Date: 4 Sept 2025 • Location: Samsung KX, King’s Cross, London
Hosts: Samsung × Ignite AI Partners
We set out to help leaders de-risk AI and leave with a first step they could act on – no hype, just practical ways to move from “sounds risky” to measurable results. With 60+ registrations and a strong in-room turnout, the energy, questions and hallway conversations told us we hit the mark.
What happened
Welcome & keynote: Graeme Good (Head of Enterprise Sales, Samsung Electronics UK) opened with a warm welcome to Samsung KX and set the context: many leaders are curious about AI but wary of risk. Then Neil and Craig took the keynote with a simple challenge – waiting can cost more than starting small. They busted three myths (budget, data, change), ran quick Slido pulses to take the room’s temperature, and left everyone with a clear first-win map: pick one pain, set three KPIs, test safely, decide.
Guest briefing: Our guest, Tim Flagg from the UK AI trade community stepped up to “decode the headlines,” cutting through acronyms to explain what’s really slowing adoption (skills, understanding, privacy/policy) and what the Government’s AI agenda means for budgets, data and compliance this year, plus how leaders can have their say.
Panel 1: Path to the First Win
Moderated by Samsung, the session opened with the three biggest customer headaches they hear every week. From there, the group showed how to start safely: Craig mapped the first-pilot play, Emma Corbett, Data Strategy Consultant, Coach & Mentor from E. Corbett Consulting Limited explained “good-enough data” (don’t wait for perfect), and Kerry Phillipson, Retail Product Manager from Arriva Trains UK shared a candid before/after – what triggered their pilot, what went wrong, and what paid off.
Panel 2: ROI the board can sign
Neil guided a CFO-lens conversation on treating AI like any investment: define the problem, baseline today, agree 3 KPIs, fund in milestones, and keep a stop rule. A data perspective made measurement tangible (hard and soft value), and a transformation view covered adoption and governance, how you lock wins in.
Use-Case Alley (demos)
Between sessions, the crowd flowed through three five-minute demos:
- WISMO Bot cutting “Where is my order?” backlogs
- AI-enabled AP invoice sorting reducing manual triage and late-fee risk
- ThoughtQuery (NL2SQL) turning plain-English questions into answers from your data
Plenty of “we could use that here” moments and QR codes for those who wanted a one-day Proof-of-Value.
Roundtables
Two parallel tracks – AI-101 (getting started) and Optimisation (scaling & ROI). Small groups, notepads out, and real problems on the table. Each table left with a starting point: their smallest safe slice, the data they already have, and the three KPIs they’ll measure.
Live PoV walkthrough, Q&A & networking
We closed by walking the room through a demo Proof-of-Value: baseline → assisted workflow → before/after scorecard → decide (scale, refine, or stop). A quick-fire Q&A followed, then drinks and a “clinic corner” for teams who wanted to pressure-test their next step.
Key takeaways
- Start small, measure early. Pick one real pain, agree 3 KPIs, and prove or pause fast.
- Don’t wait for perfect data. You run the business on that data today; AI can improve quality as you go.
- Adoption is a design choice. Clear guardrails, simple workflows and transparent metrics build trust.
Watch & explore
🎬 Event trailer
📸 Photo gallery: highlights from the day
🧪 1-day Proof-of-Value: turn one use case into a board-ready before/after scorecard (request your spot)
Thank you to the Samsung and Samsung KX teams, our speakers, and every attendee who leaned in, asked hard questions and shared openly. On to the next one.
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