About
Hawksroost
Focused on decisions, not tools. Hawksroost works with boards and executive teams where data, AI, and digital decisions carry real accountability.
Focused on decisions.
Not tools.
Hawksroost works with boards and executive teams where data, AI, and digital decisions carry real accountability. Our work centers on how decisions are made, who owns them, how escalation works, and what happens when outcomes drift from intent.
Our focus is decision governance. That means making ownership, escalation, and accountability explicit in environments where influence often moves faster than structure.
Across boardrooms and executive teams, we see the same pattern repeat. Initiatives rarely fail because technology is missing. They fail because decision rights are unclear, accountability blurs over time, and governance does not scale with influence.
Hawksroost does not operate as a technology consulting firm. We do not lead with tools, platforms, or delivery volume.
We engage selectively, with leaders accountable for outcomes over time who need governance that holds up under pressure.
VTCDO is a Hawksroost LLC brand that carries this work into operations. It draws on applied work from board and executive engagements.
This work is grounded in real executive and boardroom experience. It is designed for environments where clarity, restraint, and judgment matter more than speed or hype.
Practice areas
Decision governance and board oversight
We work with boards and executive teams to make decision ownership, escalation, and accountability explicit in environments where AI and digital influence are real. The focus is on governing decisions, not approving tools or monitoring dashboards.
Board and CEO Advisory
Confidential, selective advisory for the leaders who will be held accountable when AI investments succeed or fail. Risk framing, governance design, and the clarity to lead technology conversations at the board level with confidence. This engagement is personal, limited in availability, and begins with a conversation.
AI influence and risk governance
We help organizations govern how AI outputs influence financial, operational, and people decisions, including escalation paths, pause rights, and recovery when outcomes diverge from intent. Not model mechanics. Decision mechanics.
Executive accountability and advisory
We support executives accountable for outcomes over time, including advisory and fractional engagements across data, technology, and digital leadership. Where deeper platform support is needed, this work connects to VTCDO.
Jay Hawkinson
Jay Hawkinson has spent 25+ years inside the organizations you are trying to govern. As the first functional Chief Data and AI Officer at Valmont Industries and head of a 60-person data and AI organization at Lamb Weston, he built these functions from scratch, in complex industrial environments where decisions had real consequences and governance was not optional.
He has seen the same failure pattern repeat across boardrooms and executive teams: unclear ownership of decisions, no agreed path for escalation when something drifts, and no named owner when outcomes diverge from intent.
Hawksroost exists because that clarity can be built, by someone who has held the accountability position.
National Association of Corporate Directors
Carnegie Mellon University Heinz College
Carnegie Mellon University
Member and contributor
Data and Analytics Professional
Business Acceleration Honoree (2023)
Valmont Industries · Lamb Weston · Belden · AFL Global
IEEE Senior Member · ACM Member · PMP
"Jay has a unique ability to break down data and AI topics and make them relatable to the company at large. He shares his knowledge freely and selflessly — I have personally been the beneficiary of his generosity."
Joshua DixonPresident, CEO and Board Director · Industrial Manufacturing
15-year professional relationship across Belden and Valmont Industries
Practical decision governance
VTCDO carries Hawksroost decision governance into operations. It reflects applied work developed through board and executive engagements, with the focus on decision ownership, escalation and accountability at the point where influence shapes outcomes.
VTCDO is a Hawksroost LLC brand. It offers the AI and Data Situation Assessment, the Fractional Chief Data and AI Officer mandate, and a self-serve tool library for data and AI leaders.
Explore the VTCDO platform
Diagnostic tools, decision frameworks, and fractional data and AI leadership for execution.
If the accountability question is real,
let's talk about it.
Hawksroost engages selectively. The first conversation is a fit check, not a sales call. We discuss your context and whether there is a genuine match.
Start a Confidential Conversation (877) 417-1184 · inquiry@hawksroost.com