Accenture · Grant Thornton · Industry

AI Transition
Guide for the
C-Suite

Every major disruption creates a dividing line — the companies that move first and the ones that spend years catching up. I help executives make the critical decisions to capture immediate value from AI and make the benefits sustainable, transforming how organizations operate and their workforce. The window is open. The question is who moves first.

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Jerry Krzywicki

The Through-Line

Nearly two decades helping leaders navigate the transitions that reshape their companies.

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Chapter I

Suburban Bank & Trust · 2006–2013

The Operator

Started as an operator with direct accountability for performance inside a community bank. Built the data and analytics foundation that transformed gut-feel management into performance-driven decision-making. When the 2008 financial crisis hit and competitors were contracting and failing, helped leadership play offense — identifying new revenue streams, redesigning incentives, and growing demand deposits by $30M+ while peers were shrinking. Launched mobile banking to 24% customer penetration in six months.

When the landscape shifts, most organizations freeze. I help leadership teams find the opportunity inside the disruption and move on it. That pattern started here — and it's never stopped.

Chapter II

Sirius/Forsythe · 2014–2018

The Architect

While most organizations were still debating whether "digital" mattered, helped build a digital strategy practice from zero — no team, no pipeline, no brand. Equipped a legacy sales force to sell something entirely new. Helped companies across financial services, entertainment, and healthcare solve pressing challenges — from standing up third-party risk management for a top-five U.S. bank to enabling a global entertainment brand to build an entirely new B2B sales channel.

I got in early, rolled up my sleeves, and helped build the thing — inside an organization that wasn't designed for it. That's exactly what AI demands.

Chapter III

Grant Thornton · 2018–2021

The Transformer

Digital disruption was creating a clear dividing line — banks that moved early were pulling away, and the ones that hesitated were losing ground fast. Guided a $27B regional bank through a comprehensive digital transformation — from C-suite strategic planning through product launch — helping elevate the institution into the top 20 U.S. digital banks. Partnered directly with the Chief Digital Officer to rebuild the digital organization and deliver end-to-end automated origination, driving 10%+ of new customer growth through a channel that didn't exist before.

I don't hand off a strategy deck and move on. I stay from design through execution and own the outcome — including shaping the board and C-suite conversations that unlock investment and alignment.

Chapter IV

Accenture · 2021–2025

The Partner in the Room

Moved into manufacturing, semiconductor/high-tech, and biopharma — advising Fortune 500 technology executives at their most consequential inflection points and generating $5M+ in annual advisory impact. Played a central role in a simultaneous M&A integration and carve-out for a $41B semiconductor firm. Uncovered $102M in cost-saving opportunities for a global manufacturer. Supported the largest bank merger in Canadian history.

I've earned the trust of senior leaders when the stakes are highest and the margin for error is thinnest — regardless of industry.

Chapter V

Fujitsu · 2025–Present

The Conviction

Every major disruption creates a dividing line — the companies that move early and the ones that spend years catching up. AI is the most consequential inflection point yet — and the pattern is the same. The technology is never the hardest part. Getting leaders to align, decide, and move with conviction is. I embed with the C-suite, help them see the opportunity inside the disruption, build conviction across the leadership team, and drive execution until the strategy becomes reality.

Every major disruption creates a dividing line. I've been on the right side of that line through three consecutive waves: the financial crisis, digital transformation, and now AI.

Impact

Numbers that tell the story.

$102M

In cost savings uncovered for a $23B global manufacturer

90%

Record-breaking engineer engagement — the highest of any integration in the client's history

Top 20

Elevated a regional bank into the top tier of U.S. digital banks

$35B+

In M&A deal volume across successfully delivered IT integrations — spanning semiconductor, biopharma, banking, and REIT

$30M+

In deposit growth generated while competitors were shrinking during the financial crisis

Case Studies

Strategy through execution. Start to finish.

Digital Transformation

$27B regional bank, U.S.

From Regional Player to Top 20 Digital Bank

10%+ new customer growth through a channel that didn't previously exist. Fundamentally repositioned to compete in new markets.

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M&A Integration

$41B global semiconductor firm

Simultaneous Integration & Carve-Out at Enterprise Scale

90% engineer engagement. $1B+ quarterly revenue line with a $45B design-win pipeline.

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Cost Optimization & Cloud

$23B global manufacturer

Unlocking $137M in Savings for a Global Manufacturer

$112M in operational cost savings over seven years plus $25M in cost avoidance. Consolidated vendor footprint with clear visibility into IT spend.

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Scaling M&A Capabilities

$60B global biopharma company

Scaling M&A Integration for a Global Biopharma Leader

Integration capacity repositioned toward nearly double prior capacity — without growing the team or budget.

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Operating Model Reinvention

$60B global technology company, $1.2B IT budget

Reinventing Technology Investment Planning

Decision latency dramatically reduced. Technology investment tied to clear business outcomes rather than inherited project lists.

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The Challenge

What I Did

The Result

Perspective

Points of view, earned through experience.

01

Why the Technology Is Never the Hardest Part

Every AI vendor promises transformation. But the technology is the easy part — you can deploy it in a few months. What takes real commitment is everything that comes after: aligning leadership on a shared vision, transforming how the company and its people actually work, navigating workforce shifts and expanding responsibilities, and empowering employees to solve real problems rather than just create point fixes. That's the work that demands more time, more conviction, and more leadership than any technology deployment ever will. It means bringing the entire organization along without breaking what's already working, turning AI into a force multiplier rather than a disruption to manage, and building something your people are genuinely equipped and excited to run with. The courage to commit to that is what separates winners from followers.

02

What Digital Transformation Taught Us About AI Readiness

The banks that won the digital race didn't start with the best technology — they started with leadership teams willing to disrupt their own business models. AI follows the same pattern, but the stakes are higher and the window is shorter. The difference this time? The same technology creating the disruption can also help solve it — accelerating how organizations learn, adapt, and redesign the way they work. The lessons from a decade of digital transformation have never been more relevant, and the companies that internalize them first will define the next era of competition.

03

Cross-Industry Perspective as Competitive Advantage

Depth times breadth creates a compounding advantage that's genuinely difficult to replicate. Having built expertise across banking, high-tech, manufacturing, and biopharma, I see connections and opportunities that specialists inside a single sector simply can't. The breakthrough your organization needs may already exist — proven, refined, and battle-tested in an adjacent industry. I know where to find it, how to translate it, and how to bring it to life inside your specific context.

"The greater the distance between the problem and the analogous field, the greater the novelty of the solution."— Marion Poetz, Harvard Business Review
Jerry Krzywicki

About

Built on the operator's mindset. Sharpened in the boardroom.

I didn't start as a consultant — I started as an operator with direct accountability for performance. That foundation shapes everything about how I work. I go deep enough to earn the trust of leaders who live inside their industry every day, and bring perspective from across industries and disciplines that helps them see solutions they wouldn't find on their own.

My career spans the financial crisis, the digital transformation wave, and now AI — each time on the right side of the dividing line, helping organizations move first rather than catch up. Most advisors offer depth or breadth. The moments that matter most demand both.

Education B.S. Finance & Marketing
University of Illinois at Chicago
Certifications Human-Centered Design — IDEO
Leading with AI and Analytics — Northwestern University
Effective Facilitator — Leadership Strategies

Ready to
move first?

The companies that emerge stronger are the ones that choose to disrupt themselves. If you're a forward-thinking leader who sees what's coming and wants to build something your team is excited to be part of — let's connect.