Built From
Shared Work.
Not a Whiteboard.

The AI practice Ian built at AFS delivered some of the most consequential programs in the federal intelligence and defense space. What made it work wasn't just technical depth — it was the organizational discipline, the leadership architecture, and the talent Maria put in place around him. That combination, brought to enterprise clients, is genuinely differentiated.

Ian has been a driving force in scaling AI and data science capabilities across both the private and public sectors. I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside him in leadership roles in both environments, and his ability to navigate complexity, build high-impact AI led organizations, and deliver results consistently sets him apart. In a period defined by rapid technological change and the rise of AI, Ian is the kind of technical leader any organization would be fortunate to have.

Maria Chaloux is an executive search and leadership advisory professional with more than two decades of experience advising CEOs, boards, and investors on the leadership decisions that determine enterprise performance. She began her career in institutional investment banking, where she was trained to evaluate companies through the lens of performance — assessing leadership, strategy, capital allocation, and operating discipline under real market pressure. She later joined a venture-backed technology company as a commercial executive, helping scale the business to 600 employees, raise over $100 million in private capital, and prepare for IPO. That experience operating inside a high-growth environment reinforced her focus on performance at the leadership level — not just how companies are valued, but how leadership decisions translate into execution and results. She carried that same analytical rigor into executive search, applying an investor-grade lens to evaluating leaders based on their ability to drive enterprise outcomes. Across multiple firms she founded and led, she developed a disciplined approach to executive assessment grounded in mandate clarity, operating context, and measurable performance. In 2012, she was recruited to Accenture Federal Services to build and lead the firm’s executive talent function. Over eleven years, she partnered directly with the CEO and COO, personally recruiting and placing every Managing Director and Partner as the organization expanded from approximately $1 billion to $5.5 billion in revenue. In 2018, when AFS committed to AI market leadership, she was tasked with building the AI practice leadership team from the ground up — including recruiting Dr. Ian McCulloh as Chief Data Scientist — and spent four years scaling the leadership organization to support a practice that grew to 1,200 professionals and $1.5 billion in revenue. Today, as Founder and Managing Partner of Octant Advisory, Maria leads AI Leadership Search, Executive Leadership Assessment, and Organizational Design. She advises organizations on aligning leadership, governance, and operating models to ensure AI investment translates into sustained enterprise performance.