In this episode, we interviewed Richard Lowe - founder and managing director of Hewlett Rand, founder of Tech West England Advocates, and Scale-up Ambassador for the Institute of Directors during our coverage of London Tech Week
Richard has spent three decades in leadership development - from corporate L&D to building his own consultancy - and he has a sharp view on what the AI moment actually changes and what it doesn't
His core argument: AI is a leadership challenge before it's a technology one, and the winners will be the organisations that double down on human skills while everyone else automates
Key takeaways:
AI rhymes with the arrival of the internet - same transformative scale, but a far faster curve of adoption and impact
The shift isn't what we learn, it's how we learn - AI accelerates personalised, blended learning, but face-to-face development still builds the trust and human dynamics behind high-performing teams
AI adoption must start in the boardroom - leaders who push workforce upskilling before building their own AI literacy get the sequence backwards
The next 18 months bring a surprise resurgence in human skills - as routine work gets automated, competitive advantage shifts to how people lead, communicate and collaborate
🔗 Connect with Richard
Hi Richard, it's wonderful to have you with us at AI Central. Could you give our readers a brief introduction about yourself and share a fun fact?
I am the Founder and Managing Director of Hewlett Rand, a leadership, business development and team performance consultancy that helps scale-ups and ambitious organisations grow locally and internationally.
I also founded Tech West England Advocates, a not-for-profit initiative connecting the West Midlands, West of England and South West tech ecosystems to the Global Tech Advocates network, while serving on a number of boards and advisory groups focused on innovation, scale-up growth, international trade and skills development.
You've spent three decades in leadership development, from corporate L&D to founding your own practice – what does the AI moment rhyme with, and where does the comparison break?
I began my career before the internet, smartphones, social media and AI. Looking back, AI feels comparable to the arrival of the internet in terms of its transformative potential, but the key difference is the speed of adoption and impact.
While technology continues to reshape how we work, the fundamentals of leadership, management, communication and business development remain as critical today as they were in the early 1990s.
The biggest shift is not what we learn, but how we learn. AI is accelerating personalised and blended learning, yet face-to-face development remains essential for building trust, influencing skills, collaboration and the human dynamics that drive high-performing teams.
The biggest shift is not what we learn, but how we learn. AI is accelerating personalised and blended learning, yet face-to-face development remains essential for building trust, influencing skills, collaboration and the human dynamics that drive high-performing teams.
Walk us through one concrete way AI is changing how organisations train and develop their people – a real programme or workflow, not the abstract.
As a Non-Executive Director of MAXRES, an AI-powered learning platform, I have seen first-hand how AI is transforming instructional training design.
Historically, developing high-quality technical training programmes could take weeks or even months. Today, AI is dramatically reducing development times while improving consistency, personalisation and scalability.
Initially deployed within the defence sector, the platform is now expanding into commercial markets where organisations need to upskill workforces rapidly in response to technological change.
This enables learning and development teams to move from content creation bottlenecks to delivering training faster, more efficiently and with greater relevance to learners.
What's the most common thing senior leaders get wrong about AI and upskilling their teams?
Many leaders focus on workforce AI adoption before addressing their own capabilities. AI transformation must begin in the boardroom.
Directors and senior leadership teams need a clear understanding of AI opportunities, risks, governance and workforce implications before they can make informed strategic decisions.
As Scale-up Ambassador for the Institute of Directors, one of the most valuable reports I have read is the IoD’s AI Governance in the Boardroom paper.
Every board should review it and use its framework to assess readiness, governance, investment priorities and workforce development requirements. Successful AI adoption is ultimately a leadership challenge, not simply a technology project.
Successful AI adoption is ultimately a leadership challenge, not simply a technology project.
What's one AI tool or workflow you personally rely on every week?
ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot have become invaluable productivity tools in my day-to-day work. I use them for research, content development, project planning, marketing and administrative support.
Rather than replacing expertise, they allow me to spend more time on high-value activities such as strategic thinking, client engagement and relationship building.
The real benefit is not automation alone, it is the ability to accelerate insight generation, improve productivity and free up capacity for more meaningful work.
You founded Tech West England Advocates and you're a self-described super connector – what does the West England tech ecosystem have that London doesn't and what does it still need?
The West England region combines world-class innovation with deep industrial capability. Across the West Midlands, West of England and South West, we are home to globally significant strengths in aerospace, automotive, advanced manufacturing, defence, cybersecurity and clean technologies.
We also host Isambard AI, the UK's most powerful AI supercomputer, alongside leading universities driving research in robotics, quantum, semiconductors, health, climate tech and agritech.
What we need is greater international visibility and stronger investment flows into our scale-up community.
Tech West England Advocates exists to help bridge that gap by connecting regional innovators with global markets, investors, talent and technology ecosystems.
Where is corporate learning and development in 18 months - one specific prediction you'd put money on?
Within the next 18 months, AI-powered personalised learning coaches will become embedded into everyday work.
Learning and development will become more continuous, measurable and tailored to individual roles, accelerating skills acquisition and reducing time-to-competence.
However, I believe the biggest surprise will be the renewed emphasis on human skills. As AI increasingly automates routine tasks, organisations will invest more heavily in leadership, communication, collaboration, critical thinking and cultural alignment.
I believe we will see a resurgence of team-based soft skills development because competitive advantage will increasingly come from how people work together, not just from the technology they use.
Where should readers find you, and what's the first thing they should try or join?
Readers can connect with me on LinkedIn and follow Hewlett Rand and Tech West England Advocates for insights on leadership, business growth, innovation and technology.
This year marks a significant milestone as Hewlett Rand celebrates its 20th anniversary from 1 July 2026.
Whether you're a founder, business leader, investor or innovator, I would encourage you to join one of our upcoming Tech West England Advocates events, subscribe to our newsletter or explore how our top team programmes can help build leadership capability and accelerate growth.
AI Central Voices is where the AI Central team sits down with the founders, executives, and builders shaping AI - going behind the scenes of how they operate, what they're betting on, and where the industry goes next.
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