I’m Brad Trnavsky, Navy veteran, systems thinker, lover of technology, and East Texas guy.
Background
I didn’t come up through the tech industry; instead, my background, like my education, is very diverse. I started as a hospital corpsman with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, First Marine Division, then served a stint in the Army National Guard with the 1st 161 Mechanized Infantry and the 303rd Armor Battalion. From there: twelve years in higher education recruitment and admissions, running teams at the University of Phoenix, ITT Technical Institute, and DeVry University, where I broke enrollment records and built data-driven systems that increased customer satisfaction and reversed enrollment deficits.
I taught special education and coached junior high basketball and junior high and high school football, because some of the best leadership lessons come from a kid who does not want to run another sprint. Then, project management and digital marketing, running SEO and analytics-driven campaigns, followed by freight operations at YRC, managing route optimization and dispatch data for an LTL terminal.
Today I’m at Gap Inc., leading a high-volume automated fulfillment operation and a team of 100 associates across packing and shipping, running Lean Six Sigma DMAIC projects, and serving as the building’s AI ambassador, testing new tools, rolling them out, and coaching people at every level on using AI to improve productivity and performance.
The Turn Toward AI
One pattern kept showing up across every one of these roles. The organizations that win are those that treat technology as infrastructure and data as a decision-making asset, not a reporting afterthought. That observation is what pulled me into AI strategy. What started out as curiosity has become an obsession.
Right now, I’m building a personal AI stack with a growing list of 12 agents I call the Council of Rivals, a personal knowledge management (PKM) system, and RAG pipelines. I’m also classically educated — my BA covers all the meat and potatoes of Western philosophy and thinking: Aristotle, Plato, Hobbes, Locke, Smith, Freud, Drucker, Welch, and Friedman. I am a voracious reader and love reading about both business and military strategy. Using my PKM, I’ve made amazing connections that have helped reshape not only how I think and design systems, but also how I lead, think, and parent.
I’m currently pursuing a Master of Information Systems Management with a Business Intelligence concentration at the University of Arizona Global Campus, graduating March 2027. I already hold an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a BA in Business and Economics from The Evergreen State College. Connect on LinkedIn →
“The organizations that win are the ones treating technology as infrastructure and data as a decision-making asset — not a reporting afterthought.”
What I Write About
This site is where I think in public about the intersection of AI, systems, and execution. The blog sits on four pillars: Knowledge and Context Systems, AI Roots and Technology, Agentic AI, and Strategy, Governance, and Ethics. These are the areas where I see the biggest gap between what organizations want from AI and what they have actually set themselves up to achieve. I write for practitioners, for leaders making real adoption decisions, and for anyone tired of the hype who wants to understand how this stuff works in a real-world organization.
I started this blog because I was sick of bloggers and YouTubers who just scream “this tool will change your life” with every update or release. My goal here is to be real, use the tech, talk about it, and share what really works and where I was chasing something that was all hype. If you want real, unfiltered truth on the technology and tools I’m using, this is the place for you.
Outside of Work
I live in Longview, Texas, with my wife, Shawna. When the day job and coursework are done, you will usually find me wrenching on a 1931 Model A slant windshield, smoking meat on the Pit Boss, or getting after it outdoors hunting and fishing. My wife and I love to travel and are foodies, so we love going out to eat, catching a concert, or just getting out and seeing this beautiful country. I’m a pretty simple guy. I love my life and my family. East Texas is my home, and I build everything from here.
Let’s Work Together
If any of this resonates and you want to talk, or if you are working on something at the intersection of AI strategy and operational execution and want to compare notes, reach out. Start with the blog. If you think we should talk, head to Work With Me.