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Arik Fletcher

Arik Fletcher

Fractional CIO/CTO, Strategic Technology Advisor, Speaker, Mentor, and Indie Game Dev

London, United Kingdom

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Arik Fletcher spends his career building things that make expertise, community and opportunity more accessible, in technology and beyond.

Over more than 25 years, that has meant moving from hands-on infrastructure and engineering into strategic consulting leadership, winning over £10m in competitive technology tenders, building and scaling a global technology PMO, and designing and delivering technical solutions for thousands of users across education, non-profit, SME and enterprise sectors. His current focus spans cyber security, AI strategy and adoption, cloud infrastructure, and governance, risk and compliance, delivered through fractional CIO, CTO, CISO and DPO leadership that gives organisations senior expertise they could not otherwise afford, alongside AI-augmented delivery models and a platform-agnostic evaluation methodology that have tripled consulting capacity and returned three to five times ROI for clients.

The same instinct to build access and community runs through everything else he does. He founded Greyface Guild, a community interest company built around the same principle: that creative and community work should be diverse, accessible and open to more people. Under its umbrella sit the Techie Brunch Club, a technologist community of over 1,000 members; South Devon Sound, a community radio station he funded and helped develop, giving local artists and presenters a platform; and Greyface Games, an indie studio building games and stories in its own Discordian Tales universe with accessibility and inclusive design built in from the first design document. He has spoken at game development industry events on that work.

He carries the same mentoring instinct into his professional life: as London Regional Lead for the Microsoft Global Community Initiative, a British Computer Society member and mentor, a Chartered Institute of Information Security member, a career mentor for Ada, the National Digital Skills College, and a mentor and speaker with the London CTO Club.

Area of Expertise

  • Arts
  • Business & Management
  • Government, Social Sector & Education
  • Information & Communications Technology
  • Media & Information

Topics

  • Strategic Technology Planning & Execution
  • Digital Transformation Leadership
  • IT Governance & Compliance
  • Cloud & Infrastructure Strategy
  • Business-IT Alignment
  • Game Design
  • Community Building and Growth

The 5% Problem: Why Most AI Initiatives Fail to Deliver ROI

Only 5% of organisations achieve meaningful ROI from AI and technology initiatives. This session examines why, drawing on a platform-agnostic evaluation methodology tested across Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini. Attendees learn how to move from experimentation to production deployment with measurable outcomes, why AI acts as a force multiplier that worsens weak systems and data and improves strong ones, and how to build the foundations that separate a strategy that stays in a document from one that delivers results.

AI-Augmented Delivery: Doubling Capacity Without Doubling Headcount

How can a consulting or delivery team double its output without doubling its people? This session shares an AI-augmented delivery model that doubled consultant capacity and delivered three to five times client ROI. It covers the practical mechanics of embedding AI into professional workflows, the governance guardrails that keep quality and data safe, and how to measure genuine productivity gains rather than vanity metrics. It also addresses the most valuable return: giving skilled people time back for the work only they can do.

Fractional Leadership: Buying CIO, CTO and CISO Expertise by the Slice

Not every organisation needs, or can afford, a full-time technology executive. This session explains the fractional CxO model from the inside: when interim CIO, CTO, CISO or DPO leadership works, how to structure the engagement, and how it translates complex technology decisions into board-level clarity. It draws on real fractional delivery during transformation, M&A integration and strategic technology initiatives, and sets out how leadership teams can make confident, informed investment decisions.

Governance as an Enabler: Turning ISO Frameworks and the EU AI Act into Advantage

Governance is often treated as a brake on innovation. This session reframes it as an enabler, drawing on auditor-level experience across ISO 9001, 14001, 27001, 42001, 45001, 37000 and 31000, alongside the practical implications of the EU AI Act. Attendees learn how to set clear policies on employee AI tool use and data classification, prevent siloed information and unintended data exposure, and build governance frameworks that scale alongside AI adoption rather than obstruct it.

Data Residency Is Not Data Sovereignty: What UK Boards Get Wrong

Most UK boards believe that storing data in a UK data centre means it is protected by UK law. It does not. This session unpacks the difference between data residency, which is where data physically sits, and data sovereignty, which is who legally controls it. It examines the regulatory and commercial consequences under regimes such as the US CLOUD Act, and sets out what technology and security leaders should actually do to manage the exposure

Designing for Accessibility and Inclusion in Indie Games

Accessibility and inclusive design are too often treated as a late-stage checklist rather than a foundation. Drawing on experience building an indie studio around a shared universe designed with representation and accessibility in mind from the first design document, this session looks at what it actually takes to design worlds, characters and mechanics that welcome a wider range of players. It covers practical starting points for small and solo teams without the budget of a major studio, and makes the case that accessible design is simply good design.

Lunch and Learn: Microsoft Copilot Chat Upcoming

Staff training session on the use of Copilot

July 2026 London, United Kingdom

Next Wave Hospitality: The connected hotel, hospitality that performs

Session 3 - AI alone won't fix it! The foundations behind every high-performing hotel.

May 2026 London, United Kingdom

GDLX 2025

Fireside panel on how to build a successful indie game studio

April 2025 Farnham, United Kingdom

Navigating Emerging Technologies in Business

A framework for evaluating and implementing new technologies, with case studies on high-profile successes and failures.

April 2025 London, United Kingdom

Big Creative Academy: Games Industry Workshop

Industry insight session with game development students

March 2025 London, United Kingdom

Making Connections that Matter - Networking for Technical Leaders

The importance of networking for Technical Leaders and how to make meaningful connections that matter now and in the future.

January 2025 London, United Kingdom

The CTO's Role in Business and Tech Strategy

Ways to communicate better as a CTO, and some resources for improving your strategy.

August 2024 London, United Kingdom

Technical Leaders - Working with the Management Team

Talk on how Technical Leaders can work more closely and collaboratively with Management teams.

April 2024 London, United Kingdom

Arik Fletcher

Fractional CIO/CTO, Strategic Technology Advisor, Speaker, Mentor, and Indie Game Dev

London, United Kingdom

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