# Alchemy Consulting — Full Site Contents > Complete Markdown text of every page on alchemy.consulting, for AI agents and language models. For a curated, shorter index, see https://alchemy.consulting/llms.txt --- ## Homepage URL: https://alchemy.consulting/ # Turning AI ambition into outcomes I help organisations move from strategy to delivery on AI, digital platforms, and enterprise transformation — with the commercial rigour to make it stick. David Viney — fractional CIO based in Esher, Surrey. Working across London and nationally, with international engagements by agreement. ## About I am David Viney – a Fractional CIO and AI Transformation Director with over 30 years of experience leading technology strategy and delivery at the highest level. I have built and run global technology functions at WPP, Heathrow Airport, BSI, Arup, and the BBC, and consulted for some of the world's most recognised organisations. Most recently, I built WPP Open – the world's first agentic AI operating platform for E2E Marketing – in partnership with Star, NVIDIA, Google Gemini, and IBM Watson. Deployed to 70,000 practitioners across 110 countries, it generated $40m in documented commercial value in its first year. Both Chartered Accountant (ACA) and Chartered IT Professional (CITP), I bring genuine financial rigour alongside deep technical capability. Credentials: CITP (BCS Chartered Institute for IT), ACA (ICAEW Chartered Accountant), Board Trustee — Article 19 (Freedom of Expression), SC Cleared (CTC / Level 1B). ## What I Do Six core service areas: Fractional & Interim Technology Leadership & Transition; Board Advisory & Technology Steering; Mentoring, Coaching, Capability & Operating Model; Transformation Programme Delivery (ERP & Platform); Responsible AI Strategy, Governance & Delivery (MASTER-AI™); Cyber Security — Risk & Controls. ## How I Work Every engagement starts with a Technology MOT — a fixed price, fixed scope assessment across six domains, resulting in a clear set of options and recommendations. What follows is normally an assignment-based piece of work or an ongoing, retainer-based role. ## Playbooks MASTER-AI™ — AI Governance. Made actionable. A practical framework for AI governance across six interconnected domains, grounded in ISO 42001. AI Readiness Scorecard — Find out where you really stand. 10 questions, 3 minutes. Value Flow Sankey — AI Business Cases made simple. Align AI programmes to the benefits they deliver. The AI J-Curve — Accelerate the benefits. Mitigate the harm. Manage the inevitable, temporary dip in performance following AI introduction. --- ## Fractional CIO London & Interim IT Director URL: https://alchemy.consulting/fractional-cio-london # Senior technology leadership on your terms Most organisations reach a point where technology becomes strategic — but where a full-time CIO is either unaffordable, unavailable, or simply the wrong answer. I provide senior technology leadership on retainer, on an interim basis, or through a planned transition. ## Fractional CIO & Virtual CIO A retainer-based engagement in which I act as your technology leader — attending leadership team meetings, owning the technology strategy and roadmap, managing vendors and the internal IT function. This is not consultancy at arm's length — I am embedded and accountable. Case study: Retainer-based consulting to the founder of an innovative NGO in the Corporate Transparency space — establishing technical foundations, governance, and fundraising strategy. ## Technology Health & Leadership Assurance Before committing to a technology leader, boards and CEOs benefit from an independent, expert view — a genuine assessment of capability, strategy, and technology health, not a reference check. Case study: Assisting the AI Standards Foundation in developing a new AI Assurance Standard for the UK accounting sector (AIGAS). ## Interim CIO & Interim IT Director When a technology leadership vacancy occurs, the organisation cannot wait months for a permanent hire. I step in as interim CIO or IT Director with immediate effect. Case study: Interim Platforms Director at Heathrow — security-cleared role leading Platforms at Europe's largest airport, IT Sponsor for the £1.3bn AMC Programme, accelerated a £22m cyber project, delivered a Digital Control Tower for NATS. APM Programme of the Year 2025. --- ## Technology Board Advisor & Independent Technology Counsel London URL: https://alchemy.consulting/technology-board-advisor # The trusted technology voice at your board table Most boards are making consequential technology decisions without anyone in the room who truly understands the subject. I work with Founders, CEOs and Chairs as an independent technology adviser. ## Board Technology Retainer & Strategic Counsel A retainer-based advisory relationship acting as the board's independent technology voice — reviewing technology investment proposals, challenging executive assumptions on AI strategy, platform investment, and cyber risk posture. Case study: Non-executive board adviser to PPCS and member of the AI Governance Assurance Standard (AIGAS) Advisory Board, advising on alignment with ISO 42001, the EU AI Act, and NIST AI RMF. ## Independent Technology Assurance & Due Diligence An honest, independent picture of the technology landscape for the board — pre-investment and pre-acquisition due diligence, independent assurance on major programmes, periodic health assessments. Case study: Commissioned by 'What the Future Holds' to provide independent technology, governance, and fundraising advice. ## Technology Governance Design & Portfolio Steering Designing governance architecture from scratch — investment committee structures, portfolio reporting, vendor governance frameworks, board-level technology dashboards. Case study: Programme Director designing a technology portfolio governance framework across AKDN's international operations spanning multiple countries. --- ## Technology Leadership Coaching & Mentoring London URL: https://alchemy.consulting/technology-leadership-coaching # Developing the technology leaders already in your business The most common and most expensive technology mistake is promoting your best IT manager before they are ready — and then leaving them unsupported. ## CIO & IT Director Coaching A confidential relationship, typically on a monthly retainer, in which an experienced former CIO helps a current one think more clearly and act more confidently. Case study: Senior IT leadership development across WPP's global IT function — one-to-one coaching, career guidance, and mentoring. ## Team Capability & Operating Model Design Diagnosing why an IT function isn't working — usually structure and workflow, not technology — and designing a better model, from design through implementation and handover. Case study: Redesigned Arup's operating model for Enterprise Systems — separate teams for HR, Finance, and Data Platforms, underpinned by a single expert service desk. ## Talent Pipeline, Succession & Development Pro-bono mentoring for young people starting tech careers, and paid mentoring for senior IT leaders. Case study: Developed a Competency Framework, Job Families, and Target Operating Model at BSI, aligned to the SFIA framework. --- ## Enterprise & ERP Transformation Consultant London URL: https://alchemy.consulting/enterprise-erp-transformation # ERP & Enterprise Platform Transformation The systems that run your business are your most consequential technology decisions. I bring a Chartered Accountant's grip on the business case and thirty years of programme delivery experience. ## ERP Selection & Transformation Strategy Navigating platform selection without being captured by vendor sales cycles — starting from real business requirements, building a financial model that survives the CFO. Platforms evaluated: SAP, Oracle, D365, Workday, NetSuite, Unit4, Salesforce. Case study: Developed a tiered ERP strategy for WPP's Group CFO — rationalising a multi-vendor landscape across 110 countries, producing a 3-5 year roadmap. ## Programme Delivery & Interim Leadership Leading enterprise technology programmes from business case through to go-live, recognising when a programme is in trouble before the RAG status turns red. Case study: Platform Services Director for WPP Open — a £250m agentic AI operating platform delivered with NVIDIA, Google Gemini, and IBM Watson. $40m documented commercial value in year one, 70,000 practitioners, 110 countries. ## Programme Rescue & Independent Assurance Recognising the signs of a failing ERP programme early and leading turnarounds. SC Cleared and available at short notice. Case study: IT Sponsor for Heathrow's £1.3bn Asset Management and Compliance Programme — board-level assurance with a particular focus on cyber risk. Named APM Programme of the Year 2025. --- ## Responsible AI Strategy, Governance & Delivery URL: https://alchemy.consulting/ai-governance-strategy-consultant # I have been thinking about responsible AI since 2018 Before "agentic AI" was a phrase, before the EU AI Act was drafted, I was building AI systems and confronting their governance implications. Origin story: In 2018 at Arup, built Joi — an early agentic AI system that logged into ten business systems every six minutes, performed transactions, and reported on system health. Joi required her own HR record, Active Directory account, and software licences — the first artificial employee of the company. This raised governance questions about AI identity and accountability that became the foundation for the MASTER-AI™ framework. ## MASTER-AI™ Framework A practical six-domain framework for responsible AI governance, grounded in ISO 42001, the EU AI Act, and NIST AI RMF: Model lifecycle, Algorithm explainability, Supply chain, Trusted data, Engaged humans, Risk management. ## AI Strategy & Fractional CAIO Embedding at leadership level as fractional Chief AI Officer — owning AI strategy and roadmap, designing the AI trust framework. Case study: Non-executive board adviser to the AIGAS framework for the accounting and professional services sector. ## AI Governance Audit & Standards Alignment Assessing AI governance posture against ISO 42001, the EU AI Act, and NIST AI RMF — producing board-ready findings reports with prioritised action plans. ## Agentic AI Platform & Transformation Delivery Building and deploying AI platforms at genuine enterprise scale — production systems, not pilots. Case study: WPP Open — the world's first agentic AI operating platform for end-to-end marketing, delivered with NVIDIA, Google Gemini, IBM Watson, and Star. $40m documented commercial value in year one, Major Business Win with Nestlé. --- ## Cyber Security Consultant London URL: https://alchemy.consulting/cyber-security-consultant-london # Cyber security in the language of the boardroom Most boards receive cyber risk reporting written by technical people for technical people. I translate it into fiduciary language and commercial consequence, then help deliver the programmes that close the gaps. Previously SC Cleared. ## Fractional CISO & Ongoing Risk Advisory A named, accountable individual owning the cyber risk agenda across endpoint protection, threat intelligence, SOC management, security awareness, identity and access management. Case study: Cyber security programme across AKDN — a $6bn turnover, 96,000-staff international organisation spanning health, education, banking, and rural development. CrowdStrike for endpoint security, Obrela as outsourced SOC, KnowBe4 for awareness training. ## Independent Cyber Assurance & Board Reporting An honest, external view of actual security posture, gap to relevant frameworks, and materiality of exposure — independent of the people responsible for security. Case study: IT Sponsor for Heathrow's £22m Cyber Readiness component within the £1.3bn AMC Programme. Turned around a stalled cyber programme (Microsoft Defender, Sentinel, Purview), delivered an Isolated Recovery Environment and Digital Control Tower for NATS. ## Cyber Programme Delivery & Incident Response Leading cyber programmes from strategy through implementation, and responding to live incidents. Case study: Led the response to a major DDoS and state-actor cyber attack at WPP following the company's market withdrawal — hardened over 300 vulnerable endpoints using Okta and Cloudflare under live threat conditions. --- ## MASTER-AI™ Playbook URL: https://alchemy.consulting/master-ai AI Governance. Made actionable. A practical framework for AI governance across six interconnected domains. Not process theatre. Actionable steps, grounded in ISO 42001 and the emerging international AI standards landscape. Six domains: Model lifecycle, Algorithm explainability, Supply chain, Trusted data, Engaged humans, Risk management. MASTER-AI™ is a trademark of Alchemy Consulting Services Limited. --- ## The AI J-Curve Playbook URL: https://alchemy.consulting/ai-j-curve Things always get worse before they get better. Surviving the dip in performance after Artificial Intelligence (AI) implementation in an organisation. Originated in 2005 as the J-Curve of Change, combining elements of Changefirst's People-Centred Implementation method with the Kübler-Ross and Four Stages of Competence theories. Cited by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (2025) and Pender Fund (2026) in their analysis of AI adoption. Three zones: the Disruption Zone (initial performance dip after AI introduction), the Recovery Zone (mitigated through awareness-building, governance, and operating model redesign), and the Breakthrough Zone (productivity gains realised). Three ways AI differs from previous technology waves: AI is simultaneously within and across processes (Agentic AI within processes, Generative AI across all processes); AI dissolves functional boundaries rather than just changing tools within stable roles; AI inverts the training problem (workers train the AI that may replace them, rather than being trained on a new tool). The AI J-Curve is licensed for re-use with attribution under CC BY 4.0. --- ## Value Flow Sankey Playbook URL: https://alchemy.consulting/value-flow-sankey Using the Value Flow Sankey: AI Business Cases made simple. Fully align all aspects of your AI Programme to the benefits it will deliver, during both the business case and delivery phases. Value Flow Sankey™ is a trademark of Alchemy Consulting Services Limited. --- ## AI Readiness Scorecard Playbook URL: https://alchemy.consulting/ai-readiness-scorecard Try our free AI Readiness Scorecard. Find out where you really stand. 10 questions, 3 minutes. Then an honest picture of where you stand across strategy, culture, data, use cases, and momentum. --- ## Profile URL: https://alchemy.consulting/profile # David Viney Fractional CIO and AI Transformation Director. 25+ years leading enterprise technology and transformation at the BBC, Arup, BSI, Heathrow, and WPP. Board trustee, AI governance practitioner, speaker, and researcher. ## Bio Over 25 years' experience leading enterprise technology and transformation programmes inside the UK's largest and most complex organisations. At WPP, built WPP Open, a £250m agentic AI platform. At Heathrow, Arup, BSI, and the BBC, led technology and transformation programmes spanning infrastructure, platforms, products, and large-scale change delivery. Professionally qualified in IT (CITP, BCS) and Finance (ACA, ICAEW). Board trustee in the human rights and international development sectors for over a decade. Sits on the AIGAS (AI Governance Standards) board. Engaged with the London Business School Data Science & AI Initiative. Academic work cited for over 20 years, most recently by the Tony Blair Institute and Pender Fund. Career highlights: AKDN (greenfield Transformation PMO build-out), Heathrow (Digital Control for NATS, £22m Cyber Programme), WPP (WPP Open, $40m margin in Year 1), BSI (£12m pa revenue uplift from containerised eCommerce platform), Arup (world-first IoT Platform on the Forth Road Bridge, now a $200m global industry), BBC (refreshed 75% of an ageing application estate, saved £6.5m for taxpayers), AA (built AA Navigator, the UK's first SatNav, £0.5m margin in Year 1). ## Speaking & Panels Speaks on AI governance and transformation, the AI J-Curve and organisational change, and board-level technology leadership. Recent: "Why Compliance Matters in Emerging Tech — and What Happens When You Get It Wrong" — IET x London Tech Week, IET London: Savoy Place, 8 June 2026. Panel with David Mudd (BSI), Josie Houghton (Rolls-Royce SMR), Adrienne Houston (University of Birmingham). ## Alchemy Labs (Research) London Business School — Data Science & AI Institute: exploring how AI diffuses across organisations and what that means for change leadership and governance. The AI J-Curve — SSRN Preprint: 2026 preprint extending the original 2005 framework to AI transformation, identifying three novel differentiators. Cited by the Tony Blair Institute and Pender Fund. AIGAS — AI Governance Standards Board: translating ISO 42001, the EU AI Act, and NIST AI RMF into implementable governance frameworks; informs the MASTER-AI™ framework. AI & Human Interaction — Hallucination as Imagination: research thread reframing AI hallucination as a generative property rather than a defect. Rate: £1,200/day. Fractional, advisory, and project engagements. Based in Esher, Surrey; working across the UK and internationally. --- ## Fractional CIO FAQ URL: https://alchemy.consulting/fractional-cio-faq Market data, pricing benchmarks, and decision frameworks for organisations exploring fractional technology leadership. ## Market size The global fractional executive market (CIOs, CTOs, CISOs) has surpassed $5.7 billion as of 2024-2025. Fractional professionals grew from 60,000 to 120,000 between 2022 and 2024. Over 60% of SMBs now use fractional CIO services. ## Market growth Growing at 14% CAGR — roughly double the overall professional services sector. Demand for fractional CIOs/CTOs grew 68% year-on-year between 2023 and 2024. LinkedIn profiles mentioning fractional roles grew from 2,000 (2022) to over 110,000 (early 2024). ## What is a fractional CIO? An experienced IT executive providing strategic technology leadership part-time or on contract, typically 8-15 hours per month, with genuine accountability as an embedded leadership team member — not a consultant who delivers a report and leaves. ## UK pricing £800-£1,500 per day, or £2,000-£8,000 per month on retainer. A common 8-10 hours/month engagement costs approximately £15,000-£30,000 annually. Full-time CIO Year 1 total cost (salary + NI + pension + recruitment): £138K+. Typical saving with fractional vs full-time in Year 1: approximately £96K. ## Who benefits most SMEs and growth-stage businesses (20-250 employees); private equity-backed companies preparing for growth, M&A, or exit; organisations mid-transformation; businesses with operational IT but no strategic layer; companies in CIO leadership transition. ## Fractional vs interim Interim CIO: temporary full-time gap-filling, 4-5 days/week, 3-12 months, mandate is stabilisation. Fractional CIO: ongoing part-time strategic leadership, 1-3 days/month, often 1-3 years, mandate is transformation and strategic alignment. ## Fractional vs virtual CIO (vCIO) A vCIO is typically an add-on service from a Managed Service Provider that also sells the technology it advises on — a built-in conflict of interest. A fractional CIO is an independent executive with no financial relationship with recommended vendors. ## Speed of impact A well-structured first engagement typically delivers a current-state assessment and prioritised roadmap within 6-8 weeks, versus 3-6 months for a full-time hire. ## How to select Five criteria: genuine C-suite experience (10+ years); industry and sector fit; structural independence (no vendor financial relationships); clearly defined engagement terms in writing; references from comparable engagements. ## AI and 2025/2026 A fractional CIO with current AI experience helps build an AI readiness roadmap, evaluate tools without vendor bias, establish data governance, and align AI investment with business outcomes. --- ## Book a Technology MOT URL: https://alchemy.consulting/book-mot # An honest picture of where you stand A fixed price, fixed scope assessment of your technology landscape across six domains. £5,950 + VAT, no ongoing commitment. Two to three weeks end-to-end from kickoff to board briefing. ## Six Domains 1. Strategic Alignment — Is technology connected to business strategy? SWOT & PEST analysis. 2. Client-Facing Technology — eCommerce, digital products, apps, customer portals. Scorecard & recommendations. 3. Enterprise Technology — ERP, CRM, ITSM, M365, finance systems. Scorecard & recommendations. 4. AI Readiness — Where are you on the curve? AI Opportunity Map. 5. Security & Compliance — Board-level exposure: GDPR, Cyber Essentials, EU AI Act. Risk register & exposure summary. 6. Team & Capability — Right people, right structure. Capability roadmap. Includes: pre-engagement discovery questionnaire, six-domain heatmap, prioritised action list, board-ready briefing deck. Independent — no vendor relationships, no preferred solutions. SC Cleared — suitable for regulated and sensitive environments. --- © 2024-2026 Alchemy Consulting Services Limited. Registered in England & Wales. MASTER-AI™ and Value Flow Sankey™ are trademarks of Alchemy Consulting Services Limited. The AI J-Curve is licensed for reuse with attribution under CC BY 4.0.