Ethan Winchester

My story

I grew up in northern Michigan, where rivers were the first systems I tried to understand. Reading water is mostly patience and pattern recognition, and it turned out to be good training for everything that came after.

After earning my degree at Ferris State University, I went through Sweetwater Travel Company’s guide school in 2009, then guided my first season in 2010 at Kulik Lodge in Alaska’s Bristol Bay. In 2011 I started Boyne Outfitters, opened its fly shop the next year, and spent 12 years as Director of Operations and head guide, building the business with a crew of eight guides.

That job was half fishing and half everything else: inventory and product, hiring, marketing, a website relaunch, and managing a 1,000-acre private property along the way, from forestry contracts to wildlife habitat restoration. I learned more about running a business behind that counter than in any classroom.

In 2023 I moved to the technology side full time as the subject matter expert for the retail systems that keep stores running: point of sale, order management, product information, and ecommerce. That includes an Akeneo PIM, which I helped rebuild from flat files into structured product models. Different environment, same skill. Data shows you where things are holding, if you know how to look.

Why I do this

I keep a note on my desk with one question on it: How can you make the guest experience better?

On the water, that meant the right fly at the right time and a client who went home with a story. In systems work, it means the right information in front of the right person before they have to ask for it. Now it means building AI systems that handle the busywork, so my time goes to the work that needs a person.

What I’m working on now

• My own agentic operating system. A personal AI system run by a team of nine specialist agents, with me approving anything that leaves the building. Read the case study →

• Where AI fits in product data and ecommerce. I’ve worked hands-on in an Akeneo PIM since 2023, and I added Akeneo’s Foundation and Implementation Fundamentals certifications in 2026. Next is finding where AI helps with product data, digital marketing, and the systems behind online stores.

Last updated November 2026

Off the clock

Home is northern Michigan with my wife, our two boys, and two bird dogs who are always ready to go. I still fish whenever I can, and I still tie more flies than any one person needs.