Human Engineered.
Built by operators. Extended by experts. The people behind the intelligence are developers, marketers, engineers, and strategists who have lived the problem.
Core Leadership
Rudy De La Garza, Jr. has been operating at the intersection of search technology and business performance since 1997, before Google launched, before SEO had a name, and before most of his current competitors had entered the industry. That's not trivia. It's the context that explains why his clients don't switch.
As the sole SEO executive at Bankrate.com, Rudy grew organic traffic from 10,000 to 20 million+ unique visitors per month and helped take the company from a $140 million market cap to $1.8 billion, with organic search driving the majority of that growth. At QuinStreet, as Head of SEO and Online Media, he increased traffic 425% in 90 days.
Before that, as VP of Business Development and SEO at Foreclosure.com, he rebuilt their organic market position using proprietary data as a competitive moat.
That same instinct; find the structural advantage, build around it, measure everything, is what led to Groundwork--operating as one of the few agencies purpose-built for AI-driven retrieval, passage-level optimization, and Answer Engine Optimization at scale.
Jonathan's role includes partnering with client CEOs and CTOs on AI transformations while steering Groundwork's broader business strategy and product offerings.
He brings over two decades of cross-functional leadership spanning fintech, media, eCommerce, and wellness via executive and strategy roles at Bankrate, Nexstar Media Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Forbes, and Deloitte; as well as scaling a boutique creative agency from concept to multi-million-dollar annual revenue, building marketing programs for Ziff Davis, Worth Media, and Macy's.
He also serves as an advisor to mktg.ai and Zentistry Wellness, guiding product and business strategy.
Jonathan completed Boston University's AI Executive Program on generative AI strategy, and is a member of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW).
Diverse roles in diverse verticals has enabled him to solve unique problems while building positive team environments, paving the way to now steer practical AI strategies for companies seeking new growth and employee empowerment.
Kerri Gaither spent years running agency operations before joining Groundwork, which means she arrived already familiar with the gap between what AI promises and what actually ships. At Groundwork, she manages client delivery, pipeline, product documentation, and the systems that keep engagements on track from first call to final deliverable.
Kerri architects the operational and technical workflows behind Groundwork's product delivery, designing the intake, automation, and documentation systems (spanning CRM, workflow automation, and AI-assisted production) that let the team scale bespoke intelligence engagements without losing quality control.
She also leads Groundwork's Answer Engine Optimization practice, focused on helping enterprise B2B brands earn citations in AI-generated responses across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overviews.
Ionut Preda
Ionut brings eight years of software engineering and architecture experience to AI systems design, with a track record of delivering enterprise-grade solutions for Fortune Global 500 clients, including Deutsche Bank, Siemens Energy, and other large companies such as UniCredit, Garanti BBVA, and Linx Printing Technologies. His focus is the hardest problem in any large organization: making critical systems reliable.
Architecture & Engineering
Kelly Battistoni
AI Engineering Team LeadKelly leads Groundwork's AI Engineering practice, specializing in the architecture and deployment of production-grade automation systems using Make.com, n8n, and custom MCP development.
With hands-on experience deploying over 45 AI agents across client environments, Kelly brings the rare combination of technical depth and operational instinct that separates agents that work in demos from agents that run businesses. She designs the systems Groundwork's clients rely on.
Laura Cobo
AI Engineer, AutomationsLaura is a core member of Groundwork's AI Engineering team, specializing in n8n automation architecture with a focus on security and error handling - the unglamorous work that determines whether an AI system holds up in production.
Her fingerprints are on more than 45 deployed AI agents, each built to operate reliably in real business environments where failure is not an option. Laura builds for the long run, not the launch.
Brian Kane
Senior AI ArchitectBrian Kane brings something rare to AI architecture: a scientific mind trained across decades of complex systems thinking, applied to the hardest problems in enterprise AI.
With 12 years of software development experience inside organizations like Express Scripts, Cigna, and Evernorth - some of the most complex, compliance-driven enterprise environments in the country - Brian has built full-stack systems in Java and ReactJS that operate where reliability is non-negotiable. He brings that same standard to Groundwork's AI Development practice, working across Python, NextJS, TerraForm, Docker, and agentic AI architecture.
Advisors & Partners
Groundwork partners with leaders across diverse verticals to forge relationships and aid in architecting new agents and automations. This extended team provides operational guidance and industry mentorship to align cognitive AI builds with emerging institutional needs.
