Michal Licko

Michal is one of the few leaders who has operated at full intensity on both sides: scaling a high-growth startup and driving AI transformation inside a 65,000-person enterprise. As Director of Engineering at Productboard, he built and scaled engineering teams through Series A to D, launched major product lines, and shaped the technical culture. As Executive Director of AI at MSD (Merck), he led enterprise-wide AI innovation, built Global AI Innovation Studios across the US and Europe, and deployed Agentic AI systems in real business workflows. Now as CEO of Visionvolve, Michal helps companies become AI-native — not just bolting AI onto existing processes, but fundamentally rethinking how organizations build, decide, and operate with AI at the core. His approach is hands-on and pragmatic: he translates "what should we do with AI?" into concrete strategy, team structure, and execution roadmaps that actually ship. Michal mentors leaders who are navigating the hardest transitions: stepping into executive roles, building AI strategy from scratch, scaling engineering organizations past the breaking points, or making the leap between startup and enterprise worlds. He brings direct experience (not frameworks) and a no-BS style.

16+ years of experience

50 mentoring sessions focused on AI strategy and technical leadership

• AI strategy — cutting through hype to build a real execution roadmap
• Scaling engineering organizations (10→100+ engineers across continents)
• Navigating the startup↔enterprise transition as a leader
• Building and leading AI/ML teams from zero to production
• Executive career transitions — Director→VP→C-level readiness