Founder & Chief AI Officer

Richard (Rich) Crane is the Co-Founder and Chief AI Officer for MILL5, a Boston-based software consulting and AI innovation company. Rich brings over three decades of experience in software engineering, cloud architecture, and AI-driven solutions.

Before founding MILL5, Rich honed his expertise at Microsoft, where he contributed to advanced technology initiatives. His career includes leading complex projects for major organizations such as Fidelity, Olympus, Wayfair, eBay, Emerson, Staples, BP, and State Street, focusing on areas like AI/ML, IoT, microservices, and cloud-native applications.

Rich is a Microsoft Certified Master in SQL Server and a Microsoft MVP in AI and Development, recognizing his exceptional technical leadership in the Microsoft community. He is also a published author, frequent public speaker, and former adjunct professor at Drexel University.

He is the host of the Inventing Fire with AI podcast, where Rich shares his passion for leveraging AI to drive innovation, offering insights that bridge the gap between emerging technologies and real-world applications.