Meet Our Team
MARY PARMELEE, COO and Digital Marketing Strategy Advisor
With 20+ years of specializing in large-scale digital platform and commerce initiatives, revenue growth, and cross-functional program delivery, Mary excels at aligning executive stakeholders and transforming complex digital strategies into measurable business outcomes across the telecom, healthcare, retail, and franchise sectors.
A proven specialist in enterprise transformation, Mary has a strong track record of implementing disciplined project governance and executing high-visibility initiatives under accelerated timelines. Throughout her career at organizations like Verizon Wireless, Benjamin Moore, and Express Scripts, she has successfully driven digital product launches, optimized enterprise web and mobile platforms, and managed multi-million-dollar budgets. Most recently, she has distinguished her strategic approach by incorporating applied AI technologies and AI-driven insights into her digital operations, unlocking new levels of workflow automation, operational efficiency, and revenue growth.
Holding a B.S. in Marketing and Finance (Cum Laude) from Montclair State University, Mary combines deep operational rigor with a sharp focus on digital commerce enablement. She continually advises executive teams on navigating market shifts, positioning operational governance, artificial intelligence, and digital innovation as primary engines for scalable, long-term growth.
DENNIS ASHBY, Principal Advisor
Dennis Ashby is a high-impact executive leader with 30 years of experience specializing in post-sales commercialization and enterprise AI adoption. He excels at transforming complex technology into "revenue-owned" operating systems that optimize net revenue retention (NRR). Dennis is uniquely effective at bridging the gap between high-growth startups and global giants like IBM, where he served as Global Vice President of Expert Labs for AI, Automation, and Data.
A specialist in the AI lifecycle, Dennis has led organizations in moving over 100 enterprise AI customers from pilot to governed production in highly regulated environments. At Functionize, he scaled a unified Customer Success organization for an AI-driven quality engineering platform, increasing NRR from 90% to over 108%. At IBM, he enabled $110M in AI services revenue by aligning technical health with business outcomes.
With a B.S. in Computer Science and a background in microservices and API management, Dennis combines deep technical rigor with a sharp focus on revenue growth. He positions AI governance and risk as enablers of production rather than blockers, ensuring long-term value for mission-critical enterprise systems.
WILLIAM (BILL) CLARK, Principal Advisor
William (Bill) Clark is a distinguished technology executive and researcher with extensive experience leading innovation at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence, digital business, and industrial automation. Bill founded Pivot22 Consulting in 2016, and as a Growth XLerator consultant and an Adjunct Professor at Duke University, he specializes in transforming enterprises through Generative and Predictive AI, data science, people analytics, and edge computing.
A seasoned expert in the AI lifecycle, Bill served as Managing Vice President at Gartner, where he directed the research agenda for Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and IoT. His leadership focused on assessing the disruption caused by deep neural networks, machine learning, and conversational platforms. At SAP, he spearheaded the development of AI and mobile-based user experiences for "Intelligent Enterprise" solutions and worked with partners with AI based solutions to detect counterfeit products. At Pivot22, he has advised Fortune 100 companies on digital transformation and AI strategy, delivered AI systems that analyze drone video footage for defects, and agentic AI solutions to create cutting edge insights.
With a B.S. in Computer Science from Purdue and an MBA from Duke Fuqua, William combines deep technical rigor—evidenced by multiple patents and over 200 publications—with sharp commercial strategy. Bill is constantly upskilling to keep up with the pace of innovation in AI, with certification in areas such as Prompt Engineering and Cloud Infrastructure AI.
KEN PARMELEE, Advisor to the GXL Board
Ken Parmelee brings 30+ years of experience as a global software executive, product leader, and industry analyst. He is currently a Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, where he advises Global 100 and enterprise leaders on AI, low-code, and next-generation application development (AppGen) platforms. His work focuses on aligning technology strategy with measurable business outcomes and helping executives make informed investment decisions in rapidly evolving markets.
Ken’s board-level value comes from a rare combination of deep operating experience and real-time market insight. He has led multi-billion-dollar product portfolios, driven sustained growth in complex enterprise markets, and built category-leading platforms across API management, automation, AI, and low-code. At IBM, he scaled the Integration portfolio to over $1B, delivering five consecutive years of growth while expanding into new markets such as automation and hybrid integration. Earlier, he helped grow Antenna Software from $4M to a ~$400M valuation by pioneering enterprise mobile platforms.
What differentiates Ken is his ability to translate major technology shifts—particularly AI and agentic systems—into actionable business strategy. He provides boards with a clear, objective view of where markets are heading versus where hype can distort decisions, helping leaders align product direction, go-to-market execution, and organizational readiness.
Through his work with Growth XLerator, Ken applies a structured, outcomes-driven approach to identifying growth opportunities, combining market validation with execution planning to accelerate revenue and differentiation.
As a board advisor, he guides organizations on AI strategy, product innovation, go-to-market effectiveness, and investment prioritization. His perspective is pragmatic, market-tested, and focused on execution—enabling boards to act with clarity and confidence in an AI-driven era.