Edward Ochoa

Most regulated organizations don't struggle with GenAI because the models are weak. They struggle because leadership lacks a clear way to make deployment decisions that security, compliance, operations, and audit can all support. The teams that move fastest are not removing governance. They are making the right controls explicit, repeatable, and light enough to keep pace with deployment. Getting there requires judgment about which controls protect the business and which steps only slow the work. For over 30 years, I solved this exact bottleneck from the inside. Before launching Ochoa Consulting (veteran-owned), I led cleared AI engineering and advanced analytics within the DoD and Intelligence Community. I co-founded machine learning companies that merged into a NASDAQ-listed firm, and hold nine U.S. patents. I've led defense programs at scale and built secure AI capabilities from prototype to production in operationally constrained environments. Now, I bring that operational depth to commercial regulated industries facing the same governance-to-production bottleneck. My advisory practice is designed to help leadership teams make better GenAI deployment decisions where privacy, compliance, and operational constraints shape every choice. When technical teams get stuck on ambiguous compliance requirements and unclear testing criteria, I work alongside your internal subject matter experts to establish decision-making frameworks that clarify executive approvals, reduce avoidable rework, and strip away deployment ambiguity without compromising your compliance posture. I work strictly in the advisory lane, not the implementation lane. Client teams and SMEs retain full ownership of workflows and execution. If governance friction is slowing your AI initiatives, let's talk about the path forward.