Werner Koepf

Technology and AI executive with 25+ years of experience helping organizations modernize platforms, scale engineering teams, and turn technical innovation into measurable business outcomes across startups, enterprise software, and global technology companies.

About Me

I am a technology, product, and AI leader who has spent more than 25 years building and scaling software platforms, engineering organizations, and AI-driven products. My career has taken me from academic research in theoretical physics and artificial intelligence to leadership roles at startups and global technology companies including Amazon, Expedia, Ticketmaster, Conversica, Karat, and LILT AI. What motivates me most is helping organizations navigate periods of transformation—whether that means adopting AI, modernizing architecture, scaling teams, or building the operational foundations needed for long-term growth.

Career Highlights

Throughout my career, I have repeatedly joined companies at critical inflection points and helped them scale. At Amazon, I led the Gifting business and helped drive the company's transition toward a service-oriented architecture while scaling Gifting into one of Amazon's highest-leverage customer experiences. At Expedia, I led machine learning and platform initiatives, helping build API-driven services that powered integrations with partners such as Google. At Ticketmaster, I built and scaled the engineering organization responsible for the company's resale marketplace platform. As CTO and engineering leader at Conversica and Karat, I transformed products, rebuilt core AI systems, expanded engineering organizations, and helped scale revenue and operations. Most recently, as CPTO at LILT AI, I led Product, Design, Engineering, and AI Research, delivering agentic AI products while improving platform reliability, translation quality, and customer adoption.

Techquity Solutions

I help companies bridge the gap between technology strategy and execution. Having worked in both world-class engineering organizations and fast-growing startups, I understand how to grow and uplift teams, modernize platforms, improve engineering practices, and align product development with business outcomes. My experience spans AI adoption, platform architecture, engineering leadership, product strategy, organizational design, and operational scaling. I work closely with leadership teams to identify what matters most at their stage of growth and create practical, achievable paths forward.

Innovation & Impact

• Led Product, Design, Engineering, and AI Research at LILT AI, delivering multiple agentic AI products and advancing AI-powered translation platforms
• Grew Karat's Engineering, Product, AI, and Data Science organizations from approximately 20 to 70 team members
• Rebuilt Conversica's core AI engine, enabling expansion into new markets, use cases, and product offerings
• Established and scaled Ticketmaster's Seattle engineering organization while leading development of its resale marketplace platform
• Built Expedia's API platform strategy and helped enable integrations with Google Maps and other strategic partners
• Led Amazon's Gifting business, helping scale one of Amazon's largest retail categories and platform ecosystems
• Developed award-winning analytics and process optimization software early in his career within industrial and manufacturing environments
• Led multiple large-scale platform modernization and service-oriented architecture transformations
• Introduced AI-assisted and agentic development practices across engineering organizations, improving delivery speed, quality, and execution
• Deep experience helping organizations navigate AI adoption, organizational scale-up, platform transformation, and operational maturity

Why Techquity?

I joined Techquity because it brings together experienced operators who have actually built, scaled, and led technology organizations. What resonated with me was the practical, operator-focused approach to helping companies solve real problems—not theoretical recommendations, but insights grounded in experience. I enjoy working across different industries, identifying recurring patterns, and helping leadership teams navigate growth, technology transformation, and AI adoption. Techquity provides an opportunity to combine that experience with a group of accomplished leaders who are focused on creating meaningful impact for clients rather than proving what they have already accomplished.

Thought Leadership

• Podcast appearance on “Your AI Injection”: “A CTO's Perspective on Leveraging AI in Business: Interview with Dr. Werner Koepf”