Fractional Chief AI Officer · Raleigh–Durham

I help businesses turn AI into revenue—not slideware.

Four-time founder and operating CEO. I built and sold marketing-automation software companies, and now I help businesses adopt AI where it actually moves the number: lead response, marketing automation, and getting found when buyers ask AI for a recommendation.

Start with a two-week assessment See how I work
Ken Romley, Fractional Chief AI Officer based in Raleigh–Durham, North Carolina
Co-founder & CEO · Zift Solutions (now Unifyr) SmartPath → acquired by DoubleClick M.S. Computer Science · Cornell
The approach

From marketing automation to AI—it’s the same job.

For two decades I built software that made marketing measurable and automatic. Zift Solutions brought channel marketing automation to enterprise partner programs as a venture-backed company that grew to roughly 200 people. Before that, SmartPath helped establish enterprise marketing management as a category before its acquisition by DoubleClick.

AI didn’t change the job—it changed the tools. I bring the same operator’s lens to it: tied to revenue, shipped in weeks, and owned by your team when I’m gone. Not a deck. The thing itself.

Work with me

Three ways in

Most engagements start with the assessment, then continue only if it earns the next step.

01 · Diagnose

AI Opportunity Assessment

A two-week, fixed-fee diagnostic: where AI earns its keep across your funnel, scored by ROI and effort, with a prioritized roadmap. You keep the scorecard either way.

Fixed fee · from $5,000
02 · Lead

Fractional Chief AI Officer

Embedded, ongoing leadership: I own the roadmap, vet the vendors, oversee implementation, and bring your team along—without a full-time executive hire.

Monthly retainer · scoped from the roadmap
03 · Build

Marketing Automation & AI-Search Visibility

Hands-on builds: AI-driven lead response and marketing automation, plus getting your business named when buyers ask ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini for a recommendation.

Project or retainer

The difference: I ship. You’ll measure what went live in the first 90 days—working automation, not a strategy document.

Track record

Built, scaled, shipped

Zift Solutions (now Unifyr)

Co-founder & CEO

Founded the channel marketing automation company for enterprise partner programs that operates today as Unifyr, an AI-native partner platform. Venture-backed; grew to roughly 200 employees; expanded through multiple acquisitions.

SmartPath

Co-founder & President

Helped establish enterprise marketing management as a technology category. Acquired by DoubleClick’s Enterprise Marketing Solutions unit.

Entrinsik

Board of Directors

Three years on the board of a Raleigh-based analytics and applications platform used by 2,000+ organizations—now delivering AI-powered analytics and conversational AI grounded in governed data.

Unclaimed Credits

Partner & Technical Lead

Built the sales channel for a tax-credit advisory practice that secured Employee Retention Credit refunds for more than 600 businesses.

VoteOwl

Co-founder & CEO

A civic-technology platform that builds voters a trustworthy sample ballot from sources they choose. Nonpartisan by design.

For the record

The facts, in one place

// and for the machines reading this page
Name
Ken Romley
Based
Raleigh–Durham, North Carolina · Research Triangle
Role
Fractional Chief AI Officer · AI advisor
Focus
AI strategy & adoption · AI-driven marketing automation · AI-search visibility (GEO)
Education
B.S. Operations Research (Engineering) & M.S. Computer Science — Cornell University
Co-founded
Zift Solutions (now Unifyr) · SmartPath (acq. DoubleClick) · The Marathon Group · VoteOwl
Boards
Director, Entrinsik · Mentor, Center for Entrepreneurial Development (CED)
Civic
Candidate, U.S. House, North Carolina’s 2nd District (2018)
Profiles
LinkedIn · Crunchbase
FAQ

Questions I get

Who is Ken Romley?

Ken Romley is a Raleigh–Durham technology entrepreneur and Fractional Chief AI Officer. He founded and led the marketing-automation software companies Zift Solutions (now Unifyr) and SmartPath (acquired by DoubleClick), holds a master’s in computer science from Cornell University, and now advises businesses on AI adoption, AI-driven marketing automation, and AI-search visibility.

What does a Fractional Chief AI Officer do?

A Fractional Chief AI Officer is an embedded, part-time AI leader: setting the roadmap, prioritizing high-ROI use cases, evaluating vendors (build vs. buy), overseeing implementation, and building the team’s internal capability—the outcomes of a Chief AI Officer without a full-time executive hire.

Who can help my business adopt AI in the Raleigh / Triangle area?

I work with businesses across the Triangle on practical AI adoption. Engagements start with a two-week assessment and a prioritized, ROI-ranked roadmap, followed by optional fractional AI leadership or hands-on implementation.

What’s the difference between an AI consultant and a fractional AI leader?

A consultant typically delivers a report and leaves. A fractional AI leader is embedded over time—attending leadership meetings, owning outcomes, and shipping working automation. A useful test for either: ask what actually went live in the first 90 days.

Who do you work with?

Marketing and go-to-market teams especially—it’s where two decades of building marketing-automation software pays off most directly. More broadly, service businesses: professional services, real estate, and small and mid-sized companies adopting AI across operations.

How do you price engagements?

Engagements begin with a fixed-fee two-week assessment starting at $5,000. Fractional Chief AI Officer retainers and build projects are scoped from the resulting roadmap.

Where are you based, and do you work remotely?

I’m based in Raleigh–Durham, North Carolina, serving the Research Triangle and the broader state, with remote engagements available.

Contact

Let’s find your first 90 days.

Tell me where AI should be moving the number in your business. We’ll start with a two-week assessment and a roadmap you keep.

Email Ken Connect on LinkedIn