About Cinderpoint Systems.
Cinderpoint Systems is a systems-first firm. We work on governance, safe and disciplined use of AI, and football operations through the Sportsworks Division. The common thread is simple: clarity in who decides what, under which principles, with which constraints.
Founded by Waydell D. Carvalho.
Academic foundation.
Master of Science in Management (MSM), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Gies College of Business) — 2025.
Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence (Management & Policy), Purdue University — expected 2026.
Work sits at the intersection of AI governance, organisational risk, systems thinking, and football operations.
Football context.
Gained early exposure to Brazilian football environments during two summers of youth training in São Paulo between ages 10–12, in a mix of municipal/community clubs and structured street-level sessions.
That experience showed first-hand how low-budget, unstructured environments rooted in street and favela football culture can outperform rigid, pay-to-play systems like those that dominated the United States at the time.
Performance and fragility.
Trained toward competitive powerlifting with a structured, near-competition programme before an injury ended the progression. This background informs an understanding of athlete discipline, physical fragility, and the pressures surrounding availability, recovery, and long-term planning.
Research and frameworks.
DASH Protocol.
A structured method for identifying and scoring governance and operational fragility linked to sportswashing and sportshandling by organisations, states, corporations, and other actors using sport for power projection and narrative manipulation.
Systems lens.
Across projects, the underlying approach is constant: treat clubs and institutions as systems, not storylines. Map incentives, decision rights, information flows, and constraints before making recommendations.