Fractional CAIO · Integrated AI · Greater Hunter

Most industrial AI strategies
never make it to production. The reason is almost never the technology.

Between 68 and 95% of industrial AI pilots stall before reaching production. As few as 4% yield scaled business value. The failure point is almost always the layer between decision and deployment.

68–95%
of pilots stall before production
4%
yield scaled business value
Take the diagnostic Read more ↓
The problem

Manufacturers are being sold tools. Almost none are being given someone whose job is to make the investment work.

This is not a technology failure. AI works. The failure point is almost always the layer between decision and deployment — the governance, the integration, the change management, and the accountability structure that should be in place before a dollar is spent on implementation.

Industry research now confirms what experienced operators already know: 70% of AI success depends on people and process, not algorithms or platforms. Microsoft and Deloitte both reached the same conclusion in 2026. The technology is rarely the constraint. What is missing is the leadership capacity to manage the integration, align the organisation, and build the accountability structures that make deployment stick — and that work sits outside the scope of most technology partners.

That layer is what a Chief AI Officer owns. Most operations do not have one.

Sources: NTT/FifthRow April 2026 · Capgemini · Microsoft 2026 Manufacturing Inflection Point report
What Fractional CAIO is

A senior AI leader, embedded in your business, part-time, without the full-time cost.

Not a consultant who delivers a report and leaves. Not a vendor whose incentives are tied to a platform sale. Someone whose job is to turn AI intent into operational reality — accountable for the outcome, not just the recommendation.

What it includes
  • AI readiness assessment and prioritisation
  • Vendor and technology evaluation — no platform bias
  • Pilot design and governance
  • Internal capability building
  • Board and leadership reporting
What it does not include
  • Software licensing or platform sales
  • Large-team implementation delivery
  • Advisory with no accountability for outcomes
Who it is for
  • Board or leadership interest in AI but no internal capability to execute it well
  • A pilot that stalled and you are not sure why
  • Need to justify AI investment to a sceptical CFO or board — honest picture, not a pitch
  • Being approached by vendors and want an independent view before committing
If you are already running AI at scale with a capable internal team, this is not for you.
The next step

Start with the Industrial AI Index.
Eight minutes. Specific to your operation.

Take the diagnostic
The diagnostic gives both of us a specific, grounded picture of where your operation sits — which makes the first conversation immediate and useful rather than exploratory.
Marnie Davey, Fractional Chief AI Officer, Newcastle NSW
Marnie Davey
Fractional CAIO · Integrated AI
MBA · Grad Cert AI in Business, Deakin · MIT Sloan IoT
The person behind it

The Fractional CAIO service is not a team. It is Marnie Davey — directly.

If you engage, you are working with someone who has spent more than two decades inside complex, technology-heavy operations — learning how large organisations make decisions, where digital initiatives stall, and what it actually takes to move from intent to production.

2017 – 2025 · WesTrac
Head of Marketing and Customer Experience — one of the world’s largest Caterpillar equipment dealers

Led the design, development, and launch of WesTrac’s customer portal FitFleet — overseeing technology selection, data integration, UX design, and change management across a large, operationally complex organisation. Sitecore Experience Award for Intelligent Content Optimisation. Caterpillar Global Excellence Award for Data Management and Insights.

Built data-driven nurture journeys delivering 65% of all leads and 25% of revenue. Grew eCommerce to $150 million. Returned in 2024 to deliver an eCommerce strategy across retail and large customer segments — earning a Caterpillar Gold Medal for Digital Excellence.

Earlier career
SAS Software · Port of Newcastle · Integrated Contracting

Eight years at SAS Software as APAC Regional Marketing Manager for Digital — digital transformation across ten countries, US$10 million in pipeline in the first six months of a social selling programme. Strategy and Innovation Manager at the Port of Newcastle. GM Operations at Integrated Contracting, delivering 50% revenue growth within six months.

The Hunter
Marnie is based in Newcastle. Her work is specific to the Greater Hunter — the industries, the operators, the decision-makers, and the pace at which organisations here actually move. In 2026, she was appointed Festival Director of the Hunter Innovation Festival. Board member, Hunter Manufacturing Awards. Also works as Fractional CMO for The Measured Marketer.
Credentials
  • Graduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence in Business, Deakin University (graduating June 2026)
  • Master of Business Administration, Australian Institute of Business
  • Graduate Certificate in Technology Management, La Trobe University
  • Bachelor of Arts (Internet Studies), Curtin University
  • IoT: Business Implications and Opportunities, MIT Sloan Executive Education
  • Agile Scrum Master, PM-Partners · AI in Marketing, RMIT · CX Professionals, Forrester
Speaking and recognition

Sitecore Global Symposium (2021) · B2B Marketing Leaders Forum on digital opportunities in manufacturing (2021) · Marketing Optimisation Summit. Featured in SAS Software’s global content series. Recognised in Earthmovers and Excavator Magazine for the WesTrac website programme.

The next step

Start with the diagnostic. Eight minutes. Specific to your operation. The result gives both of us something concrete to work from before any conversation about engagement.

Take the diagnostic — index.integratedai.com.au