Jason Ricks

Move faster. Protect margin.Grow revenue.

I help ambitious businesses use technology and AI to accelerate growth: board-level strategy and hands-on build, from one operator.

A razor-sharp thinker: not only how to think correctly about driving growth, but how to skilfully execute. Oren G  ·  AI GTM Engineer
// The Problem

Technology alone doesn’t fix a broken business.

Most digital transformation programmes don’t fail because the technology is weak. They fail because the business around it isn’t ready. Layer new technology onto flawed data, broken workflows and an unchanged operating model and you can end up compounding existing problems.

Scattered experiments

Tools get licensed, pilots get launched, everyone dabbles. Twelve months later there’s activity everywhere and impact nowhere, because nobody redesigned the work itself.

Broken foundations

The businesses that see compounding returns get the foundations right first: digital literacy, unified data, modernised platforms. Skip that sequence and every pound of technology investment lands on sand.

Narrow specialists

Programmes led by technologists alone stall on adoption. Programmes led by strategists alone never ship. The technology was never the risk. The operating model around it is.

// AI Maturity

From AI experiments to a growth engine

Every business sits somewhere on the same maturity curve. Knowing where you are, and what needs addressing before you take the leap, is the difference between AI as a success and failure.

Most businesses get stuck here
Tools

AI as a tool

Individual people, individual tasks, one prompt at a time.

Chat assistants, copilots, and the AI features switched on inside your existing software. The starting point for most businesses. Useful, but the gains stay personal and unevenly distributed, and won’t show up in the P&L.

The ceilingProductivity is trapped inside individuals.
Teammates

AI as a teammate

A specialist with a defined role, not a general-purpose chatbot.

Purpose-built AI that owns a slice of real work: a briefed assistant, a forecasting model trained on your data, a document pipeline that runs itself. This is where AI starts doing the job rather than helping with it.

The unlockValue becomes repeatable and shared.
Systems

AI as a system

Teammates connected so work runs end-to-end.

LLMs, machine learning on your own data, and the AI in your SaaS stack, connected into workflows that run from trigger to outcome. This phase changes your operating model, and therefore requires expert guidance.

The prizeAI flows are aligned to customer outcomes.
// How I Can Help

Digital transformation with AI at the centre

Technology strategy, digital transformation and AI, led by someone who has done all three.

Drawing on 20+ years across startups, scale-ups and global transformation, I’ve developed a structured methodology for helping businesses move AI from experimentation to real operational value: the AI Growth Operating System. It’s built around a simple principle: AI only delivers when the strategy, data and operating model around it are ready to support it.

DiagnoseDesignBuildEmbed

It starts with a 60-minute consultation: you leave with your AI maturity score and three proposed quick wins.

Request an AI Consultation →
// Who I Work With

Leaders putting Tech & AI at the front of the growth agenda

I work as a fractional Chief Digital Officer: board-level digital and technology leadership, embedded in your business for the days you need. That covers the full scope of digital transformation, technology strategy and AI, typically in one of three settings:

AI-native startups & scale-ups

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

Marketing services businesses

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

PE / VC portfolio operations

Operating partner for funds that need strategic digital leadership plus hands-on builder capability across the portfolio, from tech due diligence to post-deal integration and de-risking transformation.

// Why Me

Founder, operator, transformation leader

I’ve worked in both fast-growth startups and later-stage transformation and restructuring environments, which gives me a unique blend of experience and expertise when it comes to delivering impactful change.

20+
Years
Startup scale-ups to global digital transformation
250+
People
High-performing teams built, coached and led
£2.5M
Investment
Commercial lead, AI SaaS fundraise
£2M
Delivery
Large-scale AI & digital transformation delivered
Beyond AI

Three areas of expertise

Successful digital transformation requires more than investment into AI. These are the three areas I work across with different businesses to varying degrees depending on business needs.

Grow

Growth & GTM

Demand & Revenue GenerationBuilding pipeline, accelerating sales cycles, creating repeatable growth.
AI Product CommercialisationPricing, packaging and go-to-market for AI-native products, taken from launch to seven-figure ARR and funded scale.
Positioning & Sales EnablementSharpening the tech value proposition and GTM story so market-facing teams sell with confidence.
Build

AI Systems & Automation

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, deployment, and measurable ROI tracking.
Vendor & SaaS AI EnablementEvaluating, integrating and governing third-party AI tools with clear commercial outcomes.
Transform

Digital & Data Transformation

Investment & Innovation RoadmapAligning technology investment with business goals, P&L reality, and long-term value creation.
Platform & ArchitectureSelecting, consolidating and modernising the core cloud productivity stack to support growth.
Operating Model DesignRestructuring teams, processes and delivery workflows to maximise value from technology investment.
Built from zero
Founder & CEO, Vidify · 2010–2018

Scaled Video Service

White-label custom video service for SMEs, partnered with global business directories. Bootstrapped to UK market leadership: 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 SaaS

Hired to commercialise an AI transcription platform. Built sales, marketing and CS teams to 8,000+ customers and £1.5M ARR in 12 months. Secured oversubscribed £2.5M Pre-Series A.

£1.5M
ARR
8,000+
Customers
5→20
Team
£2.5M
Investment
Jason is one of those rare people who has the skills, experience and know-how to take a business from zero to multi-million in revenue. Mo R  ·  Leadership Coach
About

I’ve spent 20+ years building, scaling and transforming digital technology businesses, from Sales & Business Development at industry-defining companies such as ValueClick and DoubleClick, to founding and scaling the UK’s largest SME video production service, to commercialising the world’s first AI transcription platform. I’ve experienced both success and failure along the way, enriching my experience and grounding me in the fundamentals of business success. More recently I’ve led digital transformation and technology strategy for global organisations including Tag Worldwide, ADM Indicia and Paragon Global Brands, where I oversaw a multi-million-pound programme spanning an ERP migration across 20+ markets, an AI-ready cloud data platform, and a productivity stack overhaul for 400+ employees.

I lead from the front and like to roll my sleeves up. I’ve built and coached commercial and technology teams during times of disruption and rapid transformation. I’ve battled to win the hearts and minds for new ways of working across global organisations, because successful digital transformation ultimately rests on adoption, not technology.

Today I combine that founder, operator and transformation experience to help businesses accelerate growth and navigate technology change with confidence, with AI at the centre of every engagement.

Stanford GSB Exec. Alum · Digital Transformation & AI

Connect on LinkedIn
Jason Ricks
// Get in touch

Let’s work together

The common thread across everything I do is helping businesses use technology to move faster, protect margin, and grow revenue, whether from the boardroom, the build environment, or both.

Jason always has a great capacity for driving new ideas and making things happen. He sees opportunities others miss and then not only goes for them but is able to take people with him on the journey. Toby B  ·  Leadership Coach