4 to 6 week diagnostic
Review the data estate, ownership, platform footprint, value opportunities, AI readiness and operating model gaps.
Board-ready view of what is working, what is blocked and what should happen next.Executive Data & AI Leader / Fractional CDO / Board & PE Adviser
CDO-level Data and AI leadership for trusted data, practical AI and real adoption.
I help PE-backed, scale-up and enterprise leadership teams turn fragmented data, reporting and platforms into trusted capability the business can use. My background is in engineering, enterprise data, AI adoption and operating model change.
Experience: Virgin Media O2, Salesforce and MuleSoft.
Public proof: Tableau, Google Cloud Next, Interface Magazine and British
Data Awards 2026.
Availability: Taking selected fractional, interim, advisory and executive
search conversations.
Watch the 3-minute story
EVP, Data Democratisation
Enterprise Data & AI Transformation Remit at VMO2
Enterprise Data & AI Transformation Remit at VMO2
Which conversation are we having?
Executive search
For CDO, CDAO, EVP Data and AI, or transformation roles where the scope needs engineering,
data, AI and operating-model depth.
Interim or fractional leadership
For companies that need senior cover, a reset, or CDO-level judgement before or during a
permanent hire.
PE and board advisory
For sponsors and leadership teams making data, AI, platform or role-design decisions where
the stakes are material.
01 / Engagement Shapes
Three practical ways to bring senior data and AI judgement into the business.
The work is usually part strategy, part operating model, part technology judgement and part adoption. It can support a permanent executive role, an interim brief, a fractional role or a focused advisory engagement.
90-day reset or interim cover
Set the governance, product model, delivery rhythm, adoption plan and senior decision path so the team can move.
Clear operating rhythm, priority roadmap and decisions that unblock execution.Board, PE and role-design advisory
Help leadership teams make better decisions on CDO/CDAO role design, AI readiness, platform simplification and value creation.
A safer brief, better sponsorship and clearer decision path.Engagements are usually shaped around a clear problem, sponsor and time horizon: a 4 to 6 week diagnostic, a 90-day reset, interim cover, or a focused advisory rhythm. Exact structure depends on the scope and decision path.
02 / Case Proof
Proof that the work moves beyond strategy slides.
The strongest pattern in my work is turning fragmented systems, unclear ownership and low-trust data into something the business can use.
VMO2 Data Democratisation
Problem: fragmented reporting, weak ownership, manual workarounds and inconsistent definitions.
Intervention: operating model, governed business layers, self-service products, support and culture, including Tableau to the Techs for 2,000+ field technicians and Martian Frontier as a data-culture mechanism.
Result: the programme launched 300+ Tableau dashboards, delivered at least £23m annualised DD benefit since July 2024 and supported 11,000+ Tableau users.
Gemini Enterprise and data agents
Problem: business teams needed a trusted and governed way to start using AI with data.
Intervention: procurement, governance, privacy, vendor management, the Verity brand, onboarding, training and adoption.
Result: 1,000+ users onboarded to Gemini Enterprise and data agents, with a 5,000-user rollout underway.
Platform and operating model rationalisation
Problem: multiple BI and data platforms, overlapping tools and unclear ownership.
Intervention: consolidation of nine BI/data platforms, a modernised target stack, stronger governance and observability.
Result: documented savings in the £8m to £13m YoY range, depending on scope definition.
If this sounds close to the problem you are trying to solve, it is worth a conversation.
Discuss a role or engagementOperating Model Transformation
Moving data from fragmented, low-trust platforms toward governed business layers, Data Mesh patterns, self-service adoption and commercial value creation. The transformation lens I use is MASS: Mindset, Abilities, Systems and Structure.
Business ownershipDomains, definitions,
value cases and senior decision rhythms.
Data Mesh patternsDomain ownership,
federated governance and reusable products where scale needs it.
Trusted foundationsBusiness layers,
governance, quality, privacy and access controls.
Reusable productsCertified data products,
Tableau, Atlan, dbt and support patterns.
MASS adoptionMindset, Abilities, Systems and
Structure working together.
Adoption systemTraining, office hours,
communications, communities and data culture.
AI readinessData agents, safe adoption,
vendor management and risk controls.
Value trackingCommercial outcomes, usage,
adoption and delivery accountability.
03 / Selected Public Evidence
A few public signals, not a long list of claims.
These links are useful because they show the work from outside the CV: customer stories, interviews, speaking profiles and coverage from the data and cloud ecosystem.
Enterprise Case Study
Read the Tableau VMO2 case
study
Virgin Media O2 and Tableau customer story
The public Tableau customer story says Virgin Media O2 helped prevent £250m worth of fraud and blocked 92m+ malicious texts.
Executive Feature
Read the Interface
Magazine feature
Interface Magazine feature
Executive feature on data democratisation at Virgin Media O2, framed as a cultural movement rather than a reporting programme.
Google Cloud Next Speaker
See the Google Cloud Next
speaker profile
Google Cloud Next 2026 speaker profile
Public speaker profile connected to enterprise AI, modernisation and human-centred transformation.
Ecosystem Insights
Read the Atlan VMO2 data
context case
Atlan, Gartner and ReGovern coverage
Public ecosystem references around data context, governance and enterprise adoption at Virgin Media O2.
Executive Podcast
Listen to the C-Suite
Podcast episode
C-Suite Podcast
Conversation from Google Cloud Next on agentic AI, modernisation and human-centred transformation.
Industry Awards
See the British Data Awards
result
British Data Awards 2026, Data Team of the Year
Winner, Data Team of the Year (20+ people), plus finalist for Data Transformation of the Year. Judged by independent panel across the UK data and analytics industry.
The 3-minute story
A short version of the career throughline: engineering foundations, enterprise data scale, AI adoption, and why this work matters now.
If the embedded video is blocked on your network, open the video directly. In three minutes, it covers the career throughline from engineering and SaaS platforms to enterprise data leadership, practical AI adoption and the kind of work I am now focused on.
Engineering foundation
Computer Systems Engineer, graduated top of the generation, with early depth in Java,
API architecture and enterprise platforms.
Enterprise transformation
Operating model work across Salesforce, MuleSoft, Peñoles and Virgin Media O2 to
enable governed business adoption.
Data and AI adoption
Helping enterprise teams adopt data agents and AI-enabled tools safely, with the right
data, controls, training and support.
04 / How I Work
Clear scope, senior access and enough time to make it practical.
This page is useful for permanent executive searches, interim cover and advisory conversations where the problem is important, the sponsorship is senior, and the work needs to become practical quickly.
Best-fit situations
- Permanent CDO / CDAO / Data and AI executive searches where the role needs engineering, data, AI and transformation depth
- PE portfolio companies needing data and AI maturity ahead of exit or post-acquisition
- Series B to D scale-ups building a data operating model before a permanent CDO hire
- Mid-market companies with fragmented data and weak ownership
- Corporates needing interim CDO cover during a permanent search
- Boards and ExCos that need clear data and AI advisory
Good-fit engagements
- Permanent executive roles with material Data, AI and Engineering transformation scope
- Fractional or interim CDO / CDAO role
- Data and AI strategy reset or diagnostic
- Data Mesh operating model design and adoption
- AI adoption and data-agent readiness
- Governance, trust and data-product operating model
- PE value creation or pre-exit data maturity acceleration
Working rhythm
Typically 1 to 3 days per week per client. UK-based. Remote-first as the default, with travel for board sessions, key workshops or leadership alignment where it genuinely adds value. A diagnostic or strategy sprint usually takes 4 to 6 weeks: clear assessment, board-ready readout and prioritised roadmap.
This is probably not the right fit if you need low-cost dashboard delivery, a purely technical contractor, or a presentation without senior sponsorship. It is a better fit when the business needs judgement, operating model, adoption and accountable progress.
Start a conversation.
The most useful first note is simple: the role, search or business problem, where the current data or AI work is stuck, and what would need to be true in 90 days for the conversation to be worth it.