CATALYST·WAYFARE·AI
Selected engagements

AI transformation, in practice.

Emblematic engagements

01.
Case study

Founder-led professional services firm. Multi-phase AI transformation from scratch.

The company

A ~$500M+ enterprise-value, mission-driven professional services firm. No internal IT team. Forward-thinking CEO, with active encouragement from the board eager to modernize.

The engagement

Multi-phase. Full Navigation followed by deployment of priority AI capabilities, with governance and culture work running in parallel.

Phase 1

Navigate.

  • Full AI360 deep dive across all six workstreams. AI-readiness analysis, sector intelligence, workforce culture assessment, data architecture review, governance framework development, and functional prototyping.
  • 100+ hours of structured interviews engaging 40+ teammates across every business unit. Quantitative survey covering more than half the workforce, benchmarked against industry data.
  • Two business-critical workflows prototyped before Phase 1 close, de-risking the highest-priority Phase 2 builds.
  • Delivered: AI360 Readiness Report, Governance Toolkit, and a multi-year AI Transformation Roadmap with prioritized capabilities and cost transparency.
Phase 2

Evolve.

  • Deploying AI capabilities across business development, sales acceleration, contracting, and internal knowledge management.
  • Governance Toolkit operationalized: data-handling policies, approved-tool catalog, escalation pathways, and a quarterly review cycle.
  • Adoption program running in parallel: leadership communication, employee guidance, and role-specific training pathways.
  • Managed pilots running with usage telemetry and ROI tracking, feeding back into roadmap prioritization.
What changed

From AI experimentation to embedded business capability.

  • AI is embedded as a business capability, not an IT project.
  • The CEO has clear visibility into AI ROI, measured against revenue rather than utilization.
  • The firm is operating with structured AI governance for the first time, ready for the next phase of growth.
02.
Case study

PE-backed portfolio company. Phase 1 through Phase 3, with a vertical AI build.

The company

A PE-backed company in a technical, regulated sector with a board-level AI mandate. Small internal IT helpdesk and a growing software team. The CEO recognized AI as a competitive necessity from the outset, treated as a business investment rather than a cost center.

The engagement

Phase 1 through Phase 3, including bespoke vertical AI capabilities aligned to the PE value-creation plan.

Entry

Board-level sponsorship.

  • Engagement began within weeks of first contact, with no procurement delay.
  • Scoping aligned to the PE hold-period value-creation plan from the first conversation.
Phase 1

Navigate.

  • Accelerated C•W AI360 Navigation. The hold window shaped which capabilities to prioritize: bias toward measurable impact within the relevant timeframe.
  • Highest-ROI use cases identified across operational throughput, revenue acceleration, and back-office automation.
  • Two functional prototypes delivered before Phase 1 close, with go/no-go decisions framed for leadership.
Phase 2

Evolve.

  • Six-month engagement covering architecture, governance, and adoption support, running alongside design-build of bespoke AI capabilities.
  • Managed pilots of enterprise productivity tools deployed across the workforce, with structured telemetry and ROI tracking.
  • Multiple proof-of-concept builds for revenue and operational tools, taken to go/no-go decision with leadership.
Phase 3

Transform.

  • Vertical AI build targeting the binding constraint on the company's revenue: domain-expert throughput that the labor market cannot supply at scale.
  • Multi-agent system operating alongside the client's senior practitioners in a tiger-team model, with structured pilot loops and review gates tied to measurable throughput.
  • Architecture designed for replication across additional lines of business as the engagement matures.
  • Knowledge transfer woven through the build: documentation, agent architecture guides, and training delivered so the client's team can extend the work independently.
What changed

AI transformation, embedded into the value creation plan.

  • AI transformation embedded into the hold-period value creation plan.
  • The PE firm has full board-level visibility into AI ROI, with KPIs tracked at the same cadence as financial reporting.
  • The PE firm now views Catalyst·Wayfare as the portfolio AI partner for future acquisitions in the sector.
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