Tom McTavish

Critic
DISC Type : C

Senior AI/ML Engineer at Embark Veterinary

Solana Beach, California, United States

Overview

Tom McTavish is an AI and Machine Learning leader at Embark Veterinary with deep expertise in applying neuroscience principles to AI systems. He earned his PhD from the University of Colorado Anschutz and has a track record of leading enterprise AI strategy and delivering high-impact solutions, including recommendation algorithms and generative AI models.

He has a unique focus on conflating patterns and meaning, looking for self-organizing, pattern recognition principles from neuroscience to apply to machine learning.

Personality Overview

Information Seeker

Critic

Negotiator

It is very likely that they will negotiate pricing or other important terms.  Unless the value is proven by data, they are unlikely to value fancy features. They like to take decisions independently and do not seek others' support often.

Topics They Care About

Neuroscience in AI
His entire professional philosophy and PhD research are based on applying pattern recognition principles from neuroscience to machine learning and AI systems.
Responsible & Fair AI
Initiated a Responsible AI research program at a previous company to mitigate bias in hiring algorithms and co-authored a publication on fairness in imbalanced datasets.
Agentic AI
Recently highlighted Model-Control-Prediction (MCP) as a required skill for anyone working with Agentic AI, indicating a focus on advanced autonomous systems.

Media Appearances

Tom has no verified media appearances

Work History

11-2025
Senior AI/ML Engineer at Embark Veterinary
4-2020
Founder at Spikes.ai
6-2022 - 1-2025
Staff Machine Learning Engineer at DHI Group, Inc.
4-2020 - 6-2022
Senior Machine Learning Engineer at DHI Group, Inc.
6-2016 - 3-2020
Senior Data Scientist at Pearson

Education

2004 - 2008
PhD from University of Colorado Anschutz
2002 - 2007
MS from University of Colorado Denver

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 12 Location : Solana Beach, California, United States Job Level : Middle Designation : Senior AI/ML Engineer at Embark Veterinary
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Insights For Selling To Tom

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • If you can, show them industry reports or analyst comments instead of sharing anecdotal stories
  • Be ready for penetrating questions and critical examination of your pitch
  • Keep some extra margin while sharing pricing, they are likely to negotiate later

DONT's

  • Avoid phrases like ‘trust me’, ‘others just love’ etc.
  • Don’t try too hard to build a relationship with them
  • Make extra effort to not seem pushy or confrontational

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Tom is

  • Proof of ROI, low pricing and objective proof points are the important factors for them.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Tom

  • They do not mind saying no if they believe that it is the right decision.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Tom move?

  • Their decision-making is neither very fast nor very slow, they are somewhere in between.
  • Can Tom take some risk or not?

  • They can take risks if their analysis shows that it would be worth it.

You And Tom

Personality Compatibility


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