Jason Ricks

Tech & AI Strategy,
Digital Transformation,
GTM & Growth

Working with ambitious businesses that want to move faster, protect margin, and grow revenue.

// About

I’ve spent 20+ years building, scaling and transforming businesses from early-stage digital advertising and tech to B2B SaaS startups, to global marketing services businesses.

I started as a sales and business development IC, became a founder/operator, then moved into commercial and technology leadership — taking an AI SaaS from zero to £2M ARR and 8,000 customers in twelve months.

More recently I’ve led digital transformation and tech strategy at board level for PE-backed global services businesses — the kind of work where you’re rewiring the operating model, not just picking new software.

What makes me different: I sit in the boardroom and I build. I personally architect and ship production AI systems using the modern automation stack. That combination — commercial authority plus hands-on build capability — is rare, and it’s where I add the most value.

Stanford GSB Executive Alum · Digital Transformation & AI

Jason Ricks
20+
Years
From seed-stage startups and scale-ups through to £300M global marketing services businesses
150+
People
Built and led high-performing teams across commercial, product, technology, and data functions
£2.5M
Investment
Raised at seed and Pre-Series A for B2B SaaS products from scratch
£2M
Delivery
Managed £2M+ CAPEX delivery across digital transformation, ERP migration, and platform programmes
// Areas of Impact

Experience & Expertise

01

Tech Strategy & Transformation

Investment & Innovation RoadmapAligning technology investment decisions with business goals, P&L reality, and long-term value creation.
Platform & ArchitectureSelecting, consolidating, integrating and modernising core (cloud) productivity stack to support growth agenda.
Operating Model DesignRestructuring teams, processes and client delivery workflows to maximise value creation from technology investments.
02

AI Strategy & Integration

AI Strategy & Use-Case IdentificationDriving consensus around the AI bets worth making and the table-stakes foundational investments.
Hands-on Build & DeploymentEnd-to-end AI build: prototyping, local deployment, go-to-market strategy, and measurable ROI model tracking.
Vendor & SaaS AI EnablementEvaluating, integrating, and governing third-party AI tools with clear commercial outcomes and risk controls.
03

GTM & Growth

Demand & Revenue GenerationBuilding pipeline, accelerating sales cycles, creating repeatable growth.
Data & Performance AnalyticsEnsuring structural decisions regarding data configurations are driven by business constraints and opportunities, not instinct.
Positioning & Sales EnablementSharpening the tech value proposition and GTM story, enabling market-facing teams to sell with confidence and close faster.
04

Leadership & Change Management

Hiring & Team BuildRecruiting, structuring and developing high-performance commercial and technology teams to sell with confidence.
Adoption & AlignmentWinning hearts and minds for new ways of working, maximising adoption for the digital transformation agenda.
Culture & PerformanceDeveloping and embedding new ways of working alongside AI systems, driving adoption and addressing resistance.
05

Entrepreneurship

Ownership of OutcomesFounder mentality, bringing accountability and flexibility that prioritises data-led decision making.
Build BiasDesigning teams and processes that enable rapid build, test, learn processes within rigid organisations.
Partnership & Channel StrategyDesigning and implementing effective distribution routes to market that drive impact at scale.
// Ventures

Built from zero

Founder & CEO, Vidify · 2010–2018

Bootstrapped Innovative Video Production Model to UK Market Leadership & International Expansion

White-label video platform for SMEs, partnered with global business directories. Bootstrapped to UK market leadership and 7-figure revenue. 50+ remote filmmakers, 250+ productions a month. Full P&L ownership.

7-fig
Revenue
5,000+
Commercials
0→50
Team
8 yrs
Built & scaled
Chief Commercial Officer, Trint · 2017

Commercialised AI Transcription SaaS from Zero to 8,000 Customers & Pre-Series A Investment

Hired to commercialise an AI transcription SaaS from zero. Built sales, marketing and CS teams — 8,000+ customers, £2M ARR in 12 months. Led North American expansion strategy. Secured oversubscribed £2.5M Pre-Series A.

£2M
ARR
8,000+
Customers
5→20
Team
£2.5M
Investment
// Digital Transformation

My approach to driving change

Most structural business problems aren’t commercial, they’re informational. Surface the data and you can intervene earlier, decide faster, and execute more consistently.

01

Digital Literacy & Mindset

Shift the organisation from passively receiving reports to actively using data to decide. Align incentives to outcomes that depend on data usage — margin, service, sustainability.

02

Data Architecture & Platform

Define a data blueprint and build a single source of truth with the right access guardrails — operational margin, revenue and cost, client analytics, and compliance data, all in one governed place.

03

Legacy Modernisation

Integrate legacy ERPs and tools via APIs and RPA while preserving workflows. Retire systems where integration cost exceeds replacement or manual effort stays high.

04

Advanced Analytics & AI

Point ML and AI at historical transactional data against the biggest profitability and growth levers: margin-leakage detection, forecast-vs-actual alerts, client profitability segmentation.

05

Move Upstream

Extend into opportunities upstream of the core platform — redefining ROI to include performance analytics and pushing into predictive, data-led commercial models.

// Recommendations

Clients, Partners, Colleagues

// Get in touch

Let’s Work Together

01

AI-native startups / scale-ups

Series A/B. Digital leadership for businesses building with AI or product innovation at the core. Sharpening your GTM, scaling commercial operations, and building the tech infrastructure to grow.

02

Service business transformation

PE-backed or founder-led services firms rewiring their operating model or value proposition. Not just picking new software — restructuring how your business runs on technology and enhances the client-facing value proposition.

03

PE / VC portfolio operations

Operating partner for funds that need strategic digital leadership + hands-on builder/operator capability across their portfolio. From tech due diligence and post-deal integration to de-risking digital transformation programmes.

// Career

Extensive Digital Experience

2000–03
ValueClick Europe
Sales & BD Director
2004–06
DoubleClick Europe
European Sales Manager
2007–08
Piksel
Sales & BD Director
2008–16
Vidify
Founder, CEO
2017–18
Trint
Chief Commercial Officer
2018–19
Various SaaS Startups
Fractional CXO
2019–21
VdSta
Founder, Investor
2021–22
Tag Worldwide
Consultant, Enterprise Solutions
2022–23
ADM Indicia Group
Global Lead, Tech Transformation
2024–26
Paragon Global Brands
Chief Digital Officer