PLEASANTON, Calif., Nov. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FactorLab, a Work Risk AI company transforming how high-risk work is planned and delivered in distributed operations, today announced the appointment of Keith Hartley as Chief Executive Officer. Hartley, an enterprise software executive with 25 years of experience scaling businesses serving industrial and field organizations, most recently served as CEO of AI platform LevaData. Founder Barry Nelson moves to FactorLab’s Board of Directors, where he will focus on vision, strategic growth, partnerships and industry transformation. The appointment is the next step in a growth plan FactorLab began a year ago, which has included tripling its data science team, expanding its customer success, sales and marketing leadership, and a strategic growth investment from Falfurrias Growth Partners announced in July 2026.
Customer adoption of FactorLab’s SmartTagIt platform has accelerated across construction, utilities, energy and industrial operators, and the impact is visible in the company’s data. The platform has analyzed more than 2.5 million daily planning conversations across thousands of worksites and now runs more than 40 proprietary AI models. Those models surface new kinds of risk signals. FactorLab’s data shows, for example, that the most effective crew leaders spell out what is expected of their crews about 2.5 times as often as average leaders. SmartTagIt gives crew leaders visibility and coaching tools to learn and improve. FactorLab partners with customers to develop the frontline leaders who make safer, more productive work possible.
“We’re fortunate and genuinely grateful for how our customers have embraced SmartTagIt, and we can see the impact through fewer incidents, better schedule performance and less rework,” said Barry Nelson, founder of FactorLab. “Our mission hasn’t changed: use new technology, proven science and AI to reduce catastrophic events in high-risk work, where traditional approaches have fallen short. That mission comes with a responsibility to grow this impact. A year ago we committed to a plan — build our team, find the right investment partner, and bring in an operating leader to extend our market leadership. Keith is the right leader for this next step, and it frees me to focus on the strategic initiatives that will broaden our impact across the industry.”
Hartley has built and scaled enterprise software businesses, including AI-native platforms, serving industrial and field-service organizations. As CEO of LevaData, an AI-native supply management platform overseeing more than $95 billion in annual sourced spend, he succeeded the company’s founder and led its next phase of growth. He previously served as SVP of North America Sales at field service leader ServiceMax through sale of a majority stake to Silver Lake. He also held executive positions at Sight Machine, Blue Yonder, Ivalua and Oracle, with experience spanning AI-powered decision-making, manufacturing intelligence, supply chain and field service operations. Hartley is the author of Conquering the Decision Abyss, which examines why data-rich organizations still struggle to turn information into timely decisions, and holds an MBA from London Business School.
“I’ve spent my career working with the people who keep industrial operations running, and I’ve learned that organizations rarely lack data; they lack a clear view of it in time to act,” said Hartley. “On a worksite, that gap can cost lives. FactorLab closes it where the stakes are highest: on the front line, in the conversations crews have before work begins, so leaders see risk sooner. Barry and the team have built something the industry has never had, with results customers can measure. My job is to bring it to more operators, faster, while keeping the customer partnership, learning culture and scientific rigor that got FactorLab here.”
“FactorLab has momentum, a proprietary dataset no one else has, and a founder with a clear vision for the industry,” said Michael Clifton, Partner at Falfurrias Growth Partners. “Keith pairs a track record of scaling AI-native B2B software with deep experience serving industrial and field-based organizations. Bringing in an operating leader of his caliber was always part of the plan, and with Barry’s vision and Keith leading the business, FactorLab is well positioned for its next phase of growth.”
As a member of the Board of Directors, Nelson will focus on FactorLab’s long-term vision, strategic growth and partnerships, and industry transformation initiatives. He founded FactorLab and led it as CEO through the development and rapid adoption of SmartTagIt.
About FactorLab
FactorLab is a Work Risk AI company dedicated to helping distributed organizations transform safety, operational performance, and frontline leadership across construction, utilities, energy, and industrial operations. Its SmartTagIt platform uses proprietary AI and natural language processing models to capture and analyze frontline conversations, insights, and how work actually gets done to give leaders early visibility into risk across every worksite. It surfaces risk signals and game tape that legacy compliance tools cannot reach to empower crews to deliver on time, prevent rework, and go home safe. FactorLab partners with leading operators in complex, distributed work environments to help them see risk differently, build capacity to improve how work gets done, and operate safely with less effort. For more information, visit www.factorlab.com.
About Falfurrias Growth Partners
Falfurrias Growth Partners is an operationally focused middle-market investment fund focused on investing in high-growth companies in the software and business services sectors. The team is comprised of investors and proven operators, as well as in-house resources across strategy & market insights, finance / integration, human capital, and technology. The new fund strategy was launched in 2023 and is led by Cam Dyer, Partner and Chairman of Falfurrias Growth Partners I’s investment committee. The fund is managed by Falfurrias Management Partners, a Charlotte-based investment firm founded in 2006 by Hugh McColl Jr., former chairman and CEO of Bank of America; Marc Oken, former CFO of Bank of America; and Managing Partner Ed McMahan. The firm has raised approximately $4.0 billion across eight funds and invests in growing, middle-market businesses in sectors where the firm’s operational resources, relationships, and sector expertise can be employed to complement portfolio company executive teams in support of growth objectives. For more information, visit www.falfurrias.com.
Media contact
Brian Vannoni · CMO · brian@factorlab.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a5d16068-abf3-4f66-ba83-5bceeb577742
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