Strategic AI Oversight
for Global Boards

Helping the world's largest enterprises bridge the gap between AI's potential and the structural transformation required to capture it.

Let's Connect
Paul Willmott

A bridge between high-level strategy and operational reality.

With over 30 years at the intersection of digital transformation and industrial-scale execution, I help boards navigate AI as a systemic mandate rather than a technical tool.

I focus on fiduciary oversight: ensuring that algorithmic risk is managed, tech "plumbing" is resilient, and AI investments show up on the P&L—not just in a slide deck.

Career Journey

Three decades of digital transformation and strategic leadership

2025 - Present

Chief Technology Officer

LEGO Digital Play

  • Led work to shape new digital play business
  • Shaped ground-breaking AI-enabled gameplay, operations and business models
  • Currently building an AI-first technology function
2021 - 2025

Advisor to Chairman

LEGO Brand Group (KIRKBI)

  • Led digital & AI transformation across portfolio (e.g., The LEGO Group, Merlin Entertainments, LEGO Education)
  • Worked with owner family and chairman to shape digital/AI strategy
  • Shaped new businesses including LEGO Digital Play
2021 - 2025

Chair, UK Government Digital Advisory Board

UK Cabinet Office

  • Appointed by Prime Minister to drive digital/AI transformation (~£40bn spend)
  • Chaired Digital & Data Board, convening Departmental Permanent Secretaries (CEOs)
  • Shaped Government's Digital Strategy. Secured 4x increase in funding
  • Built high-performing digital leadership team including Chief Digital & AI Officers
2019 - 2020

Chief Digital Officer

The LEGO Group

  • Reset digital & technology strategy, underpinning a doubling of revenue in 5 years
  • Scored highest upward feedback score in executive team
  • Doubled cyber security benchmark score
  • Steered business through COVID
1996 - 2019

Founder & Global Managing Partner

McKinsey Digital

  • Founded and built the No. 1 rated global digital consulting practice (Gartner)
  • Built team of ~200 partners, ~2000 associates, ~1000 engineers
  • Grew business to $1bn+ revenue
  • Partnered with Lloyds Bank for 10 years to deliver Europe's best digital bank (Euromoney)
1991 - 1996

Software Engineer & Senior Manager

Accenture

  • Led teams of 5-100 colleagues to design and implement software
  • Delivered Goldman Sachs option trading systems
  • Developed proficiency in 10+ coding languages

Non-Executive Roles

2021 - Present

Advisor to Board

Merlin Entertainments

2023 - Present

Non-Executive Director

Area9 Lyceum (AI Software)

2023 - 2025

Non-Executive Director

BrainPOP (EdTech)

Education & Qualifications

Oxford University

Oxford University

AI Program

Stanford University

Stanford University

Machine Learning Specialization

DeepLearning.ai

DeepLearning.ai

Various advanced AI courses

IMD

IMD

High Performance Boards Program

Imperial College London

Imperial College London

BSc Physics (2.1)

Media

Articles, publications, and appearances

Video Appearances

Public Accounts Committee

Oral evidence on "Digital transformation in government: addressing barriers to efficiency"

UK Parliament - May 2023

Government Publications

Transforming for a Digital Future

Government's 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data - foreword by Paul Willmott as Executive Chair of CDDO

GOV.UK

Harvard Business Review Articles

Does Your Team Think Digitally?

Success depends on strengths in four key areas when it comes to digital thinking

October 2015

Can Your C-Suite Handle Big Data?

Why so many firms' analytics efforts fall short and how to build data-driven leadership

October 2013

McKinsey.com Articles

Why Digital Strategies Fail

Five pitfalls that derail digital strategies and how to avoid them

McKinsey Quarterly

Strategic Principles for Competing in the Digital Age

Six critical decisions CEOs must make to address the digital revolution

McKinsey Quarterly - May 2014

Should You Digitize Your Core Business?

Why companies need a dual response: transform the core and build new ventures

McKinsey & Company

Adapting Your Board to the Digital Age

Four ways to get boards in the game as technology and competition evolve

July 2016

Want to Become Agile? Learn from Your IT Team

How companies can increase decision velocity and minimize complexity

July 2015

How Companies Become Digital Leaders

How senior executives can raise the Digital Quotient of their companies

January 2016

Other Articles & Posts

10 Predictions for Digital

Insights on the future of digital transformation and technology trends

LinkedIn - 2018

LinkedIn Profile

Connect and view all articles and posts

LinkedIn

Points of View

Perspectives on AI transformation and digital strategy

Drawing from decades of experience leading digital transformation at McKinsey, LEGO, and the UK Government, here are my key perspectives on how organizations can successfully navigate the AI revolution.

Strategy

The Valuation Gap

Market cap currently rewards "AI potential," but long-term value only accrues to those who close the gap between hype and operational execution.

Commoditization

As AI lowers barriers to entry, brand defensibility must shift from "features" to "proprietary data moats" and hyper-personalized customer intimacy.

The Deployment Lag

Success is a marathon of organizational change disguised as a sprint of technological adoption.

Operations

The End-to-End Mandate

AI is not a "plug-in." ROI is only realized when processes are re-engineered from the ground up, not just incrementally improved.

Structural Role Redefinition

If AI doesn't fundamentally change your headcount strategy and job descriptions, you haven't truly adopted it.

The Plumbing Tax

You cannot build a 21st-century intelligence layer on top of 20th-century "spaghetti" architecture.

Technology

Architecture over Apps

Stop buying tools; start building an ecosystem that treats data as the primary fuel and models as interchangeable parts.

The Agility Premium

Modular architecture is the only hedge against vendor lock-in and the blistering pace of model obsolescence.

Governance & Risk

Fiduciary AI Oversight

AI risk is a governance failure, not a technical one. Boards must own the integrity of the algorithms that drive their business.

Shadow AI Proliferation

The greatest risk to intellectual property isn't a hack; it's the invisible, unmanaged use of public AI by a workforce seeking efficiency.

Chat with Paul's AI

Ask me anything about Paul's experience, projects, or expertise

Paul's AI Assistant
Hello! I'm Paul's AI assistant. Ask me about his experience, career journey, or expertise in digital transformation and AI.

Let's Connect

I'd love to hear from you. Get in touch!

Thank you! Your message has been sent successfully.

Please enter your name

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter your message

Email: contact@paulwillmott.ai