He wrote the business case to support the acquisition of Altius Data, the UK’s largest Microsoft data and analytics services provider with around 350 staff, fuelling organic growth for Accenture of nearly 50% year-on-year. In addition, staff retention has risen significantly to 95% from a low of 70% in 2019.
Alan gives four hours each week in volunteer time to the Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national institute for artificial intelligence, supporting researchers. He also consults with NGOs and charities, including Save the Children, MacMillan Cancer Support, Oxfam and Stop The Traffik. He sits on Microsoft’s board for Tech of Social Good, an endeavour that lobbies and supports the use of advanced technology for positive social outcomes.
He has also advised universities on the development of their data and analytics courses for undergraduates. Over the last 12 months, he has been involved in lobbying and formal consulting with the Universities of Hertfordshire, Kent, Leeds and Nottingham. As a result of his guidance, the University of Hertfordshire merged its School of Computing and School of Engineering to create a new School of Cognitive Computing.