Kevin Macnish, PhD, AIGP, CIPP/E

Guiding responsible and sustainable AI in the private and public sectors

Harrogate, England, United Kingdom

About

I specialize in AI governance, ethics, and sustainability, with over 15 years of experience spanning academia, government, and industry. I deliver frameworks for responsible AI practices, regulatory compliance, and lifecycle risk mitigation. I also helped found the company’s AI Governance Board, shaping policies and oversight structures for ethical AI. My career includes consulting projects with financial services, the Scottish Government, and defence agencies, alongside academic contributions to EU-funded initiatives like SHERPA, which informed ethics-by-design guidelines for AI. As a European Commission governance expert, I’ve audited over 150 high-risk AI and data projects, ensuring alignment with GDPR, dual-use, and security regulations. An active thought leader, I’ve published four books and 50+ articles on AI ethics and governance, lectured at Oxford, Leeds and Grenoble, and contributed to public discourse through Parliamentary evidence and appearances on BBC and Channel 4. By balancing innovation with responsibility, I help organizations build trust and foster sustainable, ethical technology development.

Experience

  • Associate Director, AI Governance at Deloitte
    Jun 2025 - Present · 1 yr 1 mo

  • Visiting Research Fellow at University of Leeds
    Nov 2017 - Present · 8 yrs 8 mos

  • AI Governance Board Chair/Member at Self-employed
    Jan 2013 - Present · 13 yrs 6 mos

    - Chair, Ethics and Legal AI Governance Board, Project GEMS (HorizonEurope), 2024-current - Ethics Officer, AI Governance Board, Legal Utopia 2024-current - Chair, Ethics and Legal AI Governance Board, Project RESONATE (HorizonEurope), 2024-current - Chair, Ethics and Legal AI Governance Board, Project EURMARS (Horizon2020), 2022-current - Chair, Ethics and Legal AI Governance Board, Project ARESIBO (2023), 2020-2023 - Chair, Ethics and Legal AI Governance Board, Project D4FLY (Horizon2020), 2021-23 - Ethics Governance Oversight, Project CITADEL (Horizon202), 2018 - Ethics Governance Oversight, Project SESAR-JU (Horizon202), 2017-19 - Member, Ethics and Legal AI Governance Board, Project MOSAIC (FP7), 2013

  • Sopra Steria (Full-time · 4 yrs 4 mos)
    • Head of Ethics and Sustainability Consulting
      Nov 2023 - Jun 2025 · 1 yr 8 mos

      I head the Ethics and Sustainability consulting team at Sopra Steria, working with public and private sector clients to identify and avoid or mitigate ethical and sustainability challenges. I helped set up the AI Governance Board that oversees all AI developed, bought or sold by Sopra Steria.

    • Head of Digital Ethics Consulting
      Jul 2023 - Nov 2023 · 5 mos

    • Digital Ethics Senior Consulting Manager
      Mar 2021 - Sep 2023 · 2 yrs 7 mos

  • Governance Expert at European Commission
    Sep 2014 - Nov 2023 · 9 yrs 3 mos

    I chaired or sat on over 150 governance committees for the Research Executive Agency and European Research Council on 150+ Commission-funded (often multi-million €) projects. ● Governance on ethical aspects of AI, privacy, data management, and dual use for over 150 Horizon 2020 projects. ● Published academic papers and chapters on governance, with focus on cybersecurity, covert research, and surveillance