Andrew Ayres

Andrew Ayres

• Senior strategist, AI governance expert, and thought leader in enterprise transformation
• Advises boards, CIOs, and policy leaders on navigating the complexities of AI adoption, cloud transformation, and digital governance
• Provides a unique perspective on organisational transformation under pressure
• Author of the forthcoming book The Agentic Edge: Governing in the Age of Autonomous Systems

Andrew Ayres is a senior strategist, AI governance expert, and thought leader in enterprise transformation. He currently serves as the Master Strategist for the UK and Ireland at Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE). At HPE, one of the world’s most innovative edge-to-cloud technology companies, he advises boards, CIOs, and policy leaders on navigating the complexities of AI adoption, cloud transformation, and digital governance across highly regulated sectors.

Andrew Ayres is also a Discussion Leader at HPE’s London Customer Innovation Centre. His role there sees him facilitate strategy sessions for C-suite executives on multi-cloud operating models, data trust, and AI-driven change. With more than 18 years of global experience in enterprise consulting, public sector reform, and board-level advisory, Andrew combines commercial insights with deep academic rigour to challenge conventional thinking.

Before joining HPE, Andrew Ayres led strategic consulting teams at Micro Focus (now OpenText) and spent eight years at Gartner. At the latter, he advised senior leaders in public services across the Middle East and the UK. This cross-sector experience provides him with a unique perspective on how organisations transform under pressure and how they fail due to governance and trust neglect.

Education

Andrew Ayres holds a BSc from the University of London and an MBA (with Distinction) from Manchester Business School. He recently completed a PhD in AI Governance at Manchester Metropolitan University. His doctoral research focused on the breakdown of traditional governance models in the age of intelligent, autonomous systems, particularly in banking, finance, and high-stakes algorithmic decision-making.

His Forthcoming Book

Andrew Ayres is the author of the forthcoming book, The Agentic Edge: Governing in the Age of Autonomous Systems (2026). The book challenges the assumption that modern organisations are governed solely by human agency. In this book, he argues that we are entering a new socio-technical era in which companies must rewire their operating models, risk frameworks, and leadership philosophies to accommodate the growing influence of non-human actors.

Andrew Ayres – Speaker

As a member of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), Andrew Ayres is a sought-after keynote speaker in EMEA. Topics covered include responsible AI, data strategy, and digital sovereignty. His sessions encourage audiences to confront difficult questions about control, trust, and the future of leadership, while offering practical frameworks for building more resilient, adaptive, and ethically grounded institutions. He spends his time between London and Belfast and speaks English.

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Speaker Topics

• Responsible AI
• Digital strategy
• Business transformation
• Machine learning
• The future of work