About Rod Holum

Biography

Rodney (“Rod”) Holum is an AI evangelist, cybersecurity expert, and the CEO and founder of Coulee Tech—an IT and cybersecurity company recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest‑growing companies. Founded in 2008, Coulee Tech has grown year over year while specializing in supporting healthcare and manufacturing organizations across the Upper Midwest. With offices serving Wisconsin and Florida, the company helps growing businesses strengthen cybersecurity, modernize IT, and build practical AI adoption plans.

Rod’s work sits at the intersection of innovation and risk: he teaches leaders how to build AI strategy, improve prompting and workflows, and pursue AI-driven development—while also addressing the cybersecurity realities of today’s threat landscape (risk assessments, threat detection/response, compliance, and security awareness). As a speaker, he’s known for making technical topics approachable, actionable, and immediately useful for executives and teams.

Rod is also an award‑winning author, with published works spanning AI leadership and cybersecurity—including Wisconsin’s AI Leadership Blueprint for 2024, 7 Biggest Cyber Security Mistakes Your IT Guy Is Making, and Colonial Pipeline Hack: What Your Business Can Do to Protect Yourself. He’s passionate about preparing organizations (and the next generation) for rapid change—especially as AI reshapes how we work, communicate, and protect our data.

Beyond the stage, Rod emphasizes community impact through Coulee Tech’s 10‑10‑10 model (pay 10% above market, 10% yearly profit sharing with the team, and 10% of profits donated to the community organizations team members are involved in), reinforcing that strong businesses can also be strong community partners.

Quick facts

Full name

Rodney “Rod” Holum

Role

CEO and founder of Coulee Tech (founded 2008)

Known for

Practical, security-minded AI adoption for business leaders

Certification

AIBMM Master Coach (AI Business Maturity Model)

Company recognition

Coulee Tech is an Inc. 5000 honoree

Industries

Healthcare and manufacturing, plus associations, HR and leadership groups

Books

Seven, including AI Unleashed and Wisconsin’s AI Leadership Blueprint for 2024

Based in

Holmen, Wisconsin (La Crosse area)

Speaking availability

In person internationally; virtual via Zoom or Teams

The 10-10-10 model

Coulee Tech runs on a policy Rod calls 10-10-10: pay team members 10% above market rate, based on a third-party wage assessment; share 10% of yearly profits with the team; and donate 10% of profits to the community organizations team members are involved in. It is his working argument that a strong business can also be a strong community partner.

In the community

Rod has spoken with high school students about careers in IT and cybersecurity, and has worked with the Boys & Girls Club and other organizations to teach technology skills to young people. Preparing the next generation for tech and cyber careers is also one of his speaking topics.

See what Rod speaks about →