According to Inc, Adam Caplan currently leads AI and Data at Altimetrik, a global engineering firm with over 6,000 employees. He established Altimetrik’s early partnership with OpenAI and drives AI integration across client solutions for major companies. Previously, he served as SVP of Salesforce AI, where he was a founding member of the team that built and launched Salesforce’s GenAI products. He also chaired Salesforce’s GenAI Advisory Board, guiding hundreds of enterprise executives on responsible AI implementation. Earlier, he founded Model Metrics, a consulting firm focused on accelerating enterprise cloud adoption.
The implementation reality check
Here’s the thing that struck me about Caplan’s background: he’s been through multiple technology hype cycles. From cloud to AI, he’s seen what actually works versus what just sounds good in PowerPoint decks. And that experience is exactly what most companies are missing right now.
Everyone’s talking about AI transformation, but very few have the practical experience to actually make it work at scale. Caplan’s journey from founding a cloud consulting firm to leading AI at Salesforce and now Altimetrik shows he understands the implementation gap. But here’s my question: if someone with his credentials still faces challenges, what hope do regular companies have?
The enterprise AI problem nobody talks about
Look, the real issue isn’t the technology itself. It’s the organizational change required. Caplan mentions guiding hundreds of enterprise executives on “responsible and effective” AI use. Basically, that’s corporate speak for “trying to stop companies from doing stupid things with AI.”
I’ve seen this pattern before. Companies get excited about the potential, then realize their data is a mess, their teams lack skills, and their processes can’t handle AI outputs. The gap between pilot projects and production deployment is massive. And honestly, most consulting firms aren’t equipped to bridge that gap effectively.
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The partnership pitfalls
Caplan’s early OpenAI partnership sounds impressive, but these high-profile collaborations often mask deeper issues. Remember when every company needed an “AI strategy” after ChatGPT launched? Many rushed into partnerships without clear use cases or measurable ROI.
The reality is that most enterprise AI projects fail to deliver meaningful business value. They become expensive science experiments rather than practical solutions. And the consultants? They get paid regardless of outcomes. It’s the same pattern we saw with cloud transformation and digital transformation before that.
So what’s different this time? Maybe nothing. Or maybe the pressure to adopt AI is so intense that companies will keep throwing money at the problem until something sticks. Either way, having experienced guides like Caplan probably helps. But it’s no guarantee of success.
