Professor Alan Brown

Expertise

Alan’s expertise is focused on explaining fundamental ideas on digital disruption via technologies such as AI and data-driven decision making. He works with leaders across organizations to design digital strategies for growth, leading agile approaches to digital transformation, and understanding the relationship between technology adoption and business innovation in today’s rapidly-evolving digital economy.

Experience

Alan is an experienced business executive, academic, and advisor having spent almost 2 decades in the USA driving largescale software-driven programmes with commercial high-tech companies, leading R&D teams, building state-of-the-art solutions, and engaging innovation in software product delivery. Initially this involved software engineering research at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.  Then, following software delivery roles in Texas Instruments and Sterling Software, Alan was responsible for driving business development at a Silicon Valley startup through to its successful exit. This resulted in 5 years as an IBM Distinguished Engineer based in the USA and Europe leading enterprise strategy for some of IBMs largest clients around the world.

Subsequently, Alan co-founded the Surrey Centre for the Digital Economy (CoDE) at the University of Surrey, UK where he led research initiatives in 4 EPSRC-funded research projects and has now transitioned this work to his role as Professor in Digital Economy at the University of Exeter, UK. In March 2021, Alan became Director of an £11M UK National Research Centre exploring digital transformation in Large Established Organizations (LEOs) which he led through its first year. In Summer 2022 he moved his focus to provide leadership to the Defence Data Research Centre (DDRC), a £4M research programme funded by DSTL investigating AI and data science in the defence sector.

The impact of Alan’s research is seen in his extensive publications, business engagement, and keynote talks at leading events. These feed into his varied consulting activities where he has worked with clients in the public and private sectors including Zoetis, Mars, UK National Audit Office, Centrica, AWS, Siemens, Thales, and several UK Government agencies. In addition, Alan is a Fellow of the British Computer Society (FBCS) and from 2019-2023 was a Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute, the UK national institute for AI and data science.

He has published 6 books and numerous papers on software engineering, systems design, and digital business transformation. Alan’s latest work explores the growing impact of AI on business and how to use AI effectively. His book on “Surviving and Thriving in the Age of AI” is published in Summer 2024 and is aimed at supporting digital leaders, executives, and decision makers in their adoption of AI at scale.