About
Summary
Richard works at the intersection of AI, organisational change and society. He is a Senior Advisor to Boston Consulting Group, following five years as a Managing Director and Partner leading AI transformation work; and also to the Windfall Trust, which helps institutions prepare for AI’s economic effects. He has built The Social Gardener, using AI to foster human relationships, and Agentometry, which helps firms independently manage the performance of AI agents.
Backstory
At BCG, Richard worked with organisations in the UK and internationally to put AI to work and change how they operate. He was the BCG-X Global Leader for the Transport, Cities and Infrastructure practice, and the European Lead for the Public Sector. He co-authored research on how prepared economies are for AI and how AI can improve public services.
From 2016 to 2021, Richard was Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Faculty. During his time, Richard applied AI across a broad range of industries, raised more than >$65m, and saw the value of the company increase by x24. Their work included using AI to detect Terrorist propaganda, and supporting the UK’s National Health Service through Covid. Faculty was acquired as a 'Unicorn' for >$1bn in 2026.
Before Faculty, Richard was Director of Digital and Data Transformation at the Home Office and a founding director of the UK’s Government Digital Service, which helped put users at the heart of public service design. Earlier, he led work on Electricity Market Reform at the Department of Energy & Climate Change to secure an additional £200bn of investment in power generation while balancing affordability, energy security and decarbonisation.
Richard also led Google’s UK Public Policy team, and worked for the President of Sierra Leone through Tony Blair's Africa Governance Initiative. He held policy roles at HM Treasury, where he ran the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, and the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit. He is responsible for the only known reference to the Beastie Boys in a Government publication. While studying at Cambridge, he co-founded Engineers Without Borders UK, which is still going strong.
His non-executive roles have included the University of Exeter, The Challenge Network, and the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation. Richard holds an MA from the University of Cambridge and was a Policy Fellow at its Centre for Science and Policy. He produces an occasional podcast.
Selected Media
AI startup Faculty wins contract to predict future requirements for the UK’s NHS – TechCrunch
Here’s why pubs reopened in July – and why it’s different now – Wired
Message to ministers: AI can transform the way we live right now – Guardian
Artificial intelligence can make us smarter and faster – Telegraph
Efficiency by Transparency – The Economist