Practitioners first.

In 2005, Franco founded Effective, the world's first user experience and digital product development firm, at a time when "user experience" didn't have a Wikipedia entry. The firm became the definitive name in the space. O'Reilly Media published a book based on its philosophies. WPP acquired it.

His teams built one of the first iPad applications, the first FDA-approved critical health mobile application for hospitals, and national security systems for audiences that do not tolerate failure. He has started and sold six companies, with more than 100 career awards spanning technology, design, innovation, and business. Multiple patents. Almost no one knows his name, and almost everyone has used something his firm designed.

Joss has spent eighteen years building cross-functional product and program teams across security, networking, hospitality, and e-commerce. Associate director at Verizon Business, where she led strategic partnerships for network and security. Earlier, senior product manager at ProtectWise, product manager at MapQuest, and e-commerce product development manager at Hyatt Hotels, where she ran development across Hyatt.com and its brand sites.

The through-line is the same: getting cross-functional teams to ship products that actually work for customers. At First Strategy, that work is now AI work. Getting it actually running inside the business, not stuck in a strategy deck or a proof of concept that never ships.

McIlwaine has spent more than twenty years building and leading revenue organizations, including over thirteen years running sales teams inside Fortune 100 and Fortune 250 companies. As Chief Revenue Officer at SpyderLynk, a mobile marketing SaaS platform, he rebuilt a declining sales motion into four straight quarters of record growth. Across seventeen years at Metro Networks, he was promoted six times from business development into regional sales leadership for the Rocky Mountain, Pacific Northwest, and Midwest. He has also founded and run his own companies.

The through-line is revenue that holds: process, accountability, and a buyer journey that works. At First Strategy, that work is now AI work. Helping companies move from scattered AI experiments to AI that runs inside their revenue operations and sales channels.