Enterprise trained, small business raised.

prax·isnoun

/ˈprak·səs/

The practical application of a theory; knowledge exercised rather than held.
The firm. Praxis Institute Holdings, a technology strategy practice in Maryville, Illinois: enterprise-grade technology, applied to small businesses with big dreams.

From Greek prassein, to do.

The origin[ABT.02]

The story starts with post-it notes on a monitor

Lexi Holder grew up working in the family businesses, Wilke Window & Door and Norm’s Bargain Barn, on the counter and in the aisles, around people who did everything themselves. One of the most successful owners she has ever known ran his company from post-it notes stuck to a computer monitor.

The post-it notes stayed with her. The judgment on that monitor was already enterprise-grade; the systems around it were the missing half, and closing that gap became her career.

Lexi founded Praxis on a conviction she learned at that counter: small business owners are the lifeblood of this country. They deserve technology thinking of the same caliber an enterprise buys, sized to the business they run and explained in words they can use.

The arc[ABT.03]

The same job, four chapters

Each stop on the résumé is one job at a different scale: bring technology to the people doing the work, and make it earn its keep.

01

The family businesses

Years at Wilke Window & Door and Norm’s Bargain Barn taught her how owners think: cash is real, time is scarce, and a tool either helps this week or it goes.

02

KPMG

She joined KPMG as an original member of its data analytics enabled internal audit team, learning enterprise risk discipline at the source: measure first, then manage.

03

CCA Global Partners

At CCA Global Partners she rose to Business Intelligence Product Delivery Manager, promoted in 2023, led the overhaul of the cooperative’s member-facing BI technology, and was the first female leader in IT there.

04

Praxis, December 2025

She founded Praxis Institute Holdings to do the work in person: enterprise-grade strategy for one owner at a time, sized to a small business and delivered in plain English.

700+
owners.

Lexi’s business intelligence work at CCA Global Partners supported more than 700 small business owners across the United States and Canada. Praxis brings the same delivery discipline to one owner at a time.

The ledger[ABT.04]

The credentials, in one column

These are the same lines that go into every proposal. Bring questions about any of them to the discovery hour.

M.S. in Information Systems, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
B.S. in Supply Chain Management, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
Passed the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) exam
Original member, KPMG data analytics enabled internal audit team
Business Intelligence Product Delivery Manager, CCA Global Partners, promoted 2023
First female leader in IT at CCA Global Partners
Agile delivery leadership since 2016: SAFe, then Scrum, alongside waterfall programs
Taught the work as well as did it: 800+ students a semester as an IU teaching assistant leading 23 TAs, and a KPMG national trainer for the audit methodology she helped build
Creator of the SCQA-based reasoning and Cognitive Blueprint frameworks behind Cognitive Amplification
Founder & Principal IT Consultant, Praxis Institute Holdings, Maryville, Illinois

What she will not trade[ABT.04b]

Six values, written before the first client

Praxis exists to help people access their clearest thinking in moments of complexity, pressure, and uncertainty. Lexi wrote these six lines before the practice had a client, and they decide the tradeoffs when the tradeoffs get real.

01

Human judgment comes first

AI supports human thinking. It never replaces human accountability, ethics, or decision-making.

02

Structure before scale

Clarity, governance, and sound architecture come before any system gets expanded or automated.

03

Values over optimization

Efficiency is not success if it costs human values, ethical alignment, or long-term sustainability.

04

Clarity is a responsibility

Clear thinking and clear communication prevent the conflict, confusion, and harm that never needed to happen.

05

Complexity requires calibration

People carry different capacities, constraints, and realities. A good system accounts for the differences instead of ignoring them.

06

Technology should increase human capability

Every system Praxis builds should leave people more capable, informed, and empowered, never more dependent.

Working with her[ABT.05]

What working with Lexi feels like

The discovery call sets the pattern for everything after it: prepared, unhurried, precise about the numbers, and warm about everything else.

Her standing rule: no judgment, no shame here.

01

The questions arrive first

The five-question agenda lands in your inbox before the discovery call, so you can think your answers through before anyone asks.

02

Plain English, in the same breath

Every technical term gets translated as it appears. A risk register is a list of what could go wrong, ranked by you, and it stays that clear all the way through.

03

You can ask anything

Phone or email, 8:30 to 4:30, Monday through Friday. The answer comes back in plain English, and it includes the why.

Questions about Lexi[ABT.06]

The short version, for the record

Who is Lexi Holder?

Lexi Holder is the founder and principal IT consultant of Praxis Institute Holdings in Maryville, Illinois. She holds an M.S. in Information Systems from the Kelley School of Business, was an original member of KPMG’s data analytics enabled internal audit team, and led business intelligence delivery at CCA Global Partners.

What is Praxis Institute Holdings?

Praxis Institute Holdings is a technology strategy practice founded by Lexi Holder in December 2025. It brings enterprise-grade technology to small businesses: fractional CTO leadership, owner-rated risk assessment, tailored technology stacks, and AI advisory, all delivered in plain English and measured against KPIs set at baseline.

Where does Praxis work?

Praxis is based in Maryville, Illinois and serves the Metro East and the greater St. Louis area, including Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, and the surrounding Madison County communities. Advisory engagements run remotely anywhere, and phone hours are 8:30 to 4:30, Monday through Friday.

Have a different question? [ Ask Lexi directly → ]