Patrick Ward, Principal Consultant
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​Building on 30 years commercial experience, Patrick established Aitheria Partners to help businesses to define new Business Models and adopt innovative technologies like AI, Data Analytics and Connected Devices to enhance products, streamline operations, increase margins, and achieve sustainable growth.
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Patrick began his career in Software Development at Nortel and has had various leadership roles in UK, Canada and Ireland across telecoms, internet retail, financial services, cloud computing and business consulting.
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Most recently, Patrick spent 12 years at Microsoft, originally managing the P&L for the Windows Business for Ireland, where he launched Windows 8, Windows 10 and Surface in the Irish market. As a member of the Microsoft Ireland Leadership Team, Patrick led the Start-Up and Developer Experience function, supporting many Start-Ups to define clear, scalable Business Models.
As Director of IoT Partner Ecosystem for Microsoft EMEA, Patrick found that many projects were proving challenging, often because they focused on the technology first. He re-focused the team to initiate all customer engagements with a Business Model workshop. The approach was adopted by Microsoft worldwide. Training and mentoring to the team globally, Patrick led consulting engagements with Bosch, Siemens, ABB and many other companies large and small.
The Aitheria approach helps companies globally achieve commercial success at scale by establishing clarity on the Business Model and Business Architecture first, before delving deep into the technology. Patrick has refined and evolved a structured methodology to address common pitfalls as companies infuse technologies like AI into their products, services and operations.
An engaging public speaker, Patrick has presented at many Industry Events worldwide - from Copenhagen to Orlando, Moscow and Sydney. He is a part-time Lecturer at UCD Smurfit Business School, focused on his area of passion: business strategy-led digital transformation.
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Based in County Wicklow, Ireland with his wife Heather and their three boys, Patrick has a Degree in Electronic Engineering from Technological University Dublin and a first-class honours MBA from UCD Smurfit Business School.
Richard Jones, Solution Architect
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An IT professional since 1995, Richard started his career as a developer for an independent software vendor in the insurance industry.
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He has worked for many years in large Systems Integrators in Architect roles for clients across multiple sectors, including extensive experience with UK Government.
Richard joined Microsoft Consulting Services in 2012 as a Solutions Architect, focusing on collaboration and Business Intelligence (BI) solutions. In 2016 he joined the Global IoT Partner Team working across the EMEA region to drive adoption of cloud and edge based IoT and Advanced Analytics technologies with Microsoft's extensive partner ecosystem.
Richard's approach to Solution Architecture is business-value focused. Foremost, it is about
asking the right questions, then structuring the responses in a clear and understandable manner to ensure all relevant stakeholders can contribute to the decision-making process.
Richard has extensive experience running Architecture Design engagements involving both business and technical stakeholders. He created and delivered architecture engagement training for Microsoft’s IoT partner team globally.
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He is also an experienced and highly-regarded event speaker, having presented multiple times to large audiences at events across the EMEA region.
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Richard is based in the West Midlands of England. He holds an Honours Degree in Physics from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.