In my business career, I’ve taken many different roles, but my focus has always been on how to utilise technology to make businesses work better.

I studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge, specialising in Theoretical Physics, and went on to complete a PhD in Radio Astronomy. I loved the research and seriously considered a career as a scientist, but in the end, learning more and more about less and less was not for me. One thing I did learn about myself during my research is that I am less interested in any technology per se and more interested in what it can do to support meaningful scientific work. That perspective subsequently evolved into a passion for understanding how technology can help businesses thrive.

Over the last 30 years, I’ve built a career helping blue-chip companies transform through technology — both as a consultant with BCG and Accenture, and within major tech firms like Salesforce and Oracle.

My speciality is helping business leaders grasp how deeply complicated technology can deliver improved productivity, efficiency, and greater returns. This can be challenging and demands patience, persistence, and clear communication. Back in 1996, I had to convince a FTSE CEO and a sceptical executive committee to invest in personal computers and internet access for their research scientists! I was put through the mill — how could I justify the costs of this technology when I could not convincingly demonstrate the quantitative value of such tools? I was persistent, listened, and eventually succeeded in making the case. But this still rings true today: listen to leaders, understand their concerns, and keep making the case for why new technologies matter. Only now, instead of PCs and internet connections, I’m talking about AI.

My Journey with AI

AI — the idea of mimicking human intelligence — enables machines to not only follow instructions but also to make decisions, adapt, and learn with minimal human input.

I first became aware of AI when I was at Cambridge in 1983. My good friend Toby Walsh was a fellow physicist at the time, but was always determined to pursue a career in AI. It was he who first acquainted me with Alan Turing and the Turing Test (wait for my talk). Toby is now one of the world’s leading professors in artificial intelligence.

Throughout my own career, I have seen AI take slow, steady steps – some of them backwards down blind alleys. In the 1990s, there were early attempts to build “knowledge-based systems,” which didn’t get far. But around a decade ago, machine learning — the ability to process vast amounts of data and detect patterns within it – began to make real progress. A huge breakthrough came with generative AI in late 2022, which made AI accessible and powerful in entirely new ways.

I’ll never forget demonstrating generative AI to a group of CEOs in London in March 2023 — I’d never seen a room of business leaders react with such awe and excitement. This time, they got it!

Where I Am Now

In this probably final chapter of my career, I’m very focused on delivering AI technologies to deliver radical innovation for my business clients. Ten months ago, I joined Cambridge Consultants as Head of Business Development for AI, spending much of my time exploring deeper AI technologies and how it can be used to create brand new products and services. At the moment, I’m particularly interested in its application to robotics. Until now, robotics has mostly thrived in controlled environments — think manufacturing lines with repetitive, predictable tasks with minimal human involvement. But now, with so-called “Physical AI”, we’re enabling robots to perceive their surroundings, adapt to ambiguity, and collaborate with humans. It’s incredibly exciting and will have a profound long-term impact.

How AI Will Impact Business

I see AI transforming business in three main ways.

• Personal Productivity – empowering individuals to be more effective in their day-to-day work through tools like generative AI (for example, ChatGPT).
• Smarter Processes – using AI to streamline, improve, or even automate workflows and business operations.
• New Products and Services – creating intelligent, personalised products that can interact directly with users. Instead of configuring a product manually, you’ll be able to tell it what you want — and it will adapt accordingly.

Some of this will happen very fast, but I think we will be working out the full implications of AI for probably another five decades. We always overestimate how quickly a new technology is going to be impactful, but completely underestimate the longer-term impact.

The Challenges Ahead

Of course, with opportunity comes challenge:

• Resistance to Change – people and organisations naturally resist transformation, which will slow adoption.
• Ethical Concerns – we must define what’s acceptable in how AI behaves and interacts.
• Data Security – generative AI consumes vast amounts of data, so protecting privacy and security is essential.
• Misuse of Power – as with all powerful technologies, there’s the danger of misuse. My friend Toby often speaks about the risks of autonomous weapons — the idea that someone could develop a drone capable of killing without human intervention.

At this late stage of my career, I feel liberated to focus on exactly what interests me. As opposed to my younger self, I no longer worry about climbing the corporate career ladder; my children are pursuing their own paths, and I’m financially secure. Which leaves me free to do what I can to diffuse this incredible technology across the business world.

At work, I might be one of the older voices in the room, but my mind is still sharp. I’m not the old grey sage in the corner, I’m outspoken, engaged and laser-focused.

Circle Square Quick-Fire Q&A

What 3 words best describe you? Focused, straightforward, challenging.

If you could offer your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be? I think my 25-year old self had his head screwed on – although I would give a few choice words of advice to my 45-year old self! But, if you insist, I tell my two children at ages 22 and 25: you’re going to need to learn, continuously develop and adapt to maintain an exciting and interesting career. And it’s OK if you don’t want to be a CEO or partner!

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement? Publishing 4 papers in Nature on binary millisecond pulsars when I was doing my PhD. That still gives me a buzz.

Which person (dead or alive) would you most like to invite to dinner? Gustav Mahler – I would want to try and understand the source of his genius – and the mind of a man who constructed such immense, powerful, intricate and life-affirming symphonies.

How has age strengthened your advantage? I don’t think age has particularly strengthened me – in many ways, I see the same faults unmitigated after all these years! I do feel liberated – and also a sense of urgency – now that I’m free to focus on work. But perhaps the world has too many Old Men in a Hurry right now?

What inspired you to join Circle Square? I met Nick at BCG in the late 90s and have always admired his intellect and particular perspective. We seem to have kept in touch over the years, and when he told me of Circle Square, the mission really resonated with me. It’s also been great to join a new network of interesting people I didn’t previously know – there are so many fascinating people amongst the membership.