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Stuart Atkinson

@stuartatkinson

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I lead enterprise cloud, automation and AI transformation in FCA-regulated environments.

United Kingdom

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What I'm looking for

I'm looking to lead enterprise AI, automation, cloud and platform transformation, partnering with executives to deliver governed, scalable change and measurable business value in regulated, business-critical environments.

At Howden Insurance, I lead a 15-person Enterprise Platforms, Automation & AI function across automation, integration, AI and business systems. I shape operating models, data flows and governance controls that make AI adoption safe and scalable.

I previously directed Azure-first cloud, automation and GenAI transformation across UK and Ireland operations, generating multi-million-pound capacity benefits through reduced manual effort and faster decision cycles. I secure investment through outcome-led business cases and own benefits realisation, vendor selection and spend.

I founded and scaled an Automation Centre of Excellence at Howden, creating enterprise standards, delivery models and governance used across the business. The portfolio reduced manual effort by around 40% while meeting FCA regulatory and risk requirements.

At Open GI, I turned around a 30-person IT operations function, reducing incident resolution time by around 40% and downtime by around 25%. I bring experience leading service delivery for thousands of users across 160+ sites, with accountability for resilience, governance and business-critical platforms.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

AI Business Solutions Manager

Current

Howden Insurance

Feb 2026 - Present (7 months)

Leads a 15-person function across three delivery teams, owning AI integration with core business platforms and enforcing governance frameworks. Prioritizes technology investment and secures funding through business cases.

AI Automation Integration Business Systems Governance Cybersecurity Vendor Management Business Case Development

Cloud Integration & Automation Manager

Howden Insurance

Jul 2025 - Feb 2026 (7 months)

Directed Azure-first cloud, automation and AI transformation across UK & Ireland operations, delivering enterprise GenAI rollout and AI-enabled workflows. Generated multi-million-pound capacity benefits and advised the COO and executive leadership.

Azure Cloud Computing Automation AI GenAI Governance Vendor Management Investment Prioritization

Automation Lead

Howden Insurance

Aug 2023 - Jul 2025 (1 year 11 months)

Founded and scaled an Automation Centre of Excellence, establishing enterprise standards and governance. Delivered a cross-functional automation portfolio that reduced manual effort by around 40% while meeting FCA regulatory requirements.

Automation Robotic Process Automation Governance FCA Compliance Center Of Excellence Process Improvement

IT Operations Manager

Open GI

Mar 2023 - Aug 2023 (5 months)

Led a 30-person IT operations function and redesigned incident, monitoring and escalation models, cutting incident resolution time by around 40% and downtime by around 25%. Acted as senior escalation owner, lifting customer satisfaction by around 20%.

IT Operations Incident Management Service Management Escalation Management Customer Satisfaction

IT Service Delivery Manager

Howden Insurance / A-Plan Group

Dec 2019 - Feb 2023 (3 years 2 months)

Owned end-to-end IT service delivery for 5,000+ users across 160+ sites, expanding remit to cover IT support, end-user services and service management. Redesigned service and escalation models, driving gains in incident resolution, availability and satisfaction.

IT Service Delivery Service Management Incident resolution Ticket Escalation Models User Support Incident Management Escalation Management Customer Satisfaction

Head of Application Support

A-Plan Group

Jan 2019 - Dec 2019 (11 months)

Led multi-team application support for core insurance platforms, owning service stability, incident management and third-party coordination. Reduced application downtime by around 30% through improved triage, root-cause analysis and vendor performance management.

Application Support Incident Management Vendor Management Root Cause Analysis Service Stability

Senior Application Support Engineer

A-Plan Group

Nov 2018 - Jan 2019 (2 months)

Built integrations and support tooling across APIs, SaaS platforms, Linux and cloud-hosted systems to establish a new application support function. Promoted into management within three months.

APIs SaaS Linux Cloud Computing Integration Support Tools

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

The Open University

BSc (Hons), Computing & IT (Software)

BSc (Hons) Computing & IT (Software) from The Open University, covering software engineering, systems analysis, IT management frameworks and project delivery.