Ben Rayner

Most leaders know AI matters. They just don't know where to start. I give them clarity, build their roadmap, and implement solutions that deliver measurable results. My approach: 🫱🏼‍🫲🏻 People - Your team needs to come with us. I train and upskill so AI adoption actually sticks. 🩵 Trust - I don't disappear after the proposal. I stand by you through implementation. 🤖 Tech - We solve the problem first, then find the right AI solution. Not the other way around. What I deliver: → AI Readiness Assessments that identify 3-5 high-impact opportunities in weeks, not months → Implementation of working AI solutions (not just recommendations in a deck) → Strategic roadmaps that align AI with your business goals, not just chase trends Recent results: 💥 Helped a tech company achieve in 6 hours what they couldn't crack in 6 months 💥 Built AI systems that freed 20% of a CEO's time from admin 💥 Implemented one automation saving a client 32+ hours per month and £16k in errors Background: I completed MIT Sloan and MIT CSAIL's certificate programme in Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy, validating my practical approach against academic rigour. I understand AI from a business leadership perspective, not just a technical one - which means I can translate AI capabilities into strategies that drive measurable business outcomes. I have three decades of experience turning emerging technology into competitive advantage. From realising the commercial value of Facebook for brands like Domino’s to building the first responsive website in insurance to flipping an advertising agency from analogue to digital. I've worked with brands like Coca-Cola, Barclaycard, Lakeland, and Mastercard. Now I bring that enterprise-level expertise to ambitious SMEs. 👉🏼 For business leaders who need to make informed decisions about AI, check out the AI Opportunity Workshop (it's a no-brainer). https://strategicsherpas.com/programmes/ai-opportunity-workshop/

Experience AI that truly understands your business, working as an integral part of your team to amplify productivity. Like people, AI needs company context, role-specific guidance, and clear standards. Without that foundation, it produces general output - rather than expertise. This risks inconsistency, non-compliance, and brand trust. We give your team access through a secure, ring-fenced portal. Each organisation receives a dedicated virtual machine in a region of your choice. We create Expert AI Agents which are Finely Tuned for your business needs. 📍 Reduce your risk. 📍 Improve operational efficiency. 📍 Scale your business without the headcount. Navigate multiple regulations with AI-powered precision. Our assistant identifies relevant rules, provides contextual explanations, and guides you to compliance with clear, actionable steps. Let our Finely Tuned Assistants handle the heavy lifting in your business. Start your journey towards streamlined processes, increased efficiency, and more intelligent decision-making today.

We're on a mission to create a lasting legacy by inspiring the next generation to positively contribute in making Manchester the best city to live and work. At City of Champions, we’re building more than events - we’re shaping futures, amplifying local heroes, and putting Manchester’s spirit on the global stage. Whether through attending events, sponsorship or a strategic business collaboration, you can help write the next chapter of our collective success story. Every partnership creates ripples of impact that extend far beyond a single event or initiative. Ready to champion something greater? Connect with me today to explore how we can achieve more together.

I was the Co-Founder who launched the practice from its initial concept to a maturing successful business, which was highly respected amongst its audience (senior executives) with a well-recognised, premium and dynamic brand. The business was created to support Senior Executives and Specialists to take a leap of faith and grow their own Professional Services Practices. We attracted senior executives from FTSE 250 companies and brands such as Rolls Royce, KPMG, FCA, Centrica and the UK Government. Operational excellence was critical within this start-up environment. Driving organisational vision, operational strategy and execution enabled the business to go from a vision to trading commercial reality. Additionally, with my team, we created an authentic personal and business brand that expressed the clients' true value and wisdom. The outcome of the brand development sessions was the creation of an intelligent, clear and engaging proposition targeted at a specific audience profile. This showcased their solutions which drove outcomes for their clients.

During my tenure at Zengility, we embraced innovation and saw the importance of engaging our audience through unconventional channels. Recognising the emerging trend of short-form content, particularly with the launch of YouTube Shorts in 2020, I spearheaded our podcasting initiative. This platform allowed us to deliver long-form content, providing our prospects with an informal opportunity to get to know us. Our podcast discussions were focused on the evolving landscape of work and strategies for redefining traditional approaches. We aimed to empower individuals to find fulfilment by aligning their purpose with commercial endeavours. Through this initiative, we seamlessly integrated our content into our social media strategy, utilising soundbites to amplify our message and connect with our audience on a deeper level. Episode 1 – Accessing courage Episode 2 – Redundancy is a Release Episode 3 – STOP! Look and listen Episode 4 – The Rise of the Family Business Episode 5 – A discussion with international, best-selling author David Sax Episode 6 – Don’t let your ego take you hostage. Remember fortune favours the decisive Episode 7 - Zengility launch Locatum with James Cutler Episode 8 - Are you contemplating leaving corporate life? Episode 9 - Have you considered your options? Episode 10 - Work life or WorkLife? Episode 11 - The journey away from ‘The Big Four’ to life of my own terms with Andrew Akal Episode 12 - The Energy behind Talisman Energy International with Richard Goodhead Episode 13 - Why Your Brand Will Matter Episode 14 - How Do You Want to Run Your Life? Episode 15 - How I Redefined My Professional Career with Charles Clark Episode 16 - It’s not what’s done, it is how it is done - how to rearchitect your Professional Business Life. Episode 17 - Wisdom of the Ages; The Best is Yet to Come! You can listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and more.

EGOstream is the sister company of Zengility and has been growing people to sustainably grow organisations within the Technology industry. The power of a human conversation creates a true relationship that can be built upon. We are as good as the company we keep and when our missions are synergetic our collective power to attain our purpose scales exponentially. This is at the heart of any collaboration. I cultivate and manage the relationships with our venture capital and angel investor network, whilst developing and maintaining relationships with Founders and CEOs of innovating and maturing businesses.

Leading the daily operation through vast numbers of complex projects as well as key pivotal moments which have been paramount to the agency’s continued success. During my tenure, I was part of the leadership team that grew this successful, independent advertising agency from a team of 28 to a more dynamic, creative and empowered team of over 60 people strong, which, in turn, saw profit margins elevate. I spent nearly two decades working with some of the world’s biggest brands, developing their brand and communication strategies. That success was underpinned by truly understanding our client’s businesses and the environment in which they operate. Then we built on this to develop a strategy, vision and communications to deliver for them and their future growth strategies. This included household names such as; Mastercard, Coca-Cola, Aegon, LV=, Barclaycard, NFU Mutual, B&Q, Greene King, Domino's, Lakeland and Allianz. Leading the account team to deliver best-in-class marketing strategies with the customer journey at the foundation. Working with the creative and productions teams to ensure a cohesive visual story with clarity around the problem being solved, brought our client’s businesses closer to their audience and often exceeded their objectives. Targeting, pitching and responding to new business opportunities was important to ensure we were able to deliver longer-term value for the client and keep the agency winning ratio high. In addition, I also spoke at a number of events including; the GDS Chief Marketing Officers Summit, Turnberry Scotland and at the Allianz Global Investment marketing conference in Frankfurt, Germany.

I ran point on a number of accounts, which encompassed everything from strategy, planning and executing campaigns. Domino’s Pizza was a key account for seven years. As the lead creative agency we involved in many aspects of the business including customer segmentation, direct communications, directing photography, social campaigning and a number of sponsorship opportunities, including The Simpsons which catapulted Domino’s into the UK market. I was involved in many multi-agency led initiatives with one of the largest credit card providers, Barclaycard. The projects were varied from national advertising, high performing email campaigns to the first ever Premier Football League sponsorship. Following a successful pitch I lead the team which grew the Greene King account from a standing start to over £250k per annum in a year. This subsequently grew further as we took on additional brands within the group due to the success of our methods in the accommodation and food & beverage sector. As with any growing independent there are other hats that you pick up on the way. As I am no stranger to taking on more responsibility, I was integral to the business in many ways. Outwardly facing my role was very marketing focused, within the business my time was invested in the operations. I continued to look after the HR role but also one off projects such as the planning and development of our new photographic studio. A purpose-designed space which was over 6,000 sq ft.

I helped the business systemise it's operations across all functions and put infrastructure in place to support growth.

I was fast-tracked on a managerial training course and within 7 months I was heading up retail stores. The role quickly developed and I was parachuted into a number of environments which required significant troubleshooting. Once the store performance metrics were achieved I moved to the next challenge.

I was fortunate to be involved with Rugby coaching pupils at the school and help inspire them in sport as part of the curriculum.

Agricultural shows during the summer months used to be the mainstay for Lakeland. Which is why they continued to do the 'show circuit' for so long. We were tasked with being a self contained shop on the road. We were responsible for all of the tasks a retail store would be, with the additional responsibility of finding your new location and building a marquee to house the store in.

Certificate program from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management, focused on the strategic business applications of artificial intelligence. Developed in collaboration with MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), the course explores how organisations can effectively integrate AI to drive innovation and competitive advantage.

Designed for athletes and executives with aspirations to be chief executives. The CEO programme will help transition those with sporting experience and others with leadership ambitions into the highest roles, by marrying their experiences of competitive sport with an education.