Charlie Symonds
(he/him)
Charlie Symonds
Alirity
CEO
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Charlie Symonds is CEO of Alirity, where he helps organisations adopt AI responsibly, securely and at scale. His work focuses on helping businesses evaluate AI readiness, build appropriate governance, manage risk and keep people at the centre of transformation. Charlie brings more than a decade of experience advising regulated enterprises and delivering complex business and technology change. His background spans AI strategy, enterprise architecture, operating model design, financial regulation, GDPR, product launch and large-scale transformation programmes. Before Alirity, he held senior change, architecture and programme roles across Legal & General, Coventry Building Society, John Lewis Partnership, Cofunds and the Financial Services Authority.
Sessions
Tiffany Willcox
Kate Ashworth Brash
Martyn Fagg
Paul Mallaghan
Charlie Symonds
Who’s Accountable? Making AI Ethics Real Inside Organisations
AI ethics is widely discussed, but far less understood when it comes to actually implementing it inside organisations. This session moves beyond principles and into practice. As AI becomes embedded in decision-making, operations and customer experience, questions around accountability, governance and control are becoming harder to answer. Where does responsibility sit when systems influence outcomes? How do organisations move from high-level frameworks to something enforceable? And what does “responsible AI” actually look like when teams are under pressure to move quickly? Drawing on real-world experience inside a global organisation, this session explores how governance is being approached in practice, where it is falling short, and what leaders need to be thinking about now. It also opens up the broader question. As AI becomes part of how organisations operate, are we building systems we can genuinely stand behind?
Tiffany Willcox
Kate Ashworth Brash
Martyn Fagg
Paul Mallaghan
Charlie Symonds
Who’s Accountable? Making AI Ethics Real Inside Organisations
AI ethics is widely discussed, but far less understood when it comes to actually implementing it inside organisations. This session moves beyond principles and into practice. As AI becomes embedded in decision-making, operations and customer experience, questions around accountability, governance and control are becoming harder to answer. Where does responsibility sit when systems influence outcomes? How do organisations move from high-level frameworks to something enforceable? And what does “responsible AI” actually look like when teams are under pressure to move quickly? Drawing on real-world experience inside a global organisation, this session explores how governance is being approached in practice, where it is falling short, and what leaders need to be thinking about now. It also opens up the broader question. As AI becomes part of how organisations operate, are we building systems we can genuinely stand behind?
The AI Value Gap: Why Most Organisations Can’t Prove the Return
Most organisations are spending real money on AI. Far fewer can prove what it returned. OVERVIEW AI investment has moved quickly from experimentation into serious spend. Pilots are being launched, tools are being adopted, teams are being reshaped and budgets are being committed. But for many organisations, one question remains difficult to answer: what did we actually get for it? This closed roundtable brings together senior leaders facing the same challenge. How do you prove AI has created value? What should have been measured before the work began? How do you separate the impact of AI from everything else changing in the business? And once AI moves beyond a pilot, who really understands the ongoing cost of running it? The conversation will focus on the measurement problem, not just the model problem. Participants will explore how to create a credible baseline, attribute value honestly, manage the cost of AI at scale, and communicate return in a way that boards, investors and leadership teams can trust. This is a practical, peer-led discussion with no decks, no pitches and no sales presentation. The aim is to create a useful room of senior people comparing what is genuinely working, what is still unclear, and what needs to change for AI investment to become more measurable, accountable and commercially credible. WHAT PARTICIPANTS WILL EXPLORE How to understand whether AI investment is being measured properly Why the “before” picture matters when proving return How to set a credible baseline before AI work begins How to separate AI impact from other business changes Where the true running costs of AI appear once pilots scale How to talk about AI return in a way boards and investors will trust What peers are doing to make AI investment more accountable and commercially credible WHO IT IS FOR This roundtable is for senior leaders with buying responsibility, budget ownership or strategic accountability for AI, digital transformation, operational performance or value creation. It is particularly relevant for COOs, CFOs, Finance Directors, CEOs, Managing Directors, PE Operating Partners, Heads of Value Creation, CTOs, CDOs, Chief Digital Officers and senior heads of department with budget responsibility. The strongest fit is leaders from organisations with around £25m+ revenue and/or 100+ staff, especially those in regulated, operationally complex or PE-backed environments. EXPERIENCE LEVEL This is a senior, invitation-led roundtable. It is not designed for students, junior technologists or general AI enthusiasts. It is for people who either own the budget, are accountable for operational value, or have to explain AI spend to a board, investor or leadership team.
The AI Value Gap: Why Most Organisations Can’t Prove the Return
Most organisations are spending real money on AI. Far fewer can prove what it returned. OVERVIEW AI investment has moved quickly from experimentation into serious spend. Pilots are being launched, tools are being adopted, teams are being reshaped and budgets are being committed. But for many organisations, one question remains difficult to answer: what did we actually get for it? This closed roundtable brings together senior leaders facing the same challenge. How do you prove AI has created value? What should have been measured before the work began? How do you separate the impact of AI from everything else changing in the business? And once AI moves beyond a pilot, who really understands the ongoing cost of running it? The conversation will focus on the measurement problem, not just the model problem. Participants will explore how to create a credible baseline, attribute value honestly, manage the cost of AI at scale, and communicate return in a way that boards, investors and leadership teams can trust. This is a practical, peer-led discussion with no decks, no pitches and no sales presentation. The aim is to create a useful room of senior people comparing what is genuinely working, what is still unclear, and what needs to change for AI investment to become more measurable, accountable and commercially credible. WHAT PARTICIPANTS WILL EXPLORE How to understand whether AI investment is being measured properly Why the “before” picture matters when proving return How to set a credible baseline before AI work begins How to separate AI impact from other business changes Where the true running costs of AI appear once pilots scale How to talk about AI return in a way boards and investors will trust What peers are doing to make AI investment more accountable and commercially credible WHO IT IS FOR This roundtable is for senior leaders with buying responsibility, budget ownership or strategic accountability for AI, digital transformation, operational performance or value creation. It is particularly relevant for COOs, CFOs, Finance Directors, CEOs, Managing Directors, PE Operating Partners, Heads of Value Creation, CTOs, CDOs, Chief Digital Officers and senior heads of department with budget responsibility. The strongest fit is leaders from organisations with around £25m+ revenue and/or 100+ staff, especially those in regulated, operationally complex or PE-backed environments. EXPERIENCE LEVEL This is a senior, invitation-led roundtable. It is not designed for students, junior technologists or general AI enthusiasts. It is for people who either own the budget, are accountable for operational value, or have to explain AI spend to a board, investor or leadership team.