Michael Clark

Founder and Author @ Standard Intelligence | ex-Palantir | Passionate about Data Strategy & AI Governance for a Fair and Equitable World.

Manchester, England, United Kingdom

About

--dangerously-skip-permissions It is the flag you pass to Claude Code when you want it to act without asking. I think about it most days (I never type it; it's baked into my config). Twenty-five years in enterprise technology taught me that the slowest thing in any organisation is the politics of mediocre outcomes. Reviews of reviews. Sales jargon that does nothing for the customer. A careful path to nowhere in particular, small-think dressed up as strategy. AI is now reshaping how every business operates, governed by regulations that conflict across borders and lag the technology by years. The companies deploying these systems mostly cannot explain them. The regulators trying to govern them mostly cannot keep up. The people in the middle, the ones who could actually do something, are stuck in approval workflows. The full value of AI comes only through trust. Trust is earned only through transparency. Nothing about that sentence is solved by another committee. We are building Standard Intelligence because the problem is real and the window is now. We research how to make AI productive in business. We map what AI systems do against what the law requires. We generate the evidence, and we monitor continuously. We do it because somebody has to, and because doing it well is how AI becomes a force for good rather than a liability waiting to happen. A ground-up rewrite of the partnership between humans and machines. Responsible does not mean slow. Careful does not mean timid. Governance done properly is the thing that lets you go faster with the lights on. If you have watched your company lose sight of what it means to serve the customer. If you are burned out doing the same thing because the forecast call is tomorrow. If you have heard your boss say the same canned phrase a hundred times. If you are watching something important die in a meeting. Those are the signals. Skip the permission. Build the thing.

Experience

  • Founder and Author at Standard Intelligence
    Jun 2003 - Present · 23 yrs 2 mos

    Co-founder and CEO of Standard Intelligence, an AI governance company helping organisations navigate the global complexity of AI regulation. Drawing on 25 years of experience with regulated enterprises and his work as the author of five books on AI regulation, the team is building an evidence-first platform that translates overlapping laws, standards and deadlines into clear, obligation-level controls, enabling organisations to govern AI continuously and prove compliance everywhere. Published Works: Beyond Loyalty: Scaled Persona Intelligence for Retail Growth The EU AI Act of 2025: A Comprehensive Analysis for Leaders Half the Sale: Returns Prevention and Recovery in Fashion Retail Enterprise Shift: Full Workforce Transformation in the Agentic Age GDPR and AI: A Practitioners Guide

  • Strategic Account Executive at MongoDB
    Apr 2024 - Oct 2025 · 1 yr 7 mos

    Led dedicated MongoDB POD sales team serving Sainsbury's enterprise account. Maintained strategic relationships with C-Suite executives and Operating Board members, focusing on quantifiable business value creation and ROI-driven outcomes for their Digital Transformation. Serve as a Retail Industry Expert across EMEA/APAC regions, collaborating with regional account directors to develop market-specific solution strategies. Secured strategic ISV partnership with SCC/The Rigby Group to co-develop new SaaS solutions targeting Retail & Logistics and Cyber Security Operations markets.

  • Strategic Client Partner - Retail at Palantir Technologies
    Oct 2022 - Sep 2023 · 1 yr

    Go To Market and Use Case Development for Retail and CPG customers across the UK. Consultative Sales to CFO/FD in key customers focused on driving EBIT results through Workflow and Process Gap Analysis.

  • Citrix (6 yrs 8 mos)
    • Strategic Sales - UK Retail & Digital Commerce
      Feb 2022 - Oct 2022 · 9 mos

      Principal Enterprise Relationship Manager covering the most Strategic Retail and Digital Commerce brands in the UK & Ireland. 178% Attainment, including the largest ZTNA Security deal to date.

    • Networking Sales - Strategic Accounts
      Mar 2016 - Feb 2022 · 6 yrs

      Principal Networking Sales Executive for Strategic Accounts Software Defined Networking & Security sales to Fortune 100 customers based in South Central / Plains, providing Global coverage for both strategy and operations. Deep relationships in complex accounts. Heavy focus on Retail, Healthcare, and Financial Verticals. Active, aggressive strategies for new account / LOB penetration responsible for history of overachievement. 2016 - #2 US Networking Rep, 238% attainment 2017 - #3 US Networking Rep, 215% attainment 2018 - Rebuilding/Diversification, 49% attainment 2019 - Circle of Excellence, 179% attainment 2020 - Circle of Excellence, 237% attainment 2021 - 136% attainment 2022 - 176% attainment

  • Cloud Services Sales Leader at IBM
    Jul 2014 - Mar 2016 · 1 yr 9 mos

    Led Infrastructure Transformation Sales in Fortune 50 accounts across the Retail/CPG & Financial Services verticals. Significant focus on Organizational Change and Alignment to best exploit new Technology delivery capabilities.