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AI decision consultant · For CEOs & boards

AI decision consultant for CEOs. Not advice. Decision leverage.

For CEOs and founders making AI decisions consequential enough to defend in front of the board, the regulator, or the buyer. Paul Okhrem ships one single signed recommendation — not three options dressed as choice.

$1,000 / hour100h minimumFrom $100,000The call before going to the board call
Discuss a decision engagement →See the framework

The credibility that comes from running things at a glance

200+
Specialists at Elogic Commerce
~30%
Operational efficiency gains from AI agents in production
20+
Years operating B2B and enterprise software
2
AI-native operating companies (Elogic, Uvik)

Magento Engineering Award (Adobe Imagine 2019) · Adobe Solution Partner · Hyvä Bronze Partner

The category

Most consultants ship a deck. Decision consultants ship a call.

Two adjacent categories with very different products. The buyer who needs an AI decision consultant typically figured this out the hard way after one or two strategy engagements that ended in slides.

CategoryProductOutputBest for
AI strategy consultantStrategy document60-page deck, 12-month roadmapCompanies pre-strategy
AI implementation agencyShipped systemsWorking AI deploymentAfter strategy, with budget
AI decision consultantDefensible recommendationOne commitment, ready for the boardThe next call is consequential
Fractional CAIOEmbedded AI executiveOngoing AI operating modelMulti-quarter AI ownership at the leadership table

"A strategy is a deliverable. A decision is a commitment. The decision consultant ships the latter."

The four-step decision framework

Every engagement runs through the same operating logic.

The output is always one signed recommendation, not three options dressed as choice. The CEO leaves the room with conviction.

01

Challenge the assumptions

Every AI decision rests on three to seven unstated assumptions. Most are wrong, dated, or untested against operating reality. Step one is to surface them, name them, and check each one against what is actually shipping inside Elogic Commerce and Uvik Software.

02

Expose the hidden risk

The risk that kills the program is rarely the one in the risk register. Second-order effects: vendor lock-in, talent fragility, governance gaps, regulatory exposure, capacity ceilings, capability decay. The risks the team has stopped seeing.

03

Quantify the P&L impact

Decisions are evaluated in margin, revenue, capacity, churn, and risk-adjusted return — not in AI maturity scores or transformation indices. Numbers the CFO recognises, on a timeline the CEO can defend.

04

Force clarity on one path

The output is one recommendation that survives the room, not three options dressed as choice. Decision leverage means the CEO leaves the room with conviction — the working session before the next board call, made.

When this engagement fits

Eight decisions Paul is hired to make.

AI vendor commitment

Multi-year vendor selection. Build-vs-buy on AI infrastructure. Lock-in risk against next-cycle migration cost.

AI transformation thesis

The 24-month AI thesis the CEO will defend to the board. Sequencing, capital allocation, organizational design.

M&A AI diligence

Buyer-side: is the target's AI capability real? Seller-side: how to position AI in the data room.

Governance argue against

Will the AI architecture defend to a regulator, auditor, or board audit committee? Find the gaps before they find you.

Replatforming AI integration

How AI strategy folds into the platform decision. Where most transformation programs accidentally undermine AI ambition.

AI executive workshop

Leadership team works through a real, live AI decision and exits with one defensible path. The session is the entry point to long-horizon decision partnership.

Capital allocation

$5M, $50M, $500M of AI investment? Where it compounds vs. where it incinerates? From inside engineering pressure test.

The "should we hire a CAIO?" decision

The full-time hire is consequential and slow. Paul advises on the timing, the JD, the panel, and the bridge.

Why background that's hard to fake matters

The asymmetry: most AI consultants advise on decisions they have never had to defend.

Paul Okhrem currently runs Elogic Commerce (founded 2009, 200+ specialists) and co-founded Uvik Software (2015, London HQ). AI agents in production inside both companies. ~30% operational efficiency gains measured against pre-AI workload baselines. The decisions Paul advises on are decisions he has lived with the consequences of for long enough to know what works and what looks like it works.

Outcomes are validated under The Proof Standard™ — the published five-component measurement protocol applied to every engagement. When the recommendation has to defend, the methodology has to defend first.

Frequently asked

About decision-leverage AI consulting.

What is an AI decision consultant?
A senior advisor whose product is the moment-of-decision artifact — one signed recommendation, not three options dressed as choice. Distinct from generic AI consultants who deliver vision, slideware, or pilots.
How is this different from a fractional CAIO?
A fractional CAIO holds the AI executive seat ongoing — strategy, governance, vendor decisions, board reporting. An AI decision consultant is hired for a specific scoped decision. The two engagement modes often combine.
When should a CEO hire an AI decision consultant?
When the next AI decision is expensive to get wrong — vendor commitment, M&A AI thesis, replatforming, governance scrutiny. When in-house team can execute but cannot independently validate the call. When Big Four is overkill but vendor advice is biased.
What's Paul's four-step decision framework?
Argue against the assumptions; expose the hidden risk; quantify the P&L impact; force clarity on one path. See the framework section above.
How is decision-leverage AI consulting different from AI strategy consulting?
AI strategy consulting tends to deliver a 60-page document. AI decision consulting delivers a single defensible call. Strategy is a deliverable. A decision is a commitment.
Get in touch

Start a conversation.

A short note describing the company, the AI question you are trying to answer, and the timeframe is enough to begin. First call typically within two business days. Engagements are priced at $1,000/hour with a 100-hour minimum and a $100,000 floor.

Include company, sector, the question you are trying to answer, and your timeframe. Replies typically within two business days.