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Independent Board Advisor & Fractional CTO | PE Portfolio Technology Leadership
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Upstate NY Connections: My company is hiring in Latham, NY and is having an open house this Wednesday (14th) at our offices.
Upstate NY Connections: My company is hiring in Latham, NY and is having an open house this Wednesday (14th) at our offices.
Spruce Computer Systems is staging an Open House to meet new people to add to our team! Come learn about an exciting…
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Grant M Howe shared thisThis is a novel attack vector. More are coming. Thanks for the write up, Shane.A Morse Code Post Drained $200K From an AI Wallet. What Every Business Should Understand When Deploying AI Agents.A Morse Code Post Drained $200K From an AI Wallet. What Every Business Should Understand When Deploying AI Agents.
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Grant M Howe shared thisAI and cybersecurity just hit a tipping point most people aren’t ready for. Anthropic’s Project Glasswing revealed that their unreleased AI model has already found thousands of zero-day vulnerabilities across every major operating system and browser — some sitting undetected for over two decades. The same capabilities powering this defense will eventually reach the other side. The serious conversations about governance and responsible use aren’t just needed — they’re overdue. This is our generation’s Oppenheimer moment. Shane Stevens is a colleague and friend I’ve trusted in the security space for decades. His breakdown of what Glasswing means — especially for businesses that think this doesn’t apply to them yet — is worth your time. Read it and think about what it means for you and your future.Grant M Howe shared thisI had a whole article ready to go about the Claude Mythos code leak from last week. Was about to hit publish. Then Anthropic announced Project Glasswing and my "new news" became "old news" before it ever went live. So I scrapped the plan and wrote about the new new news instead. And yes, the "old new news" about the Claude Mythos leak is linked at the end of the article too. It's still worth reading.Project Glasswing: My Take on AI's Impact on Cybersecurity and What Houston Businesses Should Do About ItProject Glasswing: My Take on AI's Impact on Cybersecurity and What Houston Businesses Should Do About It
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Grant M Howe shared thisIf you are a C-Level, senior leader or aspire to be, read this post slowly and twice. If you strongly believe that you are not and could not be the A-Hole, there are most certainly people in your organization who disagree with you and can provide proof points. Do we sometimes have to make decisions for the company that people won't understand or won't like? Yes. Can we always explain the "why" of these decisions, especially to people who are impacted by them? No, that's part of the cost of leadership. But, how often do you operate in that mode? Is necessary or just increasingly comfortable? Does the lack of friction increase the frequency, or reduce your empathy? These are questions worth asking yourself.
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Grant M Howe shared thisYour portfolio companies are spending millions on AI tools. Who's actually going to use them? Companies buy the technology before they build the capability. The numbers are stark: → 73% of companies deploying AI lack in-house AI expertise → Most AI hires don't materialize until 12-18 months into deployment → Exit multiples depend on operational leverage, not just tech adoption The talent gap—not technology—will determine your next exit multiple. I wrote a 15-page executive brief on this for PE operators and portfolio CEOs. https://lnkd.in/gMyDRV2d #PrivateEquity #AI #PortfolioValueYour Portfolio Companies Are Spending Millions on AI Tools. Who's Actually Going to Use Them? | GeekbyteYour Portfolio Companies Are Spending Millions on AI Tools. Who's Actually Going to Use Them? | Geekbyte
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Grant M Howe reposted thisGrant M Howe reposted thisIntroduction / Who We Are: The best time to think about technology risk is before the deal closes. After 27+ M&A integrations and multiple PE exits, we've seen what separates smooth post-close execution from costly surprises: having someone in the room who's been through it before. That's why we built Geekbyte—to give PE partners and portfolio companies access to battle-tested technology leadership without the full-time overhead. We help with: → Technical due diligence that catches what others miss → Post-close integration that hits 100-day milestones → Fractional CTO leadership for portfolio companies → Board-level technology oversight If you're a PE operating partner or portfolio company CEO navigating a technology transition, let's talk. #PrivateEquity #FractionalCTO #MergersAndAcquisitions #TechLeadership #ValueCreation
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Grant M Howe posted thisIf you are working on or have put in place a pricing model for LLM integration into a SaaS product that abstracts tokens / costs from end users, I'd like to share information with you.
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Grant M Howe shared thisI am spending some time working with SugarCRM as their interim CTO. In addition to the permanent CTO position being available, there is a Chief Architect opening. If you are interested, I'm happy to chat about either position. https://lnkd.in/gnFmAScs
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Grant M Howe reacted on thisGrant M Howe reacted on thisAfter over 20 years (if you count my time at Red Cheetah, which I do!), today is my last day at ECI Software Solutions. I'm so grateful for the knowledge I've gained, the skills I've learned, and most importantly, the people I've had the pleasure of working alongside all this time. I'm moving on to a new opportunity (which I'll share more about soon) but I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for the two decades of having the good fortune of being a part of a team of people who were sincere, smart, hard-working, and truly cared about doing a good job. I hope I'm half as lucky in what comes next!
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Grant M Howe liked thisFlattered and grateful to see our CEO & Co-Founder Benjamin Levin recognized by GrowthCap as Software Investor of the Year! An honor that reflects his long-term commitment to partnering with exceptional founders and building enduring software businesses. -- This award is the opinion of the party conferring the award and not of Level Equity. The award issued by GrowthCap on March 5, 2026, was based on the time period of March 2025 – March 2026. Level Equity did not seek or submit a nomination for the award or provide any compensation to GrowthCap in connection with this award. There can be no assurance that other providers or surveys would reach the same conclusion as the foregoing.Grant M Howe liked thisCongratulations to Benjamin Levin on his recognition as Software Investor of the Year at NYC Awards Night, which took place on March 5, 2026. The event was attended by today's leading founders, executives, and investors across software, healthcare, and financial technology. Ben embodies what it means to be a great software investor – humble, disciplined, and deeply passionate about partnering with founders to build enduring businesses. His nearly three decades in growth investing reflect a sustained commitment to excellence and long-term value creation. Ben is Co-Founder and CEO of Level Equity, a private investment firm focused on software and technology-enabled businesses, which he co-founded in 2009. Prior to Level, he spent over six years at Insight Partners, most recently as a Managing Director. Under his leadership, Level has grown to $6.4 billion in assets under management and completed more than 125 investments worldwide. Notable investments led by Ben include BoardEffect, ECi Software Solutions, CloudCheckr,Instaclustr, and HVR, among others. Watch the full video: https://lnkd.in/gyqczxKm Nominations for GrowthCap’s Top Private Equity Firms of 2026 are now open. Submit here: https://lnkd.in/g9hfKiY
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Grant M Howe liked thisGrant M Howe liked thisI am thrilled to announce that I have officially accepted a new position with East Bay Community Action Program (EBCAP) as their new People Operations Partner – Talent Acquisition & Development! In this dual-function role, I’ll be leading end-to-end recruitment strategy for EBCAP’s diverse integrated program areas—ranging from medical and dental services to Behavioral Health, Head Start, and Family Development. Beyond talent acquisition, I’m excited to spearhead Learning & Development initiatives, including the design of internal career pathways and the execution of our ‘Manager School’ to empower leadership across the organization. I look forward to leveraging my background in operational process improvement and coaching to support our mission-driven teams and ensure every hire advances EBCAP's commitment to high-quality health and human services. Grateful for the warm welcome from team! 🚀 #EBCAP #PeopleOperations #TalentAcquisition #LearningAndDevelopment #HRStrategy #EastBayRI
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Grant M Howe liked thisGrant M Howe liked thisI've spent most of the last two months listening. Not to engineers. Not to product teams. To the people who sit at the center of organizations and make decisions all day long. And when I ask what is broken about how they work, they do not ask for features. They say something simpler and more fundamental. "I need to stop walking into meetings blind." That sentence has stayed with me. I keep returning to it because it describes a failure that existing tools weren't designed to fix. After 25 years of building enterprise systems, I understand exactly why. Meeting assistants capture what was said. They don't carry forward why it mattered. AI copilots answer questions if you know what to ask. They don't prepare you for what's coming. CRMs track contacts and deals. They don't maintain the lived context of a relationship across months and years. Each of these tools is useful, but none of them are responsible for continuity. I believe this is an architectural gap. The systems executives rely on were designed to store and report on activity. They were never designed to maintain understanding across decisions, relationships, and time. Closing that gap requires a fundamentally different foundation. It's not enough to slap a better retrieval layer on top of what exists. We need a persistent system that builds and maintains a model of the work so context is there before the person needs it, without being asked. The problem is visible. The architecture that solves it is becoming clear. Whether the industry is moving in that direction is the more interesting question.
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Grant M Howe liked thisGrant M Howe liked thisThis may be the end of the rebrand launch, but it's just the start of SugarAI. We can't wait to start the next part of this journey with you.
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Grant M Howe liked thisGrant M Howe liked thisSpent a few days with the #Hyatt Growth team Andaz London Liverpool Street. While our agenda was focused on the future, I found myself looking up at this stained-glass dome. It's a reminder that incredible potential - much like great architecture - often requires the right light and environment to truly show its colors. As leaders, are we building spaces that merely hold people, or spaces that illuminate them? Fun fact: located in the hotel's 1901 Ballroom, this ceiling has stood the test of time for well over a century. #InAHyattWorld#CareConnectsUs
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Grant M Howe liked thisGrant M Howe liked thisWhen a job posting says "fast-paced environment" and the candidate gets excited, it's not because they love chaos. It's that job descriptions have become a coded language, and most people haven't learned to read them yet. Let me translate a few I've seen this month: "Fast-paced environment" - We're understaffed and we know it. "Wear many hats" - There's no defined role. You'll do three jobs for one salary. "We're like a family" - We don't respect boundaries, and leaving will feel like betrayal. "Competitive salary" - We won't post the number because you wouldn't apply. "Must thrive under pressure" - The pressure never stops and nobody is fixing that. "Self-starter needed" - There is no onboarding, no process, and no manager who has time for you. "Rockstar/Ninja wanted" - We romanticize overwork and we'll expect you to do the same. There's no way to win. If you ask about work-life balance, you're not hungry enough. If you don't ask, you find out the hard way three months in. I've written job descriptions. Hundreds of them. Across 30+ products and multiple companies. I know what these phrases hide because I've been on the side that writes them. And here's what I learned: the best job descriptions I ever wrote said exactly what the role was, what it wasn't, what the salary range was, and what a realistic week looked like. No theater. No coded language. Good job descriptions sound like this: "You'll manage 3 direct reports and own the deployment pipeline. Here's the salary range." "This role is demanding. Here's what we offer in return." "We're a 12-person team. Here's what we expect in year one." You're not just being interviewed. You're interviewing them too. And the job description is the first answer they give you. If that answer is full of code words and missing information, imagine what the actual job looks like. I train senior technologists to build Fractional CTO practices at CTOx, and one of the first things we cover is how to evaluate opportunities with clear eyes. Because the skill of reading what's not written saves careers.
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Grant M Howe liked thisGrant M Howe liked thisThe biggest risk for builders and trades right now isn’t the market. It’s operating with yesterday’s playbook in a very different environment. After spending time at the Atlantic Builders Conference in Atlantic City NJ, talking with builders, partners, and industry leaders, one thing is clear: The gap between builders who are adapting and those who aren’t is starting to widen. A few shifts I’mseeing: ↳ Growth is no longer the primary goal. Control is. ↳ Data is only valuable if it drives decisions in real time. ↳ Builders who stay closely connected to partners and industry networks are moving faster and with more confidence. I had the chance to spend time with Ed Hauck and Sean Olin CGA, CGP, CSP comparing notes on what we’re seeing across our customers and where builders are feeling the most pressure right now. It was also great reconnecting with leaders across the industry, including, Dottie Fawcett, MIRM, MCSP,CSP and attending the SAM Reception and Awards. Congratulations to this year’s SAM Award winners. The level of sales innovation across residential construction continues to raise the bar. https://lnkd.in/e7ygeGmV For those in the industry, what is one shift you are seeing right now that others might be underestimating?
Experience & Education
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Geekbyte LLC
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Publications
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How SMBs Can Stop Damaging Cyberattacks and Reduce Downtime
Toolbox.com
See publicationA small- to medium-sized business (SMB) with no current cloud solution would face many hardships if a cyberattack were to occur. Grant Howe, Chief Technology Officer, ECI Software Solutions, discusses how by investing in a cloud-enabled business management solution, these businesses can reduce their downtime and gain access to dedicated cloud service professionals, all at a much lower cost than trying to handle the breach themselves.
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Debunked: 3 Myths Holding Businesses Back from Moving To the Cloud
Toolbox
See publicationThere are several myths that businesses of all sizes believe in when it comes to migrating their data to a cloud-based service. In reality, the cloud helps businesses save money and time, and most importantly, secures their data. In this article, Grant Howe, chief technology officer at ECI Software Solutions, bursts some myths around moving to cloud.
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Calling Dr. Nerd : Keys to having a meaningful "office visit" with your IT staff or consultant
Nonprofit Technology Network : Change quarterly journal
See publicationTalking to a techincal solutions specialist can be like going to visit the Dr.
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4 Tips for Creating a More Rewarding Environment for Techical Employees
Nonprofit Technology Network : Change Quarterly Journal
See publicationYou have to register to view the publication, but it is free.
Four easy tips to help boost morale and performance. -
Make Time To Develop A Disaster Recovery Plan
The Non Profit Times
See publicationDisaster recovery planning project starter and immediate risk mitigation for those who do not have a DRP. Article also published in the print version of the NPT magazine, Sept 1st 2010 printing.
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Reliable remote access: do you go it alone or partner?
Canadian Fundraiser and Philanthropy
See publicationPart three in the series on Remote Access. This part coveres how to make the build / partner decision.
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Protect your data by choosing the right personnel
Canadian Fundraising and Philanthropy
See publicationPart two in the series on Remote Access. Part two focuses on the skillsets required to implement remote access as well as security and compliance considerations.
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Geek speak: demystifying remote access, part 1
Canadian Fundraiser and Philanthrophy
See publicationPart one in the series on Remote Access. Describes types of remote access and types of remote access technologies.
Honors & Awards
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Distinguished Service Award
Order of the Arrow, Boy Scouts of America
The Distinguished Service Award was created in 1940 to honor those who rendered service to the Order beyond the lodge level. The award is presented to those Arrowmen who have rendered distinguished and outstanding service to the Order on a sectional, regional, or national basis.
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Eagle Scout
Boy Scouts of America
Organizations
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Boy Scouts of America
Member for 30+ years
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