High Definition Leadership

Tom Lawrence AI transformation and adoption London

Helping leadership teams put AI to work

I help boards and executive teams find where AI is worth the effort, turn that into a roadmap they can back, then build and embed the tools myself. One person, from the first conversation to the working system.

Try the AI Opportunity Finder See the work

Former Director of Finance and Operations Head of the CEO and CFO practice at La Fosse Ex-Barclays Private Bank Executive MBA

Tom Lawrence
Tom Lawrence Founder and Principal Consultant
6 to 12+ months
A national charity's engagement, extended and adopted as one of its five strategic goals for the year
£20k to £100k+
Monthly revenue for a founder-led wine business over a 12-month engagement
25+ AI tools
In a membership platform I built single-handedly in five months
Read the case studies

Where I help

Most AI work stalls in the gap between a strategy deck and the people who have to use it. I work on both sides of that gap.

  1. 01

    Strategy and roadmap

    For leadership teams who know AI matters but not where to start. Executive discovery, a clear statement of the problem, agreed success measures and a phased roadmap the board can back.

  2. 02

    Pilots and builds

    Prototypes, AI tools, automations and integrations, built and tested with the people who will use them, and connected to the systems you already run.

  3. 03

    Adoption and measurement

    Training, new ways of working and reporting against the measures agreed at the start, so the tools keep being used after launch and you can show what changed.

Contract, fractional or project-based London-based, 1 to 3 days a week Most experience in financial services, scale-ups and membership organisations

Fig. 01 / live tool

See the thinking in action

The AI Opportunity Finder asks ten quick questions about your organisation, maps where AI could help, and writes a short, prioritised plan. It takes about a minute and asks for no email.

Try it now

How I work

Consulting first, then building. The same person does both, so nothing is lost in the handover.

  1. 01

    Executive discovery and problem framing

    Sit with the leadership team to pin down the problem worth solving, and who owns it.

  2. 02

    Define success and the evidence needed

    Agree what better looks like, how it will be measured, and where things stand today.

  3. 03

    Prioritised roadmap

    Turn the options into a phased plan with owners, milestones and success measures.

  4. 04

    Pilot or prototype

    Test the riskiest assumption quickly, with the people who will use the result.

  5. 05

    Build and integration

    Build the tools, automations and workflows, and connect them to the systems you already run.

  6. 06

    Training, adoption and measurement

    Train the team, embed the new way of working, and report against the measures agreed at the start.

About me

I've spent my career close to the people who make the big decisions. Nearly a decade in wealth management at Killik & Co and Barclays Private Bank, then Director of Finance and Operations at a retail business, then four years in executive search, placing CEOs, CFOs and Chairs into PE- and VC-backed businesses.

That taught me how boards really decide, and how often good ideas stall between the strategy and the delivery. I founded High Definition Leadership in 2024 to work on both. With AI, I frame the problem with the leadership team first, and then I build the tools myself.

Executive MBA, Quantic School of Business and Technology BSc Business Management, Queen Mary, University of London

  1. 2024 to now

    High Definition Leadership

    Founder and Principal Consultant

  2. 2023 to 2024

    La Fosse

    Head of CEO and CFO Practice. £380k of executive search fees in 12 months, including Chair, CEO and CFO mandates for PE funds

  3. 2022 to 2023

    AlphaSkill

    Principal. Built the CFO desk for a PE-focused search and deal-advisory firm

  4. 2020 to 2022

    360Leaders

    Consultant. C-suite searches for VC-backed scale-ups and listed businesses

  5. 2019 to 2020

    Myla London

    Director of Finance and Operations. Cut overspending by £500k, and built a cash-flow forecast that called a shortfall six months ahead, to within two days

  6. 2017 to 2019

    Barclays Private Bank

    Private Banker

  7. 2007 to 2017

    Killik & Co

    Junior Broker, later Investment Manager

Engagements

Working together

  • Contract, fractional or project-based
  • London-based, 1 to 3 days a week
  • Most experience in financial services, scale-ups and membership organisations
tom@highdefinitionleadership.com Connect on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)