I’m Thomas Crook, a technologist and travel aficionado. I turn ambitious AI/ML visions into high-value business results. Over more than two decades, I’ve driven programs generating hundreds of millions in incremental value — sometimes by orchestrating global teams, and other times by rolling up my sleeves as an individual contributor driving technical strategy, architecture, and execution.

I’m a senior technology leader with 20+ years of experience across enterprise AI/ML, cloud, data platforms, and marketing technology — from co-authoring the award-winning “Seven Pitfalls to Avoid when Running Controlled Experiments on the Web” (171 scholarly citations) at Microsoft, to scaling and directing Expedia Group’s global AI & ML Technical Program Management organization.

I thrive at the intersection of vision and execution — aligning technology, people, and strategy when leading teams, and driving equal impact as an IC through technical frameworks, platform optimization, and high-stakes problem-solving.

Selected Impact Areas:

• GenAI & Large Language Models (LLMs / RAG)
• Agentic AI & Multi-Agent Systems
• AI Platforms & MLOps
• Responsible AI & Governance
• Search, Ranking & Recommender Systems
• Fraud Detection & Risk AI
• Online Advertising & Auctions
• Computer Vision
• Technical Product Management

At Expedia, I scaled and led a 25+ person TPM organization supporting 300+ engineers, scientists, and business stakeholders across 50+ teams, contributing to record division GP of $290M+. At Microsoft, I introduced A/B testing to Xbox and MSN, generating millions in incremental revenue and co-authoring award-winning papers on experimentation best practices.

In addition to my recent leadership roles, I bring additional experience as an engineering manager at a high-growth startup, as an IT director within leading universities, and as a software engineer in the aerospace sector. This foundation gives me a unique perspective on scaling technology across diverse industries and organizational models.

Let’s connect on LinkedIn if you’re interested in Agile AI transformation and building innovative online systems at scale. You can also reach me at Thomas@TravelTekker.com.

Skills: Technical Program and Product Management | Team Building | ML Platforms | SaaS | Cross-Functional Leadership | Strategy | Planning | Roadmapping | Resourcing