spine is the Legalweek Leaders in Tech Law Awards finalist and winner pages on event.law.com (2024, 2025, 2026), which name firms but credit staff innovators, not chairs. Most finalist firms voice AI moves through partners, CIOs or chief AI officers (Latham, Kilpatrick, Holland & Knight, Morgan Lewis), so the leader step fails often. Bloomberg Law chair interviews and firm releases that create a C-suite AI role reporting to the leader give the own-words quote. Attempt 2 gives 2 counted names (Clark, London); Julie Jones of Ropes & Gray passed every check but is already in output/candidates.json, as is K&L Gates' Stacy Ackermann, so the in-band US roster is close to harvested.
Sources: law.com, legaltechnews, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award year through Legalweek Leaders in Tech Law Awards finalists page (event.law.com) gives law firm name (joined on firm name as printed in the category list)
- law firm name through WebSearch: firm + chair or managing partner + AI or owned arm gives chair or managing partner and the dated change (joined on firm name)
- leader through trade press or affiliate page with leader quote (lawnext.com, sixfifty.com, news.bloomberglaw.com) gives own-words quote and second confirming page (joined on leader name + firm)
- firm through firm press release boilerplate gives headcount, partner ownership, leader control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Doug Clark, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (Palo Alto; partner-owned law firm; built and in 2025 sold the SixFifty legal automation arm) executive, United States
As managing partner he had the firm build its own legal automation company, SixFifty, pairing firm lawyers with software, and later sold it.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “SixFifty is a unique endeavor that is driven by two important ingredients: human expertise and machine efficiency,” said Doug Clark, managing partner of WSGR.” source
- What they did 2019 “SixFifty was established in partnership with Wilson Sonsini to combine the firm’s deep legal experience with innovative automation technology, helping businesses obtain cost-effective, high-quality legal compliance and risk management solutions.” source
- What they said 2019 “SixFifty operates in tandem with attorneys from WSGR to provide companies the optimal combination of automation and human expertise.” source
- Jeremy London, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (New York; partner-owned law firm, 1,774 attorneys per Law.com Compass via Wikipedia; executive partner since April 2024) executive, United States
As executive partner he created a chief digital and information officer role reporting directly to him to run AI automation across the firm's technology and knowledge groups.Evidence (3 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Skadden is pleased to announce that Jeremy London has assumed the role of executive partner at the firm” source
- What they did 2025 “Reporting directly to Skadden Executive Partner Jeremy London, he will lead the firm's technology, information and knowledge management groups” source
- What they said 2025 “As AI, data and analytics become increasingly central to our clients’ needs, it is essential that we remain at the forefront of these rapidly evolving fields” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chair; the Legalweek awards list only law firms, legal departments and legal tech vendors.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian software CEO; not a law firm leader, absent from the 2024-2026 finalist pages.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO; the route only reaches law firm chairs.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel founder; outside the legal-sector universe of the awards.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining founder; outside the legal-sector universe.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food company founder; outside the legal-sector universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft appears only as an in-house legal department finalist (2025 Community Impact); the CEO is never named.
- Missed Aaron Levie Software CEO; outside the legal-sector universe.
Route 436: Large independent service firms: Ad Age A-List and PRWeek Agency of the Year, independents
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from Ad Age Agency A-List and Agency of the Year, and PRWeek Agency of the Year winners, 2022 to 2026. Work through EVERY independent agency with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Starting from the Ad Age A-List and PRWeek Agency of the Year winners, 2022 to 2026, gives no new US independent agency leader at 1,000 to 10,000 staff. The award lists repeat the in-band independents already in output/candidates.json (Ruder Finn, PRWeek 2026 Outstanding Large Agency; Edelman, Horizon Media, PMG, VaynerX, Finn Partners, Crossmedia, Project Worldwide). The other winners are under 1,000 staff (Tombras, 2024 Independent Agency of the Year; SourceCode; Mischief), outside the US (Special US, Rethink, Mother, Serviceplan) or holding-company owned (Golin, Ogilvy). The one in-band firm not already found, APCO Worldwide (about 1,200 staff, employee-owned, CEO Brad Staples, founder Margery Kraus as executive chair), voices its AI work (Margy, November 2023; RepGenAI, September 2025) through its president Evan Kraus and staff AI leads, and the only Staples AI quote is from 2018. Wieden+Kennedy shows 960 US staff and no dated redesign in the CEO's words. This is the fifth pass at this universe after S-343, S-347, S-365 and S-393; 13 fetch attempts and 9 searches support the result.
Sources: adage.com, prweek.com, agency newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award program through Ad Age A-List and Creativity Awards, PRWeek US Awards (search hits and winner self-announcements) gives winning agency (joined on agency name)
- agency through firm profile, Wikipedia, everything-pr.com directory gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on agency name)
- agency through firm newsroom and trade press gives dated change in the controlling leader's own words (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group; not a US agency and not on Ad Age or PRWeek award lists.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is an Indian public conglomerate; outside the route.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; outside the route.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a private US food maker, not an agency; it appears in award lists only as a client.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a private US apparel maker, not an agency; a client, not a winner.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is an Australian public miner; outside the route.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not an agency.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; not an agency.
Route 437: Large independent service firms: Modern Healthcare Best Places to Work, independent providers
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Modern Healthcare Best Places to Work in Healthcare lists (2022 to 2026). Work through EVERY independent, physician-owned or founder-owned provider or health services firm (not a nonprofit health system, not public, not PE-controlled) with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Invalidated after real attempts. All five Modern Healthcare Best Places to Work in Healthcare lists (2022 to 2026) are open: modernhealthcare.com/awards/best-places-to-work/<yyyy>/ returns 200 and embeds every honoree profile (org name, category, Number of U.S. employees, What leaders say) in page JSON, about 650 entries in all. But the Provider/Insurer category is almost entirely hospitals, nonprofit systems, HCA facilities, hospital districts, hospices and health plans. The few independent or physician-owned providers are under 1,000 staff (Cardiovascular Institute of the South 907 to 921, Texas Radiology Associates 76, OrthoMed Anesthesia, The Radiology Group) or already candidates (ApolloMD). In-band private firms in the Supplier category fail ownership or control: Chartis (1,000 to 1,450, Blackstone majority from Audax PE), CHG Healthcare (about 4,000, PE-backed), Ivy Rehab and Marathon Health (PE), and Aya Healthcare (4,145 to 5,490, founder Alan Braynin died May 2025, now a hired CEO under founder-family ownership). Vizient (member-owned, about 4,000 to 5,000) is already a candidate. No new person passes the 1,000 to 10,000 independent profile.
Sources: modernhealthcare.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- annual award list through Modern Healthcare Best Places to Work in Healthcare (page-embedded JSON) gives honoree firm (joined on orgName plus Number of U.S. employees >= 1,000)
- honoree firm through firm site, press release mirrors, trade press gives ownership and controlling leader (joined on firm name)
- leader through firm newsroom and a second outlet gives dated change in own words (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public tech company, not a healthcare employer honoree; name absent from all five list pages.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining and philanthropy; not on any Modern Healthcare list.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian industrial owner; not a US healthcare employer; absent from all lists.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss pharma CEO; Novartis is public and not an honoree; absent.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software firm; not an honoree; absent.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is Canadian and public; absent.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate; absent.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a healthcare employer; absent.
Route 438: Large independent service firms: Fortune Best Workplaces for Women, private service firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Fortune/Great Place to Work Best Workplaces for Women lists (2022 to 2026). Work through EVERY privately held service firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The Fortune / Great Place to Work Best Workplaces for Women lists are open for 2022 to 2025 (greatplacetowork.com/best-workplaces/women/<year>, 200 with --text, 539 rows, 295 distinct firms; 2026 is 404), but as a spine for leaders of private US service firms of 1,000 to 10,000 the list is harvested. It overlaps heavily with the Fortune 100 Best and the industry lists that S-291, S-367, S-381, S-422 and S-423 already mined. Every in-band private, non-PE service row is already in candidates.json (Ryan, Jobot, Withum, Baker Tilly, Bell Bank, Insight Global, Mission Wealth and others) or was failed by earlier specs: Plante Moran, Kimley-Horn, Jackson Healthcare, Veterans United, New American Funding, Shawmut, Freese and Nichols, IAT, Nations Lending, BH Management, Aya, Roth, Alston & Bird, Dechert, CohnReznick (PE), Solaris (small). The rest are public, PE-held, VC-backed, nonprofit hospital systems, over 10,000 staff, or under 1,000. Three fresh screens failed: WilsonHCG's founder handed the CEO role to a hired Randstad executive in July 2026; Registry Partners and Highlight Technologies sit in the small column. Signature Performance (Omaha, 1,505 US staff on its GPTW profile, privately held, founder Allen Fredrickson now executive chairman) is the one open lead, but its owned consulting arm (Atwater, Sept 2022) predates the window and no dated 2023 to 2026 change in his own words was fetchable (the firm's Wix post pages return 404 intermittently to fetch.mjs and 403 via --jina). No new names.
Sources: fortune.com, greatplacetowork.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list year through GPTW / Fortune Best Workplaces for Women gives firm (joined on firm name + HQ city)
- firm through output/candidates.json, LESSONS.md and specs/*/write-up.md diff gives unscreened in-band private service firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through GPTW certified-company profile (id from list HTML) gives US headcount and size column (joined on certified-company id)
- firm through firm newsroom or trade press gives leader-voiced dated change and control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box does not appear on the Best Workplaces for Women lists 2022 to 2025; it is also public and a software firm, outside this route's universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; the US lists do not carry it.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss, public and a product firm; not on the lists.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is not on the 2022 to 2025 Women lists and is public and far over 10,000 staff.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is Indian and public; not on the US lists.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is Canadian and public; not on the lists.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian and public; not on the lists.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is not on the 2022 to 2025 Women lists, and it sells a product rather than a service.
Route 439: Large independent service firms: Women-led largest private firms: Forbes, Crain's and business journal profiles
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from profiles and rankings of the largest privately held US companies led by women CEOs or founders (Crain's and business journals' women-led companies lists, Forbes self-made women). Work through EVERY service firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Invalidated after real attempts. The two open women-led rosters were both pulled in full. The Forbes America's Richest Self-Made Women API (2022 to 2025, about 110 distinct US women) holds only five service-firm founders, and each fails: Thai Lee (SHI) and Janice Bryant Howroyd (ActOne) are already candidates; April Anthony's VitalCaring is owned with Vistria and Nautic Partners (PE); M1 Support Services (Kathleen Hildreth) is Cerberus-controlled with a male chair-CEO; Liz Elting, Neerja Sethi, Doreen Granpeesheh and Michele Kang sold their firms. The Forbes Power Women 2025 US rows are public-company or giant-firm executives. The Women's Edge 2025 Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts (open, CEO per row) gives in-band private rows whose leaders are already candidates (Julie Jones, Ropes & Gray; Jean Yang, Vinfen, via S-400), whose change is voiced by a partner rather than the leader (WilmerHale's Finch AI tool, voiced by partner Jeffrey Dennhardt), whose size is under 1,000 (Cape Air, about 700), or whose new service is funder-paid with no leader quote (Seven Hills Foundation's 2026 childcare incubator, funded by The Health Foundation). The Crain's and business journal women-owned lists are paywalled (chicagobusiness.com Data Center, IBJ paid PDF) or a 2015 summary with only sub-200-staff rows (OCBJ). No new person passes size, ownership, control and own-words change, so this cannot be a spine for the 1,000 to 10,000 target.
Sources: forbes.com, bizjournals.com, crainsnewyork.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- annual women-led list through Forbes Self-Made Women API; Women's Edge Top 100 MA gives woman leader and firm (joined on personName / organization, or 'rank firm leader' row)
- firm through firm newsroom and trade press gives dated change to the work voiced by the leader (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm site or dated 2025-2026 source gives headcount 1,000 to 10,000, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
- change through second, different page gives confirmation and signal year (joined on firm name plus change name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie leads Box, a public software company; not on the Forbes self-made women, Power Women or Women's Edge lists, which list only women.
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella leads public Microsoft; outside a women-led roster by construction.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler (Semco, Brazil): non-US and not a woman-led firm; the route cannot surface him.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya (Chobani): food manufacturer, man-led; outside every women-led list.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia): man-led, product firm; not on any roster pulled.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke (Shopify): Canada, public; outside the route.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest (Fortescue): Australia, public; outside the route.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan (Novartis): Switzerland, public; outside the route.
Route 440: Large independent service firms: Diverse-owned firms: NMSDC and supplier diversity awards, large service firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from NMSDC Supplier of the Year winners and the largest minority-owned business enterprises (MBEs) certified by NMSDC, service firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees. Work through them one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. NMSDC names one National Supplier of the Year per revenue band each year, and the top band (Class IV, revenue of $50 million and above) yields one firm a year: Hal Hays Construction 2019, ActOne Group 2020, Pyramid Consulting 2022, VDart 2023, SDI Presence 2024, The Chemico Group 2025. Regional Class IV winners found by search add Blackstone Consulting (SCMSDC 2023 and 2025), Zones (MPMSDC 2023), Acro (MMSDC 2024), Argent Associates (DFW 2018) and Coca-Cola Beverages Florida (FSMSDC 2020). Every firm fails: ActOne, Pyramid and VDart are already in candidates.json; SDI Presence has about 370 staff and an Abry Partners private-equity investment; Chemico and Acro are under 1,000 staff on their own profiles; Hal Hays and Argent are small; Coca-Cola Beverages Florida is a bottler, not a service firm; Zones' founder handed the CEO role to a hired executive in Sept 2025 and voiced no change to how the work is done; Blackstone Consulting (about 6,000 to 9,000 managed workers, founder Joe Blackstone) publishes only award and event posts, no dated change. NMSDC itself publishes no roster of the largest MBEs and its directory sits behind a member login. Zero new names.
Sources: nmsdc.org, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- award program through NMSDC Annual Awards release (nmsdc.org/news/<slug>) and regional council Supplier of the Year posts gives Class IV (revenue $50M+) winning firm (joined on firm name in the release text)
- firm through output/candidates.json, then firm site and WebSearch for headcount and investors gives in-band private service firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom gives dated change in the controlling leader's words (joined on firm + founder or CEO name)
- change through trade press gives second confirming page (joined on firm + event)
- leader through firm boilerplate or dated 2025-2026 profile gives headcount, ownership and control (joined on leader name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining billionaire; not a US NMSDC-certified MBE and not in any Class IV award list.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian conglomerate chair; outside NMSDC's US certification universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public-company CEO; Shopify is not an MBE supplier award winner.
- Missed Satya Nadella Public-company CEO; Microsoft appears in NMSDC only as a corporate member, never as a supplier.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian owner; outside the US council network.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not an NMSDC Supplier of the Year in any band found.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is not an NMSDC-certified MBE.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company, not an MBE supplier.
Route 441: Large independent service firms: Veteran-owned largest service firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from rankings of the largest veteran-owned US companies (Military Times, Inc. veteran-owned lists), service firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees that the founder still controls. Work through them one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. No open ranking lists the largest veteran-owned US firms by headcount. The Inc. Vet100 is ranked by growth, and its 100 honorees together employ almost 11,000 people (about 110 each). Military Times Best for Vets: Employers ranks employers that hire veterans, not firms owned by them. Its 2025 CSV (245 rows) has only 14 rows that describe themselves as veteran-owned, and all report small or mid-market revenue bands; the largest, Zeiders Enterprises, shows 1,001-5,000 on RevenueBase but 500 to 999 in a Top Workplaces search snippet (unverified), and no dated change voiced by its leader was found. The RevenueBase top 25 is mostly veterans' charities and small set-aside contractors. The Washington Business Journal list is 403, and the Inc. Vet100 pages and API are 403 or 418. The veteran-owned label comes from small-business set-aside certification (VOSB, SDVOSB), so firms that pass 1,000 staff usually outgrow the label or sell, so the label marks small firms. The one in-band lead, TLCx (founder-CEO Tom Cardella, 1,500 staff, employee-owned), voiced only a 2024 rebrand, which is not a costly change to how the work is done. 0 new names.
Sources: militarytimes.com, inc.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Military Times Best for Vets: Employers 2025 CSV; Inc./IVMF Vet100; RevenueBase veteran-owned list gives firm (joined on firm name plus self-description 'veteran-owned')
- firm through firm site, Top Workplaces size band, business journal profile gives headcount and ownership (joined on firm name)
- firm through business journal or firm release gives leader and dated change in own words (joined on firm name plus CEO name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer and its founder is not on any veteran-owned list fetched (Vet100, Military Times BFV veteran-owned rows, RevenueBase).
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining owner; outside a US veteran-owned list by definition.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazilian owner; outside a US veteran-owned list by definition.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; not veteran-owned, not US.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is not on any veteran-owned list fetched; product and retail firm.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far over the size band; not veteran-owned.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software firm; not veteran-owned.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate; not veteran-owned.
Route 442: Large independent service firms: Largest private laboratory, imaging and diagnostic services firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from rankings of the largest US independent clinical laboratory, imaging center and diagnostic services companies, physician- or founder-owned (not public, not PE-controlled, not health-system owned) with 1,000 to 10,000 employees. Work through them one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The two open rankings (Definitive Healthcare top 20 billing labs by 2025 procedure volume and top 10 imaging center corporations by site count) are dominated by public firms (Quest, Labcorp, RadNet) and their subsidiaries (Unilab, LabOne), JVs (Sonora Quest) and sponsor-held chains. The one in-band firm from the imaging list with a founder-voiced, dated costly change, SimonMed (2,146 staff on Revelio; simonONE whole-body MRI and the Jan 2026 Longevity division), is a current American Securities portfolio company since 2021, so it fails ownership. Off-list leads also failed: PathGroup (GTCR majority investment), Aegis Sciences (interim CEO named Aug 2026), Genesis Biotechnology Group and MDL (founder-owned, about 1,700 staff in 2020, but no leader-voiced 2023 to 2026 redesign in its newsroom), and RANT (radiologist-owned, Rad AI rollout voiced by its CMIO, not a controlling leader; headcount unconfirmed). Revelio slugs for most private labs 404, and radiologybusiness.com returns 403 to fetch.mjs directly and through --jina. Zero people pass every condition.
Sources: darkdaily.com, radiologybusiness.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Definitive Healthcare Healthcare Insights (lab and imaging lists) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through Revelio Labs company employees page gives headcount (joined on Revelio slug)
- firm through sponsor portfolio pages, firm newsroom, trade press gives ownership and controlling leader (joined on firm name)
- leader through firm release or trade article gives dated leader-voiced change (joined on leader name + firm)
- change through second trade or firm page gives confirmation and signal year (joined on change name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a lab, imaging or diagnostic services firm; absent from the Definitive lab and imaging rankings and from lab and imaging trade cove
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial and services group; outside the US and outside the lab, imaging and diagnostic universe this route ranks.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software firm; not a diagnostic services provider, so the route's rankings never reach it.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public technology firm far over 10,000 staff; it appears in imaging coverage only as a vendor, never as a ranked provider.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian commerce software firm; outside the US and outside the diagnostic services universe.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss drug maker; not a US lab or imaging provider, so absent from the rankings.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker; not a diagnostic services firm, so the route cannot surface it.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries is a public Indian conglomerate; outside the US and outside the lab and imaging rankings.
Route 443: Large independent service firms: Largest independent engineering and IT staffing for government and utilities
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from rankings of the largest privately held utility services, field engineering and infrastructure services firms (Utility Products, T&D World, ENR), employee-owned or family-owned with 1,000 to 10,000 employees. Work through them one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The utility-services and electrical-contractor rankings named in the route are either gated (ENR regional Top Specialty Contractors shows only a subscribe prompt; the EC&M Top 50 article saves without its table) or only reachable through a vendor rewrite (siteline.com), and the private in-band firms they surface are already in candidates.json (MMR, Faith, Power Design, M.C. Dean, E-J, Ace, Cache Valley, Davis H. Elliot, Rosendin, Sargent & Lundy, HNTB, Ulteig, Terracon) or were screened by S-161, S-196, S-344, S-366 and S-375 (Gaylor, Encore, Bergelectric, Helix, Interstates, VECA, Motor City, ERMCO). The unworked utility-services firms each failed one test: Michels is now over 10,000; Wright Tree Service and ACRT Services (employee-owned vegetation managers) show only leadership successions, with ACRT under an interim CFO-turned-CEO since Feb 2025; Hooper's last redesign (one campus and one brand) dates from Nov 2021 and has no leader quote; Enercon merged with POND under a sponsor; Hypower has about 400 to 700 staff; MetroPower is a PPC Partners unit of about 425; Triad Electric is a Newtron Group subsidiary; ISC Constructors (about 2,800 to 3,400, owned by the Rispones) has no dated change in its newsroom. No leader-voiced, dated change at a private 1,000 to 10,000 utility or field-engineering firm was found, so the route yields 0 new names.
Sources: tdworld.com, enr.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through EC&M Top 50 Electrical Contractors via siteline.com rewrite; ENR Top Specialty Contractors (gated) gives firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through output/candidates.json and specs/*/write-up.md grep gives unworked firm (joined on firm name)
- unworked firm through firm newsroom, tdworld.com, WebSearch gives leader and dated change (joined on firm name plus CEO title)
- leader through firm press kit or dated release gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is a product company, not a utility or field-engineering service firm; outside the ranking universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software, not on any utility-services or electrical-contractor ranking.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; non-US and not a service firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company; outside the universe.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and far over 10,000 staff.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is a public Indian conglomerate.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a service firm, and not on these rankings.
Route 444: Large independent service firms: Largest private translation, localization and language services firms
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. Start from the Slator Language Service Provider Index and Nimdzi 100 largest language services companies, US-led and privately held with 1,000 to 10,000 employees. Work through them one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. The US privately held language services firms of 1,000 to 10,000 people are too few and are already taken. The Nimdzi 2026 preliminary 100 (the only free ranked spine; the Slator LSPI pages are 403 and its ranked table is a paid spreadsheet) has 30 US rows. The ones large enough to reach 1,000 staff are public or public-parent (LanguageLine via Teleperformance, AMN Language Services, Pixelogic as an Imagica Group subsidiary), PE platforms (Propio, Lionbridge, Iyuno, Equiti, GLOBO, Visual Data, MotionPoint), VC-backed tech (Verbit, Lilt, Smartling), or already in candidates.json (TransPerfect, Welo Global, Sorenson). The one unscreened large row, Centific (about 3,000 staff, most in India), fails control: its Granite Asia-led board replaced founder-CEO Venkat Rangapuram with a former Granite Asia partner on Aug 3, 2026. Rows below about 50 million USD are under 1,000 people and were already worked to exhaustion by S-301 and S-316. 0 new names.
Sources: slator.com, nimdzi.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Nimdzi 2026 preliminary 100 (Slator LSPI fallback, 403) gives firm (joined on firm name plus Country = United States)
- firm through candidates.json, earlier specs S-301 and S-316, firm site, trade press gives ownership, control and headcount (joined on firm name)
- firm through firm newsroom and trade press releases gives leader and dated change in own words (joined on firm name plus CEO name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss pharma company, not a language services firm; not on the Nimdzi 100.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial group, not a language services firm; not on the Nimdzi 100.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a language services firm; not on the Nimdzi 100.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner; outside the route's industry and country.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company; not on the Nimdzi 100.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public and a translation buyer, not a ranked language service provider.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is a public software company; not on the Nimdzi 100.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker; not on the Nimdzi 100.
Route 445: Large independent service firms: Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For, private service firms, pass 2, pass 3
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS 2: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders on this list (all in output/candidates.json); go further down it, 5,000 to 10,000 first. LATER PASS 3: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders on this list (all in output/candidates.json); go further down it, 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For and Fortune Best Workplaces lists (2023 to 2026), privately held service firms with 1,000 to 10,000 employees.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. This is the third pass of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For roster and the sixth promotion of a GPTW list for 1,000 to 10,000 private service firms. A fresh parse of the 2023 to 2026 100 Best pages (134 distinct rows) and of five GPTW lists no earlier route had fetched (technology 2023, 2024 and 2025, bay-area 2026, transportation; about 230 more rows) left no unscreened in-band private US service firm with a controlling leader and a dated, costly change in their own words. The rest of the 100 Best rows are public companies, health systems or mutuals over 10,000 staff, subsidiaries (Protiviti, Shields, Crum & Forster, Allianz Life), PE-backed firms (CHG, Trace3, Apexon), product makers, or firms already in candidates.json or failed in LESSONS.md. The two fresh screens failed: Improving (Curtis Hite) shows only an internal AI sales lookup tool, Echo, with no costly change to the client work, and General Datatech brought in a hired CEO from private equity in 2023.
Sources: fortune.com/best-companies, greatplacetowork.com
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- list year through GPTW Fortune 100 Best and Best Workplaces pages gives firm row (rank, name, industry, HQ) (joined on firm name)
- firm row through diff against output/candidates.json, LESSONS.md and specs/*/write-up.md gives unscreened in-band private service firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through WebSearch for the CEO plus a change noun, then the firm or trade page gives leader and dated change in own words (joined on leader name)
- leader through reveliolabs.com headcount, firm about page gives size, ownership and control check (joined on firm slug)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Not on any 2023 to 2026 Fortune 100 Best or GPTW list read here; Semco is Brazilian, outside the US-only universe.
- Missed Aaron Levie Box, Inc. is on the 2023 to 2026 100 Best and GPTW Technology rows, but it is a public software company, outside the private service-firm universe, so the route
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is not on the 2023 to 2026 100 Best rosters fetched, and it sells products, so it is outside the service-firm universe.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is Canadian and public; not on any roster fetched.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a service firm, and is not on the rosters fetched.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is Swiss and public; Merck and AbbVie appear on the list, Novartis does not.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is Indian and public; outside the universe.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is Australian and public; outside the universe.
Route 446: Large independent service firms: Am Law 100, firms ranked 26 to 50, firm by firm, pass 2
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS 2: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders on this list (all in output/candidates.json); go further down it, 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from the Am Law 100 law firms ranked 26 to 50 by revenue. Work through EVERY firm in that range one by one: total staff 1,000 to 10,000, partner-owned, and whether its elected chair or managing partner changed how legal work is done 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Second pass over the 2026 Am Law 100 ranks 26 to 50 (counselcontacts.com mirror, 25 firms) found no new person who meets every condition. Twelve firms already have their leader in candidates.json (Mayer Brown, Willkie, Cleary, Troutman, Orrick, Debevoise, Reed Smith, Proskauer, Morrison Foerster, Foley, Sheppard Mullin, K&L Gates). The other thirteen fail on voice, control or tenure: Milbank's chair speaks only on a client practice and a new office; Holland & Knight's Harvey, Claude and AI Products team moves are voiced by the CTO and innovation staff, and chair Grammig's only own words on AI are a 2022 prediction; Squire Patton Boggs' Sept 2026 Harvey rollout is voiced by a global managing partner who sits under the chair and CEO; Weil, Wilson Sonsini and Alston & Bird are in leadership handovers; Dechert, Akin, Covington, WilmerHale and Cravath chairs have no dated leader-voiced change; Winston merged into UK-linked Winston Taylor; Wachtell is under 300 lawyers with no staff count. The band is harvested.
Sources: law.com/americanlawyer, firm newsrooms, Legaltech News
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- revenue rank through counselcontacts.com Am Law 100 mirror (2026 ranks) gives law firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through output/candidates.json gives unscreened firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through WebSearch chair or managing partner plus AI 2025 2026; firm and vendor newsrooms gives dated change with leader quote (joined on firm name + leader name)
- leader through firm election release or profile gives role, control and tenure (joined on leader name)
- firm through mirror attorney count or firm release gives headcount (joined on firm name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is a Brazilian industrial and services group, not a US Am Law 100 law firm; the route reads only law firms ranked 26 to 50.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food maker, not a law firm in Am Law ranks 26 to 50.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is a public software company; the route reads only partner-owned Am Law 100 law firms.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Fortescue is a public Australian miner, outside the route's US law firm spine.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is an Indian conglomerate, not a US partner-owned law firm.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a public Swiss drug maker, outside the route's spine.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is a public Canadian software company, outside the route's spine.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker, not a law firm in Am Law ranks 26 to 50.
Route 447: Large independent service firms: Am Law 100, firms ranked 51 to 75, firm by firm, pass 2
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS 2: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders on this list (all in output/candidates.json); go further down it, 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from the Am Law 100 law firms ranked 51 to 75 by revenue. Work through EVERY firm in that range one by one: total staff 1,000 to 10,000, partner-owned, and whether its elected chair or managing partner changed how legal work is done 2023 to 2026.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Pass 2 of the Am Law 100 ranks 51 to 75 screen found no new leader who passes. Pass 1 (S-386) took the four chairs who voiced a change (Schmidt, Salvi, Dekker, Kaplan), and every other firm in the band is either already in candidates.json or still fails on voice: the 2025-2026 AI moves at Littler, Ogletree, Mintz, Fox Rothschild, Arnold & Porter, Nelson Mullins, McGuireWoods, Barnes & Thornburg, Jenner & Block and Blank Rome are announced by a COO, chief AI officer, innovation officer or AI task force partner, and the elected leader gives only a welcome line or no quote. Leadership successions (Gordon Rees, Alston & Bird, Mintz) produced incoming leaders who speak about momentum, not a dated change. The one chair with own words on AI (Blank Rome's Grant Palmer, Invest interview) is on a page that returns 403 to fetch.mjs and via jina, and no reprint exists, so it cannot be verified. The band is harvested.
Sources: law.com/americanlawyer, firm newsrooms, Legaltech News
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Wikipedia AmLaw Global 200 table (US rows), reused from S-386 gives law firm (joined on firm name)
- law firm through output/candidates.json and LESSONS.md gives unworked firm (joined on firm name)
- unworked firm through firm newsroom, vendor customer pages, Bloomberg Law mirror gives dated change with named speaker (joined on attribution sentence)
- speaker through firm leadership release gives elected leader check (joined on title)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian miner, not a US law firm; the route reads only US law firms ranked about 51 to 75.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard apparel maker, not a law firm; the route reads only US law firms ranked about 51 to 75.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya food maker, not a law firm; the route reads only US law firms ranked about 51 to 75.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public software company; the route reads only US law firms ranked about 51 to 75.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public drug maker; the route reads only US law firms ranked about 51 to 75.
- Missed Satya Nadella US public software company; the route reads only US law firms ranked about 51 to 75.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate; the route reads only US law firms ranked about 51 to 75.
- Missed Aaron Levie US public software company; the route reads only US law firms ranked about 51 to 75.
Route 448: Large independent service firms: Largest independent wealth and asset managers by headcount, firm by firm, pass 2
Looks for: future legends · Status: testing now
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS 2: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders on this list (all in output/candidates.json); go further down it, 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from the largest independent (not PE-controlled, not bank-owned) US wealth managers, RIAs and asset managers with 1,000 to 10,000 employees (Barron's top RIA firms, InvestmentNews, P&I largest managers). Work through EVERY such firm one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Pass 2 of the large independent wealth and asset manager route. Firm-by-firm screening below the visible names gives two new leaders (Golub Capital, Lord Abbett) from private credit and fixed income, where the CEO voiced an owned AI or platform change. The RIA side stays empty: in-band RIAs are PE-held or already candidates, and the rest fail on control or voice.
Sources: barrons.com, investmentnews.com, pionline.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking or firm list through InvestmentNews company pages, Wikipedia firm pages, firm-by-firm WebSearch gives in-band private firm (joined on firm name)
- firm through reveliolabs.com employees page gives headcount 1,000 to 10,000 (joined on Revelio slug)
- firm through trade press (alternativecreditinvestor.com, fi-desk.com, pulse2.com) gives dated change with leader quote (joined on firm name + leader surname)
- change through second trade or release page gives confirmation of the change (joined on counterparty name (F2, IMTC))
- leader through firm leadership release, Wikipedia, PE Wire gives control and ownership (joined on leader name)
New names that passed every check
- David Golub, Golub Capital (New York; private credit manager, over 1,100 employees as of April 2026; co-led by founder brothers Lawrence and David Golub; Mizuho holds a passive stake under 5 percent) ceo, United States
Rebuilding how a private credit lender screens, underwrites and monitors loans by deploying AI agents across its investment workflows built on its own proprietary data.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “Golub Capital is restructuring its senior leadership for the first time, naming David Golub as co-chief executive officer alongside his brother Lawrence Golub,” source
- What they did 2026 “F2 has formed a strategic partnership with Golub Capital that includes a $5 million investment by the private credit manager and the deployment of F2’s AI technology across Golub’s investment workflows.” source
- What they said 2026 “Our partnership with F2 will enable us to embed our firm’s proprietary knowledge, accumulated experience and investment judgement into the systems that support how we invest and operate” source
- What they said 2026 “We partnered with F2 because it recognizes that our proprietary knowledge is our most durable competitive advantage and should remain under our control, even as the underlying models evolve.” source
- Doug Sieg, Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC (Jersey City; independent, privately held partnership; about 1,168 staff on Revelio, March 2026) ceo, United States
Moving a fixed income manager's portfolio building and rebalancing for separately managed accounts onto an automated outside platform, and taking the firm's first fintech equity stake in it.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “On April 2, 2018, Doug Sieg became Lord Abbett's tenth managing partner.” source
- What they did 2024 “IMTC will provide an end-to-end investment platform for the US$214 billion AUM firm’s fixed income operations, supporting the automation of post-trade processing” source
- What they did 2025 “Lord Abbett will use IMTC’s end-to-end investment platform for the building and rebalancing of its fixed income client portfolios. This is the asset manager’s first fintech investment.” source
- What they said 2025 “Their powerful platform delivers significant results for SMA managers, and we believe our partnership will accelerate industry innovation” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Indian public conglomerate, not a US private wealth or asset manager
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian public miner, not a wealth or asset manager
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an outdoor apparel maker, not a wealth or asset manager
- Missed Satya Nadella public software company far over 10,000 staff
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya food maker, not a service firm
- Missed Aaron Levie public software company
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil, not a wealth or asset manager
Route 449: Large independent service firms: Largest women-owned and women-led private firms, firm by firm, pass 2
Looks for: future legends · Status: testing now
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS 2: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders on this list (all in output/candidates.json); go further down it, 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from the Women Presidents' Organization 50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies, Forbes and Fortune lists of the largest women-owned and women-led private companies, and WBENC top corporations' suppliers. Work through EVERY privately held service firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Pass 2 of S-400. The named sources still give no roster: WPO and WBENC have no in-band list, and the open Forbes America's Top Private Companies API (2024, 2025) yields only about 12 women-led US firms of 1,000 to 10,000, mostly retailers, distributors or makers, plus law and construction firms where the woman leader fails control (Holder Construction: Chairman Tommy Holder above CEO Beth Lowry) or voice (Gibson Dunn: AI roadmap run by staff). The Top Workplaces Woman-Led size pages remain the only usable roster. Working its unscreened nonprofit and private rows firm by firm gave one verified name (Mona Blanton-Kitts, McNabb Center). Other rows failed on ownership (eAssist is 70 percent Henry Schein), on change type (Craig Hospital's change is a capital expansion), or on receipts (Home for Little Wanderers: massnonprofit.org returns 429 and 403).
Sources: womenpresidentsorg.com, forbes.com, wbenc.org, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Forbes America's Top Private Companies API (ceoName, ceoTitle, employees) and Top Workplaces Woman-Led size pages gives woman-led employer, size band (joined on company name)
- employer through web search '<firm> CEO opens OR launches OR acquires 2024 2025' and the firm newsroom gives dated change with the CEO quoted (joined on firm name plus CEO name)
- change through second outlet (local TV or paper) or firm news post gives confirmation of the change (joined on project name)
- firm through firm CEO appointment post; Top Workplaces size band gives control and headcount (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Mona Blanton-Kitts, The McNabb Center (Helen Ross McNabb Center), Knoxville, TN; nonprofit mental health, substance use and social services provider, 1,000-2,499 employees per Top Workplaces 2026 ceo, United States
As CEO with no owner above her, she is rebuilding the center's care model around one-campus continuums: a re-entry Transition Campus that puts all re-entry services in one place (first of its kind in Tennessee) and a Knox Women's Campus that adds long-term recovery housing after treatment.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “The McNabb Center is pleased to announce that Mona Blanton-Kitts has been named Chief Executive Officer of the organization, effective immediately.” source
- What they did 2025 “The Transition Campus represents a groundbreaking step forward in addressing the critical needs of individuals seeking a fresh start after incarceration” source
- What they did 2024 “We need long-term recovery, so this is recovery housing and giving women and their children a little bit more time to transition back into their everyday lives” source
- What they did 2024 “The McNabb Center is proud to announce the groundbreaking of its new Knox Women’s Campus, a significant addition to the community designed to provide transitional and recovery housing units, group spaces, office space and a playground” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Ricardo Semler Brazil, male-led industrial firm; not on any women-led roster
- Missed Mukesh Ambani India, public conglomerate
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is on the Forbes private list (3,000) but is a food maker led by its male founder, so it is outside a women-led service roster
- Missed Aaron Levie public software firm, male CEO
- Missed Yvon Chouinard apparel maker, male founder; not women-led
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australia, mining
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canada, public
- Missed Satya Nadella public, male-led
Route 450: Large independent service firms: Largest independent senior living operators, firm by firm, pass 2
Looks for: future legends · Status: ruled out
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS 2: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders on this list (all in output/candidates.json); go further down it, 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from the Argentum and ASHA 50 largest US senior living operators. Work through EVERY family-, founder- or employee-owned operator (not REIT-owned operating companies, not PE-controlled) with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict invalidated. Pass 2 of the ASHA 50 / Argentum senior living roster yields no new fit leaders. Of the 50 operator rows, pass 1 and the regional sweeps already took every founder-led row with a dated change (Arrow, Pegasus, Priority Life Care, Kisco, Belmont, New Perspective, Discovery, Leisure Care, Distinctive). The rows left fail on control or change: Watermark is now wholly owned by Keppel with a hired CEO; Sinceri is run by co-chairs and co-presidents; Brightview, Oakmont, Senior Lifestyle and Liberty have hired presidents or CEOs under founding families; Sagora and Tutera have growth stories only, with Tutera's changes voiced by its president and COO; Touchmark is employee-owned with no dated 2023-2026 change in the CEO's words; Silverado's founder is handing over to a hired CEO and PitchBook lists it as PE-backed. The Argentum list itself sits behind a form. 17 fetches logged.
Sources: argentum.org, seniorhousingnews.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through ASHA 50 operators table 2025 (pdftotext -layout); Argentum Largest Providers (gated) gives operator + CEO name (joined on company name)
- operator through output/candidates.json screen, then SHN / firm release ownership check gives founder-, family- or employee-owned operator not yet listed (joined on company name)
- operator through WebSearch '<operator> <CEO> 2025 AI OR in-house OR model' -> seniorhousingnews.com ?p=<id> gives dated change in the controlling leader's words (joined on CEO name)
- change through second page: firm release (prnewswire mirror on webull), regional business press gives confirmation of change, size, ownership (joined on operator + change name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke leads Shopify, a public Canadian software firm; not a US senior living operator, so not on the ASHA 50 or Argentum rosters.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler runs Semco in Brazil; not a US senior living operator, so not on the roster.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani leads Reliance in India; outside the US senior living roster.
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie leads Box, a public software firm; outside the senior living roster.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya leads Chobani, a food maker; not a senior living operator.
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest leads Fortescue in Australia; outside the US senior living roster.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan leads Novartis in Switzerland; outside the roster.
- Missed Satya Nadella Satya Nadella leads Microsoft, a public software firm; outside the senior living roster.
Route 451: Large independent service firms: Largest education and childcare service providers, private, pass 2
Looks for: future legends · Status: testing now
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS 2: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders on this list (all in output/candidates.json); go further down it, 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from rankings of the largest US private K-12 operators, tutoring, early childhood and childcare providers. Work through EVERY founder- or family-owned (not PE-controlled) provider with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Attempt 1 of pass 2, decision REFINE, 0 counted names. Fourteen in-band or near-band education and childcare operators were screened beyond the three S-407 names. The one clean fit on size, family ownership and control (Chad Dunkley, New Horizon Academy, 3,081 staff per TCB, S corporation owned by the Dunkleys) shows only expansion and a rescue acquisition in his own words, not a change to how the work is done. Charter networks in band (KIPP Texas, Mastery) show a board-voted consolidation and a principal-led career institute, not a CEO-voiced redesign.
Sources: Child Care Exchange top 50, EdWeek Market Brief, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- sector through WebSearch by operator type (family childcare chain, charter network, tutoring, Head Start grantee) plus regional family-business award profiles gives operator (joined on operator name)
- operator through Revelio Labs company page or TCB award profile gives headcount (joined on Revelio slug)
- operator through award profile ownership line or operator leadership page gives controlling leader (joined on leader name)
- leader through operator newsroom or local press quoting the leader gives dated change in own words (joined on leader name plus change noun)
- change through second outlet (Community Impact, local TV, Philadelphia Citizen) gives confirmation (joined on program or decision name)
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Swiss public pharma CEO; not a US education or childcare operator
- Missed Aaron Levie Public software CEO; not an education provider
- Missed Satya Nadella Public software CEO; sells into education, does not provide it
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Food maker
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Apparel maker; on-site child care for its own staff is not a provider business
- Missed Tobi Lutke Canadian public commerce software
- Missed Andrew Forrest Australian mining; outside US and sector
- Missed Ricardo Semler Lumiar schools are in Brazil; route is US only
Route 452: Large independent service firms: Largest private trucking, logistics and transportation services firms, family-owned, pass 2
Looks for: future legends · Status: testing now
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS 2: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders on this list (all in output/candidates.json); go further down it, 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from Transport Topics Top 100 For-Hire Carriers and Top 100 Logistics companies. Work through EVERY family-, founder- or employee-owned firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. Second pass over the private 1,000 to 10,000 rows of the Transport Topics 2026 For-Hire and Logistics lists. After S-412 took Prime, Roehl and MVT and earlier routes took TCI, ODW, Pitt Ohio and others, one more leader passed: Chad England of C.R. England (5,687 staff, four generations of family ownership), through his own words on the 2023 Torc and Kodiak autonomous pilots. Ruan is a near miss on control and timing. The rest of the in-band list fails on voice, control or no dated change.
Sources: ttnews.com, firm newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- ranking through Transport Topics Top 100 For-Hire Carriers 2026 and Top 100 Logistics 2026 gives firm (joined on firm name + employee column)
- firm through firm About page or TT leadership story gives controlling leader (joined on firm name)
- leader through WebSearch '<firm> 2025 OR 2026 announces AI OR autonomous OR new division <leader> said', then ttnews.com, thetrucker.com, truckingdive.com gives dated change in the leader's words (joined on leader name + firm)
- dated change through second outlet (truckingdive.com, thetrucker.com) or firm blog gives confirmation (joined on firm + event)
- firm through firm About page, Wikipedia, TT row gives headcount, ownership, control (joined on firm name)
New names that passed every check
- Chad England, C.R. England (family-owned refrigerated truckload carrier, Salt Lake City UT; 5,687 employees per Transport Topics 2026) owner, United States
The fourth-generation family CEO put autonomous trucks into the refrigerated network in 2023, with two pilots, to build autonomous lanes and redesign driver jobs around both ends of each run.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “C.R. England said it has named Chad England its new CEO and reorganized its leadership following the death of former CEO Wayne Cederholm II.” source
- What they did 2023 “Torc Robotics and C.R. England are teaming up on a pilot program that leverages the refrigerated carrier's temperature-controlled loads and the self-driving-vehicle technology company's Level 4 autonomous trucks, they said in a May 9 statement.” source
- What they said 2023 “Kodiak’s proven performance and commitment to customer success makes it a great partner to help us introduce autonomous service into our operations. Working with Kodiak enables us to better understand how autonomous vehicles fit into our fleet of the future” source
- What they did 2023 “C.R. England’s pilot partnership with Torc, and another with Kodiak Robotics , is a signal that the technology passed an initial review by the carrier.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Aaron Levie Box is public software, not on the TT for-hire or logistics lists; outside the universe.
- Missed Ricardo Semler Semco is Brazilian; the TT lists cover North American carriers and 3PLs, and the route is US only.
- Missed Satya Nadella Microsoft is public software, not on either TT list.
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Novartis is a Swiss public drug maker, not on either TT list.
- Missed Tobi Lutke Shopify is public and Canadian; not a carrier or 3PL on the TT lists.
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Patagonia is an apparel maker and retailer, not on the TT lists.
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Reliance is public and Indian, outside the TT North American lists.
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani is a food manufacturer, not a for-hire carrier or logistics firm; outside the universe.
Route 453: Large independent service firms: Largest cooperatives in the US, service co-ops, firm by firm, pass 2
Looks for: future legends · Status: queued
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS 2: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders on this list (all in output/candidates.json); go further down it, 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from the NCB Co-op 100 list of the largest US cooperatives. Work through EVERY service cooperative (financial, insurance, health, utility services, purchasing and shared services) with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Verdict revised. The NCB Co-op 100 roster PDFs still cannot be read (over 15 MB, truncated). Only the press release is open, so the spine was swapped for the Bankrate top-10 credit unions by assets (September 2026), the largest in-band financial co-ops. Unclaimed top-10 credit unions announce change through appointment releases (SchoolsFirst, Mountain America) or vendor stories voiced by VPs (Suncoast). The leader-voiced, dated, costly move at this size is buying a bank and running it as a separate division. That gave one new name (Global Federal Credit Union, Lundfelt).
Sources: ncb.coop, cooperative newsrooms
The steps as actually run, with the join between each
- cooperative sector through NCB Co-op 100 press release (roster PDF unreadable) and the Bankrate top-10 credit unions by assets gives in-band service co-op (joined on co-op name)
- co-op through WebSearch '<co-op> CEO 2025 announces' and 'credit union acquires bank CEO said', then trade press (cubroadcast.com, cuinsight.com) gives dated change release with CEO quote (joined on co-op name + CEO name from the release)
- change release through regional business press (spokanejournal.com) gives second page confirming the change (joined on deal name)
- leader through 2025 profile in the leader's words (akbizmag.com) and the release boilerplate gives tenure, headcount, ownership (joined on person name)
New names that passed every check
- Geoff Lundfelt, Global Federal Credit Union (Anchorage, Alaska; member-owned credit union, formerly Alaska USA, about 2,000 employees, $12.9B assets) ceo, United States
Turned a consumer credit union into a commercial lender by buying First Financial Northwest Bank for $231.2 million and running it as a separate division, after renaming the firm so it could make such deals.Evidence (4 checked quotes)
- Power to act “"We are enthusiastic about combining two financially sound institutions that share a strong commitment to service and community engagement," said Geoff Lundfelt, president and CEO of Global Federal Credit Union.” source
- What they did 2024 “The transaction is structured as a purchase and assumption agreement with Global purchasing substantially all assets and assuming substantially all liabilities of First Financial Northwest Bank for the all-cash consideration of $231.2 million, subject to certain adjustments.” source
- What they did 2025 “Until system and brand integrations are completed later this year, Global will operate the bank locations as a separately branded division named First Financial Northwest Operated by Global Federal Credit Union, according to a press release.” source
- What they said 2025 ““I’m not sure we would have been considered a viable option for that bank had our name been Alaska USA versus Global Credit Union,” Lundfelt says.” source
Test on held-back known people
- Missed Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard (United States): Not a leader of a US service cooperative of 1,000 to 10,000 staff, so the route (NCB Co-op 100 service co-ops, then in-band cred
- Missed Mukesh Ambani Mukesh Ambani (India): Not a leader of a US service cooperative of 1,000 to 10,000 staff, so the route (NCB Co-op 100 service co-ops, then in-band credit unions
- Missed Vas Narasimhan Vas Narasimhan (Switzerland): Not a leader of a US service cooperative of 1,000 to 10,000 staff, so the route (NCB Co-op 100 service co-ops, then in-band credit
- Missed Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest (Australia): Not a leader of a US service cooperative of 1,000 to 10,000 staff, so the route (NCB Co-op 100 service co-ops, then in-band credit u
- Missed Tobi Lutke Tobi Lutke (Canada): Not a leader of a US service cooperative of 1,000 to 10,000 staff, so the route (NCB Co-op 100 service co-ops, then in-band credit unions)
- Missed Ricardo Semler Ricardo Semler (Brazil): Not a leader of a US service cooperative of 1,000 to 10,000 staff, so the route (NCB Co-op 100 service co-ops, then in-band credit unio
- Missed Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya (United States): Not a leader of a US service cooperative of 1,000 to 10,000 staff, so the route (NCB Co-op 100 service co-ops, then in-band credi
- Missed Aaron Levie Aaron Levie (United States): Not a leader of a US service cooperative of 1,000 to 10,000 staff, so the route (NCB Co-op 100 service co-ops, then in-band credit
Route 454: Large independent service firms: EY Entrepreneur Of The Year US winners, firm by firm, pass 2
Looks for: future legends · Status: testing now
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS 2: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders on this list (all in output/candidates.json); go further down it, 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from EY Entrepreneur Of The Year national and regional US winners and finalists, 2021 to 2025. Work through EVERY founder or CEO of a privately held service firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Sources: ey.com/en_us/entrepreneur-of-the-year, regional winner announcements, firm newsrooms
Route 455: Large independent service firms: Top Workplaces USA, large category, pass 2
Looks for: future legends · Status: testing now
Kind of signal: money moved or an institution built
Expected timing: early, before the person is widely recognised
The steps we take
- LARGE INDEPENDENT SERVICE FIRM PROFILE (count only people who fit): leads a US service business (people doing the work for clients) of 1,000 to 10,000 employees (NEVER under 1,000; work the 5,000 to 10,000 firms on the list first), privately owned (private, family, employee-owned, partner-owned or co-op/mutual; NOT public, NOT controlled by a private-equity sponsor), and the person controls it (founder, owner, chair, elected managing partner, or CEO with no controlling owner above them), with a dated costly change to how the work gets done that the leader voiced or announced. A transformation quote in their own words is required: the leader, not a staff officer such as a chief AI or innovation officer. Skip everyone already in output/candidates.json. LATER PASS 2: earlier passes already found the most visible leaders on this list (all in output/candidates.json); go further down it, 5,000 to 10,000 first. Start from the Energage Top Workplaces USA lists (large and mega categories), 2022 to 2026. Work through EVERY privately held service firm with 1,000 to 10,000 employees one by one.
- For each firm, the change to how the work gets done (AI or automation in the core work, roles or layers redesigned, a new service or pricing model, a new owned arm) from 2023 to 2026.
- Find the leader who controls the firm and their own words on why.
- Find a second, different page confirming the change.
- Confirm headcount (1,000 to 10,000), ownership and control on the firm site or a dated 2025-2026 source.
- Find the earliest redesign move, to set the signal year.
Sources: topworkplaces.com, usatoday.com, firm newsrooms
The reference list (53 already-recognised people)
Future legends (22) Aaron Levie, Andy Jassy*, Arvind Krishna*, Bill Anderson*, Bob Sternfels*, Brian Chesky*, Hamdi Ulukaya, Jane Fraser*, Jos de Blok*, Julie Sweet*, Luis von Ahn, Marc Benioff*, Mary Barra*, Micha Kaufman*, Piyush Gupta, Ralph Hamers*, Ricardo Semler, Satya Nadella, Sebastian Siemiatkowski*, Tobi Lutke, Vas Narasimhan, Zhang Ruimin
World transformers (27) Aliko Dangote*, Azim Premji*, Bill Gates*, Brian Armstrong*, Chris Hohn, Dustin Moskovitz, Elon Musk*, Eric Schmidt, Hansjorg Wyss*, Jaan Tallinn, Jeff Bezos, Jeff Skoll, Jensen Huang, Laurene Powell Jobs, MacKenzie Scott, Masayoshi Son, Melinda French Gates*, Michael Bloomberg, Mike Cannon-Brookes*, Mo Ibrahim, Nandan Nilekani, Patrick Collison*, Pierre Omidyar*, Sam Altman*, Strive Masiyiwa*, Vinod Khosla, Yuri Milner*
Both (4) Andrew Forrest, Mark Zuckerberg*, Mukesh Ambani, Yvon Chouinard
* used to design routes; the rest are held out to test them.