ABOUT TIRITH
Who Tirith Is
Tirith Strategies is an independent technology advisory firm in Warren, New Jersey, founded in 2025 by Val Thomas. CEOs, CFOs, and boards bring in Tirith when a technology decision has real consequences and the answer is not clear from inside the company: an AI strategy the board is pressing for, high-stakes cybersecurity risk, an urgent leadership gap, or a technology integration in an active deal. Engagements range from focused assessments completed in weeks to ongoing advisory relationships.
HOW WE WORK
Diagnosis Before Prescription
Most organizations get sold solutions before anyone understands the problem. Tirith spends the time to understand the business first, finds the root cause, and then tells the client what they need to hear, even when that answer is unexpected. That means asking uncomfortable questions early, pressure-testing assumptions, and never leading with a solution chosen before the first conversation.
Speed to Clarity
Every engagement starts with a rapid assessment: a defined process that gets to a clear diagnosis, a prioritized set of recommendations, and a board-ready output in weeks. Whether the question is AI strategy, technology spend, cyber risk, or a leadership gap, the method is the same and it moves fast.
C-Level Practitioners
Every engagement is led by practitioners who have held CIO, CTO, and CISO roles at operating companies. The practitioners who scope the engagement are the ones who deliver it. Clients get a senior executive in every conversation.
THE PRINCIPAL
Val Thomas, Managing Principal
Val has spent more than forty years in technology, starting as a coder, and close to three decades as a CIO and CTO across public companies, private enterprises, and startups, in education, travel, pharmaceuticals, media, and technology.
At Lincoln Educational Services, a publicly traded company, he advised the board on AI governance, cybersecurity posture, and capital allocation while running enterprise technology strategy. At Liberty Travel, a multi-billion-dollar private company, he positioned technology for a successful acquisition, working directly with ownership through the transaction. As CIO/CTO at Overpeer, he partnered with the board and venture investors on scalability and acquisition readiness, supporting a successful exit.
He is Treasurer and a past President of the Society for Information Management, New Jersey chapter, holds the International Board Director Competency Designation (IBDC.D), and serves as a non-executive board director.
Val writes about AI adoption, AI return, and technology governance for CEOs and boards. The published pieces are in Insights (https://tirith.com/insights/).
THE PRACTICE
A Small Practice, Senior in Every Seat
Val leads the practice with a small group of associates who have held CIO, CTO, and CISO roles.
Tirith sells no software, holds no vendor relationships, and is neither a staffing firm nor a managed service provider. The recommendations are the diagnosis, and the decisions stay with the client.
The common entry points are AI strategy, cybersecurity, and fractional CIO coverage. The practice also covers digital transformation, M&A technology due diligence, cloud and infrastructure strategy, data and analytics, ERP strategy and selection, IT operations, and vendor and cost management. Industries so far include animal health and pharma, building materials and distribution, consumer electronics, education, energy and utilities, financial services and payments, logistics and 3PL, manufacturing, non-profit, pharma and biotech, startups and fintech, and travel and hospitality.
WHERE WE WORK
Warren, New Jersey
Tirith Strategies is based in Warren, New Jersey, and works with companies globally.
QUESTIONS
Questions People Ask
Val Thomas, Managing Principal: more than forty years in technology, and close to three decades as a CIO and CTO at public companies, private enterprises, and startups. He leads every engagement personally, with associates who have held CIO, CTO, and CISO roles.
Warren, New Jersey. The firm works with companies globally.
2025.
An independent advisory firm. Tirith sells no software, holds no vendor relationships, places no staff, and runs no managed services. The work is diagnosis and senior judgment, and the decisions stay with the client.
Let’s Start the Conversation.
The next step is a no-charge discovery call with Val: a direct conversation about the situation, and a first read on what it is and what comes next.