Ethan
Nathaniel
Schaber.
I lead enterprise AI platforms from 0→1 product validation to organization-wide transformation, delivering measurable commercial and operational impact.
Capital discipline, platform thinking, operating leverage.
AI Product & Platform Scaling
Build and scale enterprise GenAI platforms from validated demand to large-scale adoption. I embed measurable KPIs into product workflows, align teams to outcomes, and translate early traction into durable operational and commercial impact.
Commercial & Capital Discipline
Allocate capital behind validated product-market fit using stage-gated investment frameworks and ROI-linked decision making. I defend business cases at C-level and board forums, ensuring funding follows demonstrated leverage.
Enterprise Operating Model Transformation
Architect cross-functional operating models that align product, operations, legal, and academic leadership. I embed governance, decision rights, and scalable standards to ensure AI initiatives endure beyond individual projects.
Set the Right Problem
I redefine roadmaps and challenge strategic assumptions to ensure we are solving problems with material enterprise impact. Priorities follow measurable value, clean signal, and aligned incentives — not internal momentum.
Eliminate Strategic Noise
Fragmented priorities and unclear ownership erode performance. I concentrate resources on high-leverage initiatives, establish accountable leadership, and reallocate effort away from work that does not materially advance enterprise outcomes.
Commit Capital With Conviction
Investment in platforms, talent, and scale follows demonstrated impact. When value is validated, I align executive stakeholders behind decisive expansion and build operating systems that sustain performance beyond individual leaders.
Director, AI Education Platform— IU Group
I own enterprise AI transformation across a PE-backed European education group. I define multi-year AI strategy, lead operating model redesign, and deliver measurable efficiency impact across parallel product teams. C-level business case defense and Works Council alignment.
- →~20% operational efficiency gains across content creation and quality workflows
- →Built and defended AI business cases at C-level and Steering Committee
- →Embedded KPI- and OKR-driven frameworks linking AI initiatives to business outcomes
- →Led Works Council alignment on AI rollout and compliance standards
Syntea — LLM-Powered Teaching Assistant at Scale
Early enterprise-scale GenAI deployment prior to mainstream LLM adoption — serving 130K+ students across IU's distance learning platform and establishing foundational AI product standards within the organization.
Students required 24/7 support across 1,000+ courses with immediate, contextual guidance — operationally infeasible through human tutors alone.
Defined enterprise AI product vision in collaboration with C-level leadership, established organization-wide AI product standards, and led a 10-person cross-functional team through iterative rollout of Q&A, assessment, and personalized learning capabilities.
AI Translation & Localization Platform
Prevented multi-million EUR investment where scalable adoption was not proven.
Group-level mandate to define AI-driven localization strategy supporting international expansion. Balance growth ambition with capital risk management across higher education markets.
International growth required significant localization investment. Product-market fit and scalable demand remained unproven across geographies — exposing the organization to substantial capital risk.
Designed and implemented a structured PMF validation and capital gating framework to prevent premature scale investment. Introduced automated MT and LLM workflows in validated markets. Aligned Product, Operations, Academic, and Legal leadership on AI rollout standards.
- →Prevented premature multi-million EUR investment where PMF was not validated
- →Aligned cross-functional leadership on AI rollout and localization standards
- →Built reusable AI translation services as platform capabilities
- →Established AI governance standards for international rollout
AI-Driven Content Platform Transformation
3 product teams across AI, Media & Content platforms with multi-million EUR annual operating footprint.
Executive mandate to lead AI transformation across an education platform at a PE-backed European group. Define multi-year AI strategy and operating model redesign to unlock measurable operational leverage.
Core content and quality operations fragmented across legacy systems. Structural cost inefficiencies, limited scalability, and gaps for AI-driven automation.
Defined and executed a multi-year AI transformation roadmap. Established KPI- and OKR-driven frameworks. Led 3 cross-functional product teams through parallel delivery. Aligned C-level and Works Council stakeholders.
- →~20% operational efficiency improvements across content workflows
- →Built and defended AI investment cases at C-level and Steering Committee
- →Led 3 product teams through parallel AI delivery
- →Works Council alignment on AI rollout and compliance
Let's build the next enterprise AI mandate.
Available for VP Product, CPO, Chief AI Officer, enterprise AI transformation mandates, and board-adjacent strategic roles.
Download 1-Page CV →