London, England, United Kingdom
Hi, I'm Ahmed, an enterprise transformation and delivery leader with over 20 years’ experience leading AI, Data, and Agile transformations across some of the most complex and highly regulated industries for leading brands such as BP, Shell, Vodafone, LexisNexis, BMW, Centrica, HSBC and Barclays. 🔹 Enterprise Transformation. ✔Lean Portfolio Management: Launched LPM pilot to co-ordinate and align 14,000 staff over 5 countries. ✔Large Programme Transformation: €400 Million budget, 3 Agile Release Trains, 31 Vendors, 1100+ apps. ✔Scaled Agile Transformation: 11 Agile Release Trains across 3 industries, and personally run 30+ PI Planning events with 100+ individuals. 🔹 Enterprise AI Delivery. ✔AI and Data Transformation leadership: BP’s £20M Data, Analytics & AI function spanning 13 teams enabling faster, AI-powered and data-driven decision-making. ✔Hands-on AI delivery capability: from coding neural networks in C to delivering machine-learning-based predictive maintenance programmes and large-scale LLM and transformer systems for leading global enterprises. ✔Powerful AI delivery solutions: Developed the C.O.R.E.A.I.™ framework to help AI delivery teams build powerful, compliant, and safe AI solutions. 🔹 Cyber Security and AI Governance. ✔Cyber Security delivery: Responsible for HSBC Claude Code and Open Code global cyber rollout for 36,000 users. ✔EU AI ACT Readiness: Enterprise readiness for the EU AI Act through structured gap analysis, delivery alignment, and risk mitigation. ✔ AI Management System: Assessed AI applications for EU AI Act compliance and prototyped the Oxethica AI Governance Platform aligned with ISO/IEC 42001 standards. 🔹 Data Platform Delivery. ✔ Common Data Model (CDM) Delivery: Brings deep data platform delivery expertise, having led cloud data migrations such as BP’s Trading Azure Databricks Data Lakehouse with 119 data products. ✔ Big Data Transformation: Launched Vodafone UK’s first Big Data Agile Release Train ‘Data First’, modernising data delivery platforms, merging data siloes and scaling data-driven initiatives. ✔ Big Data Search: Delivered ‘Discovery Explorer’, a market data search engine, giving traders rapid access to structured and unstructured data across silos. Passionate about teaching AI and Agile delivery to thousands via my YouTube channel 'Intelligent Delivery': https://youtube.com/@ahmedsyedai 👉If you’re seeking proven leadership to deliver AI, data and digital transformations through Agile principles with a strong emphasis on responsible AI and data delivery, please DM me directly.
Helps complex, non–AI-native organisations deliver AI, data and Agile programmes that are C.O.R.E.A.I.: Compliant, Operationally and economically viable, Robust, Ethical, Accountable and Interpretable. The approach draws directly from hard-won delivery lessons inside some of the world’s most regulated and data-intensive enterprises. Intelligent Delivery distils that frontline experience into practical frameworks, diagnostic tools, and hands-on guidance: all designed to support teams facing the real-world challenges of AI transformation. Key Focus: ✔ Digital & AI Strategy: Developing strategic AI, Agile and data roadmaps for enterprise-wide portfolios, translating corporate goals into actionable programmes. ✔ Programme Delivery using AI: Embedding AI into enterprise delivery frameworks, ensuring initiatives are delivered to time, budget, and compliance standards and accelerated due to the clever use of AI. ✔ Delivery Readiness & Governance: Supporting enterprise readiness for the EU AI Act, ISO 42001 and wider regulatory standards through structured gap analysis, delivery alignment, and risk mitigation. ✔ Technology & Vendors: Building vendor partnerships and evaluating emerging technologies to ensure sustainable, future-ready, and scalable AI operations. ✔ Continuous Innovation: Researching emerging AI tools, technologies, and white papers; translating insights into actionable guidance that strengthens innovation, delivery maturity, and adoption.
Joined BP’s T&S AI, Data and Analytics function just before the launch of ChatGPT — during one of the most pivotal shifts in AI awareness. This division enables billions in global energy trade, and I was responsible for transforming how delivery worked inside this high-stakes, data-driven ecosystem. Our work supported traders navigating market volatility, geopolitical shocks, and supply-demand shifts through intelligent, high-quality data delivery. This role placed me at the centre of scaling enterprise AI and Data delivery within one of BP’s most mission-critical functions. Key Contributions: ✔ Led delivery transformation across 13 cross-functional teams, enabling faster, AI-powered and data-driven decision-making ✔Partnered with data engineers, delivery leads, and the central Data Office to improve visibility, quality, and flow across big data and AI pipelines ✔Coordinated ML Engineers and Data Scientists to evaluate emerging tools and technologies for improving AI delivery, including RAG architecture and experimentation frameworks ✔ Created a strong data driven delivery ethos supported by clear metrics driving delivery, transformation and culture ✔Launched a grassroots citizen development initiative to accelerate intelligent automation across teams ✔Responsible for preparing, training, organising and coordinating Big Room PI Planning events for 10+ teams with excess of 100 individuals spread across three continents to ensure vision alignment, dependency management and customer alignment ✔Introduced delivery and budgetary guardrails supported by outcome-based metrics — reducing lead times, improving throughput, and maintaining strong financial discipline across the programme
BP's procurement function is responsible for £Billions of pounds in purchases per year and underpins some of the most complex engineering projects in the world, some running into billions. As a result, this function has a disproportionate impact across BP as anti-patterns here reverberate across the entire organisation. My goal was to work alongside the incredible leaders in this organisation to transform this function into a one of the leading Agile Procurement Functions in the world. ✔ Strategic Roadmap: Defined and secured buy-in for a transformation roadmap to meet strategic outcomes. ✔ Agile Delivery Model: Championed the shift from traditional, serial waterfall procurement to the Lean-Agile Procurement (LAP) model, significantly reducing lead times for complex transactions. ✔ Delivery Improvement: Reduced lead times by up to 80% (e.g. Castrol Marine) through Agile process redesign. ✔ Process Innovation: Introduced global best practices through expert interviews, applying lessons to optimise delivery performance and accelerate adoption. ✔ Stakeholder Engagement: Spearheaded a ‘Hearts & Minds’ campaign to embed change, gain stakeholder buy-in and improve adoption across UK/US teams. ✔ Effort Estimation & Forecasting: Introduced estimation and predictability models to improve procurement cycle predictability and budget adherence. ✔ Reporting & Management Information: Produced regular progress and cost reports, providing leadership with visibility into transformation impact. ✔ Risk Management & Governance: Monitored risks to adoption and delivery, applying mitigation strategies to ensure successful transformation outcomes. ✔ Use Case Selection: Identified and prioritised high-value procurement use cases to maximise cost savings and reduce delivery delays. ✔ Tooling: Azure DevOps (ADO), Confluence. ✔ Frameworks: Lean Agile Procurement, Scrum, Kanban.
Vodafone’s Digital & IT function spanned 19 countries and 14,000 staff, with €50–100M in annual duplication, siloed product offerings, and no global capability for cross-country delivery. To address this, the Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) function was established to align strategy, funding, and execution across markets, reduce duplication and accelerate delivery of group-wide initiatives. Reporting to the head of LPM, Ahmed was responsible for launching the LPM pilot program, forming the transformation team and guiding the LPM pilot for 5 key countries. To support Vodafone’s ambitious goals of cross-country delivery alignment, governance and strategic execution at scale he collaborated with executives, country heads, portfolio leaders, architects and delivery teams to embed LPM principles that improved transparency, funding discipline, and strategic alignment. ✔️LPM Pilot Launch: Launched the LPM framework across 5 pilot countries (UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey), creating a scalable blueprint for enterprise-wide adoption. ✔️Strategic Transformation Roadmaps: Aligned digital and IT roadmaps with group strategy, improving transparency, prioritisation and funding discipline. ✔️Enterprise Strategy to Portfolio Alignment: Collaboratively designed and implemented Vodafone’s LPM framework, aligning portfolios to enterprise strategy. ✔️Strategic Themes: Defined and embedded digital and IT strategic themes to anchor portfolios around group-wide business priorities. ✔️Metrics & OKRs: Integrated outcome-based metrics and OKRs into portfolio governance to measure business value delivery rather than outputs. ✔️Portfolio Kanban: Established Portfolio Kanban systems to provide end-to-end visibility of demand, manage flow, and improve prioritisation. ✔️Cross-Functional Alignment: Partnered with heads of functions and senior architecture leadership to align disparate portfolios, including critical initiatives such as One Platform, Vodafone’s global TaaS platform.
Ahmed helped to launch this Agile Release Train which had very complex Architecture challenges related to the big data nature of the programme. Following on from the successful launch of seven Agile Release Trains (ARTs) across Vodafone, Ahmed was asked to launch the company’s first Big Data Agile Release Train: 'Data First'. This ART, comprising 10 agile teams, was designed to address one of Vodafone’s most pressing challenges: fragmented, duplicated, and unreliable data across the enterprise, which hindered analytics, weakened governance, and slowed decision-making. The Data First Program was a landmark step in scaling agile for data at Vodafone, requiring navigation of very complex architectural challenges unique to a big data platform. Ahmed’s role was pivotal in shaping and launching the ART, driving strategy-to-delivery alignment and enabling the teams to succeed: ✔️Informatica MDM, Hadoop, Teradata, Oracle, Ab Initio, and QlikView. These technologies provided the backbone for enterprise-scale data integration, trusted reporting, and analytics delivery. ✔️PI Planning Leadership: Designed and facilitated program increment planning, aligning architects, developers, and technology teams on shared goals and dependencies. ✔️Vision, Strategy & PI Goals: Partnered with executives and senior stakeholders to articulate vision, define strategy, and set measurable PI goals. ✔️Technical Roadmaps & Architectural Features: Worked closely with architects to create clear technical roadmaps and unambiguous architectural features, ensuring delivery clarity without diluting architectural ownership. ✔️Training & Enablement: Trained teams, architects, and stakeholders in agile practices, tooling, and collaboration models to embed consistent ways of working across the ART. ✔️Cross-Functional Alignment & Governance: Unified business, technology, and delivery teams, embedding stronger governance, transparency, and disciplined execution.
Ahmed was the lead transformation coach for the VodafoneZiggo BRIGHT Programme. This programme is one of the largest of its kind with €400 Million+ budget, 1100+ IT Applications and Systems, migration of 4 million customers and 6 million invoices per month. The BRIGHT Programme is a truly exciting initiative bringing together the best minds from two formerly distinct organisations: Ziggo and Vodafone to bring industry revolutionising technologies to the telecoms industry. Key Responsibilities included: ✔ Lead Transformation Coach for one of Europe's largest Solution Trains, responsible for a transformation team of up to 6 Agile Coaches at its peak. ✔ Transformation to a Solution Train with 3 Agile Release Trains and 30 vendors incrementally improving in an organised and methodical manner. ✔ Worked with both Ziggo and Vodafone to bridge gaps and align on common goals despite significant political and cultural challenges. ✔ Introduced a comprehensive quality programme to overcome significant quality issues whilst overcoming political challenges and resistance resulting in substantial quality improvements. ✔ Real-world Scaled Agile training sessions run across the programme so that individuals could learn how to apply SAFe not just in theory but in practice. ✔ Agile Mindset training sessions run across the programme teaching how to implement Agile together with the mindset required for growth, learning and continuous improvement.
Lexis Nexis is a world leading provider of products for the legal industry which are designed to revolutionise the way the legal profession works. Ahmed introduced Lexis Nexis to the Scaled Agile Framework to address issues of misalignment, lack of transparency and poor co-ordination across multiple siloed Agile teams. This transformation was a huge success and became the catalyst for a global transition to Agile across Lexis Nexis. Ahmed performed three key roles during his time at Lexis Nexis: Enterprise Agile Coach He was responsible for the organisational transformation of Content Solutions to the Scaled Agile Framework, involving the co-ordination of 11 Scrum teams, 2 programme tier teams with over 100 individuals. He patiently and tenaciously working within a politically charged environment to drive through organisational change including structural changes required and subsequently advised senior leadership on the world-wide transition to Agile and SAFe. Release Train Engineer A key programme level role for Content Solutions responsible for the delivery of all 13 onshore/offshore teams. During the course of nearly 4 years, he ensured the correct running of the train, and facilitated well over a dozen Program Increment Planning sessions and countless programme level ceremonies. Certified Scaled Agile Trainer To support the transformation he ran multiple formal and informal training sessions such as : • Leading SAFe Agilist v4.0 Certification courses regularly for up to 24 attendees • Certified SAFe Scrum Master, Certified SAFe Practitioner, Certified SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager • Setting up Agile coaching and training functions in LexisNexis, training senior leaders, the PMO, content writers, business- as well as technical- staff.
Responsible for managing 4 Key initiatives across Front Office and Oil, managing up to 3 scrum teams concurrently: BP SAP Agile Transformation for Oil Division – Agile Coach Innovative program for transforming the SAP TC&A Oil Programme to Agile. This involved: • Creation of the Agile Transformation programme consisting of Releases and Sprints, as well as educating the Oil (TC&A) Leadership team through the use of Scrum. • Bespoke Agile Training designed to facilitate change, enabling sponsorship for radical changes. • Driving through politically charged Organisational Change to support the Agile Initiative. • Successful Roll-out of Agile SAP Pilots encouraging buy-in for implementation in 2013. BP DevOps Enterprise Deployment and Team Foundation Server Service Line - ScrumMaster Two Enterprise Scale initiatives: 1) Enterprise Level Deployment for all bespoke IST projects 2) Designing and Implementing a TFS Service Line for all Agile projects with support for Continuous Integration: • Coaching and Leading an inexperienced team in Agile Practices. • Setup of UK based Data Centre with requisite infrastructure to support Deployment and TFS initiatives. • Assisted PO in creation of Releases, Sprint Stories ensuring high business value delivery. BP Agile and Quality Lead for BP’s Front Office Programme This Programme is transforming how software is delivered by the Front Office around the following areas: • DevOps, Testing and Quality Assurance, Metrics and Measurements, Agile Training and Coaching. • Evangelising Agile to BP staff and leadership through speaking, launching and supporting key initiatives and workshops such as the ‘Agile Lego Game’. BP Framework Team Discovery Explorer– ‘Google’ for Oil and Gas Market Data - ScrumMaster Discovery Explorer is a dotNET, Solr based search engine using the oData messaging format to search across disparate sources of structured and unstructured market data with the potential to save BP millions in Market Data Fees.