James Gray is a seasoned technology executive with a rich 30+ year career traversing data, AI, product management, and IT. His diverse roles spanning Chief Information Officer, Chief Product Officer, data engineering leader, and data scientist, developed breadth and depth within the tech sector. Gray is the founder of GrayData.AI, a data & AI consulting and coaching firm based in Austin, Texas.

Gray is also a leadership and performance coach at CoachJamesGray.com, where he champions professionals and executives to discover their true potential, increase performance, and achieve ambitious goals. His coaching does not rely solely on coachees finding answers to their problems but shares real guidance from 30+ years as a technology practitioner and leader. He takes a whole-person philosophy to coaching for experiencing physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. James views his work as a time machine, saving people valuable time as they navigate life to pursue their professional and personal dreams.

Previously, as CIO at Reef Technology, Gray ran a global IT organization responsible for internal applications and technology infrastructure that powered parking operations and ghost kitchens worldwide. During his decade at Microsoft, he operated as a data scientist and Director of IT, where he honed his technical and leadership skills in building and operating data platforms to deliver actionable, analytical, and predictive insights for major business lines. Gray held key product management roles, including Chief Product Officer at Products That Count, Director of Data Products at Phunware, and Director of Product at Aspen Technology. Earlier in his career, Gray was a systems engineer at Chevron.

Gray extends his data knowledge to academia as a learning facilitator for the Data Strategy course and Artificial Intelligence: Business Strategies and Applications course at the renowned Berkeley Haas School of Business. He also coaches at the Gies College of Business, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, nurturing the next generation of business analytics and technology management professionals.

He earned a BS in Electrical Engineering from Union College, an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, and an MS in Information and Data Science from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Information. Gray also studies executive leadership and performance coaching at the Brown University School of Professional Studies.

James resides in Austin, TX, and has lived and worked in tech metros, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, and Miami.