Advisory & Board
Most leadership teams are making AI decisions without anyone in the room who has actually built and deployed an AI system. Shane Goldberg brings real implementation experience — not theory — to advisory and board-level engagements, so leadership can make confident decisions about AI strategy, investment, and risk.
Discuss an Advisory RoleWhat This Looks Like in Practice
Ongoing retained advisor — typically 2–4 days per month. Attends leadership meetings, helps evaluate AI investments, stress-tests vendor proposals, and keeps leadership ahead of the curve without requiring them to become AI experts themselves.
Suited to: mid-market firms ($5M–$100M revenue) navigating AI adoption for the first time, or those who have started investing in AI and want an independent voice in the room.
Formal director position where AI and automation strategy is a board-level priority. Brings lived experience building and deploying AI systems commercially — not theoretical knowledge from conferences, but real systems live in real businesses.
Suited to: businesses where AI is becoming a material strategic or operational risk, or where the board recognises a capability gap at director level.
A lighter-touch engagement than a full director role. Provides strategic input on AI direction, reviews proposals and investment cases, and is available for leadership team Q&A. Typically one day per month.
Suited to: growth-stage businesses or PE-backed firms building out an advisory board with functional expertise across key domains.
Contracted for the duration of a specific AI project. Reviews vendor proposals, sets technical direction, stress-tests assumptions, and reports independently to the board on progress and risk. No vendor alignment — no incentive to tell you what you want to hear.
Suited to: organisations undertaking a significant AI or automation investment who want independent oversight without adding permanent headcount.
The Problem
Most boards have no one who has actually built and deployed an AI system commercially. Not one director, not one advisor. They're making multi-hundred-thousand-dollar decisions based on a vendor's presentation deck.
That's not a criticism — it's a capability gap that didn't exist five years ago and didn't matter two years ago. It matters now. Businesses are spending serious money on AI initiatives, and the people approving that spend often have no way to evaluate whether the proposal in front of them is sound.
The risk isn't moving too slowly. The risk is making a $500k decision based on a vendor's PowerPoint. Shane has built AI systems that are live in businesses right now — generating revenue, handling client interactions, automating workflows. That perspective — what actually works, what doesn't, and why — is what's missing from most boardrooms.
$500k
The size of AI investment decisions being made in boardrooms with no one in the room who has ever deployed an AI system.
0
The number of directors on most Australian boards with hands-on AI implementation experience. The capability gap is real and it's not closing fast.
Now
When the expertise matters. Not once an investment has gone wrong, not after the vendor has locked you in. Before the decision is made.
Credentials
Built and deployed AI agents commercially
Across law, real estate, and industrial distribution — not proof-of-concepts, live systems in operating businesses.
Systems generating revenue today
The AI agents built by Saabai are live, handling real client interactions and real commercial outcomes right now.
Deep understanding of ROI and where it fails
Having built systems that worked and systems that didn't, the picture of where AI delivers and where it burns money is clear.
No vendor alignment
No reseller agreements, no referral arrangements, no platform incentives. The advice is independent.
Australian market focus
Based in Australia, available nationally. Understands the regulatory environment, the market conditions, and the talent constraints.
Enquire
Whether you're a CEO, Chair, investor, or existing board member — if AI strategy is becoming a board-level question, let's have a conversation.
These engagements are selective. If there's a fit, we'll know quickly.
Send an EnquiryEmail [email protected] directly. No forms, no funnels.