Executive leaderBuilderMentor
I turn complex organizations into systems people can trust.
12
Creative Agencies Unified
Shared enterprise platforms across twelve acquired creative agencies.
99%
Weekly Finance Process Compliance
Automated business controls for a critical weekly finance workflow.
70%
Faster Commercial Decisions
Faster commercial pricing decisions using trusted operational data.
50+
Global Brands Served
Agencies collectively serving more than fifty global brands.
One enterprise. Many agencies. One shared foundation.
Connecting a network of acquired businesses through shared enterprise platforms while preserving how each agency operated.
Enterprise Transformation
Transforming years of acquisitions into one connected enterprise
When I joined mcgarrybowen, it was a rapidly growing creative agency. Over time we became part of Dentsu, a global creative network built through years of acquisitions.
Agencies including 360i, Isobar, MKTG, John Brown Media, Mitchell, Firstborn, Character, The Story Lab, Swirl, and others each brought their own finance, HR, project management, and operational systems.
Leadership needed a shared view of the business without forcing every agency to abandon the workflows that made each business successful.
I helped lead the transformation toward shared enterprise platforms including Workday, Dynamics 365, Nexelus, and Concur, creating one reliable operational foundation while allowing each agency to continue serving its clients.
Outcome
I helped transform a growing network of creative agencies into one connected enterprise platform.
Connecting organizations is only the beginning. Leadership still needs trusted information.
Executive Financial Intelligence
Giving leadership one trusted view of the business
Connecting enterprise systems solved one challenge, but it exposed another. Budgets, forecasts, labor, profitability, and actual performance still existed across multiple sources, making it difficult for executives to answer simple business questions with confidence.
I designed the financial architecture that brought those pieces together into one governed model. Rather than creating another reporting tool, I focused on creating a trusted foundation so leadership could spend less time reconciling numbers and more time making decisions.
Outcome
I created a trusted financial foundation for planning, forecasting, and profitability analysis.
Reliable information creates better decisions before projects even begin.
Commercial Intelligence
Making difficult business decisions easier
As organizations grow, important decisions become harder than they need to be. Different teams bring different assumptions, processes, and ways of seeing the same problem. The challenge is rarely a lack of intelligence. It is creating enough clarity for that intelligence to work together.
I begin by listening to the people closest to the work, challenging assumptions, and finding the friction hidden inside everyday processes. Only then do I use software to bring the right information and perspectives together so teams can focus on the decision in front of them.
Outcome
I helped teams spend less time reconciling process and more time making thoughtful commercial decisions.
Even great systems fail when people struggle to use them consistently.
Human-Centered Systems
Using software to change behavior, not just track it
Some of the most difficult business problems aren't caused by technology. They're caused by people trying to work around processes that were never designed with human behavior in mind.
Throughout my career, I've learned that lasting change rarely comes from sending more reminders, writing stricter policies, or asking people to simply “do better.” It comes from designing systems that naturally make the right action the easiest one to take. One of the earliest examples became TERA, where I reimagined how an advertising agency approached timesheet compliance by redesigning the process instead of blaming the people.
Outcome
I design systems that encourage the right behavior by design, not by enforcement.
Building internal platforms taught me how organizations work. Building a commercial product taught me how customers think.
Product Leadership
Taking an idea from a blank page to the App Store
After years of building enterprise platforms for thousands of employees, I wanted to experience product development from the perspective of a customer. That became TayzoPrompter, a professional teleprompter application I designed for creators, presenters, educators, and production teams.
Building the product meant much more than writing code. Every decision involved user experience, privacy, subscriptions, accessibility, onboarding, App Store review, and long-term product strategy. It reminded me that successful products earn trust one decision at a time.
Outcome
I designed, engineered, and successfully released a commercial application to Apple’s App Store.
In the end, every successful system is built by people.
Leadership
Building people has been just as rewarding as building systems.
Throughout my career, I’ve learned that the most valuable thing I can leave behind isn’t a platform or an application. It’s a team that’s more confident than when we started working together.
Whether I’m mentoring developers, partnering with analysts, or helping younger generations discover technology, I enjoy breaking complex ideas into approachable steps. The same mindset that helps me simplify enterprise architecture also helps people realize they can solve problems they once thought were beyond them.
Technology creates value. I believe helping people grow multiplies it.
Learning to Let GoCareer Timeline
I kept moving closer to the business without moving away from the technology.
I grew from building infrastructure to leading enterprise platforms, financial systems, transformation programs, and commercial products. I never moved away from the hands-on work.
Open my résumé-
Senior Systems Engineer
A rapidly growing creative agency
I built enterprise infrastructure that could keep pace with rapid agency growth.
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IT Director
The same agency at a larger scale
I created internal platforms that automated operations and improved how teams worked.
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Director, Business Systems
A global agency network
I led software teams solving commercial, financial, and operational challenges.
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Enterprise scale
Enterprise Transformation
More than 50 agency brands
I unified business platforms across a complex global organization.
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Independent Consultant
Enterprise systems and product strategy
I now help organizations modernize business systems and artificial intelligence strategy while continuing to build commercial software.
Contact
Let’s build something meaningful together.
I’m always interested in conversations about enterprise architecture, artificial intelligence, commercial platforms, product leadership, and business transformation.
If you’re looking for someone who enjoys simplifying complex organizations while helping people succeed, I’d love to talk.
Michael.Caraballo [at] carabuilt.com