About Mark

Three decades running real operations — then the AI to modernise them.

Most AI consultants are technologists who have learned a little business. Mark is the reverse — a proven operator who has carried a P&L and led change at scale, now fluent in AI.

30+Years senior leadership
£75M+Annual P&L accountability
400+Colleagues led
40K+Customers served weekly

The Story

How I came to be in front of you today.

Chapter 01

Foundations

A degree in Business and Finance from the University of Humberside — the grounding for everything that followed.

Chapter 02

Thirty years in operations

Over three decades running large-scale retail. Accountable for the P&L of a business turning over £75m+ a year, leading 400+ colleagues to best-in-class operations, serving 40,000+ customers every week.

Chapter 03

A hobby becomes a business

Having traded indices and commodities in my spare time for years, four years ago I set up full-time as a financial day-trader.

Chapter 04

Putting AI to work

Curiosity led me to AI — and specifically how it could help my trading. I took a course, experimented, and built an AI model that now performs around 80% of my trading actions automatically.

Chapter 05

Formal AI study

I completed programmes with the University of Edinburgh and IBM: AI Strategy, Generative AI, Responsible AI for SMEs, AI for Business Analysts, and AI Implementation.

Chapter 06

Mark Lindley Consultants

Speaking with owners, I kept hearing the same hesitation — keen to use AI personally, reluctant professionally; unsure where to start. Many assumed it was only about cutting costs and wages. It isn't: AI drives growth too, and it doesn't replace people — it supports them.

Credentials

Formal AI study, applied to real operations.

AI for Business

University of Pennsylvania

Responsible AI

University of Edinburgh

Generative AI

IBM

Working With Me

You know AI can help. The hard part is knowing where to start.

Most owners I meet are in the same position — sure that AI could help, but wary of handing their business, or their money, to the wrong thing. How I work is shaped by the three concerns they raise most.

"Where do we even begin?"

You don't have to know. I give you a clear, prioritised starting point — a structured diagnostic that identifies the highest-value opportunities in your business first, so the very first step is the right one, not a guess.

"I'm not handing my business to a graduate — or a computer."

Nor should you. You have worked hard to build something you are proud of. I am not a technologist straight out of university, and the AI I introduce never replaces your people or your judgement. With more than 30 years running real operations, my role is to support the brilliant knowledge and performance that already make your business work.

"We're not a one-size-fits-all business."

And you will not get a one-size-fits-all answer. Everything I recommend is built around how your business actually operates — your customers, your constraints, your goals. A completely bespoke offering, never a template.

The result: AI that fits your business — not your business bent to fit the AI.

Let's talk about your business.

A free, informal 30-minute conversation. No obligation, no hard sell.