AI Leader Accelerator: Turning Technical Leaders into AI Leaders

AI Is The Technology Shift That Cannot Wait.

Previous technology shifts gave you time to wait and learn from others. AI does not. Your teams are already using it whether you are steering it or not, and the signal-to-noise ratio on who to trust is terrible.

"Everyone is doing cool stuff with AI, and I have no one to talk to about it."

CTO, Media Company

"I often find it difficult to share ideas with people because there is nobody else really in the same situation."

Head of Engineering, Automotive

"I am doing a month's work in a day, but I do not know how to move that to my team."

Fractional CTO

"Everyone is an expert now. The content is mental. It is horrendous knowing who to trust."

Head of Engineering

"How do we go from pilots to something more deliberate? Do we have a platform team dedicated to this? That is where I would love to be sharing challenges with peers."

CTO, E-commerce

Is This You?

You constantly feel like your organisation is behind in AI, but you have no way of knowing whether you actually are

You have been experimenting with new techniques, but have nobody at your level to test your thinking against

You are squeezed between excessive caution on one side and unrealistic optimism on the other, with pressure coming from both the board and the grass roots

Consultants and vendors are telling you how to implement AI, but none of them have had to roll it out to your team with your constraints

The only AI training you can find teaches tools, not how to lead organisational change

A Different Approach

8 weeks of peer learning with expert facilitation. The relationships outlast the programme.

Weekly Structure: 3 Hours Online

Monday Afternoon

1 hour taught session with frameworks and provocations

Weekly Clinic

1 hour thematic small group session to work through your specific blockers

Thursday Afternoon

1 hour to present your progress, hold each other accountable, and celebrate wins

Gain Confidence Through Expert Input

Chris Parsons

14 years in senior roles with multiple teams. Currently CTO and Strategic AI Advisor to organisations including Genomics and Cherrypick.

Guest Experts As Needed

Specialists in specific techniques and areas, brought in when the cohort needs them.

Build an Action Plan in Weekly Clinics

Intimate, coach-led sessions to help you deal with blockers. Each week has a theme matching that week's content, and you join one clinic per week in a small group of a few people. Multiple clinics run at different times so there is one you can get to.

Clinics are carefully curated: we group people solving similar problems in compatible time zones, and we ensure no direct competitors share a clinic so you can speak freely about your real challenges.

Curated groups solving similar problems

No competitors in your clinic

Time zones that work for you

Forge Relationships That Will Last for Years

You will be surrounded by CTOs and senior technical leaders solving the same problems as you. Share your wins, struggles, and areas of expertise. Hold each other accountable.

These relationships continue long after the eight weeks end. You will have peers you can call on for years: to sanity-check a decision, to ask how they handled a similar situation, or to compare notes on what is actually working.

Pioneer members become founding members of a network that grows with each cohort.

This Is For You If You Are:

Working as a CTO, VP of Engineering, Engineering Director, or Fractional CTO
Leading teams of teams, or in charge of tech at a 6+ person startup
Responsible for AI adoption decisions at your organisation
Wanting strategic clarity on AI adoption for your organisation

This Is Not For:

Individual contributors wanting hands-on coding skills
Junior or mid-level engineers
People between jobs
People looking for tool tutorials

This is for people making strategic decisions about how their organisations adopt AI.

The 8-Week Syllabus

3 hours online per week, plus implementation. Strategic frameworks. Peer learning. Real challenges.

Week 1

The AI Landscape

AI is a field, not a single tool. We map the landscape together: what the different categories of AI actually are, where they overlap, and why this matters for adoption. Then we get you signed up for an enterprise-grade and compliant AI tool immediately, and you chart exactly where your organisation is right now, comparing yourself to peers and the wider industry. By the end of this week, you will know whether you are behind and how urgent things actually are.

Week 2

Level Up Your Own AI Use

Some people seem superhuman with AI. What do they know that others do not? We uncover the techniques and mindsets that separate those getting transformative results from those just scratching the surface. Using AI specifically for senior technical strategy work, how to think and strategise better with AI as your partner, and interactive sharing of how others in the group are integrating AI into their leadership workflows. By the end of this week, you will be actively using AI in your daily work.

Week 3

Leading Multi-Speed High-Uncertainty Change

Now that you have hands-on experience, you can map your organisation properly. Where are your early adopters, your quality guardians, and everyone in between? We cover how to work through fragmented adoption, build your early adopter team, and create momentum when people are moving at different speeds. We also cover managing up: how to bring the board along, manage expectations, and confidently handle the "why are we not doing X" conversations when people have read about the latest AI trend. By the end of this week, you will have a concrete next step to move your team forward with AI, wherever they are starting from.

Week 4

Compliance, Privacy, and Security

The questions your board and team will ask, and how to answer them with confidence. Security, privacy, and deployment decisions. Third-party vendors vs hosting locally. Understanding data retention policies and their ambiguities. Intellectual property considerations and risk management frameworks you can actually defend. By the end of this week, you will be able to answer security and compliance questions with confidence.

Week 5

Using Advanced Agents for Strategic Thinking

How agents differ from chat interfaces. Using agent memory and active journaling to build up a knowledge base your AI can draw on anytime. Beyond one-off tasks: AI as a persistent thinking partner for leadership work. By the end of this week, you will have started building a knowledge base that your AI can draw on anytime you need it.

Week 6

Organising Teams for AI Speed

Internal optimisation comes before product building. How to structure and organise your teams to move at AI speed, get quick wins with bug fixing and troubleshooting, and adapt team structures for accelerated individual productivity. What changes when AI accelerates individual productivity, and how team structures need to adapt. By the end of this week, you will have a concrete understanding of the next steps to take with your teams once AI is embedded.

Week 7

How to Oversee AI in Products

Not the tactical work, but understanding strategic constraints and important decisions when building AI into products and internal tools. Where AI adds real value and where it does not. By the end of this week, you will know how to direct your teams with confidence.

Week 8

Planning for the Future

We look back at how breathtakingly fast AI has evolved, so you understand the pace of change you are planning for. Then we cover what is coming next and how to stay current. By the end of this week, you will have a plan to keep your AI strategy current as the field evolves.

19th January to 27th March 2026

Running each week except w/c 16th February and w/c 9th March

What You Walk Away With

An AI Strategy

Peer-tested and fits your organisation. Covering all of AI, not just one tool. A clear plan you can actually execute.

Confident Answers

Clear understanding of security, compliance, and UX tradeoffs. Answer board questions and team concerns without hesitation.

A Lasting Network

CTO peers who have faced the same challenges. A group you can call on for years, not just during the programme.

Your Guide

Chris Parsons

I am a CTO myself. I am in the trenches making these decisions alongside you, not a consultant who has only read about AI adoption. 14 years in senior roles with multiple teams, currently CTO and Strategic AI Advisor to startups and scaleups including Genomics and Cherrypick. I have upskilled dozens of teams at organisations like the BBC, and I bring that experience to this programme.

This programme works because you are surrounded by CTOs and senior technical leaders who understand the same pressures. I facilitate and provoke, bringing frameworks that challenge assumptions. The value comes from testing your thinking against people solving the same problems.

I spend a significant chunk of my time keeping up with AI so you do not have to filter the noise yourself. Then as a group we work through what actually makes sense for your organisation.

Pioneer Programme

This is the first cohort. You shape the format.

You provide feedback. You help build something that works for technical leaders.

In exchange:

Pioneer pricing (up to 44% off future price)
Lifetime access to future cohort materials and community
Founding member of a peer network that outlasts the programme
Direct input into what we cover and how

Investment

Future price: $8,000 USD

Pioneer: Pay Upfront

$4,500 USD

10% discount for upfront payment

Future price: $8,000 USD

Pioneer: Two Instalments

$5,000 USD

$2,500 USD before start, $2,500 USD at week 4

Pioneer pricing. Plus local taxes where applicable.

You walk away with a peer-tested AI strategy, the confidence to answer difficult questions on security and compliance, and a network of CTO peers you can call on for years.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will this be run again in future?

We plan to run more cohorts, but no future dates have been announced yet. Join now to secure your place in the community and get pioneer pricing.

Is there a limit to attendees?

Clinics are limited to 8 people in total so you can honestly discuss your own challenges in a safe environment. Everyone on the programme gets personal attention, so we will cap numbers when that is no longer possible.

What if I miss a session?

All Monday sessions are recorded. For clinics, multiple sessions run at different times each week so you can find one that works. The community stays active between sessions so you will not fall behind.

What time zone are the sessions in?

Monday and Thursday sessions run in UK afternoon time. Clinics run at multiple times throughout the week to accommodate different time zones.

Can my company pay for this?

Yes. When we approve your application, send us your invoice details including company name, address, and any VAT or tax numbers as appropriate. We will invoice your company directly.

Is my information kept confidential?

Yes. All participants sign an NDA as part of the programme agreement. Small group clinics are deliberately curated to reduce competitor conflicts. You can discuss challenges, tools, and techniques openly without concerns about confidentiality. Nothing shared in the programme is discussed outside the group.

Applications Closed

Applications for this cohort are now closed.

For more information about the accelerator please get in touch directly by emailing [email protected].