Simon Poole helps directors, NEDs and executive teams understand what AI really means for strategy, governance, risk and organisational change. No hype, no jargon, no techno-theatre.
Most AI speakers come from the technology side. Simon comes from the boardroom side. That changes the conversation entirely.
Former Operating Partner at Helios Investment Partners. Served on multiple portfolio company boards. Helped lead three businesses through IPO to London listing. Currently a director and Audit Committee Chair at Hubtel, a regulated payments fintech in Ghana.
Certificate in Machine Learning and AI from Imperial College London. Not a casual interest. Simon works with AI tools daily and understands the technology well enough to separate what matters from what is noise.
Chartered Accountant background. Fluent in governance, risk, regulation, value creation and fiduciary duty. He talks to boards as a fellow director, not as a visiting technologist delivering a briefing.
Simon is known for making complex issues feel straightforward. His style is thoughtful, often funny, and always grounded. Audiences leave feeling clearer, calmer and better equipped to act.
"I highly valued Simon's session on AI in the boardroom. He brought a thoughtful and well-balanced perspective, combining a strong understanding of AI with a clear appreciation of the realities Board directors face."
Each keynote can be tailored to your audience, your sector and your event format. They work as standalone talks, or as part of a wider programme with follow-on workshops.
For all the noise around AI, many organisations are still asking the wrong question. They ask what the technology can do, when the real question is whether the leadership is ready for it.
Most AI efforts do not fail because the models are weak. They fail because strategy is fuzzy, governance arrives late, incentives are misaligned, and adoption gets treated as someone else's problem. This talk draws on board-level experience across regulated businesses, growth companies and private equity-backed transformation to show why AI is fundamentally a people and leadership challenge.
A clearer, more mature way to think about AI as a leadership, governance and implementation challenge.
Boards know AI matters. But many still approach it in one of two unhelpful ways: either as a vague future issue, or as a specialist topic best left to technical people.
This talk reframes AI as a boardroom issue hiding in plain sight. Boards do not need to become technologists, but they do need to become more deliberate, more curious and much less willing to fly blind. It explores the gap between formal oversight and real oversight, and covers the questions boards should be asking about AI use cases, governance structures, bad-incident scenarios, performance measures and data confidentiality.
A practical framework for moving from vague awareness to confident board-level oversight.
The common story about AI is that it belongs to the young, the technical and the already-converted. That story is badly incomplete.
The real premium in many senior roles is not speed of button-clicking. It is judgement, context, pattern recognition, commercial sense and the confidence to ask better questions. AI may reward exactly the capabilities that experienced professionals already have, if they are willing to re-engage, experiment and step forward differently. This keynote is personal, often funny, and challenging without being sentimental.
A more hopeful, practical and energising view of later-career relevance in the AI era.
30 to 60 minute talks for large audiences, with or without Q&A.
Shorter, focused sessions for leadership teams or board away-days.
Informal, conversational sessions for smaller groups.
Chairing and contributing to AI and governance panel discussions.
Half-day or full-day sessions that go deeper after the keynote.
Structured programmes on AI governance for boards and NED communities.
Let's talk about your audience, your theme and your event format.
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