No Data Strategy, No AI Strategy with Fuad Hendricks, Hark Consultants

AI ambition is outpacing data readiness. Companies want agentic AI, automation and enterprise-scale intelligence, but many are still running on fragmented systems, unclear ownership and messy legacy data. The real bottleneck is not model capability. It is the “data value gap”: the distance between the data organisations collect and the business value they can actually extract from it.Fuad, co-founder and MD of Hark Consultants, argues that data must become a board-level performance driver, not a back-office concern. That means clear accountability, stronger data literacy, secure data sovereignty and governance built into AI projects from day one. For business leaders, the message is direct: scalable AI starts long before deployment. Get the foundations right, and AI can unlock new products, revenue streams and operating models. Skip them, and AI stays trapped in pilots.AI is our Business.UKAI is the Trade Association for AI businesses across the UK. Join us, ukai.co