A local advisor who helps organizations put AI to work sensibly
Great Lakes AI Institute is led by Matt LaFleur, a CPA, entrepreneur, and consultant based in Northeast Ohio. It exists for the organizations that keep communities running and cannot hire their own AI team.
Matt LaFleur
Matt is a CPA, entrepreneur, and consultant with nearly 15 years of experience in business advisory, consulting, and organizational leadership. He has been involved in several startups in Northeast Ohio, and his advisory and fractional CFO work has kept him close to the daily reality of small businesses and mission-driven organizations: thin staffing, tight budgets, and more to do than hours to do it.
That experience shapes how he approaches AI. He is less interested in what a tool can do in a demo than in whether it will help a five-person nonprofit finish its board report on time, or help a fifty-person company stop rewriting the same customer emails.
Why this work
Matt first set out to build AI systems for small and mid-sized businesses. While planning that work, he kept running into the same obstacle. The technology was not what held organizations back. Most people had simply never been shown how to use AI well, safely, in their own jobs. Great Lakes AI Institute grew out of that realization: teach first, and help people build their own competence and judgment.
Public speaking
- Panelist, “AI at Work: Building the Hybrid Workforce of the Future”Greater Cleveland Partnership 2026 AI Summit, "AI Disruption: The Rewards of Embracing Innovation", Cleveland, June 9, 2026
Relationships first, then technology
Good AI adoption is mostly a people problem. It depends on trust, clear expectations, and leaders who understand what their teams are dealing with. We try to work the way a trusted local advisor should.
Start with the work
We ask what your people do all week before we talk about any tool. AI is useful only where it connects to real work.
Build your judgment, not dependence
Success means your team can make good decisions about AI without calling us. We teach the reasoning, not just the steps.
Be honest about limits
Sometimes AI is not the answer, or not yet. A better template or a clearer handoff can matter more. We will say so.
Keep people responsible
AI can draft and summarize. A named person always owns what is sent, approved, or decided.
Rooted in Northeast Ohio
We work across Northeast Ohio, from Cleveland and its suburbs to Lorain, Summit, and the surrounding counties. Being local means we can meet your team in person, sit in on how the work actually happens, run a workshop in your conference room or fellowship hall, and come back when you are ready for the next step.
We also work online with organizations elsewhere, using the same practical approach.
About the Institute
Great Lakes AI Institute LLC is an Ohio company, formed in 2024. It is an independent advisory and training practice. It is not a university, a certification body, or a research lab.
The Institute is separate from Matt’s accounting work. Its engagements cover AI guidance and training and do not include accounting, tax, audit, or legal services.
Get to know us over a 20-minute call
Tell us what your organization does, where work is getting stuck, and how your team uses AI today. We will talk through sensible next steps, including when AI is not the right answer yet.
Not a technical demo or a high-pressure sales call. It is a conversation, not a formal assessment or a custom plan.