You lead a business with 50 to 200 staff
Big enough that AI could change your margins. Too small to hire a full-time Chief AI Officer.
AI will change your margins. The question is who's in charge of it.
Imran Anwar, fractional Chief AI Officer and AI strategist for the UK and GCC: AI strategy from someone who builds it.
50 to 200 staff Fractional Chief AI Officer for the UK and GCC600+projects
$1.3bn+raised by founders
Premier League
10xproven returns
Deutsche Bank
$2.6bn+business value
WIRED Trailblazer
1unicorn
Trusted by
600+Projects delivered for brands like these
$1.3bn+Raised by the founders we back
$2.6bn+Combined value of businesses supported
10xProven returns on investment
Is this you?
Fractional AI leadership is built for growing businesses: the ones with 50 to 200 staff that need an AI strategy but cannot justify a full-time Chief AI Officer.
Your team is trying AI tools, but there is no plan
Pockets of ChatGPT, a pilot or two, and no one owning the risk or the return.
You want one senior person, not another vendor
Someone at the board table who has built AI products, not just read about them.
Fractional AI leadership, your way
Four ways to hire a fractional Chief AI Officer, AI strategy consultant and keynote speaker in the UK, Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC.
Fractional Chief AI Officer
Board-level AI leadership. Strategy, governance and delivery, with my studio Alt Labs building what we decide.
Explore the roleAI Strategy Sprint
A Pilot to Profit roadmap: priorities, governance and a business case your board can sign off.
Explore the sprintBoardroom AI Briefing
A session for your leadership team on where AI creates value in your business, and where it does not.
Book a briefingKeynotes
AI, innovation and building across the UK and GCC. Practical, honest, and built on real ventures.
Book Imran to speak
The tools
Check your readiness
What I build with
The AI platforms I develop on, deploy and train teams to use: Claude, OpenAI, AWS, Microsoft, Google, automation tools and AI video. Pick the right tool for the job, then build it properly.
Claude
by Anthropic. Enterprise apps, agents, analysis and code.
OpenAI and ChatGPT
Assistants, custom GPTs and the OpenAI API.
AWS
Secure hosting, Bedrock and data pipelines.
Microsoft
Copilot, Azure and Microsoft 365 rollouts.
Slack
AI agents where your team already works.
Google Workspace
Gemini across Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Meet.
n8n
Automation that connects your systems, self-hosted.
Make
Visual automation for teams without developers.
Zapier
Quick wins between the apps you already pay for.
HubSpot
AI across sales, marketing and service.
Notion
AI knowledge base and company wiki.
M
ProductivityMotion
AI planning, scheduling and project flow.
H
AI videoHiggsfield
AI video and digital avatars for content at scale.
R
AI videoRunway
AI video generation, editing and motion.
ElevenLabs
Realistic AI voices, dubbing and Arabic voiceover.
Perplexity
AI research with sources, for teams.
The show
Watch on YouTube
What would you automate?
I ask business owners where time and money leak, then show the AI fix. Sometimes I build it live.
The newsletter
Subscribe on LinkedIn
Applied Intelligence
The executive briefing on AI, venture building and operational strategy. Published weekly on LinkedIn.
Latest21 October 2026It's Easier to Be Optimistic About AI When You're Making the Decisions
Leaders are far more confident about AI than their teams. Why that gap matters, and what employers owe the next generation.
Read on LinkedIn →
14 October 2026Business Beyond Borders
What working in Saudi Arabia has taught me about building relationships across borders, and the opportunity for the North East.
Read on LinkedIn →
9 October 2026Borrowed Experience
You don't have to learn every lesson the hard way. On learning from people ahead of you, and passing it on.
Read on LinkedIn →
AI readiness check
Where does your business stand?
Eight questions, two minutes. You get a score and the three things to do first.
Question 1 of 8
Pick the closest answer
Resources
Start free. Go further when you're ready.
The same templates I use with leadership teams. Five are free. The full playbook is £12.99. Bundles are on the way.
Get all five in one go
The Opportunity Finder, AI Use Policy, 90-Day Roadmap, ROI Worksheet and Board Briefing, in one email.
AI Opportunity Finder
Score 20 everyday processes and find the three where AI pays back first.
AI Use Policy
A ready-to-adapt policy for 50 to 200 staff. Fill in the brackets and publish.
90-Day AI Roadmap
One process, one quarter. Plan it on one page, track it week by week.
AI ROI Worksheet
Cost, time saved and payback, with a worked example for your finance director.
Board AI Briefing
Ten questions every board should ask about AI, and the red flags to listen for.
The Pilot to Profit Playbook
The full five-stage method behind my work with boards, in one workbook.
- All five stages, from first briefing to scaled results
- Every template, editable, plus worked examples
- Business case and board paper templates
- Supplier and tool selection scorecard
Rather not do it alone?
A Boardroom AI Briefing, a four to six week Strategy Sprint, or a fractional Chief AI Officer two to four days a month.
Book a briefingFrom first call to real results
- 1. BriefingA half day with your leadership team.
- 2. DiagnosticWhere AI fits your people, systems and data.
- 3. RoadmapA Pilot to Profit plan your board signs off.
- 4. BuildAlt Labs builds the first wins with your team.
- 5. LeadI stay on as your fractional Chief AI Officer.
Imran Anwar
About Imran
They didn't listen. So I built it.
Early in my career I was ignored for being young. My employer paid a big consultancy to say what I had already recommended. So I started Alt Labs in 2017, an AI and venture building company, to make sure good ideas get built, whoever they come from.
Since then Alt Labs has delivered 600+ projects and backed founders who have raised over $1.3bn, including a unicorn, with proven 10x returns. We are a build partner on Anthropic and OpenAI, based in Middlesbrough in the North East of England, with our international headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I work as a fractional Chief AI Officer, AI strategy consultant and keynote speaker across the UK and GCC.
WIRED x HSBC Trailblazers 2025
Arab Entrepreneurs Digital and AI Award
British Muslim Entrepreneur of the Year (Digital)
FSB Business of the Year, National Winner
Tees Business Leader of the Year 2025
The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2026
What I have built
Founder and CEO · 2017
Co-founder · 2026
Founder and CEO · 2023
Three companies, not a slide deck
Alt Labs
The AI and venture building company. Build partner on Anthropic and OpenAI, headquartered in Middlesbrough and Riyadh. 600+ projects, founders backed have raised $1.3bn+.
altlabs.co.uk →GABI AI
Real-time voice translation on calls and video, so people who do not share a language can talk as if they did. Built for a UK and GCC world.
gabiapp.com →Flok
The largest co-working space in the North East of England, ranked among the best in the UK. The physical home for the founders we back.
flok.life →
Featured in
Tees Business
WIRED x HSBC Trailblazers
The Sunday Times Best Places to Work
Entrepreneurs' Forum
Teesside business leaders on patience and contracts
Straight answers
What does a fractional Chief AI Officer do?
Leads your AI strategy at board level for a set number of days each month: priorities, governance, suppliers and results.
Is my business big enough?
If you have 50 to 200 staff, yes. That is who I work with most.
Do you build as well as advise?
Yes. Alt Labs builds what we plan, so strategy turns into working products.
Which AI tools should we use?
It depends on your data, your systems and your risk. Most businesses start with ChatGPT, Claude or Microsoft Copilot. The diagnostic tells you which fits.
Do you work in the GCC?
Yes. I work across the UK and GCC, with Alt Labs' international headquarters in Riyadh.
How much does a fractional Chief AI Officer cost?
A fraction of a full-time hire. Retainers are priced by days per month, typically two to four, and a strategy sprint is a fixed fee. Book a briefing for a quote for your business.
Do you offer AI keynotes in Saudi Arabia and the GCC?
Yes. I speak on AI, innovation and venture building at events across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the wider GCC, as well as the UK.
What is the AI readiness check?
Eight questions on your people, systems, data and budget. You get a score and three priorities to act on first. Take it here.
Work with me
Tell me what you need.
Three quick steps, under a minute. You will leave our first conversation with three priorities for your business, whether we work together or not.
- A personal reply within one working day
- No sales sequences. Your details stay with me
- Working across the UK and GCC
Or email
hello@imrananwar.ai