Finance. AI. Human judgment.
Teaching leaders to use finance, AI, and judgement to navigate and shape an uncertain future.
We prepare leaders to use finance, AI, real-world experience, and executive mentorship to act decisively in uncertain environments.
From Tahoe outward
Built in Tahoe. Activated in San Francisco and New York. Expanding from there.
Academic collaboration
In collaboration with the University of Nevada, Reno — Lake Tahoe Campus.
Our charter
Developing more effective professionals.
The Ops & Finance Foundation is dedicated to developing more effective professionals—grounded in the language of finance, equipped with real-world experience, and capable of making strategic decisions in increasingly complex environments.
- Life and job skills rooted in finance and decision-making
- Internship pathways and applied, real-world experience
- Mentorship that accelerates professional effectiveness
- Modern tools, including AI, taught within real-world context
AI is not the foundation. Judgment is.
Better professionals → better decisions → better outcomes.
See how it works
Why this matters
The decisions changed. The support did not.
The pace of change has accelerated; the support for the decisions now required has not caught up. Finance has always supplied the language behind strategic decisions, whether inside enterprise systems or in the hands of individual operators.
In 1999, I was teaching advanced Excel to investment bankers in the original World Trade Center—an early experience that set the stage for the Foundation I've been building toward ever since.
The environment keeps changing. The underlying need does not: leaders still have to think strategically, communicate effectively, and execute with precision.
The path
Follow the Yellow Brick Road.
Six steps move from first contact to lasting network access. Each milestone links to where that stage actually happens.
- 01
Enter
Start with an open event. Attend a session, meet a few people, and see if the model is for you.
Explore this stage - 02
Learn
Build fundamentals across Excel, financial statements, enterprise systems, AI, and problem solving.
Explore this stage - 03
Apply
Go deeper through advanced modules and a capstone built around analysis, communication, and execution.
Explore this stage - 04
Earn Access
Complete the capstone and demonstrate the professionalism required for deeper involvement.
Explore this stage - 05
Opportunities
Move toward shadowing, internships, and applied project work developed through the Foundation.
Explore this stage - 06
Network
Join students, operators, executives, and partners committed to better judgment.
Explore this stage
In practice
AI in Society — Executive Roundtable.
Hosted with the University of Nevada, Reno — Lake Tahoe, the session brought leaders from Oracle and The Hackett Group together with operators and students.
Panelists: Terry Jones, Kevin Lyons, Gunnar Newquist, Marc Seewald, Jay Surface, and Matt Ressmeyer.
Select discussions and signals will be amplified through journalism, extending ideas beyond the room.
“We started the day with AI inside finance systems—and ended with AI reshaping society itself.”Explore the Tahoe session
Join the network
Bring your curiosity, expertise, or opportunity.
Whether you are a student, operator, or executive, there is a way to take part. Attend events, mentor, offer internships, partner, or help build the Foundation.
Explore ways to engage