Elizabeth Scott MBE

I believe the UK has a real opportunity to lead a new, ethical model for growth with digital labour. In a recent piece for The Guardian, I shared my thoughts on how people and agentic AI can work together. Our goal is to augment human capabilities, not replace humans. We’re achieving this by automating routine tasks and freeing up teams to concentrate on strategic, high-impact work. We're already seeing the results firsthand. Our AI agents have now handled over 1 million customer conversations, showing how digital labour can alleviate routine queries and let our teams focus on the complex challenges that drive real value. I hope you'll read the full article to explore how we can build a more dynamic, hybrid workforce for the future: https://lnkd.in/eVDB_sYt

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We’ve raised €1.5Bn across our studio ventures 🎉 I realised: Funding is a function of future clarity. When we work with founders, we ask them to go 5-10 years into the future. Get concrete. Not just a vision, but a plan you can walk through, step by step. - What’s your CPA? And over time? - What channels are driving your growth? - What needs to be true in the market for this to work? - What does the team look like now, in 6 months, 2 years etc? - What will you do if something big changes? (New tech, new rules, new rivals?) The more detail, the easier it is for investors to see what you see. When you pitch with this level of clarity, you don’t sound like someone asking for money. You sound like the CEO of a unicorn, inviting people to join your story before the world catches up. You start to embody that future leader. Investors feel it. They respond to it. Founders, if you’re pitching, ask yourself: Can you describe your business in 2030 in extreme detail?

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2 years today since we launched StackOptimise ⚙️ This is the best decision we ever made ⬇️ Investing in personal brand. For a business like ours - operating in a saturated space, offering a commoditised service - brand is a super powerful differentiator. So Felix and I decided, from the get-go, to post on LinkedIn everyday. We've only missed a handful of days. And it's paid dividends: 1️⃣ Every deal we've closed has been meaningfully influenced by our LinkedIn presence, either to generate or nurture the lead. 2️⃣ We’re constantly flooded with inbound job applications. 3️⃣ Vendors & partners treat you differently when you’ve got influence. 4️⃣ We promote the tools in our stack for free usage, thus minimising our costs. A trade that only works if your brand holds weight. 5️⃣ Team members gain visibility into both the bigger vision and our day-to-day, driving employee retention. I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve spoken to who’ve either started, or plan to start, their own business - and I always say the same thing: Invest in your personal brand now. It compounds faster than almost anything else. And literally makes every part of the journey - hiring, partnerships, sales, retention - exponentially easier. ---- Here's our Ultimate Guide to Explode on LinkedIn in 2025: https://lnkd.in/eiv6Aktz

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I’m on my way to Zurich to talk agentic with the board of one of our long standing Consumer Products clients and I’m reading a piece in The Times by Kathryn Parsons MBE, founder of Decoded and co-chair of GBx about whether it’s time to hire a Head of AI. She is on-track, especially in my world of FMCG, luxury, and retail. This role isn’t about hiding behind buzz words and hopping on the hype train; it’s about a seat at board, translating AI ambition into tangible business value. The IBM Institute for Business Value’s 2025 CEO Study has framed the urgency: • Only 25% of AI initiatives delivered on expectations in the past three years • Just 16% have scaled enterprise-wide • Yet 61% of CEOs are already deploying AI agents • Investment in AI is set to more than double in the near term • 31% of AI leaders now report directly to the CEO, up from 17% in 2023 That’s a real gap between ambition and impact - one that’s costly in an industry that’s desperate to save money right now to fuel growth. Take Nestlé: in collaboration with IBM Research, they’ve developed a regenerative AI tool - leveraging a custom chemical language model and regression transformer - to accelerate the discovery of sustainable, high-barrier packaging materials that protect products while improving recyclability and reducing development time. And L'Oréal? They’re co-creating a first-of-its-kind AI foundation model with IBM to support sustainable cosmetic formulation - helping its 4,000 R&I scientists source eco-friendly ingredients, cut waste, and deliver faster product innovation aligned with their “L’Oréal for the Future” vision. These aren’t POCs or pilots - they’re real, scalable AI programmes building measurable business and ESG value. So what? Moving AI from POC to profit requires someone with both industry sensibility and technical fluency. That’s exactly what a Head of AI should bring - a strategic custodian who unifies vision, governance, and commercial delivery. #ItsAGreatTimeToBeAnIBMer Not just a consulting company #ConsumerProducts #Luxury #Retail 🔗 The Times article: https://lnkd.in/evQVzQEn 🔗 IBM IBV CEO Study: https://lnkd.in/emszmZwW

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