Ankura launches AI by Design practice for EMEA clients

Ankura has launched an AI by Design practice in the UK to serve clients across EMEA.

The new practice aims to address what the advisory firm sees as a gap between corporate interest in artificial intelligence and the ability to deploy it more widely across organisations.

It will focus on strategy, governance and workforce change rather than a single technology platform. Ankura described the offering as technology-agnostic and designed around organisational goals, employees, customers and internal structures.

The firm has appointed Catriona Campbell MBE to lead the practice. According to Ankura, the team has experience delivering AI and organisational change programmes in large multinational companies.

Three pillars

Ankura has structured the practice around three areas: AI strategy, AI governance engineering and AI workforce transformation. These services will be supported by an internal AI Factory that builds, tests and deploys AI in delivery settings.

The strategy arm is aimed at boards and leadership teams seeking revenue growth. The governance unit is designed to help companies manage AI risk and simplify oversight processes, while the workforce strand focuses on redesigning roles, reskilling employees and managing change.

Alongside the core team, the firm has assembled a group of partner companies, including Decoded for AI literacy and reskilling, Seymour-Powell for human-centred design, and Inference Group for AI engineering and delivery.

An advisory council will support the practice with input from figures in technology, governance, academia and industry. Ankura said the council is intended to provide an independent view on where AI is delivering tangible results.

One council member, Hywel Ball, linked the move to wider problems companies face when trying to implement AI.

"AI transformation programmes usually break down because of organisational challenges rather than the underlying technology itself. AI by Design is built by people who understand that, which is why I wanted to be part of it," said Hywel Ball, AI Advisory Council member, former EY UK Chair and NED.

Campbell made a similar point about why many AI projects fail to move beyond the early stages.

"Most enterprise AI stalls because organisations are not ready to adopt it, govern it, or redesign work and systems around it. Ankura AI by Design closes that gap," said Catriona Campbell MBE, Practise Lead, Ankura AI by Design.

Adoption focus

The launch comes as consulting and advisory firms expand their AI services beyond model selection and software deployment to broader questions of governance, operating models and staff training. Many companies have tested AI tools in isolated projects but have found it harder to integrate them across business functions while meeting regulatory and internal control requirements.

Ankura said demand for practical AI advice had risen and that the new business builds on its existing work in strategy, risk, technology and workforce transformation. The group has more than 2,000 professionals and serves more than 3,000 clients in 55 countries.

Dr Laura Gilbert, another advisory council member, said the central issue for companies is not the software itself but how organisations adapt around it.

"The technology has never been the biggest challenge. What matters is whether an organisation understands the outcomes it wants to drive and then designs how it works, governs and trains its people around those outcomes. Ankura AI by Design's focus on the human and organisational side of deployment is exactly the discipline the private sector now needs," said Dr Laura Gilbert CBE, AI Advisory Council member, Senior AI Advisor to UK government and industry.

Kevin Lavin, Chief Executive Officer of Ankura, said the investment reflects the firm's view that AI adoption depends as much on organisational change as on technical rollout.

"The investment in AI by Design strengthens Ankura's commitment to helping clients turn AI ambition into measurable results," said Kevin Lavin, Chief Executive Officer, Ankura.

"Across every industry, the organisations that succeed with AI are the ones that bring their people with them, not just their technology. Ankura's AI by Design practice helps our clients adopt AI with confidence and turn it into real, lasting value," Lavin said.