The team behind Best Practice AI

Built on
experience.
Not theory.

We've been building with AI since before it was called AI. Our advice comes from decades of operating AI systems at scale — not from slide decks. We founded Best Practice AI to bring that experience to boards and C-suites navigating one of the most consequential shifts in business history.

Meet the founders View our services

At a glance

2019

First UK AI firm in WEFGlobal AI Council & Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

1989

First AI ProgramWe wrote our first machine learning, deep neural network.

2021

World firstAI Explainability Statement reviewed by the Information Commissioner's Office

50+⁺

Years of experienceIn AI and digital transformation — from MapQuest to modern GenAI

Why we exist

Most AI advice is sold
by people who've never
had to live with the results.

Best Practice AI was founded on a simple observation: too many AI initiatives fail because they focus on technology rather than human judgment, leadership, and governance. Consultancies arrive with frameworks. We arrive with experience.

Simon co-founded MapQuest in 1996 — one of the internet's first AI-enabled consumer products, used by tens of millions before Google Maps existed. Tim has spent two decades leading digital transformation at the Financial Times, Boston Consulting Group, and at the highest levels of UK politics. Between us, we've built, scaled, governed, and sometimes rescued AI systems across finance, media, government, and professional services.

We joined the World Economic Forum's Global AI Council not as commentators but as practitioners — contributing to the toolkits and governance frameworks now used by boards worldwide. We published the world's first AI Explainability Statement reviewed by a regulator. We've been shaping how organisations think about AI for longer than most of the current market has existed.

Our mission is to help boards and senior executives make better decisions about AI — decisions that create real value while protecting reputation and ensuring responsible deployment. Not just advising. Doing it with you.

"Unlike traditional consultancies, we've operated AI systems at scale. We understand the practical challenges of implementation, change management, and governance — not just the theory."

Government & Policy

World's first ICO-reviewed AI Explainability Statement

Developed for HireVue and Healthily — reviewed by the Information Commissioner's Office

Featured in UK Government AI Assurance Techniques

GOV.UK — cited as best practice for AI governance and explainability

Evidence to All-Party Parliamentary Group on AI

Direct policy contribution to UK Parliament's AI scrutiny committee

Major Publications & Institutions

Washington Post & Financial Times

Op-eds and letters on AI's impact on society, elections, and business

World Economic Forum — 5 co-authored toolkits

C-Suite Toolkit, AI Governance Journey, Board Oversight Toolkit and more

Harvard Business School panels & Prospect Magazine

Featured speaker and analyst on AI strategy and governance

2019

First UK AI firm in WEF

First UK AI company to join the World Economic Forum's Global AI Council and C4IR

600+⁺

AI Use Cases

World's leading open library — industry-tagged, effort-scored and ready to deploy

2021

World-first ICO Review

First AI Explainability Statements reviewed by a regulator — setting the industry standard

50+⁺

Years' Experience

From MapQuest (1996) to modern GenAI — operators, not commentators

The founders

Two operators with complementary experience in AI strategy, delivery, and governance

Simon Greenman

Co-Founder

Simon has been building AI-powered products since 1996, when he co-founded MapQuest — the internet's first mass-market navigation product, used by tens of millions of people before Google Maps existed. It was one of the first consumer internet brands to use AI at scale. That experience shaped everything that followed.

He has spent 25 years in digital transformation across the US and Europe, holding Chief Digital Officer roles at private equity-backed media firms and advisory roles at Accenture, AOL, and HomeAdvisor. He holds a BA in Computing & AI from the University of Sussex and an MBA from Harvard Business School, and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

As a member of the World Economic Forum's Global AI Council, he contributed to five published toolkits for AI governance and C-suite leadership. He chairs the Global Expert Group in AI for Harvard Business School Alumni Angels and speaks regularly on AI strategy, ethics, and the productivity gap.

Key Achievements

Co-founder of MapQuest (1996) — one of the internet's first AI-enabled consumer brands
Member, WEF Global AI Council — contributor to 5 governance toolkits
Chair, Global Expert Group in AI — Harvard Business School Alumni Angels
BA Computing & AI (University of Sussex) · MBA Harvard Business School
US Patent in AI computer vision · Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society

Speaking Topics

AI StrategyFuture of AIEthics & GovernanceResponsible AIAI Productivity Paradox

LinkedIn Medium WEF Profile

Tim brings a rare combination of deep policy experience and hands-on digital transformation leadership. He started his career at the Financial Times — then spent two decades in international leadership roles spanning the Boston Consulting Group, private equity-backed businesses, and national political leadership.

As Chief Executive of the Liberal Democrats (2012–2017), Tim led one of the UK's major political organisations through one of the most turbulent periods in British politics — an experience that honed his instinct for institutional governance, stakeholder communication, and leading through uncertainty. He has since advised the Deputy Prime Minister of the UK on digital policy.

Tim has worked with machine learning for over a decade and has advised on AI strategy and governance since 2018. He is a Trustee at Full Fact, the UK's leading fact-checking organisation, and works with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on AI — giving him direct insight into how AI policy is being made at Westminster.

Key Achievements

Former Chief Executive, Liberal Democrats (2012–17) — national political leadership
Previously at Financial Times & Boston Consulting Group
Trustee at Full Fact — UK's leading independent fact-checking organisation
Works with All-Party Parliamentary Group on AI — direct UK policy influence
Cambridge · College of Europe · INSEAD — 25 years in digital transformation

Focus Areas

AI Strategy & GovernanceDigital TransformationAI ExplainabilityFact-checking & MisinformationUK AI Policy

LinkedIn Medium INSEAD Profile

Tim Gordon

Co-Founder

Our Philosophy

AI is not about replacing humans.
It's about amplifying what humans do best.

Every AI initiative we lead starts with a human problem — not a technology solution. We believe that successful AI deployment requires human judgment at every stage: in scoping, in prioritisation, in governance, and in continuous oversight. This isn't a constraint. It's what makes AI actually work.

We've watched too many organisations fail at AI by treating it as an automation play rather than a leadership challenge. The organisations that succeed are those that build AI leadership — the capability to make confident, informed decisions about AI — not just AI systems.

Our values

Three principles that guide every engagement, every recommendation, every decision

Clarity over hype

We cut through the noise to give you an honest picture of what AI can and can't do for your organisation — grounded in evidence, not vendor promises.

Responsibility over speed

Governance, explainability, and ethical rigour are built into every engagement from day one — not bolted on when something goes wrong.

Leadership over automation

We help organisations build the AI leadership capability to make decisions confidently — so they own their AI strategy, rather than depending indefinitely on outside advice.

World Economic Forum

Kay Firth-Butterfield

Former Head of AI & Executive Committee Member

What our clients say

"Best Practice AI was a key part of the team on the World Economic Forum's Empowering AI Leadership project.

Kay Firth-Butterfield

Former Head of AI & Executive Committee Member,
World Economic Forum

World Economic ForumEmpowering AI Leadership

Ready to work with people who've done this before?

We help boards and C-suites move from AI intent to AI outcomes — through strategy, delivery, and governance that actually holds. Start with a 30-minute discovery conversation.

Book a discovery call Read our AI Ethics statement

Built onexperience.Not theory.

Most AI advice is soldby people who've neverhad to live with the results.