Our next guest says he keeps running into companies that are too focused on using AI tools instead of who at the company should be the AI manager. Mike Switzer interviews Allen Brouwer, founder of Sterling AI in Mount Pleasant, SC.
TRANSCRIPT:
Switzer: Hello and welcome to another edition of the South Carolina Business Review. This is Mike Switzer. Our next guest says he keeps running into companies that are too focused on using AI tools instead of who at the company should be managing them. So let's talk to Alan Brouwer, founder of Sterling AI in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, to give us more information. Alan, welcome to the program.
Brouwer: Thank you for having me.
Switzer: So, first of all, give us a, brief history and overview of your company, what it is you guys do and how you got into this.
Brouwer: Yeah. So Sterling AI is an AI consulting firm that also supports the businesses, their leadership team and management team with the implementation of AI into their companies, but also the education and empowerment around AI
Brouwer: to, you know, help the people inside the business feel more empowered with using these types of tools.
Switzer: Was this an area that you were already into?
Brouwer: Well, I started with AI about M. 5 years ago. My background is business. I've had multiple companies, worked with private equity firms, helping them scale, and was using AI inside of those companies to help us optimize. And I got into this actually by accident. I was at a mastermind group with a bunch of other entrepreneurs and business owners, and someone said, hey, Alan, you're doing stuff with AI, correct? In your businesses. What are you doing? And I said, well, why don't I just open up my laptop and show you? And I showed them what was happening in the world of AI agents and automations and workflows. And people were like, hey, can you do that for me? Okay, I guess so. And that's how this started.
Switzer: Well, tell us what you mean by a company needing an AI manager rather than focusing so much on just using
Brouwer: the tools, so a manager will come in and look at all aspects of the business. So rather than have one person inside one facet of the company, let's say in finance, you know, they're really focused on creating finance workflows or someone in inventory or sales or marketing, they're focused on their specific department. Having an AI manager that kind of can move in between departments and see, you know, how one department affects another. So you don't want to increase sales, but not have, the backend operations, sales team, support, delivery, product, inventory, not, be able to handle those sales. And then also you need somebody who understands, okay, well, how does all of that affect finances and cash, flow management. And so that's what I mean by,
you know, having a manager, an AI manager that kind of can bridge those departments so that, you know, you're not building something and then inadvertently breaking Something in another area.
Switzer: And so is this a new job then, for people to, I, guess hone their skills at is to become an AI manager?
Brouwer: Well, what we're seeing in the space is that this is a brand new line item, for business owners. They've never had to pay for, you know, an AI implementation specialist or AI education or you know, hire a role internally for, you know, a fractional or an internal CAIO, a chief AI officer. But within the past three to six months, this has become a real thing with real dollars, put behind it. So the business owners are seeing it as something new but necessary in order to move forward in 2027 and beyond.
Switzer: And so how about AI itself being the manager?
Brouwer: Ah, okay. The tools are always going to be changing you now I would say I work in AI all day long and I like to lead with, you know, AI is here to actually help humans. So let's have humans keep their jobs in and support them and in doing their jobs better, whether that's strategy or business relations or, you know, relationship management culture. Right. AI is not going to replace those things. AI is going to augment a lot of the work that's being done currently to support the humans that are already in the workspace. So yes, an AI could manage some aspects, but it's not going to manage everything. Humans are still going to need to be involved.
Switzer: Well, Alan, thank you so much for spending time with us today.
Brouwer: Thank you so much for having me, Mike.
Switzer: Alan Brouwer is founder of Sterling AI and joins us by phone from the company's headquarters in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. We will have a link to the company posted at our webpage so you can learn more, SouthCarolinaPublicRadio.org, where you can hear this show again, and you can find us wherever you find podcasts. With the South Carolina Business Review, this is Mike Switzer.
The views expressed on the South Carolina Business Review do not necessarily reflect those of South Carolina Public Radio. South Carolina Business Review transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of South Carolina Business Review’s programming.
