Advisors
Prairie State AI is backed by a team of accomplished advisors — leaders who've built, scaled, and sold companies across multiple industries. Their experience sharpens our strategy and strengthens every engagement, so Midwestern businesses get advice that's been tested at the highest level.
Dave brings over two decades of technology and consumer-sector leadership to Prairie State AI. He built his reputation as CEO of Sonic Solutions, growing the company into one of the largest global providers of digital movies and TV before its sale to Rovi Corporation in 2011. He went on to lead NDS Group through its acquisition by Cisco and Textura Corporation through its acquisition by Oracle, then served as President and CEO of J.D. Power from 2018 to 2025 (now Vice Chairman). Dave currently sits on various public boards and serves on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Dave Habiger
Hy spent nearly five decades at Bunn-O-Matic Corporation, joining the company in 1980 and serving as President and CEO from 1988, continuing his family's leadership of the business into its fifth generation. Under his direction, Bunn-O-Matic grew from a coffee-equipment maker into a global beverage equipment company spanning coffee, espresso, tea, juice, and water systems, introducing innovations such as the first electronic brewer-to-grinder interface and the industry’s first machine-learning commercial coffee machine. He also built the company's nationwide field service network from the ground up, turning it into one of the industry's most extensive support operations and a defining part of BUNN's reputation for reliability. Beyond his leadership at Bunn-O-Matic, Hy has long invested his time back into the community, lending his business experience to the governing boards of a range of community, education, and business organizations across the Springfield region.
Hy Bunn
Jimmy brings decades of leadership in banking and insurance to Prairie State AI. He was a founding board member of First Southern National Bank, headquartered in Stanford, Kentucky, serving as regional CEO from 1988 to 2001 and later as CEO of its parent company, First Southern Bancorp. He also spent nearly two decades in insurance leadership, serving as President of UTG, Inc. and Universal Guaranty Life Insurance Company (Springfield, Illinois) from 2006 to 2023, alongside roles as President of American Capitol Insurance Co. and Texas Imperial Life Insurance Co.
Jimmy Rousey
Dathan served as President of Productive Resources, a Springfield, Illinois-based engineering services and staffing firm, where he led the company's work delivering on-site engineering talent and outsourced engineering services to manufacturers across the automotive, agriculture, consumer products, defense, and aerospace industries. Established in 2001, Productive Resources grew under his leadership into a firm serving major national manufacturers, expanding to eight regional locations and launching a manufacturing services division.
Dathan Johnson