Overwhelmed by AI? Underwhelmed? Moving from “WHAT?” to “HOW?” and “WHY”

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Join us at our latest Tech Leaders Collective – South West Meetup with Nick Darby for a practical, interactive session focused on the real-world challenges of embedding AI across organisations.

In our previous session, we explored the fundamentals of AI – what it is, what it can be used for, and the best practices organisations can adopt to drive adoption, benefits, and scale. Now, many teams are moving beyond the theory and starting to grapple with the practical realities of implementation.

In this session, Nick will focus on the next stage of the journey: the “how” of AI. Together, we’ll explore the challenges organisations are increasingly facing, from building a clear roadmap of AI services and prioritising investments, to encouraging innovation and supporting the curiosity, resilience, and adaptability needed across teams.

Through practical exercises and proven frameworks, Nick will guide attendees through ways to design, refine, and prioritise AI services, accelerate development and deployment, and create the cultural shift required to make AI initiatives successful.

You’ll leave the session with practical tools, materials, and a clearer roadmap to help position yourself and your organisation at the centre of the AI agenda.

Event Details

• Date: Tuesday, 21st April
• Time: Arrival from 4pm. Talk from 4:30pm
• Location: iO Associates, St. Bartholomew’s House, Lewins Mead, BS1 2NH
• Who: This Meetup will suit tech leaders including: CTOs, CIOs, CEOs, Founders, Directors, Heads of and Managers
• Register: Complete our registration form to secure your spot.

An opportunity to network with fellow tech leaders in the South West area before a thought-provoking talk from Truebirds’s, Nick Darby, followed by small-group discussions where attendees can unpack the key themes from the session, share real-world experiences, and explore how the new information applies within their own organisations.

The event will be held under the Chatham House Rule, creating a trusted environment that encourages open and honest discussion.

The Talk

Overwhelmed by AI? Underwhelmed? Moving from “WHAT?” to “HOW?” and “WHY” (Nick Darby, Head of Advisory and AI Inspiration at Truebird) 

What we’ll explore:

• Creating an AI roadmap. How organisations can move from experimentation to a structured roadmap of AI services that aligns with business priorities and creates measurable value.
• Prioritising AI investments. Practical approaches to identifying which AI opportunities are worth pursuing, how to evaluate impact, and where to focus time and resources for the greatest return.
• Embedding the right culture. How to encourage curiosity, resilience, and adaptability across teams so people feel confident experimenting with AI and driving innovation in their roles.
• Measuring success. Defining clear ways to track progress, measure outcomes, and build a feedback loop that supports continuous improvement in AI initiatives.
• Driving practical innovation. Using proven frameworks and hands-on exercises to help teams identify opportunities, design AI-enabled services, and accelerate development and deployment across the organisation.

Registration

Complete our registration form to secure your free spot.

In Part 2 of our Financial Growth & Investment Outlook series, host Daniel Glyn Jones sits down with Paul Jenkinson to explore the evolving investment landscape impacting scale-ups, SMEs, and innovators across the defence and AI sectors. Paul provides first-hand insight into current investor sentiment, explaining why this space is both highly attractive and increasingly complex for founders and investors alike.

The conversation opens with a reflection on the shift in attitudes towards defence. Once a sector many investors avoided, it has now become a significant focus for renewed interest and capital deployment. Paul discusses how recent global events have reshaped perceptions, leading to a broader recognition of defence’s critical role not only in national security, but also in supporting ESG considerations and wider societal resilience.

As the discussion progresses, Paul outlines the realities of raising capital in today’s market. While enthusiasm for both defence and AI is growing, so too are the challenges. From navigating the long sales cycles and procurement complexities of defence business models to differentiating in an increasingly saturated AI landscape, the episode offers a candid assessment of what it truly takes to secure investment and scale successfully.

Key topics include:

• The changing perception of defence as an investable sector
• The patience, relationships, and credibility required to build investor confidence
• The impact of regulatory and tax changes on UK investment appetite
• The importance of genuine differentiation as hyperscalers reshape the AI market

Whether you are a founder navigating the defence ecosystem, an investor seeking clarity on market sentiment, or simply interested in the intersection of technology, capital, and growth, this episode provides timely and practical insights into a landscape defined by both opportunity and complexity.

Join us as Paul shares valuable lessons on resilience, strategic positioning, and the drivers of long-term value in today’s competitive environment.

You can also revisit Part 1: Strategic Context & Expansion: Defence, Tech and Change : watch here 

In this episode of the Defence Series, host Daniel Glyn-Jones is joined by Paul Jenkinson, CEO of Whitespace, for a timely and thought-provoking discussion on the shifting strategic landscape for defence technology and international growth.

Drawing on more than a decade of leadership at Whitespace, Paul reflects on guiding the business through sustained periods of disruption including Brexit, COVID-19, changing global power dynamics, and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. He shares his perspective on what it takes to build resilience and maintain momentum in an increasingly uncertain world. From the climate crisis and cost-of-living pressures to mental health challenges and geopolitical flashpoints, Paul explains how Whitespace has navigated complexity and why trusted, locally embedded teams are now essential to global success.

Together, Daniel and Paul explore:

• The accelerating global risks reshaping the defence sector, driving a renewed focus on national sovereignty and trusted in-country partnerships
• Whitespace’s evolving international expansion strategy, centred on local credibility, market-specific expertise, and the enduring importance of people even as AI transforms how organisations operate
• Key knowledge from Whitespace’s recent Series A investment round, including the impact of professional investors, the expansion of the C-suite, and the introduction of more scalable growth processes
• The roadmap towards Series B and beyond, examining how deeper investment will enable faster, parallel expansion and support growing ambitions with global partners such as Google, Oracle, and Microsoft
• The role of acquisitions, both in the UK and overseas, as Whitespace builds on its momentum within a rapidly changing security environment

Whether you are a defence leader, investor, or innovator navigating the intersection of technology, governance, and global risk, this episode offers candid insight and practical perspective. Paul and Daniel underline why trust, adaptability, and strong leadership are critical to succeeding in an era defined by volatility.

For those focused on building resilient teams, expanding internationally, or gaining strategic insight into turning challenge into opportunity, this is an essential listen.

Join Daniel and Paul for an open, informed conversation delivering actionable intelligence and inspiration, across defence, technology, and leadership globally.

Explore our past conversation with host Joe Field and James Morgan CEO of Logiq, where James draws on his eight-year RAF career to share insight into the transition from military to civilian life and how valuing veteran experience has fuelled Logiq’s growth – https://www.ioassociates.co.uk/from-service-to-success-navigating-careers-after-the-military/

In this latest episode of the Defence Series, host Joe Field welcomes James Morgan, Co-Founder and CEO of Logiq, for an honest and practical conversation exploring the often-challenging journey from military service to civilian success.

Drawing on his eight-year career in the RAF, shaped by leadership roles in both engineering and cyber communications, James offers unique insight into the realities of transitioning out of uniform. He reflects on the leadership qualities, problem-solving skills, and adaptability that veterans bring to industry. He shares how Logiq has thrived by harnessing these strengths, growing to a 170-strong team in just a few years.

The discussion goes beyond James’s personal story. Joe and James explore:

• The emotional highs and lows veterans face when entering the job market, and why translating military experience into a civilian CV can feel daunting
• Practical strategies for communicating military experience to employers, and how initiatives such as the Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) are helping both sides better understand one another
• The power of face-to-face conversations over CV-to-portal applications, including valuable advice on building networks, attending events, and starting genuine conversations that open doors
• How Logiq, under James’s leadership, actively trains its teams to value military backgrounds and builds pathways for talent entering both defence and non-defence roles

Listeners will gain practical takeaways whether they are service leavers, hiring managers, or leaders looking to build more inclusive pathways for veterans. James highlights not only why veterans excel through leadership, resilience, and customer-centric thinking, but also the strong business case for organisations to get involved, support service leavers, and tap into an exceptional pool of talent.

If you are keen to support those who serve, build stronger and more diverse teams, or simply want practical insight into unlocking the potential of veterans, this is an essential listen.

Join Joe and James for honest perspectives, practical insight, and inspiration, whether your next step is in defence or an entirely new direction.

Explore our conversation with George Carter, CEO of Darter, for a thought-provoking discussion on bridging strategy and technology within the defence sector – Watch now

Join our latest roundtable for the Tech Leaders Collective – Data & AI Manchester, where Paris Bielby, Director of Data at CAVU, will lead a thought-provoking discussion on Embedding Product Thinking in a Data Function at Scale.

The event will focus on the ever-pressing importance of closely intertwining product and data disciplines, ensuring the right level of technical and business context informs effective data product design, build, and iteration.

Drawing on her experience, Paris will share how she has embedded product thinking within a centralised data function of 50 professionals spanning multiple disciplines. The session will explore the practical realities of bringing product principles into a data-led environment, and how this approach drives stronger outcomes, better decision-making, and more scalable data products.

This roundtable offers a space for data and AI leaders to share experiences, challenge assumptions, and discuss what it really takes to align product and data at scale.

Event Details

• Topic: Embedding Product Thinking in a Data Function at Scale
• Date: Wednesday 4th March
• Time: 7:30am for arrival & networking; 8:00am for discussion
• Location: Dakota Hotel, 29 Ducie St, Manchester M1 2JL
• Register: Complete our registration form to confirm your spot

Our Chair

Paris Bielby is a commercially minded data leader with experience across analytics, data strategy, and organisational efficiency design. She is currently Director of Data at CAVU, where she leads a multi-disciplinary data function focused on delivering scalable, high-impact data products.

Paris is passionate about nudging innovation forward, rallying teams around a shared vision of data maturity and metadata agility, and helping organisations build the foundations needed to be truly AI-ready. Her approach blends strong technical understanding with product thinking and commercial awareness, ensuring data delivers real business value.

In recent years, Paris has also achieved a Distinction-level Master of Law, strengthening her work in responsible data and AI design. This legal grounding informs the frameworks and solutions she develops, particularly where governance, ethics, and emerging AI use cases intersect.

Sign Up

Complete our registration form to secure your spot.

What does it take to talk to your data?

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Join us at our latest Tech Leaders Collective – South West Meetup with David and Calvin for a practical, insight-led session exploring how leading organisations are enabling executives to truly talk to their data.

We’ve entered an era where leaders expect to ask questions in plain English and receive trustworthy answers from their data. The organisations getting ahead, however, aren’t relying on chatbots bolted onto messy foundations. Instead, they are pairing AI with engineered data layers and strong guardrails to deliver reliable, decision-ready insights.

In this session, David and Calvin will walk through the concrete architecture patterns that make this work at scale, including AI-accelerated semantic data models enriched with both business and technical context. They’ll also demonstrate how insights can be automatically visualised into clear, actionable charts that support faster and more confident decision-making.

Event Details

• Date: Tuesday, 3rd March
• Time: Arrival from 4pm. Talk from 4:30pm
• Location: iO Associates, St. Bartholomew’s House, Lewins Mead, BS1 2NH
• Who: This Meetup will suit tech leaders including: CTOs, CIOs, CEOs, Founders, Directors, Heads of and Managers
• Register: Complete our registration form to secure your spot.

An opportunity to network with fellow tech leaders in the South West area before a thought-provoking talk from Snap Analytics’s, David and Calvin, followed by small-group discussions where attendees can unpack the key themes from the session, share real-world experiences, and explore how the new information applies within their own organisations.

The event will be held under the Chatham House Rule, creating a trusted environment that encourages open and honest discussion.

The Talk

What does it take to talk to your data? (David Rice, CEO at Snap Analytics and Calvin Fuss, Head of Artificial Intelligence at Snap Analytics) 

What we’ll explore:

• Data model & context. AI is only as good as the data and context it’s given. We’ll show how to accelerate model design with AI while capturing business definitions, source schema relationships, and the actual questions the business needs answered.
• Medallion architecture. How bronze (raw), silver (cleaned/standardised) and gold (curated, business‑ready) layers create trustworthy, consistent inputs for LLMs and agents.
• Enterprise ontology. Building the map of tables, joins, metrics and business terms that drive consistent answers across teams and use cases.
• Safe text‑to‑SQL. Designing the agent with read-only access, schema/table limits, and an AI safety validator to block destructive or out-of-scope prompts.
• Instant visualisation. Turning query results into clear, decision‑ready charts with image‑capable LLMs

Registration

Complete our registration form to secure your free spot.

After the hype and disappointment of GenAI; how to create real business value from AI

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With rapid innovation cycles, shifting priorities, and the evolving landscape of AI, many organisations are now asking the critical question – how do we move beyond the hype and disappointment of GenAI to create real business value?

Join us at our latest Tech Leaders Collective – South West Meetup with Nick Darby for a thought-provoking session on how to cut through the noise and focus on what truly drives impact. Nick will share practical ways to harness AI-enabled processes and insights to boost performance, innovation, and meaningful outcomes.

Event Details

• Date: Tuesday, 9th December
• Time: Arrival from 4pm. Talk from 4:30pm
• Location: iO Associates, St. Bartholomew’s House, Lewins Mead, BS1 2NH
• Who: This Meetup will suit tech leaders including: CTOs, CIOs, CEOs, Founders, Directors, Heads of and Managers
• Register: Complete our registration form to secure your spot.

An opportunity to network with fellow tech leaders in the South West area before a thought-provoking talk from Truebird’s, Nick Darby. 

The event will be held under Chatham House Rule, creating a trusted environment that encourages open discussion.

The Talk

After the hype and disappointment of GenAI; how to create real business value from AI (Nick Darby, Head of Advisory and AI Inspiration at Truebird)

For years, only the largest global companies have been able to afford investment in AI services and (through much trial and error) have learnt how to create efficiencies, innovation, adoption, scaling and growth. As the cost of AI brings these advantages within reach for every business, it is experience, practical advice and prioritisation – from strategy and planning to skills and “winning the hearts and minds” – that is scarce. Formerly the Global Head of Insights, Data and AI for a worldwide consultancy, Nick’s career has spanned working for global companies such as Unilever, L’Oreal and Ahold Delhaize, consultancies, vendors, governments and his own successful businesses and brings a practical, pragmatic approach to creating tangible value from AI.

Registration

Complete our registration form to secure your free spot.

In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, robotics has emerged as a driving force, reshaping industries across the globe.

At this event, we will explore the multitude of robotics use-cases, exploring how robotics are optimised across food & drink manufacturing, healthcare, and rehabilitation with talks from three leading robotics companies.

Plus there will be the opportunity to socialise and network with professionals, academics and robotic enthusiasts across Edinburgh over drinks and food.

Event Details

• Date: Thursday, 13th November
• Time: 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM
• Location: Raging Bull, 161 Lothian Rd , Edinburgh, EH3 9AA
• Register: Complete the registration form here to secure your spot

Agenda

• 6:00 – 6:15 PM
  Welcome drinks & introductions
• 6:15 – 6:35 PM
  First talk
• 6:40 – 7:00 PM
  Second talk
• 7:00 – 7:40 PM
  Food and networking
• 7:40 – 8:00 PM
  Third talk
• 8:00 – 8:30 PM
  Open networking & mingle

The Talks

Beyond OOP: Using ECS to give customers what they want.

Speaker: Bjorn Madsen, Locus Robotics

• Bjorn explores one of the biggest challenges facing software and engineering teams today — how to innovate without disrupting what already works. Drawing on his experience delivering scalable, customer-focused solutions in robotics, he discusses how to balance extending software capabilities with maintaining legacy systems. Expect practical lessons on aligning innovation with customer needs and strategies for building technology that evolves without leaving the past behind.

The Journey of Delivering Robotics Products

Speaker: George Dascalu, Leap AI 

• George explores the challenges of transforming an initial, unproven idea into a real-world product that delivers tangible value. Drawing from his experience in emerging robotics industries, he shares how to navigate uncertainty, adapt quickly, and create products that thrive in fast-changing environments where innovation and execution must go hand in hand.

Automation in Agritech

Speaker: Andrew Peacock, Peacock Technology

• Andrew highlights how robotics and automation are revolutionising intelligent system design. He’ll share insights from Peacock Technology’s work at the cutting edge of robotics, exploring how applied innovation, practical engineering, and collaborative design are shaping the next generation of intelligent automation solutions.

We’re also excited to welcome David Owen from ROVTech, who’ll be demonstrating their cutting-edge, all-electric ROV. Compact yet powerful, it combines high connectivity with AI-driven autonomy, performing operations that once required far larger and costlier systems.

Sign Up

Complete our registration form to secure your spot.

Join our latest roundtable for the Tech Leaders Collective – Data & AI Manchester, where Jackson Dyson, from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), will lead a thought-provoking discussion on Zero Platform Analytics: The Rise of Borderless AI and Data Intelligence.

For decades, data analytics has relied on centralising information within data warehouses before it can be queried or used for AI. With the emergence of Large Language Models (LLMs), this traditional model is being redefined.

In this session, Jackson will introduce the concept of Zero Platform Analytics, an emerging approach where AI systems can analyse and learn from distributed, unstructured data sources (such as emails, documents, and messages) without the need to move or replicate data.

We’ll explore what a borderless AI and data landscape could mean for organisations, the implications for governance and regulation, and how data and AI leaders are adapting to this new paradigm. This roundtable offers a space to share perspectives, challenge assumptions, and discuss the future of analytics beyond traditional platforms.

Event Details

• Topic: Zero Platform Analytics: The Rise of Borderless AI and Data Intelligence
• Date: Wednesday 26th November
• Time: 7:30am for arrival & networking; 8:00am for discussion
• Location: Dakota Hotel, 29 Ducie St, Manchester M1 2JL
• Register: Complete our registration form to confirm your spot

Our Chair

Jackson is the Head of Data Platform at the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), where he leads the development and implementation of a modern analytics and AI platform designed to drive data-driven insight and innovation across the organisation.

With extensive experience delivering large-scale data and AI platforms across government, healthcare, and higher education, Jackson has previously held key roles at KPMG, the University of Glasgow, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). His work focuses on creating scalable, ethical, and forward-thinking data ecosystems that enable smarter decision-making and responsible AI adoption.

Outside of work, Jackson is passionate about basketball, travel, and is a lifelong learner who’s always exploring new technologies and ideas shaping the future of data and AI.

Sign Up

Complete our registration form to secure your spot.

Join us at General American Intelligence’s 24-hour Hackathon – American Frontier Build – on November 8–9 at the Ark Innovation Center, St. Petersburg, FL.

Event Details

• Date: Saturday 8th November – Sunday 9th November
• Time: 24 hours
• Location: Ark Innovation Center, St. Petersburg, FL
• Register: RSVP here to confirm your spot

The Purpose

Across a single 24-hour sprint, teams will collaborate across four innovation tracks to launch investable, American-made ventures designed to improve lives in fragile communities and industries.

🔹 LAND — AgTech: Soil & tissue analytics, variable-rate operations, field logistics, co-op pricing, crop insurance ops
🔹 AIR — Climate Tech: Load forecasting, DER orchestration, weather risk pricing, refrigerant leak intelligence, carbon MRV
🔹 SEA — Maritime Tech: Port operations, autonomous surface/underwater sensing, IUU monitoring, coastal resiliency
🔹 LEGACY — Industrials & Manufacturing / SMB / Enterprise: Demand planning, autopricing, labour scheduling, case intake, revenue operations

This hackathon offers a unique opportunity to compress the entire pre-seed to Series A lifecycle into just 24 hours, bringing together engineers, entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators to build solutions that truly matter.

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👉 Register today to be part of this fast-paced innovation challenge.