Northern New Mexico ยท Independent AI & Operations Advisory
Manual work piling up. Systems that don't talk to each other. AI promises that never land. You know something is off but can't see what to fix first.
We carry no vendor relationships and take no commissions โ our only product is honest counsel. Breakwater gives you an independent plan: what to fix, what to leave alone, and who should do the work.
Sound Familiar?
Your team re-enters data, chases approvals, and builds reports by hand. That time should go to customers and growth.
You own the software but the tools don't talk to each other. Information lives in spreadsheets, inboxes, and people's heads.
Every vendor promises transformation. Nobody tells you which problems AI actually solves and which it makes worse.
How We Help
Father-and-son team. Barry: fifty years in operations, supply chain, and retail. Griffin: AI research and technical assessment. You get a plan rooted in reality, not a sales pitch.
Industries We Know
Define the question, scope, and decisions the work must support.
Interview your team, observe the work, inspect systems and data.
Compare process change, existing tools, new software, AI, and no action.
Score on value, feasibility, speed, risk, and evidence.
Hand you a ranked plan with costs, owners, provider briefs, and a 90-day roadmap.
How Engagements Build
Every engagement moves the same direction: grounded market research, an independent strategic recommendation, then a connection to implementation partners matched to your specific needs โ never a generic vendor list.
Where most engagements start
A half-day session for your team or board: what AI actually is, where it genuinely helps, and where it doesn't. No pitch, no product demo.
Half-day · Scoped to your team
Explore the WorkshopMarket research that grounds your next move
Independent research into industry shifts, competitor and peer patterns, and where the real opportunities sit for your organization specifically. The foundation the rest of the engagement builds on.
1–2 weeks · Fixed-scope research engagement
Request a ScanThe strategic advisory engagement
Full review of workflows, systems, data, and AI readiness, translated into an independent strategic recommendation: do now, do next, pilot, defer, or avoid, with a clear execution roadmap.
4–6 weeks · Fixed-scope strategic advisory
Request an AuditConnected to the right implementation partner
Once the strategy is set, we connect you with implementation partners matched to your specific needs, budget, and constraints, draft clean requirements, and keep delivery tied directly to outcomes.
2–3 weeks · Fixed-scope partner-matching engagement
Scope SelectionOngoing counsel after the audit closes
A standing relationship for organizations that want an independent second opinion on hand: new tools, vendor renewals, and decisions that come up between engagements.
Ongoing · Monthly retainer, scoped to your needs
Ask About a RetainerWhy Independent Advice Matters
We don't sell software, resell platforms, or take referral commissions. The recommendation stays clean.
We test every option before recommending a path: process change, existing tools, standard software, automation, AI, and no action.
Every recommendation shows value, cost, risk, and owner. You decide with full visibility.
Team
Co-Founder, Strategy & Advisory
Former global CEO with fifty years across supply chain, outsourcing, retail, luxury brands, and strategy in the United States, Asia, and Latin America.
Barry brings pattern recognition earned by operating through complexity at scale. He also co-hosts Malestrum.
Contact Barry
Co-Founder, Technical Assessment
CTO and founder of Coherascent Labs, building AI systems that hold up under scrutiny: auditable, deterministic, and tested before they're trusted. BS and MS in Computer Science from Colorado School of Mines.
Griffin tests what AI can actually do, where it can fail, and whether it fits the problem now.
Contact GriffinField Notes
Read Breakwater notes on workflow drag, AI claims, vendor selection, and the operating choices leaders need to make before buying tools.
Start Here
Thirty minutes. No sales deck. We will test the fit and tell you what to do next.
Pricing is scoped to organization size, complexity, and evidence required.
Breakwater