Retained Intelligence

The Minds Behind the Methodology

Retained Intelligence doesn't just build systems. It builds them with the counsel of people who've led at the highest levels.

Why an Advisory Board?

Sovereign Knowledge is a discipline that lives at the intersection of human expertise, organizational strategy, and intelligent technology. Getting it right requires more than technical architecture — it requires the hard-won perspective of leaders who have navigated complexity, built institutions, and understood firsthand what it costs when critical knowledge walks out the door.

The Retained Intelligence Advisory Board exists for one reason: to ensure that what we build, how we deploy it, and who we serve is continuously informed by the people who have operated at the level our clients aspire to reach.

These are not honorary titles. Our advisors are active thought partners — shaping the methodology, challenging our assumptions, and ensuring Retained Intelligence remains the definitive standard in Sovereign Knowledge.

Russell Privitt

Russell Privitt

Russell Privitt is a seasoned business unit and operations leader with more than 30 years of experience in high-reliability manufacturing for aerospace and defense. He has held P&L responsibility across single-site and multi-site operations with combined revenue scope up to $45M and teams of 180+ employees, leading programs supporting platforms including SM-3, Hellfire, AIM-9X, and Falcon 9.

Russell's career spans engineering leadership, site management, and executive operations roles at Morgan Advanced Materials, TE Connectivity, API Technologies, and JDK Controls — progressing from hands-on electrical engineering to directing multi-facility manufacturing strategy in AS9100C/ISO 9001 environments.

He brings particular expertise in scaling complex value streams, industrializing mission-critical systems, and aligning engineering, operations, and customer requirements around measurable outcomes. A Magna Cum Laude graduate in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from California State University, Northridge and member of Tau Beta Pi, Russell combines deep technical grounding with the operational discipline required to build and sustain high-performance manufacturing organizations.

Hector Barresi

Hector Barresi

Hector Barresi is a global executive and AI strategy advisor with more than 25 years of leadership experience across industrial B2B markets, including tenures at GE, Honeywell, Danaher, IMI Precision Engineering, and IDEX Corporation — organizations operating at the highest levels of industrial automation, IoT, and manufacturing technology.

Throughout his executive career, Hector led product management, marketing, and go-to-market strategy across P&Ls ranging from $135M to $1.2B, building and scaling teams across North America, EMEA, and APAC. His work spanned predictive maintenance, smart factory automation, industrial digitalization, and IoT-enabled product development — including creation of Tintelligence, recognized as the world's most advanced IoT and cloud-based B2B digitalization platform for the paint industry.

Now principal of Sextant International, Hector advises mid-market B2B companies on enterprise AI strategy — translating board-level accountability into measurable operational outcomes. A TEDx speaker on AI, he holds an MBA in International Commerce from IAE France and a certified executive coach credential from CoachU.

Hector brings to Retained Intelligence's advisory board deep expertise in industrial markets, enterprise technology adoption, and the organizational discipline required to turn AI investment into results leadership can defend.

Retained Intelligence

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