Brigitte Coles

I care deeply about helping people use AI in ways that make them more thoughtful, capable, and effective — not less human. My values are grounded in curiosity, depth, dignity, creativity, and a strong belief that systems should serve people rather than flatten them. I'm drawn to hard problems, especially the ones that involve uncertainty, competing constraints, and the need to connect technical, human, and organizational realities into something coherent.

The topics that excite me most are the ones that sit at the edge of transformation: agentic AI, systems design, innovation under constraint, human-centered design, behavioral dynamics, intelligence as a social and organizational force, and the future of institutions. I love helping others think through these ideas in ways that are practical, rigorous, and imaginative at the same time.

Outside of my professional work, I love writing, building frameworks, exploring emerging technology, and developing big-picture ideas that connect across disciplines. I'm also energized by creative projects, narrative, aesthetics, and the challenge of making complex ideas not just understandable, but meaningful.

Brigitte Coles is a strategist and operator whose work sits at the intersection of systems-of-systems thinking, TRIZ, and innovation in constrained environments. Across a career spanning counterterrorism, civil society efforts supporting the Syrian High Negotiation Committee during the Syrian Civil War, network analysis and consumer behavior design, AI security, and consulting, she has focused on solving complex, high-stakes problems where conditions are uncertain, resources are limited, and outcomes depend on understanding how technical, human, and institutional systems interact.

She previously served as Chief Strategy Officer for an AI security startup from seed through Series B and now works in AI Value Creation at West Monroe, advising clients across 10 industries on how to translate AI into measurable business impact.

Brigitte also holds a Graduate Certificate in Human-Centered Design from MIT and is completing her MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, with concentrations in Strategic Management, Operations, and Innovation/AI.