Brumley InstituteGrowth StrategySeptember 2026–Present
Helping small businesses grow.Supporting Central Texas entrepreneurs as a Student Consultant in the Small Business Impact Program, which combines business training, mentorship, and peer learning.About the program
Currentrole
Product · Technology · Operations
New terrain.
Useful products.
Real-world impact.
I’m Ken, a product leader with an engineer’s curiosity and a builder’s mindset. From IBM to my own startup and the factory floor, I focus on what customers need and how businesses grow.
Sometimes it’s dinner.
Current
McCombs MBA ’28Strategy, Innovation & Operations
Undergraduate
Rollins CollegeEconomics, Mathematics & Computer Science
Certification
PMP®Project Management Institute
Selected work.
All case studies
IBM · Enterprise AI
Making enterprise knowledge easier to find.
Up to 90% less time to find information in testing.
Zeus Command · ProductBuilding a product people could adopt.
Customer onboarding: five days to one.
Applied Materials · OperationsImproving the work by doing the work.
Adopted improvements to assembly instructions.
Brumley Institute · CurrentStudent Consultant.
Supporting small-business strategy and growth through the Small Business Impact Program.
Work
Ideas, put to work.
Products, processes, and the decisions behind them.
Applied MaterialsProcess Improvement2026 Improving the work by doing the work.Turned firsthand semiconductor assembly observations into adopted work-instruction changes and a fixture redesign proposal.Read the storyClose the story Adoptedwork-instruction changes informed by frontline use
My role: Manufacturing Technician · Semiconductor assembly and workflow improvement
The challenge
Instruction order and fixture visibility made delicate semiconductor assembly more error-prone.
My approach
While assembling and inspecting components, I identified issues, recommended changes to instruction order, and proposed a fixture redesign to improve access and visibility.
What changed
At least one workflow and instruction change was implemented to reduce error and part-damage risk. The fixture redesign remained under engineering review when I left.
Get close to the work.
Zeus CommandProduct Strategy & Adoption2025–2026 Building a product people could adopt.Built an AI-enabled SMB platform, then led an integration-first pivot when real customer behavior challenged our original vision.Read the storyClose the story 5 → 1days to onboard a customer after the pivot
My role: Co-Founder & Chief Product and Technology Officer · Early-stage SMB platform strategy and development
The challenge
Customers returned to familiar software even after we migrated their data into our all-in-one platform.
My approach
I built the interface, backend, and AI workflows, then used onboarding behavior to advocate a new direction. QuickBooks and Gmail integrations brought value into customers' existing workflows.
What changed
Onboarding fell from five days to one. The pivot helped win our first paid beta customer.
Switching costs live in habits.
AMA AustinCommunity Leadership2025–2026 Keeping a community moving through change.Stepped into interim leadership after the president’s departure and helped a volunteer organization maintain continuity.Read the storyClose the story ~400members served through a sudden leadership transition
My role: Chief of Staff · Volunteer chapter leadership during a presidential transition
The challenge
The chapter president resigned with two weeks' notice, exposing capacity gaps across the volunteer board.
My approach
I contacted key external relationships, assessed board capacity, recruited replacements, and coordinated priorities across events, marketing, sponsorship, and finance while a new president was selected.
What changed
Chapter operations continued without disruption, supported by clearer responsibilities and a realistic assessment of available capacity.
Continuity starts with clear ownership.
IBMModernization & Delivery2022–2024 Making room for the unexpected.Protected the IMS Java modernization deadline by negotiating earlier access to scarce test infrastructure before rework became a problem.Read the storyClose the story On timeIMS delivery within a program spanning ~15 global teams
My role: Technical Product Manager · IMS Java modernization within a program spanning approximately 15 global teams
The challenge
Shared mainframe test machines were fully booked, leaving little time to address defects discovered late.
My approach
I mapped dependencies and negotiated earlier access with teams ahead of us in the test queue, creating room for rework.
What changed
Testing uncovered issues, but the additional time let the team resolve them and deliver the IMS workstream on schedule within a program involving approximately 15 global teams.
Plan for what you haven't discovered.
IBMEnterprise AI2021–2022 Making enterprise knowledge easier to find.Turned a recurring customer frustration into a generative-AI product, from the business case and team formation through testing and production.Read the storyClose the story Up to90%less time to find relevant information in testing
My role: Product Manager · AI-assisted customer self-service, from business case to production
The challenge
Customers struggled to find documentation answers and turned to Support for self-service questions.
My approach
I built the business case, recruited a cross-functional team, and involved three customer sponsors. We tested AI-assisted discovery against historical search-time baselines.
What changed
Testing with approximately 20 internal and 10 external users showed up to 90% less time to find relevant information. I drove the product through pilot, beta, and production.
Start with the questions customers keep asking.
IBMGo-to-Market Systems2019–2021 Building the system behind the launch.Created a shared go-to-market operating model for IMS, connecting launches, content, and handoffs across the product organization.Read the storyClose the story 50+stakeholders across five functions adopted the systems
My role: Associate Product Manager · IMS go-to-market coordination across five functions
The challenge
Fragmented messaging and launch coordination left teams without a shared go-to-market process.
My approach
I defined the buyer journey, established a content cadence and release checklists, and built coordination processes across five functions.
What changed
More than 50 stakeholders across Product Management, Engineering, Sales, Support, and Marketing adopted the systems, creating a repeatable way to coordinate launches and handoffs.
A process matters when people use it.
PfizerCommercial Analytics2017 Turning shopper data into commercial decisions.Promotion modeling and shelf-productivity analysis to support consumer-health marketing and retailer negotiations.Read the storyClose the story 9%profit margin achieved by the negotiated promotion plan
My role: Data Science Intern · Shopper & Category Insights in consumer healthcare
The challenge
Promotions had to balance product margin with retailer traffic, while shelf-space requests needed a clear economic case.
What I did
I built the team’s first reusable promotion model in Python and Tableau, comparing coupon mixes and competitor offers. In a separate assignment, I modeled sales per shelf facing across seven consumer-health brands to support retailer negotiations.
What changed
The negotiated promotion plan achieved a 9% profit margin in the month reviewed. Shelf-productivity benchmarks were 53% above the closest competitor and 96% above the category average; these comparisons supported Sales discussions about shelf space.
Make the trade-offs visible.
Interactive projects
Mars Outpost.
A game about reserves, resupply, and the tradeoffs of life on Mars.
Try the game
About
Think in systems.
Stay hands-on.
From Ho Chi Minh City to Austin.
I grew up in Ho Chi Minh City, watching my parents build businesses from the ground up. As a first-generation college graduate who’s built a career in the U.S., I’ve carried a bit of that spirit with me: ask questions, learn as I go, and make something useful.
That curiosity has taken me from enterprise software at IBM to co-founding Zeus Command and working on a semiconductor factory floor. I like getting to know the people behind the work and figuring out what would make their day a little easier.
At Texas McCombs, I’m pursuing my MBA and serving as a student consultant with the Brumley Institute, supporting small-business strategy and growth. I’m also working on a McCombs+ project with Strategy&.
Austin is home now, with my dog, Jerry. Outside work, you’ll often find me exploring on my bike, tinkering with an upgrade, making furniture, or trying a Vietnamese-Mexican recipe in the kitchen. I like making things I can use, share, and keep improving.
Curiosity doesn’t clock out.
Places I’ve called home.
Education & credentials.
Graduate
The University of Texas at Austin
Master of Business Administration · Class of 2028
Strategy & Innovation
- Operations Fellow ↗A selective MBA fellowship in operations strategy, supply chain management, and business problem-solving through live industry cases, applied coursework, and engagement with industry leaders.
- Healthcare Innovation Fellow ↗Healthcare innovation and leadership through industry treks, expert discussions, and engagement with healthcare organizations.
Certification & training
PMP®
Project Management Institute
Lean Lab
Applied Materials
Community & service.
American Marketing Association, Austin Chapter
Board Member & Chief of Staff · 2025–2026
Helped rebuild and coordinate a 10-person volunteer board serving a roughly 400-member marketing community.
St. Jude
Campus Fundraiser Organizer · 2015–2019
Helped organize twice-yearly campus fundraisers, with all proceeds supporting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Google igniteCS
Volunteer Mentor · 2018
Mentored elementary school students in computer science and robotics through hands-on projects.