Team — SEMCOG.ai

Executive Leadership

The people driving
the platform.

Six executives. Hundreds of years of collective experience. One shared conviction.

Founder
Executive Chairman

Cory C. Wooten

Founder & Executive Chairman

Strategic operator and visionary founder leading SEMCOG Technologies — the company behind Auralen.ai, a modular AI platform transforming how mission-driven sectors deploy automation, intelligence, and infrastructure at scale.

Background spanning capital strategy, systems design, and vertical innovation across real estate, fintech, govtech, sports & entertainment, and social impact. Cory built SEMCOG not as a market opportunity discovered from the outside, but as a conviction formed from deep within the communities the platform serves. He leads SEMCOG Technologies and Auralen.ai.

Capital Strategy Systems Design Vertical Innovation Real Estate Fintech Social Impact GovTech

Connect With Cory Explore the Platform

CFO

Christopher Gwiazda

Chief Financial Officer

Strategic and entrepreneurial finance leader with 20+ years spanning private equity, SaaS, Fortune 100, and nonprofit sectors. Led IPO readiness, capital raises, and financial turnarounds with a rare blend of legal, accounting, and executive leadership.

MBA – NYU Stern JD – Rutgers CPA

Private Equity M&A IPO Readiness Finance & Capital

CPO

Wendy Lahaye

Chief Product Officer

Veteran product executive who builds and scales AI-powered SaaS platforms. Led multiple startups from early product-market fit to $50M+ ARR and partnered on $200M+ in funding events. Formerly CPO at Fabric (Commonsense Robotics) and product leader at SAP CX and Teknoir.

$50M+ ARR Led $200M+ Funding Events

AI-Powered SaaS Product Strategy Robotics/IoT AI Safety

CIO / CAIO

Binu Skariah

Chief Information Officer & Chief AI Officer

Veteran technology leader with 20+ years in enterprise architecture, global engineering management, and AI platform delivery. Former VP at Credit One Bank and Rand McNally — led 100+ person teams and architected GenAI-driven credit risk and multi-agent infrastructure.

20+ Years Enterprise Tech 100+ Person Teams

Enterprise Architecture GenAI Multi-Agent AI AI Strategy

CRO

William Melton

Chief Revenue Officer & Head of GTM

Enterprise sales leader with 20+ years driving growth across SaaS and AI platforms. Built pipelines exceeding $10M and increased average deal size by 500%+ at Alkymi, Truepic, WANdisco, People.ai, and MongoDB.

$10M+ Pipelines 500%+ Deal Growth

Enterprise Sales GTM Strategy SaaS Fortune 500

CPCO

Mary Kay Jett

Chief People & Culture Officer

20+ years building scalable HR and People Operations across fintech, SaaS, and healthcare organizations. Led companies through startup growth, acquisitions, and global expansion. Specializes in equity, total rewards, organizational design, and M&A integration.

20+ Years HR Leadership M&A Integration

Talent Strategy Org Design Culture Architecture People Strategy

Strategic Advisors

World-class guidance
across every dimension.

Advisors spanning higher education, legal strategy, capital markets, product scaling, enterprise sales, facilities infrastructure, and community development. Selected for depth of relationship to the communities SEMCOG serves.

Co-Founder & Chairman

Dr. Cornelius Wooten

Co-Founder and Chairman (Strategic Advisor)

Highly accomplished higher education executive and financial manager with four decades spanning private industry and corporate finance. Former CFO/COO/CAO at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, University of West Florida, North Carolina Central University, Alabama State University, and Alcorn State University. Managed cumulative institutional budgets of approximately $1.9 billion, directed $53M in new revenue, and implemented $255M in cost containment.

Ph.D. – Florida State MBA Finance – Atlanta U. B.S. Accounting – Savannah State

$1.9B Budget Management HBCU Leadership Higher Ed Finance Strategic Transformation

20+ Years Tech Law

Chris Drews

Founding Legal Advisor

Veteran technology and IP attorney with 20+ years advising high-growth startups, Web3 ventures, and enterprise brands. Former Deputy Chief Counsel at The Walt Disney Company — led major technology licensing initiatives and platform transactions globally. Fractional General Counsel experience across M&A, fundraising compliance, IP, and emerging technologies.

Technology & IP Law M&A Fundraising Compliance Walt Disney Co.

Fundraising Advisor

Alvin McClerkin

Fundraising Advisor

Visionary capital strategist with 15+ years spanning startups, government, and tech. Co-founded AI Squared and secured over $20M in funding. Scaled operations from 5 to 40 staff while leading acquisition of rETL firm Mutiwoven. Deep expertise in capital structure, equity storytelling, and stakeholder engagement.

Capital Strategy $20M+ Raised Equity Storytelling

Product & Platform Scaling

Sonia Sng

Product & Platform Scaling Advisor

Globally recognized product and transformation leader with 20+ years scaling SaaS, fintech, and security platforms. Currently Head of Scaled Ops & Optimization at Airbnb; formerly VP at Visa leading global product innovation. Named Top 2 BAME Tech Leader by EM360 and featured in Financial Times' Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executives.

Airbnb Visa Platform Scaling UX Modernization

Financial Advisory

Stephen Short

Vice President, Capstone Partners

VP in Capstone Partners' Financial Advisory Services practice with 10 years spanning financial audit, SOX controls consulting, and software systems implementation. Experience across public accounting (Whitley Penn LLP), industry (EnLink Midstream), and advisory (Riveron). Has served clients from Forbes Fortune 500 to PE-backed startups.

Capstone Partners Financial Advisory SOX Controls PE Advisory

Sales & Market Expansion

Marcus L. Wilson

Strategic Advisor – Sales, Partnerships & Market Expansion

Seasoned sales executive with 20+ years driving growth across security, pharmaceutical, automotive, and B2B sectors. Recognized for consistently exceeding performance targets and earning national sales awards. Expertise spans enterprise sales strategy, cloud security solutions, and national account management.

Enterprise Sales Cloud Security National Accounts Partnerships

Facilities & Infrastructure

Warren Bowen

Strategic Advisor – Facilities Consulting & School Infrastructure

CEO & Executive Director of Triage Facility Consultants, LLC — specializing in facilities management, infrastructure assessment, construction oversight, risk mitigation, and insurance claim advocacy. Leads consulting strategies helping public school districts and government entities evaluate capital needs and navigate complex facility challenges.

Facilities Management School Infrastructure Risk Mitigation Public Sector

Athlete Ambassadors Auralen Spark

Elite athletes bridging sport,
leadership, and technology.

Auralen Spark's Athlete Ambassadors help shape the platform from the inside — providing lived perspective on what female athletes actually need, and serving as the bridge between athletic performance and the next generation of women in leadership.

Founding Ambassador

Auralen Spark

Kody Burke

Founding Athlete Ambassador, Auralen Spark

NC State Division I WNBA Draft Selection

Former Division I standout at NC State and WNBA draft selection — Kody Burke brings a rare combination of elite athletic experience, leadership development expertise, and corporate strategy insight to Auralen Spark.

Career spanning professional athletics and corporate leadership roles at Cisco and PNC, where she contributed to financial strategy, leadership development initiatives, and organizational performance programs across high-growth environments.

As Founding Athlete Ambassador, Kody serves as a key voice in shaping how Auralen Spark connects with and supports female athletes — bridging sport, personal development, and technology-driven performance systems. Her work centers on helping athletes develop not only physical performance, but leadership identity, resilience, and long-term personal growth.

Elite Athletics Leadership Development Corporate Strategy Cisco PNC Women in Sport

"Auralen Spark's mission is to become a national infrastructure for holistic athlete development — where athletes can develop not only physical performance, but leadership identity, resilience, and long-term personal growth."

Visit auralenspark.com ↗ Platform Overview

Join the Team

We're building.
Build with us.

SEMCOG.ai is in an active build phase. We are selectively bringing on exceptional people who combine technical depth with genuine community conviction.

We are not looking for passengers. We are looking for builders who understand that the most important infrastructure of the next decade will be built for the communities most systematically excluded from the last one.

Culture First

Depth over optics. Community always in the room.

hello@semcog.ai

Platform Engineers

AI/ML infrastructure, modular API systems, and scalable platform architecture.

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Community Intelligence Leads

Deep expertise in HBCU ecosystems, women's advocacy, or underserved market communities.

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Strategic Partnership Directors

Institutional relationship development, HBCU and nonprofit network expansion.

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Product & Design

Purpose-built UX/UI for underserved communities. No generic templates.

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Community Outreach Leads

Advocacy and engagement experience with HBCU networks, women's organizations, or underserved market communities.

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Don't see your role? Reach out anyway. hello@semcog.ai

Built by people who
believe this matters.

The people driving
the platform.