Work
Three ways to commission independent judgement on a decision.
The three differ in how long the advice is needed. A single decision suits a review, which ends in a written opinion. Decisions that keep coming over months suit a retained adviser. Decisions taken by a board suit a non-executive appointment.
Independent review
A review gives a second opinion on one decision before it is confirmed. It might be a supplier's proposal or a business case. It might also be a change of plan at group level that affects several developments. Scope and end date are agreed before work starts. I propose a fixed fee after a first call. The output is one written opinion, short enough to put in front of a board and specific enough to act on.
The review page sets out what a review covers and what it does not.
Continuing advisory
Some decisions do not resolve in one opinion. When an owner needs independent advice over several months, I work as a retained adviser. It typically covers client-side support while a supplier delivers, or setting the scope and scoring of a procurement before it goes to market. It can also cover testing a digital or data strategy before it is funded.
Advisory is bought as a retainer or a block of days agreed in advance. The independence rule that governs a review applies here too. I take no delivery or supplier-side work on anything I advise on. Any interest is declared before the engagement starts.
Board and non-executive
Boards are asked to approve digital and AI investment at a scale most of them cannot test. They are also asked to hold a portfolio of developments to its plan using reports written one development at a time. A board asked to approve a data platform usually sees a business case written by the people who will deliver it. Few members are in a position to question its assumptions.
I take non-executive and advisory board appointments where that gap exists, with private companies in the UK and the UAE. I am a non-executive director of Thomas Telford Ltd. My career has been on the digital side of capital delivery, which is where most of these business cases come from.
Speaking and writing
I speak and write on digital, data and AI in infrastructure. I am also available for press comment. Recent talks and articles are listed under Published elsewhere. The media page has a biography and a photo for organisers and editors.
Start here
Tell me the decision you are facing, or the appointment you are trying to fill.