Aesara Partners 

At Aesara Partners, our mission is simple: enable you to be the best version of yourself. We offer a range of focused services that unlock the potential of people, teams and cultures to maximise business performance. 

Collectively our Partners and Associates have decades of experience both in executive coaching and as board level leaders themselves working in multiple sectors across global markets.

Partner & Executive Coach

Doshisha University

Professor of Strategic Management, Global MBA Program

The CFO Coach K.K.

The CFO Coach K.K. is a boutique executive coaching firm specializing in developing High-Performance​ Financial Leaders and Teams.

Founder & Executive Coach

Kansai Gaidai University

•	Awarded President's Global Education Award (Teacher of the Year).

Professor of Leadership & Management

Benesse Holdings, Inc. (USD 4.5B; Tokyo Stock Exchange Code: 9783)

•	Member of the Board of Directors for Berlitz Corporation; Benesse Corporation; and Benesse Style Care.  Chairman of Audit Committee for Berlitz Corporation. Member of Benesse Holdings Pension Committee.
•	Global CFO covering all 40+ Benesse group companies
•	Championed and supported multiple cash generation initiatives including a CFO led "Save to Grow" initiative to improve Company Financial performance and to identify significant savings for business reinvestment
•	Enhanced Finance bench strength and hired a high potential team to start financial business consulting
•	Implemented several process and capability best practices to move group companies towards global standards

Global Chief Financial Officer & Corporate Senior Vice President

McCann Worldgroup Holdings

• Overall Responsibility for Operations (Finance, IT, Legal, and Administration - 10 legal entities) 
• Successfully turned around long term loss making lead agency by delivering double digit margin improvements within two years
• Delivered double digit margin improvements for all six MWG Group companies 
• Built a new Finance team and moved from Scorekeeping to Business Partnership and improved business performance
• Major projects within last two years include: 
  - Shared Service center creation/migration
  - New Financial System Migration
  - Acquisition & Divestiture
  - Business Turnaround
  - Retirement Plan consolidation/change
  - Office relocation/rent reductions

Group Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President, and Member of The Board

Becton, Dickinson and Company

• Led Finance, Procurement, General Affairs, and Rebates teams (43 staff) to deliver multi-million dollar cash and profit performance improvement for first year and beyond. Exceeded all budget expectations.
• Engaged Japan Management Team and Global Finance Leadership Team on company objectives to deliver best outcome (Finance Transformation initiative, Sales effectiveness improvement, Key Account Management, Business Continuity plan, and strategy/selection of backup distribution center).  Led process for 2012-16 Business Plan development
• Developed and executed Finance department strategy and vision to move from scorekeeping to business partnership. Implemented job rotation program and hired several high potential employees to improve bench strength.
• Championed multiple Finance and Procurement initiatives including definition and implementation of new 401k Retirement Plan; divestiture of non-core business; change of primary banks (reduced bank fees by over 30%); vendor reduction process, and new travel expense management system 
• Taught New Manager Essentials program and selected as leadership trainer for PEPFAR program in South Africa to teach Leadership and Change Management to African Health Ministry officials

Finance and Administration Director

Avon Products Inc.

•	Implementation project leader for Avon Sales Leadership Framework (ASLF) – Highest priority project for the Company to adapt to a new Sales Model.  Completed project implementation in record timing.  Awarded regional award as part of ASLF Team. Only person in Asia recognized for both Top-line and Bottom-line contributions in the same year.
•	Defined and executed new vision and mission and led Sales Support department to complete over 40 initiatives (within a six-month period) as part of Team’s new journey towards field motivational excellence. Incorporated new processes to deliver high impact incentives, and to create Sales energy and momentum for sales turn-around.    
•	Achieved highest employee engagement scores with Sales Support Department significantly exceeding country results in over 95% of categories.  Previously had also led Finance department to highest employee engagement scores.
•	Global Project leader for a high potential, multi-functional, multi-national team to study and recommend actions to improve Global Sales Incentive management/spending process.
•	Oversaw execution of a variety of Company and Public/Media events ranging from Sales Conferences to Philanthropic events including Annual Awards to Women, and Pink Ribbon Campaign support.

Executive Director and Member of the Board

•	Responsible for Financial policy making/implementation and reporting for Avon Japan as a public company (including statutory/public, and Board Meetings). All year-end financial documents audited with no comments/exceptions.
•	Defined and executed new department Vision and Mission, and recruited, trained and developed a completely new Finance team (80% new hires within a six month period) to move from scorekeeping to business partnership. Finance team formed core of country high potential list.
•	Consistently over achieved profit performance commitment under adverse conditions of sales decline by aggressively managing strategic business needs with cost cutting; Delivered zero overhead growth during all years; Japan winner of regional awards for best cost management performance, and for boldest transformation strategy.
•	Provided leadership and support for critical decisions and strategy development as Japan Leadership Team Member.  Actively led change management process within company.
•	Consistently achieved best internal control results in Asia-Pacific/Avon over a period of eight audits.  Japan one of only two countries with highest audit rating. Outstanding performance generated support to remove Japan from list of High Coverage countries.
• Co-developed strategic/financial business case, and obtained approval for number of campaign reduction in 2006 making Avon Japan only country ever in Avon to undergo campaign reduction. 
• Independently analyzed and provided strategic direction for Plant study which challenged and reversed previous recommendation by outside consultants on plant closure.
• Provided leadership in several restructuring initiatives by providing an achievable plan to achieve 12% people related cost reduction.  Played lead role in this study representing Finance, Supply Chain and HR 
• Consistently achieved highest performance rating and nominations to several high potential programs
• Elected (and re-elected) to Board of Directors

Executive Director, CFO and Member of the Board of Directors

Delphi

• Prepared Asia-Pacific regional messages / presentations for Delphi Strategy Board, and for Delphi Board of Directors.
• Supported development and implementation of critical Asia-Pacific strategies.  Performed competitive intelligence and other special studies to identify risks / competitive threats and outlined regional / corporate response.
• Provided Miller Heiman strategic selling process training to Asia-Pacific personnel to improve value propositions and increase sales effectiveness.

Director Asia-Pacific Planning

• Management responsibilities for Finance, HR, General Affairs, and Six-Sigma.
• Active member of the Japan Strategy Board and Japan management team.  
• Six-Sigma Deployment Champion for Delphi Japan.

Delphi Japan – CFO & Administration Director

Country Responsibilities:
• Managed all finance functions including accounting, budgeting / forecasting and treasury.
• Lead development of cross-functional and cross-divisional Internal Control Review Board.
• Lead and supported strategic initiatives including venture development support, site enhancement, competitive analysis, transfer pricing, and cost reduction studies.
• Represented Japan in Asia-Pacific Financial Task Team.

Regional Responsibilities:
• Coached country CFO and staff to implement common financial reporting processes.
• Supervised and provided training for engineering / commercial / plant / site analysts.  Coordinated regional financial training programs for the sector in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Coordinated the regional budget, business plan, and capital management process.
• Supported development of common financial practices among ventures including:  Loan monitoring, F/X and cash management, compliance with accounting principles, report submission, etc. Provided regional oversight of venture risk exposure.

Asia-Pacific Senior Finance Mgr.

Executive Coach | MBA Professor | Ex-Global CFO

I help senior leaders master complexity, elevate strategic impact, and lead with authentic authority.

I bring over 25 years of C-level and boardroom experience as a former Global CFO for a $5B publicly traded company, combined with a deep commitment to human-centered leadership development.

Today, I coach global executives, CEOs, and leadership teams — specializing in executive transitions, strategic leadership, high-performance teams, and Asian leadership development.

I am also an MBA Professor of Leadership and Strategic Management, blending research-driven frameworks with boardroom-tested insights to develop transformational leaders.

Based in Kyoto, fluent in English, Urdu, and Japanese.

Connect with me: arif@thecfocoach.jp

Website: www.thecfocoach.jp (please sign up on my mailing list to receive future announcements and newsletters)

Arif Iqball

Open to: Board roles • Executive leadership opportunities • Advisory positions • Public speaking engagements in technology, policy, and digital transformation.

I’m a senior executive with 25+ years of leadership experience across data, technology, and policy, delivering measurable impact and innovation in complex, regulated environments.

Currently, I serve as CEO of LegaMart, a global legal-tech platform operating in 128 countries. I lead strategic growth, investor relations, AI integration, platform development, and governance. This role has sharpened my commercial acumen and provided full exposure to scaling a high-growth digital business, engaging investors, managing risk, and building sustainable value.

I bring board-level expertise in aligning digital strategy, evidence, and policy to unlock performance, resilience, and long-term impact across professional bodies, regulators, public institutions, and commercial tech platforms.

✅ Core strengths include:
- Executive leadership across AI, data strategy, digital platforms, and policy
- Scalable innovation and investor engagement in technology-led environments
- AI governance, regulation, and ethical implementation
- KPI-driven transformation in high-trust, regulated organisations
- Policy strategy, research leadership, and public value creation

✅ Research Expertise & Public Profile

I have a strong record of applied research and thought leadership that has influenced national policy. As Head of Research & Policy at ScreenSkills, I led the 2012 Employment Census of the Creative Media Industries, the largest of its kind, spanning TV, film, and interactive media. Its findings directly informed the creation of Project Diamond, a landmark diversity monitoring framework still used by UK broadcasters.

My work has consistently translated research into action, from informing DCMS’s adoption of the Creative Industries Economic Estimates as Official Statistics, to leading Future Worlds 2050 at The Law Society, which shaped cross-sector policy discussions on AI, law, and society.

I am regularly invited to speak at national and international conferences, and I publish across themes including AI ethics, innovation strategy, and regulatory futures. I have appeared on BBC News, Times Radio, and other platforms to translate complex insights for public and policy audiences.

Dr. Kion Ahadi

The most expensive AI degree in the world... is now free.

And it’s just a click away.

Stanford University, one of the top AI research institutions, has made its flagship AI & Machine Learning courses freely available on YouTube. 

No tuition, no gatekeeping. Just world-class learning.

As someone who's spent 20+ years driving AI and data-led transformation, and who spoke at a Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability webinar this November:  https://lnkd.in/e9hd-NQD

I can confidently say: these courses are game-changers for anyone serious about AI.

Here are Nine courses worth bookmarking👇

1️⃣ CS221 – Artificial Intelligence: Principles & Techniques
↳ Core AI foundations: search, reasoning, planning, decision-making.
🔗 https://lnkd.in/dD-zCpRV

2️⃣ CS224U – Natural Language Understanding
↳ How machines interpret meaning, semantics, and human language.
🔗 https://lnkd.in/dvyKbgni

3️⃣ CS224N – NLP with Deep Learning
↳ Deep dive into transformers, embeddings, and modern NLP.
🔗 https://lnkd.in/dWdzHA6B

4️⃣ CS229 – Machine Learning (Andrew Ng)
↳ The legendary ML course that started it all.
🔗 https://lnkd.in/dNuiW9BM

5️⃣ CS229M – Machine Learning Theory
↳ Mathematical backbone: sample complexity, generalization, convergence.
🔗 https://lnkd.in/dmyS2WZr

6️⃣ CS329H – ML from Human Preferences
↳ Where reinforcement learning meets alignment.
🔗 https://lnkd.in/dz6uVz-N

7️⃣ CS230 – Deep Learning (Andrew Ng)
↳ Neural networks, CNNs, RNNs, and practical DL systems.
🔗 https://lnkd.in/dZRdJhWb

8️⃣ CS234 – Reinforcement Learning
↳ Agents, environments, and reward-driven learning.
🔗 https://lnkd.in/dh6QWS_f

9️⃣ CS330 – Deep Multi-Task & Meta Learning
↳ How models learn to learn. Transfer and generalization at scale.
🔗 https://lnkd.in/dFDYNMbj

The AI revolution is open-sourced. Your Stanford education is now one decision away, from curiosity to capability.

📣 Which of these will you start with? Comment below. 

Happy Friday!
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I hate fake people.
The ones who turn on the charm for the CEO…
Then blank the cleaner.

The ones who perform for clients…
But can’t even say thank you to support staff.

Respect shouldn’t depend on your title.
But too often, it does.

I’ve watched it for years, and I’ve lived it.
I came to the UK as the child of refugees.

My first job at fourteen?
A paper round.

Cold mornings. Heavy bags.
No one saw me. No one cared.

But I paid attention.
To people.
To patterns.
To power.

I never forgot what it felt like to be invisible.

Now I lead global legal tech across 128 countries.
I’ve transformed multimillion-pound institutions.
I sit on boards.
Advise regulators.
Shape national AI policy.

But the mission hasn’t changed.

I still treat the cleaner the same as the Board Chair.
Because character doesn’t come with a job title.

I make eye contact.
I learn names.
I show up with the same energy, cleaner or CEO.

Because real power doesn’t look down.
It lifts others up.

Key Takeaway:
The strongest people don’t need to flex.
They respect everyone, because they remember being no one.

Call to Action:
If you came from nothing and built everything, drop a “🔥” below.
Let’s show the next generation what real leadership looks like.

Thanks to the great Mike Leber for the visual for this post.
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❌ “Which AI is the best?”
✅ That’s like asking which tool is best without knowing the job.

Most people are asking the wrong question about AI.
And it's costing them time, money, and competitive edge.

As someone who’s led global AI transformation across legal tech, government, and social impact sectors, and deployed models like Azure OpenAI at scale, I’ve stress-tested nearly every major LLM in real-world, high-stakes environments.

Here’s the no-nonsense, real-world breakdown of the top 6 models as they stand right now (yes, this will change, fast):

1. Claude 4.5
Score: 9.5/10
Best Use Case: Legal analysis, long-form strategy, structured writing
📌 Why it leads: Unmatched reasoning, deep context memory, elegant output.
⚠️ Weakness: Hesitant on creativity. It’s the lawyer, not the poet.

2. ChatGPT-5
Score: 9/10
Best Use Case: Content ops, research, process automation
📌 Why it works: Versatile, deeply integrated, human-like tone.
⚠️ Weakness: Prone to hallucination on edge cases. You still need judgment.

3. Perplexity
Score: 8.5/10
Best Use Case: Market research, real-time intelligence
📌 Why it shines: Fast, sourced, ridiculously accurate.
⚠️ Weakness: Creative generation is minimal. It’s your analyst, not your copywriter.

4. Grok 4
Score: 7.5/10 (but rising)
Best Use Case: Trendspotting, social listening, brand sentiment
📌 Why it’s unique: The only LLM with native access to live X data.
⚠️ Weakness: Not enterprise-ready. Still maturing.

5. Gemini 2.5
Score: 7/10
Best Use Case: Google Workspace productivity, SEO strategy
📌 Why it fits: Seamless with Docs, Sheets, YouTube, great for teams in the Google ecosystem.
⚠️ Weakness: Outputs lack emotional range. Feels synthetic.

6. DeepSeek V3.1
Score: 6.5/10
Best Use Case: Technical documentation, lightweight code generation
📌 Why it’s efficient: Fast, cheap, precise for dev-heavy tasks.
⚠️ Weakness: Weak storytelling. Don’t expect it to inspire.

💡 The takeaway?
It’s not about finding one AI to rule them all.
It’s about building a stack, the right model for the right job.

Don’t be the person still asking “Which AI is best?”
Be the leader building a high-performance LLM stack that aligns with outcomes.

👇 So tell me: Which LLM is in your daily stack, and why?

Thanks to my good friend Chris Donnelly for the visual that brings this to life.
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How about a FREE AI curriculum that saves you £200,000, and tops most Master’s degrees?

As CEO of LegaMart, a global AI-driven legal tech platform, Non-Executive Director at Data Cubed, and former Director of Strategy at The Law Society, I’ve led digital transformation across national institutions, advised on AI ethics and regulation, and delivered keynote talks at leading AI and lawtech summits.

And here’s what I know:
You don’t need an expensive degree to become an AI engineer.
You need focus, grit, and the right learning stack.

So I've assessed 8 of the most powerful, free AI engineering playlists online, taught by MIT Sloan School of Management, Stanford University, DeepMind, and others. 

👇 This stack will take you from curiosity → competence → creation.

1️⃣ MIT – Intro to Deep Learning (FREE)
 https://lnkd.in/dmkBGw_H
✔️ Fast-track deep learning foundations in weeks, not years.

2️⃣ UMich – Deep Learning for Computer Vision (FREE)
 https://lnkd.in/dN_33vEc
✔️ Build skills in CNNs, transformers & real-world vision models.

3️⃣ Zero to Hero – Karpathy (FREE)
 https://lnkd.in/d7Dr3nqz
✔️ Learn how GPTs work, from scratch, line by line.

4️⃣ Berkeley – LLM Agents (FREE)
 https://lnkd.in/dFraS-XV
✔️ Design AI agents that reason, plan & interact.

5️⃣ Stanford – Language Modelling (FREE)
 https://lnkd.in/daMx2fs4
✔️ Deep dive into building and scaling LLMs.

6️⃣ Stanford – Generative Models (FREE)
 https://lnkd.in/dWtZuDyg
✔️ Understand VAEs, diffusion & cutting-edge generative AI.

7️⃣ DeepMind x UCL – Reinforcement Learning (FREE)
 https://lnkd.in/d6tBS2zX
✔️ Master the algorithms behind decision-making systems.

8️⃣ Stanford – ML Systems Design (FREE)
 https://lnkd.in/dXAXc2ii
✔️ Build scalable, production-ready AI systems.

💥 This is an elite playbook.
Free. so you have Zero excuses.

👇Comment below: Which one are you starting?

Thanks to my friend Amit Rawal for the visual to this post. 
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When I was younger and starting out, I sometimes wanted to thump people.
And honestly, I was strong enough to do it 😅

But thankfully, I didn’t.
A harsh word from a senior colleague? I'd stew over it for days.
An unacknowledged idea in a meeting? I'd take it personally.
Early in my career, I confused emotional intensity with professional passion.

But over the years, across roles in government, professional bodies, and global tech, I learned something that transformed my leadership:

👉 Reacting emotionally to everything gives away your power.

Real influence?
It’s in the pause.
It’s in restraint.
It’s in choosing logic over impulse, especially when stakes are high and egos are louder than insight.

I’ve led AI governance programmes, steered multimillion-pound reforms, and advised on legal sector transformation across 128 countries. But none of that would've been possible without learning to separate reaction from response.

Emotional maturity isn’t about suppressing emotion, it’s about directing it.

✅Not everything deserves your energy.
✅Your presence is your power, don’t dilute it by reacting to noise.
✅Leaders don’t rise because they shout louder. They rise because they stay calm when others crack.

What’s one emotional lesson your career has taught you?

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I have multiple degrees and a PhD to impress. 

But it was self-education that transformed me.

Formal credentials can open doors. But it’s what you teach yourself after the applause fades that truly reshapes your destiny.

Why?
Degrees certify completion.
 – Self-education signals evolution.

Courses deliver frameworks.
 – Self-learning fuels breakthroughs.

Most wait to be taught.
 – Leaders teach themselves.

That’s the real edge, and I’ve lived it.

After completing a PhD, three degrees, and a portfolio of executive certifications, I found that the real shift came not from a classroom, but from relentless, self-driven curiosity.

Here are 5 methods I use, and recommend, to grow through self-education:

1️⃣ Turn downtime into growth time
Replace 30 minutes of scrolling with a podcast, TED Talk, or leadership panel.
Small swaps compound into seismic shifts.

2️⃣ Build your personal curriculum
Pick 3 topics that fuel your future.
Read voraciously. Watch obsessively. Reflect deeply.
Self-directed learning is a superpower.

3️⃣Apply as you learn
Ideas fade without action.
Test new thinking in your work, routines, and conversations.

4️⃣Track your transformation
Journal insights weekly.
Measure not just what you’ve read, but what it changed in you.

5️⃣Teach it forward
Mentor. Share. Write.
Teaching doesn’t just spread knowledge, it sharpens your own.

Self-learners don’t just adapt.
 ✅They transcend boundaries.
 ✅They forge the future.
 ✅They become the blueprint.

👇 What’s one way you’re forging your edge through self-education? 

Wishing you a fun and exhilarating Saturday. 🚀
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The skills that pay YOU? 
YOU can now learn them, for free. 

9 elite courses from Harvard University, Yale University & Stanford University. Covering the skills that actually get you hired, promoted, and paid.

After earning a PhD, leading from the C-Suite for years, and scaling teams from the ground up, one truth has never changed:

💡 The market doesn’t reward titles. It rewards skills.

Not just credentials.
Not job descriptions.
SKILLS.

And today, the most valuable ones are available to YOU, free of charge, from the world's top universities:

✅ AI and data fluency
✅ Real leadership
✅ Negotiation and communication
✅ Cybersecurity readiness
✅ Emotional resilience and personal growth

The job market is brutal.

Standing out now takes more than ambition

🔥 YOU need a sharper edge.

Here are 9 free, high-impact courses you can start today:

📌 Introduction to AI with Python (Harvard) – [140 hours]
 https://lnkd.in/eGpH2hJy

📌 Exercising Leadership: Foundational Principles (Harvard) – [8 hours]
 https://lnkd.in/eD73h-J2

📌 Building Personal Resilience (Harvard) – [4 hours]
 https://lnkd.in/eMMFdew5

📌 Introduction to Negotiation (Yale) – [33 hours]
 https://lnkd.in/exZsRJ5J

📌 Introduction to Psychology (Yale) – [14 hours]
 https://lnkd.in/eB7CVr_F

📌 Managing Emotions in Times of Stress (Yale) – [9 hours]
 https://lnkd.in/eTRxw3R9

📌 Advanced Cybersecurity Preview (Stanford) – [2 hours]
 https://lnkd.in/eFM_8rpA

📌 Designing Your Career (Stanford) – [15 hours]
 https://lnkd.in/etfeBgaa

📌 Statistical Learning with Python (Stanford) – [40 hours]
 https://lnkd.in/eKvws2GE

🗣️ We are in the golden era of free learning. Don’t waste it.

🔁 Save this post.

💬 Tried any of these? Drop your experience below.

📢 Know someone who needs this? Tag them.

Huge thanks to my friend Josh S. for the visual breakdown.


#LifelongLearning #CareerGrowth #FreeCourses 
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6 Books. 6 Courses. 6 Months.

AI mastery, without the tuition fees or a multi-year wait.

After 20+ years leading complex tech and data transformations across legal, public, and commercial sectors, and scaling AI-driven solutions at the executive level, here’s one truth I’ve seen consistently:

💡 You don’t need a £100K degree to become AI-proficient.

What you need is focus, structure, and time, just 60 minutes a day.

So below is a distilled real-world AI learning roadmap to help professionals upskill fast. 
One book and one course per month. 
Six months total. 

Each step ties directly to real-world deployment, production systems, and enterprise transformation.

Here’s the plan:

Month 1: Python for Professionals
 📘 Effective Python | 🎥 CS50 Intro to Python (Harvard)
 → Build scripts that save hours
 → Solve real problems, fast

Month 2: Machine Learning Foundations
 📘 Hands-On Machine Learning | 🎥 FastAI Practical Deep Learning
 → Train models with real-world datasets
 → Move from theory to application

Month 3: ML System Design
📘 Designing ML Systems | 🎥 ML in Production (Coursera)
 → From data collection to deployment
 → Design with scale, ethics, and impact in mind

Month 4: MLOps & Deployment
📘 ML Design Patterns | 🎥 Made with ML
 → Ship AI with CI/CD pipelines
 → Deliver reproducible, robust solutions

Month 5: AI at Enterprise Scale
📘 AI Engineering | 🎥 Stanford MLSys Seminars
 → Learn prompting, RAG, and architecture
 → See how top AI teams work

Month 6: LLMs in Production
📘 Building LLMs for Production | 🎥 The LLM Course
 → Operationalise large models
 → Build advanced agents, deploy reliably

🧠 This is the curriculum I wish I had starting out.

🎯 It’s designed for technologists, strategists, and decision-makers serious about real AI fluency.

Key Takeaways:
 ✔️ No fluff, just production-ready AI
 ✔️ Strategic insight meets technical depth
 ✔️ Built for professionals who want to lead AI transformation

👉 Know someone who’s serious about levelling up?
 
Tag them below. Or better yet, take the 6-month challenge yourself.

Thanks to my amazing friend Sairam Sundaresan for the visual for this post.
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I used to think kindness was weakness.
So I chose to be tough. Ruthless. A fighter, in every sense.

My parents fled their homeland with nothing but hope and grit, seeking safety in the UK. As the eldest of four, I carried their dreams, and the weight of survival, on my shoulders.

I learned early that life doesn’t give you anything. 
You fight for every inch.
So I did.

🛠️ Trained like a machine, benching 200kg at my peak
🥋 Mastered martial arts
🎓 Excelled academically, First Class Honours, MSc with Distinction, PhD
💼 Rose to the top, CEO, government advisor, leading national transformations impacting hundreds of thousands

But I was leading with muscle, not meaning.

What I thought was strength... was ego.
And ego doesn’t build people. 
It breaks them.

So I did something harder than any fight:
I chose kindness.
👉 I started listening more than I spoke
👉 I led with compassion, not just KPIs
👉 I valued people, not just productivity

Today, I still train hard. 
I still push limits.
But now, I build cultures, not just companies.
I mentor with empathy. 
I lead with purpose.

💡 And I practice “10 Ways to Be Kind at Work” (thanks to my friend Gabriel Millien for the amazing visual)

Key takeaways:
Real power is lifting others, not just weights
Kindness isn’t soft. 
It’s your sharpest leadership tool
You can come from nothing, rise to everything, and bring others with you

👇 How do you practice kindness where you work?

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Some tables will never value what you bring, until you walk away, build your own, and make it the one everyone wants to sit at.

I’ve spent decades leading digital, data, and AI transformations that redefined how organisations operate at scale. But even with that track record, there were rooms where my voice was muted, not amplified.

My value? Overlooked.
My presence? Tolerated, not championed.

So I left.
“I found a better opportunity.”
What I really found? 
A place that recognised my worth.

If you’ve ever coached someone through a departure, you’ll know the truth:

They don’t leave because of money.
They leave because they feel unseen.
Unheard. 
Unchallenged. 
Unappreciated.

❌No feedback.
❌No growth.
❌No space to lead.

If you're a leader, here’s your wake-up call:
✅Say thank you
✅Listen, really listen
✅Ask for input, then use it
✅Build trust, not just process
✅Lead with clarity and humanity

These don’t cost money. 
They cost ego. 
And intention.

Key lesson: Your value isn’t defined by who sees it, but your impact multiplies when you’re in the right room, with the right people.

👇 Have you ever had to leave a room to finally be seen? Share your story. 

Thanks go to the inspirational Dora Vanourek for the visual to this post.
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“In a world driven by data and AI, the most important question we can ask is: Who do we want to become?”

That question sat at the centre of my session at the Data Cubed Innovation Day, and the energy in the room made one thing clear: we are ready to shape the future, not just react to it.

Across the demos and discussions, one theme kept surfacing:
⭐ We are standing at a pivotal moment in the story of data and AI.

My talk on Ethical Innovation was a call to pause and reflect. Technology doesn’t define our destiny.
We do.

📈 Change is accelerating, data multiplying, AI reshaping industries, and questions around trust, accountability, and inequality growing louder.
Yet what I felt most was:

🔥 Hope.
The kind that emerges when people choose to design with intention and lead with empathy.

Because real innovation isn’t about algorithms or dashboards, it’s about the human desire to build something better.

I encouraged us to:
✅ Lead with clarity
✅ Design for humanity
✅ Pair ambition with accountability
✅ Build systems we can trust

And I closed with a belief I hold deeply:

“The future is not something that happens to us, it is something we build.”

After a day with so many thoughtful leaders, I’m more confident than ever that we can build a future where technology elevates humanity.

👇 What principle should guide ethical AI?

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Ethical Innovation 

If you’ve ever felt overlooked, dismissed, or unseen, then you already know why empathy matters.
As a leader, remembering that feeling isn’t a weakness.
It’s your greatest strength.

Not because empathy is nice.
But because it’s necessary.
It's what turns authority into trust, and power into purpose

In boardrooms and breakrooms, in conversations and decisions, empathy is what transforms authority into leadership.

It’s not weakness.
It’s wisdom in motion.
And it’s time we made more space for it.

📖 Empathy: The action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another.

This isn't just a definition, it’s a call to action.

5 Ways to Build Empathy in a World That Often Forgets:

1️⃣Listen to understand, not to respond.
⟶Tune in without rushing to fix.
2️⃣Seek stories beyond your own.
⟶Diversity builds depth, if we dare to learn from it.
3️⃣Ask with intention.
⟶A simple “How are you really?” can change someone’s day.
4️⃣Notice what’s not being said.
⟶Empathy lives in the silences.
5️⃣Pause before reacting.
⟶Compassion often begins in that tiny breath between stimulus and response.

🌱 Why It Matters:
✅ Stronger, more human leadership
✅ Psychological safety that fuels innovation
✅ Inclusive cultures that retain talent
✅ Deeper trust with clients and colleagues
✅ A legacy not just of success, but of significance

🕊️ This Sunday, reflect not just on what you achieved, but on how you made others feel along the way.

Because respect earns compliance.
But empathy?
Empathy earns hearts.

What’s one act of empathy that left a mark on you, big or small? 
Drop it in the comments. 👇

Thanks to my good friend Tom Waite for the visual for this post.
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29 ChatGPT Shortcut Hacks Everyone Should Know to Instantly Level Up Your Workflow
(Worth saving and sharing!)

After two decades leading digital and AI transformation across legal, public, and socially purposed sectors, I’ve learned that speed + precision = serious impact.

That’s why these ChatGPT shortcuts are game-changers, especially when you're using AI not as a toy, but as a tool for operational excellence, innovation, and governance.

Start your prompt with these and watch the quality and efficiency of your AI output skyrocket.
Example:
 🔹 /ACT AS: legal counsel → instantly switch to a regulatory or compliance tone
 🔹 /ELI5: explain the GDPR compliance process → kid-level clarity in seconds

Here's the full power list ⬇️
/ELI5 – Explain like I’m 5
/TLDL – Too long, do less (summary please)
/STEP-BY-STEP – Forces methodical logic
/JARGON – Use industry terms
/ACT AS – Simulate a specific expert
/CHECKLIST – Turn output into clear action items
/BRIEFLY – Strip it down to the bones
/TONE – Match tone to your audience
/AUDIENCE – Tailor response by role or stakeholder
/EXEC SUMMARY – High-level, board-ready answers
/DEV MODE – Think like an engineer
/SWOT – Strategic analysis at your fingertips
/PM MODE – Program-level framing
/FORMAT AS – JSON? Table? Your call.
/COMPARE – Side-by-side contrast
/MULTI-PERSPECTIVE – Different angles at once
/CONTEXT STACK – Keep layered insight in memory
/ROLE: TASK: FORMAT: – Precision prompt design
/BEGIN WITH / END WITH – Control structure
/SCHEMA – Generate frameworks or data models
/REWRITE AS: – Match any tone or style
/REFLECTIVE MODE – Get the AI to assess itself
/SYSTEMATIC BIAS CHECK – Uncover hidden assumptions
/NO AUTOPILOT – Force thoughtful responses
/DELIBERATE THINKING – Slow, strategic logic
/EVAL-SELF – Ask it to self-critique
/FIRST PRINCIPLES – Strip it back to basics
/PARALLEL LENSES – Explore divergent views
/CHAIN OF THOUGHT – Transparent, traceable logic

I use many of these daily, whether guiding AI adoption in global legal tech, driving regulatory transformation at board level, or embedding insight-led innovation.

Key takeaway: Treat ChatGPT like a co-pilot, not a chatbot. These shortcuts turn it from generic to genius.

🧠 Save this. Use it.
🔁 Share it with your team.
💬 Which shortcut is your go-to?

Thanks to my friend Amit Rawal for the visual summary.  
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Some of the worst leaders I’ve worked with had the biggest titles.
And the best? Most of them never had one.

After 20+ years leading national change across legal services, housing, and tech, I’ve learned this:

Leadership is not about hierarchy.

Some of the most transformative leaders I’ve worked with didn’t sit in corner offices.
They weren’t introduced as “Chief Anything.”
They just showed up, with courage, clarity, and consistency.

At The Law Society, it wasn’t always the execs shaping direction.
It was analysts who brought data no one else saw.
It was new hires who asked the uncomfortable questions.

At LegaMart, I’ve watched young professionals lead international teams, without ever being told to.
Why? Because they cared enough to take ownership.

That’s leadership.

Not status.
Not permission.
Action.

Leadership is:
— Doing what’s right when no one’s watching
— Taking initiative, not credit
— Lifting others instead of stepping over them
— Creating space, not just taking it

My own journey, from scaling national AI strategies to transforming public accountability, has reinforced one truth:

Real leadership doesn’t wait for a title.
It rises to the moment.

And it’s available to you, right now.

The world doesn’t need more people chasing power.

It needs people brave enough to lead with:
Courage.
Compassion.
Conviction.

Be one of them.

👉 When’s the last time you led without a title?
Drop it in the comments, let’s challenge the status quo, together.

Thanks to Eric Partaker for the visual to this post. 
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12 FREE AI TOOLS THAT FEEL ILLEGAL TO BE THIS GOOD 
(And yes, I’ve tested every one. As a CEO, strategist, and AI advisor.)

As someone who has advised governments on AI ethics, led digital innovation across legal, health, and public sectors, and scaled platforms to over 120 countries, I do not use the term "game-changing" lightly.

But these 12 free Google tools? They represent the next evolution in operational efficiency, strategic insight, and content acceleration:

1. NotebookLM 
✅Ingested 6 months of board reports and produced a thematic analysis with executive-ready talking points.

2. Veo 
✅Generated a speaking trailer from a single prompt. We now open policy events with AI-produced content, visually powerful, cost-neutral.

3. Gemini Live 
✅Facilitated a multi-stakeholder roundtable. It captured and categorised key outcomes, flagged risks, and generated actions before the meeting ended.

4. Gems 
✅Trained on my keynote archive, now drafts articles, blogs, and position statements with strategic consistency.

5. App Builder 
✅Developed a functional wellbeing tracker for hybrid teams. Fully text-prompt driven. No code, no dev time.

6. Imagen 
✅Created compelling, on-brand visuals under the theme “AI in legal services.” Used them in an international thought leadership report.

7. Gemini in Sheets 
✅Reviewed longitudinal performance data, surfaced revenue anomalies and forecasted strategic inflection points.

8. Cloud Vision API 
✅Analysed whiteboard photos from a strategy away-day. Output was structured, tagged, and presentation-ready within minutes.

 9. Nano Banana 
✅Iterated AI-generated visuals for a cross-sector campaign, aligned perfectly to branding in under 5 rounds.

10. Ask on YouTube 
✅Interacted with a 90-minute regulatory tech masterclass and surfaced the 3 insights I needed in seconds.

11. Firebase Studio
✅Built a prototype landing page for a digital inclusion campaign — with zero front-end coding.

12. AI Studio
✅Compared outputs from three large language models to evaluate tone, bias, and factual accuracy for a policy use case.

If you're exploring AI for productivity, creativity, or transformation, these tools offer unreal leverage. For free.

👇 What’s your favourite AI tool right now, or one nobody knows about?

Wishing you a calm, creative, and insightful Sunday.

Thanks to my friend Amit Rawal for the visual to this post. 
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AI Won’t Wait for YOU to Catch Up.
These 9 Free Courses Will Put You Ahead of 99% of People.

After two decades leading digital transformation across law, tech, and government... After advising national regulators, scaling global AI platforms, and publishing on the future of legal AI...

Here’s my honest truth:
The people who learn AI now will shape the next decade.
The rest will be catching up, or left behind.

But most people are:
 ❌ Overwhelmed by the noise
 ❌ Stuck at the beginner level
 ❌ Not sure where to start

So, I’ve done the vetting for you.

Here are 9 of the most powerful, FREE courses from OpenAI, Google, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Harvard University, and more, designed to take you from beginner to practitioner in record time:

1️⃣ OpenAI Academy
🔗 https://lnkd.in/eAkNCJRk
Learn from the minds behind ChatGPT.

2️⃣ AWS Foundations of Prompt Engineering
🔗 https://lnkd.in/egCriKjg
Master prompts that turn AI from toy to tool.

3️⃣ Google: Introduction to Responsible AI
 🔗 https://lnkd.in/egTR8njJ
Understand AI ethics before you deploy.

4️⃣ OpenAI: A Practical Guide to Building Agents
 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eh5pDQmh
Design autonomous systems with real-world impact.

5️⃣ Google Veo Video Generation Overview
🔗 https://lnkd.in/eVCY-FBK
Step into the future of AI-powered video creation.

6️⃣ Anthropic Academy
🔗 https://lnkd.in/eyf9WXuU
Learn Claude from the creators of safe AI.

7️⃣ Harvard: Machine Learning
🔗 https://lnkd.in/eWaWBhTP
The theory behind the tech, explained brilliantly.

8️⃣ Coursera: Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG)
🔗 https://lnkd.in/ejdFsdeK
Build smarter AI apps that “know” more than LLMs.

9️⃣ DeepLearning.AI MCP: Rich-Context AI Apps
🔗 https://lnkd.in/eY5A2y4r
Learn to craft apps that think contextually, just like humans.

These courses rival what top universities charge £15k+ for.
⚙️ But they’re free, practical, and accessible, today.

I’ve spent my career shaping tech policy, guiding boards, and leading AI innovation at scale.

Take it from me: These 9 will give you real leverage.
Get started now, and in 6 months you could be:
✅ Automating 40+ hours of work
✅ Designing next-gen AI workflows
✅ Becoming indispensable in any sector

Knowledge compounds.
Start today. 
Dominate tomorrow.

👇 Tell me, which course are you starting first? Comment below

Thanks to my good friend Chris Donnelly for the visual for this post.
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Will AI Save the Planet, or Destroy It Faster Than We Can React?

That’s not just a thought experiment. It’s the defining dilemma of our era.

On November 18, I’ll be speaking at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability alongside the brilliant Inês Azevedo, tackling a question that’s as uncomfortable as it is unavoidable:

Is AI truly accelerating sustainability, or is it just accelerating everything, including ecological collapse?

At the 8am PST session, I’ll share insights on why sustainability can’t be a CSR afterthought in AI, it must be the core operating principle.

Here’s what I’ll be digging into:
 ✅ Embedding sustainability into leadership and digital strategy, not just operations
 ✅ Aligning AI, automation, and data with planetary boundaries, not quarterly profits
 ✅ Building systems that are ethical, regenerative, and future-literate, not just efficient

This conversation is grounded in the central thesis of my forthcoming book, Humanity Reimagined in the Age of AI: we are designing the tools that will either end our story or rewrite it.

We’re standing at a crossroads.
AI won’t wait. Neither should we.

Stanford University has always championed bold, cross-disciplinary thought. I’m honoured to help shape a dialogue that fuses tech, systems leadership, and ethical foresight.

🗓️ Register now: http://bit.ly/4nwbtVG

👇 I’d love to hear how you’re using technology for net-positive impact.

Riley Stevens Jennifer Gardner
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YOU will absolutely screw things up at work. We all do at some point. 
And honestly… good.

If you’ve never cringed at something you’ve done professionally, you’re either a) lying, or b) not pushing yourself hard enough.

Some mistakes are tiny speed bumps. 
Others feel like a career-ending pothole. 
But every single one is a chance to sharpen your judgment, grow your resilience, and (eventually) laugh about it over coffee.

Here are 5 work “oh s##t hashtag” moments I’ve seen (and sometimes lived through), and the lessons they teach.

1️⃣ The Overpromising Hero
You said, “I can get that to you by Friday”… but it’s now Monday and you’re still knee-deep in revisions.

Lesson: Manage expectations like a pro. Under promise, overdeliver, your future self will thank you.

2️⃣ The Meeting Ghost
You had an idea but didn’t speak up. Two minutes later, someone else says it… and gets all the nods.

Lesson: Your voice matters. If you’ve got something valuable to add, hit unmute, literally and figuratively.

3️⃣ The Trigger-Happy Emailer
You sent “Let’s discuss later” to your colleague… but accidentally CC’d the client. Oops.

Lesson: Breathe before you click send. Check the recipients. Triple-check if it’s sensitive.

4️⃣ The Conflict Avoider
You knew something was off but didn’t address it. Weeks later, it blew up in a boardroom.

Lesson: Problems don’t shrink with time. Have the uncomfortable conversation early.

5️⃣ The Task Chaser
You smashed through urgent tasks all week… but forgot the strategic work that actually moves the business forward.

Lesson: The urgent screams. The important whispers. Make time to listen.
Key Takeaways:

You can’t avoid mistakes, you can avoid making the same one twice.

Quick ownership earns trust faster than perfectionism ever will.

If it stings, it’s teaching you something.

What’s your most “facepalm” work mistake, and what did you take from it? 

Share it below 👇 so we can all learn (and maybe laugh) together.

Happy Saturday. 
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Become a Powerhouse in AI Before 2026 Hits 
This is it, the final chance in 2025 to get ahead of the AI curve before the new year reshapes the legal landscape again.

You won’t be replaced by AI.
You’ll be replaced by someone who knows how to use it better than you.

Next week, I’ll be co-leading the final AI Readiness Training of the year 
alongside Akber Datoo, Founder of D2 Legal Technology and Co-Chair of The Law Society’s Technology & Law Committee.

Together, we’re cutting through the noise and delivering a practical, evidence-based session for legal professionals and firms who want to lead, not play catch-up.

🧠 What we’re covering:

✅What AI really is
✅How it’s transforming legal practice and business models
✅What firms need to prioritise in 2026 and beyond and much more. 

No fluff. 
Just the real picture, grounded in insight, ethics, and lived transformation.

📅 Monday 24 November 2025
📅 Thursday 27 November 2025

This is your last shot in 2025 to get your team ready.

Let’s build something better, before 2026 leaves you behind.

🔗 Sign up now: https://lnkd.in/eqYr6U7n

Emran Datoo 
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Want to build your first AI agent in less than a week?
You don't need 100 tutorials. You need 8 high-impact videos that actually show you how to build, evaluate, and deploy intelligent systems.

As CEO of LegaMart, I’ve led the global rollout of AI-powered legal services in 128 countries. 

What can AI agents do?
✅ Automate research and summarisation
✅ Act as intelligent task planners
✅ Perform multi-step reasoning across tools
✅ Analyse contracts, generate code, apply for jobs
✅ Simulate human-like consulting and troubleshooting

📌 A real example:
I recently built an internal agent that maps regulation changes across jurisdictions, flags legal risk areas, and drafts policy summaries, saving hours of manual analysis every week and increasing compliance confidence at board level.

Here’s your 8-video fast track into building them:
1. LLM Introduction: 
https://lnkd.in/gN8sv7Q5 

2. LLMs from Scratch: 
https://lnkd.in/gJt-SQj2 

3. Agentic AI Overview (Stanford): 
https://lnkd.in/gk4GKdxa 

4. Building and Evaluating Agents: 
https://lnkd.in/ghBiVjdF 

5. Building Effective Agents: 
https://lnkd.in/g_m78sid 

6. Building Agents with MCP: 
https://lnkd.in/gAzBzr3W 

7. Building an Agent from Scratch: 
https://lnkd.in/g9GR9b9F 

8. Philo Agents: 
https://lnkd.in/gnxRq9n9

Key takeaway:
Agentic AI isn’t just the future, it’s now. These 8 videos are your launchpad to building AI that acts, reasons, and delivers results.

👇 What use cases are you exploring with AI agents? Drop them in the comments.

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