Digital / AI Strategy & Transformation

AI-led digital transformation for a global consulting firm

I led a flagship project in the digital transformation program with a cross-functional team that identified, co-designed, and iteratively delivered a solution that leveraged a type of Artificial Intelligence (AI) called Natural Language Processing (NLP) to automate time consuming and inefficient manual tasks. I was also responsible for crafting the narrative that was used to successfully galvanise support from the executive leadership team. This program quickly became the benchmark for digital transformation initiatives, and was promoted by the CEO to the entire firm. Furthermore, this strategy is being scaled and implemented across the global network due to the cost savings and quality improvements it provides. This program helped me refine my techniques and strategies in managing the risks associated with the project in partnership with a broad range of business stakeholders.

Digital strategy for a small training organisation

The focus of my engagement was a strategy and implementation plan to translate the introductory module of their existing facilitator-led cultural competency training to a self-paced online course, which will allow them to scale their offering and reach far more people and engage new clients. This included reviewing their existing business strategy and online offerings, understanding the requirements of the new introductory module for their proposed clients, and alignment with existing offerings, presenting examples of the possible structure and information architecture, instructional design, theme/style and user experience, content design and development strategy, and an outline of the authentication, authorisation, support and maintenance requirements. These details were captured in a report for review and discussion with client. The client was happy with the report and I am continuing to advise and monitor progress during the implementation (on-going).

AI-based expert recommendations based on confidential data

I led a team to design a solution that leveraged a type of Artificial Intelligence (AI) called Natural Language Processing (NLP) to solve a problem the client had been struggling with for decades. Each of their client engagements was unique and could involve almost aspect of a business (e.g. from finance to human resources to IT to governance), but in most cases there were people in the organisation who had relevant experience and expertise who could provide valuable guidance. However, due to very strict client confidentiality requirements, and a relatively a high rate of turnover (around 20%), very few people in the organisation had any real knowledge of the projects that others had worked on. Using NLP, we were able to analyse the documents from the client confidential programs and associate them we people, so we could recommend expertise for a given input problem statement / scope of work without violating any client confidentiality agreements. The solution was very well received and discussion are underway to deploy it across other locations.

Startup commercialisation and scaling

I am an investor in, and advisor to, a number of start-up organisations in the technology space, which has helped inform my understanding of commercialisation and scaling activities, and possible trajectories. I have also established partnerships between enterprises and a number of technology start-up organisations and research groups, which includes translating their offers to align with strategic priorities for enterprise clients. Many of them have progressed all the way to secure significant commercial deals, with their solutions now operating in production environments and generating new revenue or reducing significantly their operating costs. This process requires a deep understanding of the problems being solved by the different ventures, the associated business value, and the most effective language required to best articulate this value. Furthermore, the approach to secure a commercial deal in a large enterprise is typically long and complex, requiring multiple prototypes and pilot programs to generate preliminary results that can be qualified and quantified to best demonstrate the value. I have led the contractual negotiations with third parties required to design and deliver the solutions, including challenging provisions around intellectual property associated with machine learning models and highly complex commercial arrangements. Clear communication and stakeholder management are paramount throughout this process.

Demonstrating the value of emerging technology and innovation

I was the founder and leader of a multidisciplinary team that championed innovation and technology disruption within the core technology group of a multi-national consulting firm. My team leveraged SAD thinking to design and deliver workshops, presentations, prototyping, and the design and development of minimum viable products (MVPs). We also engaged in consulting and training services to evangelise business leaders on innovation and disruption and to influence their decision-making in adopting innovative techniques to improve/redesign business processes. I was responsible for hiring and cultivating a team that was focussed on enthusiastically innovating and resolving blockages through a shared vision, purpose, and strategy. I aligned the team’s vision and maintained consistency with the goals and objectives of the broader group and the firm, so the team could demonstrated the value of emerging technologies, including advanced analytics and AI/machine learning, blockchain, and spatial computing (AR/VR/MR/XR). The spatial computing team were spun-out to focus on external client deliverables, and other initiatives resulted in major cost savings and new revenue opportunities across the firm.

Education-technology online platforms design and implementation

As the Technology Director for an education foundation in Mexico, I was responsible for the design, development and client-centric implementation of online platforms, which promoted the international award winning Design for Change challenge in Mexico (Diseña el Cambio). The stakeholders for this program of work were diverse and geographically distributed, including the local program team and President of the Foundation, teachers and principals at schools across Mexico, the State and Federal education systems, the global Design for Change team based in India, and the vendors who were designing and developing the platforms, one of whom was based in Mexico and the other in Australia. I also leveraged my academic connections to incorporate cutting edge research on combining pedagogical and design patterns, as illustrated in the book chapter: "Diseña el Cambio: helping Mexican school children to design a better world” Routledge: Book chapter in "The Architecture of Productive Learning Networks" (Carvalho, L. and Goodyear, P. (Eds.)). We also worked with the education systems and institutions to identify a gap in the market for high-quality professional development materials that could be deliver via a separate online platform. This offering provided a sustainable revenue stream to fund the operation of the education foundation. This venture remains financially sustainable nearly a decade after my engagement. Both platforms utilised design thinking and Agile delivery approaches during the design and implementation.