How can your data & AI deliver more?
Richard PhillipsI help senior leaders address the organisational challenges that limit the value of their data and AI investments.
Independent advice, grounded in experience of leading and transforming data & analytics functions in large organisations.
Where I help
Data & AI valueYou want more value from data and AI.
You’ve invested in data and AI, but you’re not seeing the improvements and results you expected.
Business and data teams often work to competing priorities, with no clear agreement on how to fix it, or who is even responsible.
I identify the organisational issues limiting results, whether in a single initiative, a business function or a wider transformation.
You get an evidence-based diagnosis of what’s limiting results, which changes are likely to help and what decisions need to be made. If you want help putting them into practice, I can work with the teams involved.
Data leadershipYou’re hiring a data leader or taking on the role
I help you make the most of a change in data leadership, preparing the business for the new leader and helping them make a strong start.
I assess the organisational conditions the new leader will inherit, identify constraints that could stall their progress and prepare a practical briefing for when they start.
For newly appointed leaders, I offer independent support to establish what they need from the wider business and how to introduce change that works in practice.
Your investment in data and AI creates the potential for value.
Your investment in data and AI creates the potential for value.
The value ceiling can be limited by how the organisation operates
The value ceiling can be limited by how the organisation operates
About meI’ve built data capability. I’ve experienced the organisational constraints.
I’m Richard Phillips. I’ve built and led data, analytics and insight functions in large organisations and helped them use data effectively. My experience includes data and analytics executive leadership and interim roles, including at Nest Pensions, Kingfisher PLC, Barclaycard and Virgin Media.
I’ve learnt that the biggest barriers to value often lie in how the business and data function work together. Relying on personal influence alone to work around avoidable organisational constraints slows progress and leaves the underlying problems unresolved.
That’s why I established Human Edge Lab: to identify and resolve the organisational changes needed to get more value from data and AI.
You work directly with me throughout the engagement.
How I work
Independent advice. Recommendations
you can act on.
My experience of leading and transforming data and analytics functions informs what I investigate, the questions I ask and the assumptions I challenge. As an independent adviser, I can give a candid assessment across team boundaries, without an internal role, budget or established position to protect.
Before we begin, we agree the scope, budget, timeframe, stakeholders involved and my deliverables.
Through focused interviews, document review and examination of real organisational examples, I explore how work is done and why results fall short of expectations. I test possible explanations with the people involved, then bring the findings together into practical recommendations that you can act on.
We discuss what should change, the options available and the decisions needed to move forward.
Data & AI valueGetting more value from data and AI
Data & AI Value Diagnostic
Understand what’s limiting results and how to fix it.
Fixed scope and fee · Typical delivery: 6 weeks
I examine how working practices, prioritisation, responsibilities and decision-making affect the results you expect from data and AI.
The work combines stakeholder interviews, relevant document review and a structured examination of what’s constraining the value of your data and AI investments.
You receive: a clear diagnosis of the organisational constraints most likely to be limiting results, with practical recommendations covering what should change, the decisions required and who needs to decide or act.
What this involves
Identifying what limits value
The work might focus on a specific problem, such as data or insight generation that delivers little or uncertain benefits. Or it could address a wider question about why a data platform is not delivering its expected outcomes.
I speak with the stakeholders involved and examine how business and data teams agree priorities, how decisions are made and approved, and how the value of outcomes is assessed. This includes processes involving people, AI systems or both.
Making the changes work
I establish which constraints are limiting results, what supports that diagnosis and what remains uncertain. You get recommendations with priorities, responsibilities and a plan of action.
Where required, I can work with your teams to design and introduce the changes, then test and adjust them in practice. This can address a specific issue or form the organisational part of a wider transformation plan, alongside your technology and talent work.
Data leadershipSupporting your change in data leadership
A change in data leadership is an opportunity to strengthen the function and how it works with the business. I work with the appointing executive, the incoming leader, or both.
Data Leadership Readiness Plan
Protect your investment in a new data leader
Fixed scope and fee · Typical delivery: 2 weeks
Before your new leader arrives, I examine what the business needs and expects from data, how the data function works with other teams, and which organisational constraints could undermine the results you are hiring them to deliver.
The work combines focused stakeholder interviews and document review.
You receive: a concise, evidence-based plan setting out the main organisational risks and recommended improvements, plus a practical briefing to inform the incoming leader’s decisions.
Support for newly appointed leaders
Just as you might bring in technical expertise, I provide independent, specialist support to help you understand and address the organisational challenges you inherit.
With technology and delivery competing for your attention, I give the organisational work the focus it needs. I help you decide where to intervene first, what to ask of the wider business and how to make the case for change.
Let's discuss how I can help you
We’ll discuss your situation, what you need to achieve and how I could help