Steve Roy

Technology & AI Due Diligence for PE | Governance Briefings for Mid-Market Boards | Founder, Demarcations | IAPP AIGP | ex-Arthur D. Little

Denver, Colorado, United States

About

The briefings inform the diligence. The diligence informs the briefings. That loop is the point. I publish Demarcations, governance briefings for mid-market boards, PE investors, and investment analysts. Initial coverage is on AI Dependence. Companies are running on AI they're not governing. Sometimes they never chose it. Sometimes they did, and the dependency still caught them off guard. It shows up embedded in vendor platforms, hidden in shadow AI tools, baked into operations, and locked in individuals whose AI-augmented work no one has documented. I also cover Agentic AI: who governs it, who is accountable for what it does, and where the line between automation and autonomous action actually falls. I support technology and AI due diligence for PE deal teams. That means identifying red flags, assessing AI-dependent revenue and margin claims, and helping investors avoid surprises on infrastructure-heavy transactions. My scope includes network, communications, and cloud infrastructure, vendor ecosystems, AI systems, and cybersecurity posture. Not code-level technical diligence. My background: 40 years in enterprise technology. Digital Equipment Corporation in North America and Asia Pacific. Arthur D. Little in Singapore (1994–1999), advising on infrastructure and telecom investment across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. 24 years running Telecom Buyer, an independent technology advisory firm in Denver. Credentials: IAPP Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (AIGP). DDN Boardroom Qualified Technology Expert (QTE). MIT Applied Agentic AI for Organizational Transformation. MS Telecommunications, University of Colorado Boulder. If any of that sounds useful, I'm not hard to find.

Experience

  • Founder at Demarcations
    Mar 2026 - Present · 5 mos

    Demarcations is a single-author governance publication for mid-market board directors, PE investors, and investment analysts. AI Dependence is the first area of coverage. Companies are running on AI they didn't choose, and on AI they chose without fully reckoning with the dependency. The briefings map where that dependency lives: in vendor platforms, in shadow AI tools, in day-to-day operations, and in individuals whose AI-augmented contributions haven't been documented or backed up. It surfaces in audits, incidents, and deals. Agentic AI is the second. As software begins acting and deciding without being explicitly asked, the governance questions multiply: who authorized the action, who is accountable for the outcome, and where oversight actually lives. The briefings examine those questions.

  • Managing Partner & Founder at Telecom Buyer
    Jul 2002 - Present · 24 yrs 1 mo

    Independent technology advisory firm for mid-market businesses. Network design and vendor sourcing for 400+ clients. More than 1,000 service provider agreements negotiated, representing well over $50M in contract value across SD-WAN, UCaaS, cloud, and cybersecurity.

  • Director | CRM at Amdocs
    Jul 2001 - Oct 2002 · 1 yr 4 mos

    Brought on early to support due diligence on the $200M cash acquisition of Clarify CRM from Nortel. Helped launch the North American CRM consulting practice post-close.

  • Vice President | Customer Analytics & Data Mining at Marconi
    Jun 1999 - Jul 2000 · 1 yr 2 mos

    Built and led the customer analytics and data mining practice through the company’s acquisition by Marconi PLC at a 10.7x revenue multiple. Teams spanned Washington DC, Seattle, and London.

  • Manager | Strategy & Corporate Finance at Arthur D. Little
    Oct 1994 - Jun 1999 · 4 yrs 9 mos

    Led commercial due diligence on 15 network projects valued at $25M–$350M — national fiber, undersea cable, satellite, telephony and cellular — across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Advisory engagements included pre- and post-investment strategy and partnership evaluations.