FactorLab Appoints Keith Hartley as CEO to Accelerate Next Phase of Growth and Extend Market Leadership

Customer adoption of FactorLab’s SmartTagIt platform has accelerated across construction, utilities, energy and industrial operators, and the impact is visible in the company’s data. The platform has analyzed more than 2.5 million daily planning conversations across thousands of worksites and now runs more than 40 proprietary AI models. Those models surface new kinds of risk signals. FactorLab’s data shows, for example, that the most effective crew leaders spell out what is expected of their crews about 2.5 times as often as average leaders. SmartTagIt gives crew leaders visibility and coaching tools to learn and improve. FactorLab partners with customers to develop the frontline leaders who make safer, more productive work possible.

“We’re fortunate and genuinely grateful for how our customers have embraced SmartTagIt, and we can see the impact through fewer incidents, better schedule performance and less rework,” said Barry Nelson, founder of FactorLab. “Our mission hasn’t changed: use new technology, proven science and AI to reduce catastrophic events in high-risk work, where traditional approaches have fallen short. That mission comes with a responsibility to grow this impact. A year ago we committed to a plan — build our team, find the right investment partner, and bring in an operating leader to extend our market leadership. Keith is the right leader for this next step, and it frees me to focus on the strategic initiatives that will broaden our impact across the industry.”

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Hartley has built and scaled enterprise software businesses, including AI-native platforms, serving industrial and field-service organizations. As CEO of LevaData, an AI-native supply management platform overseeing more than $95 billion in annual sourced spend, he succeeded the company’s founder and led its next phase of growth. He previously served as SVP of North America Sales at field service leader ServiceMax through sale of a majority stake to Silver Lake. He also held executive positions at Sight Machine, Blue Yonder, Ivalua and Oracle, with experience spanning AI-powered decision-making, manufacturing intelligence, supply chain and field service operations. Hartley is the author of Conquering the Decision Abyss, which examines why data-rich organizations still struggle to turn information into timely decisions, and holds an MBA from London Business School.

“I’ve spent my career working with the people who keep industrial operations running, and I’ve learned that organizations rarely lack data; they lack a clear view of it in time to act,” said Hartley. “On a worksite, that gap can cost lives. FactorLab closes it where the stakes are highest: on the front line, in the conversations crews have before work begins, so leaders see risk sooner. Barry and the team have built something the industry has never had, with results customers can measure. My job is to bring it to more operators, faster, while keeping the customer partnership, learning culture and scientific rigor that got FactorLab here.”

“FactorLab has momentum, a proprietary dataset no one else has, and a founder with a clear vision for the industry,” said Michael Clifton, Partner at Falfurrias Growth Partners. “Keith pairs a track record of scaling AI-native B2B software with deep experience serving industrial and field-based organizations. Bringing in an operating leader of his caliber was always part of the plan, and with Barry’s vision and Keith leading the business, FactorLab is well positioned for its next phase of growth.”

As a member of the Board of Directors, Nelson will focus on FactorLab’s long-term vision, strategic growth and partnerships, and industry transformation initiatives. He founded FactorLab and led it as CEO through the development and rapid adoption of SmartTagIt.