ABOUT SIGNAL FOUNDRY
We built Signal Foundry around a simple idea.
The problem should determine the capability. Not the other way around.
Organizations are surrounded by expertise, technology and ideas. What they often lack is a practical way to bring the right capabilities together around one consequential priority—without building a permanent team or committing to a solution before the evidence supports it.
That's why Signal Foundry exists.
WE DON'T START WITH THE ANSWER
We start by understanding what is actually getting in the way.
STRATEGIC
Sometimes the challenge is strategic. Sometimes it's organizational. Sometimes it's operational, technological or human. Often, it's several of those at once.
ORGANIZATIONAL
OPERATIONAL
TECHNOLOGICAL + HUMAN
The capability follows the problem.
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE MODEL
Experienced enough to know the answer rarely comes from one discipline.
Signal Foundry is led by practitioners who have worked at the intersection of strategy, technology, operations and people — and understand what it takes to move a consequential priority forward.
Jerry Abrams
CO-FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL
Jerry brings decades of experience in strategy, innovation and organizational transformation. He helps leaders recognize emerging signals, challenge assumptions and make better decisions in complexity — combining human-centered methods, emerging technology and AI to turn insight into practical paths for innovation, adoption and change.
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Jerry is also Founder of Stratalyst.ai.
Mike Helfrich
CO-FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL
Mike is a technology entrepreneur, product strategist and systems architect with decades of experience spanning AI, IoT, edge technologies and mission-critical operations. He connects people, data and technology to turn emerging capabilities into practical products and solutions that work in complex, real-world operating environments.
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Mike is also Founder and Managing Director of Campbell Meade LLC.
Ken Tourison
CO-FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL
Ken brings more than three decades of experience in strategy, growth, operations and national security. He sees connections across complex systems, translates emerging signals into strategic direction, and aligns people, capabilities and resources around consequential priorities—turning strategy into executable pathways and sustained results.
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Ken is also Founder and President of Think Dragon LLC.
THE FOUNDRY BENCH
Capability Assembled Around the Priority
Signal Foundry is built to extend beyond its founders. We draw from a deliberately assembled bench of senior practitioners, operators, technologists and subject-matter experts whose experience spans mission, industry, technology and organizational domains.
We bring them in selectively — when the problem, phase or implementation challenge calls for their expertise. That may mean a single specialist for a focused question or a multidisciplinary team assembled around a complex priority.
The result is access to experienced capability without requiring clients to build or carry the full organization themselves. Right expertise. Right depth. Right time. One integrated Signal Foundry team.
We assemble against the work, not against a standard org chart. Each engagement begins with the priority, the uncertainty to reduce and the outcome required; we then determine which combination of strategic, operational, technical, domain and implementation expertise is actually needed.
CLIENT PRIORITY /
SIGNAL FOUNDRY TEAM
Strategy & Growth
direction, portfolio choices, market and operating-model decisions
Mission & Operations
mission context, field realities, preparedness, response and execution
Technology & Data
architectures, digital systems, data, edge capability and integration
AI & Decision Support
AI-enabled analysis, synthesis, workflow augmentation and judgment support
Organization & Adoption
leadership, facilitation, learning, change and adoption
Program & Acquisition Execution
program discipline, acquisition pathways, implementation and scale
Specialized Domain Expertise
mission-specific SMEs added when the work requires depth
Fractional innovation is not fractional staffing. It is access to a right-sized combination of senior judgment, specialized expertise, tools and execution capacity assembled around the priority.