About

I'm James Hurff — Jimmy to friends and family. I'm a technology leader, advisor, and entrepreneur with 25+ years helping organizations transform complex systems and cultures through software, data, and AI.

I live in Palmetto, Florida with my wife Jessica and our sons Jackson and John. When I'm not building products or advising leadership teams, you'll find me on the water, mentoring engineers, or writing about tech and life here.

What I Do

I'm co-founder and Head of Product for BrightMove, and I partner with companies as an advisor, fractional CTO, and board member. My work turns ambitious technology strategy into results — platform modernization, cloud transformation, data and analytics, and teams that ship.

I've consulted for global financial institutions and locally owned businesses alike. The through-line is the same: help people leverage technology to do better business.

Background

I've worked in technology since 1995. Over two decades, I've started and run four IT companies and held senior roles at McKesson, Bank of America, Citi, and the State of Florida — plus deep experience with small and mid-sized businesses.

I'm deliberately well-rounded across software development, infrastructure, business analysis, and project management. I can architect the system, lead the team, and explain the tradeoffs to executives who need to make the call.

How I Think

  • OpenSource over Proprietary — because of the freedom of speech, not because I'm cheap.
  • Claud over ChatGPT — because of the AI constitution, not because of first to market.
  • LangGraph over OpenClaw — because of control over context, not because of hype.
  • Mac over PC — because it works better, not because I'm a snob.
  • Linux over Windows — because it works better, not because I'm a geek.
  • Java over .NET — because portability matters, not because I'm a fanboy.
  • Agile over waterfall — because scope never survives first contact with reality, not because I'm a hippie.

That said, I've been successful in ChatGPT/OpenClaw/PC/Windows/.NET/waterfall environments too — because I'm an engineer first.