Every board now faces the same pair of questions: where does AI genuinely change the economics of this business, and how do we adopt it without betting the company on hype? MAXFR answers both at board level — strategy, governance and delivery together — from a practitioner who builds with these tools, not just talks about them.
The mistake most businesses make with AI is treating it as an IT procurement decision. It's a strategy and governance decision: which parts of your model it changes, what risks it imports — data, IP, regulatory, reputational — and what the board will and won't permit. That framing comes first; tooling comes after.
Max approaches this as an operator and a technologist: a Member of the British Computer Society (The Chartered Institute for IT), with a background spanning e-commerce manufacturing, blockchain research and analytics as co-founder of BlockSmith Capital, and current service as Advisory Chair of Unsigned Research, a systematic digital-asset trading firm where models meet real money daily.
Delivery is hands-on where it should be. That includes modern digital platforms — fast, search-optimised websites and interactive decision tools. The Board Advisory Diagnostic on this site is a working example of the kind of intelligent funnel MAXFR designs and ships for client businesses.
A structured pass over your value chain: where AI changes cost, speed or quality enough to matter — and where it's noise. Each opportunity sized commercially, each risk named honestly.
A short, usable policy: permitted uses, data boundaries, human oversight, vendor standards and reporting. Governance that enables adoption rather than smothering it.
One or two pilots scoped with hard success criteria, owners and end dates — then delivered, measured and either scaled or stopped. No zombie projects.
Websites, funnels and decision tools designed and shipped: modern, fast, structured for search engines and AI assistants alike — built the way this site was built.
The board and senior team brought to genuine working literacy — enough to interrogate vendors, read risk and spot opportunity without an interpreter.
| Phase 1 | Diagnostic and opportunity map — typically 3–4 weeks |
| Phase 2 | Roadmap, policy and pilot design — agreed at board level |
| Phase 3 | Governed delivery at your pace; build work scoped per project |
| Form | Standalone programme, or folded into a chair / NED engagement |
Board-level digital and AI advisory typically runs at senior consultancy rates of £1,200–£2,500 per day; platform and tool builds are quoted fixed-fee per project after scoping.
Figures are indicative UK market context, not a quotation — every MAXFR engagement is scoped first and priced in a written letter of engagement, with review points both sides can use. For broader numbers, see the NED & chair fees guide.
When the AI question is part of a bigger change programme.
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Read more →Five questions if you want structure. One email if you'd rather talk. Either way, a straight answer about what your board needs.