Founder
Smart Scan
Founded an early document-technology venture, the beginning of a career spent at the intersection of information, process, and technology.
Ed Robles · Tampa, Florida
Deep roots. Modern leverage.
I am the advisor leaders engage when the problem is complex and the answer requires both operational experience and technology. I bring a career of founding, building, and a successful exit to Xerox to your most difficult problems, and to AI implementation that delivers.
Co-Founder, Smart Data Consulting
Acquired by Xerox Legal Services, 2014
Author, AI Data Reference Model (AI-DRM)
30 years building and exiting
Track Record
A career built on founding, scaling, and delivering.
The most valuable counsel comes from operators who have lived the problems their clients face. This is the record behind the advice.
Co-Founder → Exit, 2014
Smart Data Consulting, Acquired by Xerox Legal Services
Co-founded and built a legal technology and eDiscovery consultancy whose clientele included some of the world's largest law firms and boutique litigation firms, culminating in a successful acquisition by Xerox in 2014. Read the acquisition announcement →
Co-Founder
Digital Debit Group / Qondado
Co-founded a fintech and authentication technology venture that earned national press coverage, deepening expertise in emerging technology, security, and go-to-market strategy.
Today
Robles Marketing Group
Independent advisory practice serving a select roster of clients across legal technology, HR technology, consumer brands, and industrial sectors, with a focus on AI development and implementation done right.
The Through-Line
Every technology wave forces the same question.
Can institutions trust it? When documents went digital, courts and law firms needed that data to be defensible. That was the eDiscovery problem, and building the answer at Smart Data Consulting is what led Xerox to acquire the firm.
When money went mobile, banks and consumers needed transactions they could trust. That was the authentication problem, and the work at Qondado and Digital Debit drew national coverage from TechCrunch and HuffPost.
Now enterprises are adopting AI, and the question has returned a third time: where does the data go, who governs it, and what is defensible? The AI Data Reference Model is the answer, a framework born from thirty years of making new technology safe for serious organizations to adopt.
I answered it as an operator rather than an observer. I have founded and co-founded companies, hired teams, shipped products, and negotiated an acquisition through to close. That operating experience is why my counsel extends beyond technology into global commodities, consumer brands, hospitality, and automotive. Business problems recur across industries, and three decades of building provides the judgment to recognize them.
The technology keeps changing. The question does not. I have spent thirty years answering it.
Expertise
Where I create the most value.
Business Building: Founding to Exit
I have founded or co-founded multiple companies, one of which was acquired by Xerox. I advise on go-to-market strategy, partnerships, and revenue models with the operating judgment that comes only from having built, applied across industries from global commodities to consumer brands.
Complex Problem Solving
I untangle difficult operational, strategic, and organizational problems, the kind that resist internal resolution, and drive them to clear, executable outcomes.
AI Development & Implementation
I move organizations from AI curiosity to AI capability by identifying the right use cases, directing development, and implementing responsibly for measurable business effect.
Legal Technology & eDiscovery
I bring deep, exit-proven experience in legal technology and eDiscovery, from consulting operations to enterprise delivery, to law firms and corporate legal departments.
Client Roster
Trusted by operators across industries.
The practice is deliberately selective. Current and recent advisory clients include:
Links Partners / Links DataLegal Technology
Trafigura LtdGlobal Commodities
[s]Cube Inc.Cloud, AI & eDiscovery Services
Applied AI TechnologiesEnterprise AI Solutions
QuikDataeDiscovery Platform
Intellectual CapitalHR Technology & Behavioral Science
Savaje Spirits, LLCConsumer Brands
Tampa Event GroupEvents & Hospitality
Robles Motor GroupAutomotive
For Founders
Startup mentorship and advisory.
Having founded, built, and sold companies of my own, I understand the founder's seat firsthand, from first product through the execution of exit documents. I reserve a portion of my practice for founders and early stage teams seeking experienced counsel on strategy, technology, and growth. These engagements are limited and selective, typically structured as advisory retainers, with equity participation considered when the fit is exceptional. If you are building something of consequence, I welcome the conversation. Begin with the form and tell me about your company.
Insights & Published Work
Published work and perspectives.
Selected writing, publications, and press.
LinkedIn · April 2026
Introducing the AI Data Reference Model (AI-DRM): Where Your Data Goes When You Use AI
Press & Media
National press coverage of ventures I co-founded.
Contact
Start with a conversation.
If your organization is facing a problem worth solving, or an AI opportunity worth doing right, request an introductory call. The form is the fastest way to reach me. Engagements are limited and selective.