
Francis Maduakor
4.5
(2)
Helping Professionals Transition Into GenAI, Land Senior AI Roles
Studied at African University of Science and Technology
Works at Reef
Available tomorrow at 11:00 PM UTC
Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.
Francis's Coaching Offerings
Custom hourly · $79/hr
Get help with Fractional AI Strategist, AI Roadmap Development, and .
Francis’s AI Strategy & Transformation Qualifications
Coaches professionally
Experience level: Executive
10+ people coached for AI Strategy & Transformation
What if you could compress years of AI trial-and-error into months, with someone who's already built it at scale? That's what mentorship with me looks like. Whether you want to break into GenAI, ship your first agentic system, land a senior AI role, or grow into engineering leadership, I'll get you there faster, with less wasted effort and more real-world results. I specialize in three high-leverage areas: Agentic AI & LLM systems, AI in Healthcare, and AI in Finance. These aren't buzzwords I follow from the sidelines. I build in them. I've shipped production-grade autonomous systems recognized by the World Bank and Harvard, led a global payroll and cross-border payments platform in partnership with Citibank and HSBC as CTO of Align Group, serving clients like Unilever, and I currently build agentic AI systems that generate full financial models in minutes by combining real-time data, code execution, and document parsing. Through this mentorship, you can expect to become the kind of engineer or builder who doesn't just understand AI. You deploy it, lead it, and make it create measurable business impact. Here's what that looks like in practice. You'll build production-ready agents that ingest documents, execute analysis, and return audited results. You'll get architecture reviews, pair programming sessions, and iterative code reviews that meaningfully raise the bar on your work. You'll learn how to scope AI products, make smart data and infrastructure decisions, and build in safety and monitoring from the start. And if career growth is your goal, we'll work on your roadmap to leadership, sharpen your resume, and prepare you to walk into any senior AI interview with confidence. I work best with early-to-mid career engineers, data scientists, product builders, and technical founders who are serious about one or more of these goals: transitioning into GenAI, agentic AI, or LLM-driven products; specializing in AI for healthcare or financial systems; breaking into or leveling up within engineering management for AI teams; or going from prototype to production on a real AI product. My background in AI in Finance means I can help you navigate payment technology workflows, financial data pipelines, compliance-aware system design, and building AI tools that work inside regulated environments. My experience in AI in Healthcare equips you to understand clinical data constraints, regulatory considerations, and how to build AI systems that meet the rigor those domains demand. You won't just learn concepts here. You'll leave sessions with working code, clearer architecture, a stronger professional narrative, and a concrete next step every single time. Ready to start? Send me a short note with your current role, one project you want to build, and your top goal. I'll come back with a clear first step and a tailored roadmap built around where you want to go.
Francis can help with:
Fractional AI Strategist
AI Roadmap Development
AI Agents
AI Policy & Governance Design
AI Automation
AI Readiness Assessment
AI Strategy
AI Tools & Integration
AI Insights Dashboard
AI Product Innovation
Predictive AI
AI-Driven Sales
Team AI Upskilling
AI-Driven Marketing
Freelancing
Francis also coaches for AI for Finance and Break Into AI Careers. View all.
About Francis
What if you could compress years of AI trial and error into months? I help students and professionals break into GenAI, build production-grade agentic systems, and grow into senior AI or product leadership roles. My path has shaped how I coach. I grew up in Nigeria, lived and worked in Singapore, and immigrated to the U.S., so I understand what it means to navigate new systems, cultures, and career environments. I bring that same empathy and clarity into every coaching session. Professionally, I’ve built at the intersection of AI, finance, healthcare, data infrastructure, and high-stakes operations. As former CTO of Align Group, I led global payroll and payments infrastructure across 20+ countries in partnership with institutions like Citibank and HSBC. My AI and data science work has been recognized by groups including the World Bank, Harvard research teams, and WHO-linked programs. My coaching is practical, hands-on, and outcome-driven. We can work on LLM architecture, agentic workflows, AI product strategy, code reviews, interview prep, leadership growth, or taking your AI prototype into production. You won’t leave with theory alone. You’ll leave with clearer architecture, stronger code, a sharper career narrative, a better resume, and a concrete next step every session.
Why do I coach?
I coach because I know what it feels like to be talented, ambitious, and still unsure how to break into the rooms you know you belong in. I grew up in Nigeria, lived in Singapore, and immigrated to the U.S. Every major step in my career required me to learn a new system, decode invisible rules, and prove myself in environments where I did not always have the same network, context, or access as everyone else. Mentors changed that for me. The right guidance helped me move faster, avoid painful mistakes, and see opportunities I would have missed alone. Now I coach because I want to be that shortcut for others. AI is creating one of the biggest career shifts of our lifetime, but most people are trying to figure it out alone. I help builders turn confusion into direction, prototypes into real systems, and ambition into measurable career growth. Coaching matters to me because talent is everywhere. Access is not.
Work Experience

Co Founder
Reef
September 2024 - Present
Reef is where real estate deals become decisions — instantly. We build AI-powered intelligence systems for real estate investors, turning fragmented deal materials into structured analysis in minutes. From Offering Memorandums and broker decks to Excel models and IC memos, Reef automates the most time-consuming parts of underwriting: → Extracts and structures deal data → Builds clean, auditable financial models → Generates investment summaries and key risks We provide tailored consulting services for real estate asset managers and private equity through Nova (check https://opennova.co/) Product Lifecycle Management, Product Vision and +3 skills

Chief AI Officer
Nightingale Health Intelligence
March 2023 - Present
At Nightingale, we build data and Generative AI systems that turn complex healthcare data into decisions that drive real outcomes. We combine data engineering, analytics, and AI to move organizations from fragmented data → actionable intelligence → measurable impact. Healthcare-native and compliance-first (HIPAA, FDA, MLR embedded), we deliver faster trials, smarter growth, and real-world impact for organizations like the World Bank and World Health Organization.
Education

African University of Science and Technology
Masters, Computer Science
2018 - 2019
Computer Science with a focus in Artificial Intelligence, trained under expert professors from University of Aizu (Japan), Carleton University (Canada), and University of Nancy (France).
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