Kevin Williams is the AI Whisperer — a five-time CEO and founder of Ascend AI who advises C-suite executives, public company boards, and high-net-worth individuals on AI adoption, governance, and risk. His path to this work is unusual: he built DTC brands, appeared on Shark Tank (they called him — he didn't apply), watched Chinese counterfeiters nearly destroy his business, and built machine learning systems out of desperation just to survive.

Kevin Williams is the AI Whisperer — a five-time CEO and founder of Ascend AI who advises C-suite executives, public company boards, and high-net-worth individuals on AI adoption, governance, and risk. His path to this work is unusual: he built DTC brands, appeared on Shark Tank (they called him — he didn't apply), watched Chinese counterfeiters nearly destroy his business, and built machine learning systems out of desperation just to survive. That accidental detour became a career.
Today Kevin is one of the most sought-after confidential AI advisors in the country. He advises the Utah Governor's Office of AI Policy, co-chairs the Responsible AI Initiative at the University of Utah, and has led AI implementations across 50+ enterprise engagements in entertainment, property management, consumer products, marketing services, and environmental services. His firm has trained more than 1,000 professionals to work with AI confidently and responsibly.
Kevin is a practicing AI user — he dictates almost everything, runs agentic workflows inside his own company daily, and co-hosts a weekly AI podcast. He doesn't theorize about this stuff. He lives inside it. As a podcast guest he brings real client stories, strong opinions, zero jargon, and a genuine gift for making intimidating topics feel completely approachable.
Cited by the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Inc. Magazine.