Most AI consultants start with tools. I start with where your business is losing value.
Marta Hyland, Founder of valuelab
After 15+ years redesigning how organizations deliver value - from FTSE 500 companies to medtech startups - I've developed a strong point of view:
Most businesses are adopting AI backwards.
They start with tools and hope value follows. It often doesn't.
I start with where value is being created in your business and where it's leaking. Then AI becomes obvious - not as a solution looking for a problem, but as leverage applied to real operational friction.
That difference matters.
It's the difference between buying software that sits unused and building capability that compounds. Between transformation theatre and actual operational change. Between following trends and building a competitive advantage.
Why I'm Different
Most AI consultants come from technology backgrounds. They understand what AI can do.
I come from operations, CX, service design AND technology. I understand how businesses actually work and what gets in the way.
That means I bring perspectives most AI consultants don't have:
1. I See Operations, Not Just Technology
My background spans:
Customer experience transformation at FTSE 500 companies
Service design and digital strategy across medtech, technology, and consulting environments
AI implementation and governance with legal and compliance teams
I've spent 15+ years fixing how organizations deliver value to customers. AI is just the most recent tool in that work.
What that means for you:
I don't start by asking "what can AI do?" I start by asking "where is your business losing value?" - then work backward to the right solution.
Sometimes that's AI. Sometimes it's automation. Sometimes it's redesigning the underlying process first.
2. I Understand Risk - Not Just Capability
Most AI consultants will build you something that works. Few will think rigorously about what could go wrong.
I've done AI governance work with legal and compliance teams at FTSE 500 companies. That background is directly relevant to any business where data, privacy, and operational risk matter - which is every business I work with.
I understand:
How to map AI use against regulatory and operational requirements
How to build policies that work in practice, not just on paper
How to assess third-party AI vendors for risk before you commit to them
How to balance moving fast with managing what you're exposing yourself to
What that means for you: When I recommend an AI solution, I've already thought through data practices, risk implications, and what happens when things don't go as planned. You're not getting technology advice. You're getting operational and governance guidance - built in from the start.
3. I Focus on Adoption, Not Just Implementation
The hardest part of AI isn't building it. It's getting your team to actually use it.
I bring a behavioural science lens to how AI gets introduced. I think about:
Why people resist new workflows (and how to reduce that resistance)
What makes new habits stick (and what causes them to fade)
How to design change that feels inevitable, not imposed
What that means for you:
The AI solutions I help you build get used. Not because I force adoption, but because I design for it from the start.
4. I'm Selective About Who I Work With
I work with 5 clients per year at the transformation level.
That's not marketing. That's how I ensure quality.
This work requires deep focus. I need to know your business as well as you do. I need to be available when you need me - not overbooked across 20 engagements.
What that means for you:
If you're accepted as a client, you're one of five. You get my full attention, not divided focus.
My Background
15+ years in CX, service design, digital strategy, technology implementation, and AI adoption
I've worked across:
FTSE 500 companies - Enterprise-level operations, governance, and technology adoption at scale
Medtech organizations - Regulated environments where compliance and data practices are non-negotiable
Technology startups - Fast execution, resource constraints, pragmatic implementation
Consulting firms - Strategic thinking, client-facing operations, and advisory work
AI implementation and adoption - Hands-on experience building AI capability in real operational contexts, not just proof-of-concepts
MBA, Imperial College London
Focused on strategy, operations, innovation and entrepreneurship
AI Governance & Implementation Experience
Enterprise-level AI governance work with legal and compliance teams, plus direct experience implementing AI solutions in professional services and operational environments - not just recommending them.
Technology & AI Adoption Expertise
Deep understanding of what makes technology stick in organizations - from implementation design to behaviour change to measuring actual adoption, not just deployment.
Outside of Work
I live on Vancouver Island with my husband and Riker, an Irish Setter who's convinced the island exists primarily for his personal hiking enjoyment.
I'm mildly obsessed with behavioural science - how people make decisions, why change is so hard, and what actually makes new habits stick. It's not just a hobby. It shapes everything I do professionally: understanding why businesses resist AI even when it would help them, or why that brilliant automation you built six months ago is now gathering dust.
When I'm not working, I'm outdoors hiking, travelling (usually chasing good coffee and photography opportunities), or attempting to photograph Riker, who remains deeply uninterested in looking at cameras.
