Please describe your career to date...
In the early 2000s, the IT bug struck me, so I decided against my original degree choice in mathematics and studied Computer Science at King’s. It played to my strengths: problem solving and logical thinking. Although I was never a natural programmer, the course helped me think in an abstract manner.
Now with the advent of (probably) the fourth Industrial Revolution – namely connectionist AI – I’ve been busy building AI solutions for enterprise-focused use cases since 2023.
What happened after graduation?
I went through the standard process of applying to every company under the sun! After a ton of rejections, I managed to land two offers, one at Computer Science Corporation and another at CGI Group. The experience was a good insight into the corporate world and the transport, telecoms and finance sectors.
I ended up getting a placement for a bank in Kuwait, advising on a large-scale transformation of their core banking infrastructure. The challenges of working in the Gulf with an emphasis placed on relationship-building and trust added a lot of depth to my skill set.
Following a successful delivery, I was head hunted by UBS in the UK where I worked for two years. With increasing regulatory pressures on the financial market, I decided to start my own consultancy. Our clients have included Barclays Capital and HSBC. For the latter, I was involved in implementing the largest anti-money laundering project across the sector at the time.
What’s been the most interesting experience in your work?
Working in the Middle East was definitely the most interesting experience I’ve had to date. I always try to put myself outside my comfort zone and I had to adapt very quickly to the cultural nuances where things are done at a slower pace.
Although the UK is a very multi-cultural society, most people you come across at work here adapt and incorporate a quintessential British culture. So the cultural diversity doesn’t carry that much significance in professional dealings. Although the same diversity of cultures was present in Kuwait, the expatriates in my experience haven’t adapted or incorporated the Kuwaiti culture, so dealing with each person required a good understanding of their culture’s normal business practice to be effective.
In what ways did your time at King’s influence you?
At King’s, one of the key things I learnt was time management. After a few months of taking it easy, I soon realised the intense nature of the course and that to be successful in exams I had to manage my time well and appreciate the quality of the lectures.
Effective use of time is something I try to implement daily in my work and general life by time-boxing activities to get the most out of each day and achieve that work/life balance that many people aspire to but few actualise. The amount of globally influential people that were alumni and the position King’s holds as an internationally renowned educational institution also proved to be a massive influence, and motivated me in my quest to achieve the very best, not only in my degree but further on in my career.
Do you have a favourite memory from your time at King’s?
The many intellectual discussions and games of pool enjoyed at the Waterfront, with its stunning views across the Thames, will definitely remain in my memory. Watching the football and cricket World Cup games there was another highlight. Somerset House in the summer will also be a lasting memory of my time at King’s.
Who or what has been most inspirational to you in your life?
I have taken inspiration from others on many occasions. However, certain events in your life help define you and are the real inspiration. My final-year dissertation was the most inspirational experience in my life. I’d been working diligently to complete my software program and accompanying literature ahead of the deadline. Through hard work and focus, I managed to complete it three days early.
However, when attempting to transfer the document from my laptop onto a USB so I could take it to campus for printing, an error occurred causing the data to become corrupted. After several unsuccessful attempts to retrieve the data, I had to call a computer engineer who at best was able to retrieve a backup I had taken two weeks ago. I had to complete two weeks of coding and written work in three exhausting days. I somehow managed this, with little sleep and a horrendous amount of coffee.
Not only did I complete it on time, but I managed to get a first for the dissertation and overall degree, which gave me an unexplainable amount of satisfaction. This is a driving factor for me time and time again, when faced with similar challenges.
What are you doing at the moment?
Towards the end of 2023, I stepped back from my work at SNK Financial to learn in earnest how modern GenAI could be harnessed. This involved diving into transformer models, retrieval-augmented generation and adjacent techniques. I set myself a clear challenge to solve problems that matter, from sharpening operational efficiency to transforming document review with consolidation and reconciled feedback, from surfacing metrics and insight across unstructured and structured data to building decision flows that are genuinely driven by evidence rather than instinct.
Seeing the crest of an imminent AI boom, I began shaping a fully bootstrapped demo that stitched these ideas into a working product. The work drew the attention of a holdings company in the UAE and together we formed a venture with a simple promise to turn applied AI into measurable value. We took the prototypes on the road and delivered successful demonstrations and proofs of concept with leading organisations across healthcare, financial services and fast-moving consumer goods, plus government sector organisations in the UAE. We are showing what carefully engineered models and data pipelines can achieve in the real world.
What’s next for this new initiative?
The next chapter is taking shape now. We’re laying the groundwork for an accelerator we intend to launch in 2026 and we’re actively searching for exceptional talent from the top universities in the world, such as King’s College London. The aim is to assemble a cohort ready to build with intent, to pair them with real-use cases and to provide expert guidance based on industry experience to deliver the next world-beating AI products.
Finally, what advice would you give to students or alumni for success in life after King’s?
Figure out as quickly as possible what you want to do in life. Secondly, you need to find a niche that sets you apart from your competition because good grades aren’t always enough. Advanced training can also be a way to be successful at interviews.
Thirdly, identify the real transferrable skills you have and make sure you mention these in applications and interviews – and make sure they are realistic. For example, being a star in retail sales isn’t necessarily a direct transferrable skill that enables you to be a successful investment banking trader.
Lastly, keep things simple and straight. I see too many students using complex language to oversell aspects of their career and achievements.