Ankura, the U.S. PE-backed advisory firm, invests in new Data & AI capabilities in the UK and an ecosystem of specialist partners to close the adoption gap holding back the ROI of enterprise AI.
LONDON, Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ankura Consulting Group, LLC ("Ankura"), today announced the launch of Ankura, AI by Design, a new tech-agnostic practice in the UK, serving EMEA, which focuses on helping clients use AI to grow revenue, expand what organisations can achieve with AI, and lift underlying profit.
AI by Design is built on the conviction that AI should be shaped around the organisation: its ambitions, people, customers, and distinctive capabilities. Technology is an important part of that equation, however sustainable value depends on the strategy, operating model, skills, systems, governance, talent, and culture that allow AI to change how work gets done and enable organizations to achieve their strategic growth ambitions. This new practice reflects the increasing demand for practical, adoption-led AI advisory and builds directly on Ankura's established strength in strategy, risk, technology, and workforce transformation.
"AI transformation programmes usually break down due to organizational challenges rather than the underlying technology itself. AI by Design is built by people who understand that, which is why I wanted to be part of it." Hywel Ball, AI Advisory Council Member, Former EY UK Chair and Non-Executive Director.
Ankura, AI by Design's proposition is structured around three integrated pillars, underpinned by an internal AI Factory that builds, tests, and deploys AI in real delivery environments:
- AI Strategy: targeting topline growth opportunities for boards and leadership teams to unlock
- AI Governance Engineering: enabling organizations to manage AI risk and unlock value at scale by re-wiring the user experience of AI governance to be more intuitive and more efficient to operate
- AI Workforce Transformation: redesigning roles, reskilling people, and embedding human-centered change so AI adoption embeds across the organization
"Most enterprise AI stalls because organizations are not ready to adopt it, govern it, or redesign work and systems around it. Ankura, AI by Design closes that gap." Catriona Campbell, MBE – Practice Lead for Ankura, AI by Design.
Ankura, AI by Design is led by a senior team with direct experience of successfully embedding AI and human-centered change inside global blue-chip multinationals across strategy, governance, and workforce transformation.
They are joined by a curated ecosystem of early-stage 'best athlete' partners; Decoded for AI literacy and workforce reskilling, Seymour-Powell for human-centred design, and Inference Group for AI engineering and delivery.
The practice is supported by an Advisory Council of senior figures from across technology, governance, academia, and industry, bringing an independent perspective on where AI is genuinely creating value, ensuring Ankura's advice reflects the frontier of AI strategy, governance engineering, and workforce transformation.
"The technology has never been the biggest challenge. What matters is whether an organisation understands the outcomes they want to drive, and then designs how it works, governs, and trains its people around those outcomes. Ankura, AI by Design's focus on the human and organisational side of deployment is exactly the discipline the private sector now needs too." Dr Laura Gilbert CBE, AI Advisory Council Member, Senior AI advisor to UK government and industry.
"The investment in AI by Design strengthens Ankura's commitment to helping clients turn AI ambition into measurable results," said Kevin Lavin, CEO of Ankura. "Across every industry, the organizations that succeed with AI are the ones that bring their people with them, not just their technology. Ankura's AI by Design practice helps our clients to adopt AI with confidence and turn it into real, lasting value."
ABOUT ANKURA
Ankura Consulting Group, LLC is an independent global expert services and advisory firm that delivers end-to-end solutions to manage conflict, crisis, performance, risk, strategy, and transformation. Committed to its mission of Driving Excellence, Delivered with Humanity, Ankura has more than 2,000 professionals serving 3,000+ clients across 55 countries.
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