I ran payments at Fortune 100 scale.
Now I build with AI.
Former Head of In-Store Payments at JPMorgan Chase. I led a 230-person global team, owned a $300M P&L, and shipped the payment innovations millions of people used without thinking about them. Today I run AI-native companies and help enterprises adopt AI without losing their people.
Three things I do better than almost anyone you will interview.
Most executives have run a big P&L, or built a product from nothing, or lived through an AI transformation. I have done all three, in that order, and I know how each one changes the way you lead the others.
Run product and P&L at scale
Owning outcomes for a business that touches hundreds of millions of transactions, with a board that expects a roadmap and a number.
- $300M P&L, 230 people, 5 countries
- Tripled market share in a mature category
- 300M+ transactions processed per year
Lead AI transformation for real
Not slideware. I build the systems, train the teams, and redesign the operating model so AI actually changes how work gets done.
- Fractional Chief AI Officer to growing businesses
- 391 documented AI use cases across business functions
- Hands-on with agents, evals, and Python-based systems
Build from zero
Three companies founded, one acquisition integrated from startup to $300M. I know what the first 90 days and the first 900 days each require.
- Founded first company at 19
- Co-founded CityRyde, featured in Entrepreneur Magazine
- Currently building three AI and education ventures
Work you have probably already used.
If you have tapped your phone to pay at a leading global retailer, checked out with your face at a stadium, or used a JPMorgan terminal, you have touched something my teams built.
Enterprise deployment of Apple Tap to Pay
Took Apple's Tap to Pay on iPhone from pilot to enterprise scale with leading global retailers, ahead of the market.
Product and partnershipsBiometric pay-by-face checkout
Launched biometric checkout, piloted at a marquee international motorsport event and deployed at a major professional sports arena and a major quick-service restaurant chain.
Innovation at scaleAcquisition integrated from startup to $300M
Led the integration of a major acquisition and scaled the payments devices business into a $300M revenue line.
M&A and integrationTripled market share
Rebuilt the go-to-market and product roadmap for in-store payments and tripled share in a category everyone assumed was mature.
GrowthStrategic cost reductions
Negotiated $200M in cost reductions across vendors and operations while improving product quality and delivery speed.
Operations and negotiationFirst proprietary payment hardware
Launched Paypad and Pinpad, JPMorgan's first-ever proprietary payment terminals, from concept through certification and rollout.
Hardware and platformTwo decades at the intersection of payments, product, and technology.
The full detail is in the downloadable resume. This is the shape of the career.
Current
Founder and CEO
Building AI-native companies and serving as fractional Chief AI Officer to businesses that need to adopt AI quickly and responsibly.
- Automation Transformation Corporation: fractional Chief AI Officer and AI consulting practice delivering agentic automation, AI upskilling, and operating model redesign for growing businesses
- What About AI: AI education and thought leadership platform with a podcast, newsletter, AI career risk assessment, a 151-lesson curriculum, and a library of 391 business AI use cases
- BetterThanCollege: practitioner-led entrepreneurial certification program launching September 2026 in Philadelphia
Head of In-Store Payments
Ran the in-store payments business end to end: product, engineering, hardware, operations, partnerships, and P&L.
- Led a 230-person global team across five countries with a $300M P&L and 300M+ transactions per year
- Delivered the first enterprise deployment of Apple Tap to Pay and launched biometric pay-by-face checkout
- Launched JPMorgan's first proprietary payment terminals, Paypad and Pinpad
- Integrated a major acquisition and scaled the payments devices business from startup to $300M in revenue
- Negotiated $200M in strategic cost reductions and tripled market share
Founder, technologist, and enterprise infrastructure leader
Pioneering bike-sharing technology company. Featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, named Green Business of the Year, and secured pilots with major US cities before the category went mainstream.
Managed disaster recovery and enterprise infrastructure across 30 sites for a global Fortune 500 manufacturer.
IT firm supporting 100+ mission-critical UNIX servers and securing $100K+ in technology grants for underserved Philadelphia-area schools.
Two formats. Pick the one your process needs.
The traditional version is built for applicant tracking systems and executive search databases. The modern version is built for a human reading on a screen.
Executive Resume
Reverse-chronological format with quantified accomplishments. ATS-friendly, clean, and ready to forward to a hiring committee.
Executive Narrative
A story-first version that explains the why behind the numbers: the decisions, the trade-offs, and how the wins were actually delivered.
Recognized by the industry. Trusted by boards.
I spent 15 years watching payments evolve from plastic cards to palm scans. I saw what automation does to an industry from the inside. AI is doing that to every industry, all at once. The leaders who win will be the ones who have already lived through it.James Perkins
If you are hiring for the role, let's talk this week.
I respond to every serious inquiry from recruiters, hiring managers, and board members within one business day. Send the role, the company, and what the first year needs to look like, and I will tell you candidly whether I am the right fit.
One click confirms you are a person. It keeps my address away from scrapers and scam bots, so it stays useful for you.
What I am looking for
- C-level or executive leadership: Chief Product Officer, Chief AI Officer, Chief Transformation Officer, COO, or GM of a business line
- Frontier AI labs, AI-native companies, fintech and payments, or enterprises serious about AI transformation
- Large teams and real P&L accountability. I do my best work when the stakes are high
- US remote, or Philadelphia and the surrounding region
- Also open to board seats and strategic advisory roles