Keith Vertrees

Building Smarter Products. Scaling Efficient Teams. Solving Tough Problems.

I'm Keith Vertrees—an experienced CTO/CPO and strategist trusted by startups and enterprises to deliver scalable AI solutions, fix broken processes, and unlock growth.

A Problem Solver with a Proven Track Record.

I've spent over 15 years helping businesses—from startups to enterprises—fix what's broken, scale what works, and build what's next.

Key Highlights

  • Built and led product, design, and engineering teams for Fortune 500 companies and high-growth startups.
  • Reduced tech spend by 80% and scaled AI infrastructure to drive growth.
  • Delivered 30% conversion lift through AI-powered product recommendations.
  • Guided companies through M&A transitions, organizational restructuring, and digital transformation.
  • Built pricing, category management, and demand planning processes. Delivered over $2MM in profit through price optimization.
  • Developed master data management and SQL-based ETL scripts to reduce risk and ensure data integrity during a global SAP migration.
  • Led data science teams to drive pricing optimization for Fortune 500 retailers, transitioning the team from a cost-center to a profit-generating function.

Career Journey

Shift

SVP, CTO/CPO

Digital transformation, AI strategy, and growth acceleration.

DraftKings

Director of Product Management, Data Platform

Built scalable data pipelines and analytics infrastructure.

IBM

Director, UX Research & AI Solutions

Researched AI Use Cases and Deployed AI tools for Fortune 500 brands.

Revionics

Sr. Manager, Data Science

Drove pricing optimization and analytics for retail clients.

The Estée Lauder Companies

Manager, Global Business Analytics

Developed scalable, automated data quality tools during global SAP migration.

FreshDirect

Manager, Pricing & Merchandising Analytics

Built pricing team and deployed world s first price optimization in fresh produce.

Broad Experience. Deep Expertise.

AI & Data Strategy

AI integration, NLP, vector storage, analytics, and data quality.

Product Leadership

Market fit, roadmaps, and agile processes.

Team Optimization

Velocity improvement, agile frameworks, and scaling.

Technical Programs

IT infrastructure, data migrations, master data management, security audits, and cost optimization.

M&A & Restructuring

Organizational transitions, cost-cutting, and integrations.

E-Commerce & Retail Tech

Pricing optimization, UX systems, and analytics tools.

Ready to Scale Smarter?

"Keith's ability to quickly assess challenges, streamline processes, and deliver AI-powered solutions made an immediate impact on our bottom line."

Former CEO

Shift Technologies

Former PayPal & Walmart Executive

"Keith transformed our product and engineering teams—delivering results that exceeded expectations while cutting costs dramatically."

Satisfied CEO

Technology Company

Have a project in mind? A collaboration proposal? Or do you just want to get in touch?

You can also send me a message here