Leadership & mission.
Our leadership team brings decades of experience across engineering, operations, finance, and innovation — driving Bear Creek AI’ s mission to turn enterprise knowledge into action for any team that runs on accurate, defensible answers.
Why we built Bear Creek AI.
We exist to make institutional knowledge permanent, searchable, and defensible — for sales, support, compliance, operations, training, and every team in between.
Empower the teams who run on knowledge.
Give every team — from sales and support to compliance, operations, and training — the AI-powered tools to reach their full potential, grounded in the documents your organization already trusts.
Innovate faster, work smarter, stay secure.
Help organizations achieve new levels of efficiency without sacrificing trust. Your proprietary data stays private, and every answer surfaces its source — so teams can verify what they read at every step.
The people behind Bear Creek AI.
Founders, operators, and engineers with decades of combined experience — each bringing a discipline that shapes how knowledgeXpert™ gets built and run.
Neil G. Thompson, Ph.D.
Over 45 years of experience as a research scientist and consulting engineer, collaborating with top-tier corrosion and materials engineers. Founded CC Technologies in 1985, growing it into a leading corrosion and materials research firm in the U.S. (acquired by DNV in 2005). Conducted over 40 major research projects, including leading the forensic investigation of the Deepwater Horizon blowout preventer. Currently serves as SVP Pipeline Services (part-time) at DNV North America. Past President of NACE, Fellow of AMPP, and inductee of the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame.
As Bear Creek AI’ s Founding Member and CEO, Neil provides leadership and strategic direction required for a cutting-edge AI company.
Joseph (Joe) B. Thompson
Over 40 years of experience as an entrepreneur and innovator across tech and arts sectors. Co-founded Red Mountain Technologies, where he developed the first integrated accounting software for the Unix system and multi-user software for major U.S. labs. Founded Bear Creek Technologies, pioneering VoIP integrations and automated network management before selling. Founded Bear Creek Glass, growing it into North America’ s largest producer of handcrafted glass sinks.
As Bear Creek AI’ s Founding Member and CTO, Joe drives the vision for the Bear Creek AI ecoSystem, leading the way in advancing innovative AI solutions.
Brad Schmidt
Leads revenue strategy, market expansion, and customer engagement at Bear Creek AI. Brings deep experience in commercial and business leadership, advanced materials, and technology-enabled growth — helping organizations adopt AI solutions that address practical business and engineering challenges.
As Bear Creek AI’ s Chief Revenue Officer, Brad focuses onbuilding trusted customer relationships, aligning technology with market needs, and scaling Bear Creek AI’s impact across enterprise and engineering-focused industries.
Patrick (Pat) H. Vieth
Over 35 years of experience in executive leadership roles across diverse industries, with expertise in governance, stakeholder engagement, risk management, and applied technology solutions. Renowned for fostering collaboration and driving innovation. Served on the ASME Board of Governors, recipient of ASME’ s International Pipeline Conference Lifetime Achievement Award, and an ASME Fellow.
As Bear Creek AI’ s Director, Pat leverages his expertise to advance AI-driven strategies and sustainable growth.
Clayton G. Dalton
Over 10 years of experience in engineering software development,
applied AI,
and enterprise technology systems. Helped build the company and its flagship product,
knowledgeXpert™
,
from the ground up. Contributions span product strategy,
software architecture,
RAG systems,
AI workflows,
model evaluation,
and product delivery.
Background in electrical and computer engineering,
failure analysis,
embedded systems,
and image-recognition workflows.
As Bear Creek AI’ s Founding Engineer, Clayton leads the development of AI tools that turn engineering knowledge into trusted, source-backed systems.
What we stand on.
The principles that guide every decision — from how we build the platform to how we work with customers.
Customer Focus
We place our customers at the heart of everything we do. By deeply understanding their needs and consistently surpassing expectations, we build enduring partnerships based on trust, reliability, and mutual success. Our growth is intrinsically linked to the achievements of our clients.
Transparency
We believe in the power of knowledge and the importance of its origins. We are committed to providing full transparency in our AI-generated solutions, clearly indicating the sources of information and the reasoning behind its application.
Data Security
We implement and maintain the most advanced security measures available to protect our clients’ proprietary and confidential data. Our commitment to data security is unwavering, ensuring that sensitive information remains safeguarded at all times.
Integrity
We uphold the highest ethical standards in all our endeavors, ensuring transparency, honesty, and accountability in every interaction with our stakeholders. Our commitment to integrity builds trust and fosters long-lasting relationships with clients, partners, employees, and the community.
Passion for Innovation
We nurture an insatiable curiosity and drive for innovation, constantly pushing the boundaries of what’ s possible in AI and engineering. This passion fuels our pursuit of groundbreaking solutions that generate substantial value for our clients and advance the entire industry. We embrace challenges as opportunities to innovate and excel.
Want to meet the team?
Book a 30-minute walkthrough with our team and see how knowledgeXpert™ can work for your organization.